I'm leaving this review here because after I left my review on their original listing, DSH changed…read morethe name of the business on their Yelp listing, along with the category of business, to a "photography studio." My opinion is that he did it to tell Yelp that it was a competitor who left the original review and try to get it taken down.
It doesn't surprise me a bit, and as you can read below, this is the type of company and dishonesty you would be dealing with.
I am a business owner and not one to write Yelp reviews, this is the first 1-star review of my life, but I need to warn others before hiring this company. Dealing with DSH has cost me a substantial amount of money, sanity, and headaches that could have easily been avoided by seeing a review like this before hiring them.
I only hope that sharing my experience can help save another family from the stress, financial loss, aggravation, and headaches that DSH Homes and Derek have caused my family.
I hired DSH Homes to complete a straightforward commercial finish-out for my business. Being new to Texas, I trusted Derek and his company to complete the project professionally and on time. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Missed Deadlines & Unexplained Delays - My contract with DSH Homes stated that the project would be completed within three months of permit issuance. My permits were issued in June of 2024.
Despite this, my project was nowhere near completion by December 2024, with no valid explanation for the delays. I would visit the job site frequently only to find no workers present and no clear reason for the lack of progress.
Escalating Costs well Beyond the Estimate - Derek provided an initial estimate for the project, but used a "cost-plus" contract, which he stated would allow him to exceed the estimate if needed.
My final costs to finish the job were nearly double his quoted amount (now into 6-figures) after paying the new contractors to finish the job + DSH's invoices, for which I paid over $50,000 of cash to this company on time without any delays. I also paid the contractors who did good work that DSH did not pay when I refused to pay his final invoice. We received no communication, change orders, or any information that DSH was significantly over budget.
Material Breach & Poor Workmanship - Due to the constant delays and lack of progress, I terminated my contract for material breach in early December. When DSH left the site, I discovered tens of thousands of dollars in poor workmanship and damages that required extensive repairs before the project could be completed.
I was forced to hire another contractor, who walked my project and said he would NEVER put his name on the building in the condition DSH left it in. The new contractor finished in just a few weeks, including fixing the damage left behind. This further confirmed that there was no valid reason for DSH's months-long delays, lack of communication, and poor workmanship, which cost me thousands to repair after firing them.
DSH Homes Responded by suing my company claiming "monetary relief up to $250,000" - After I refused to pay their final disputed invoice of just over $17,000, which was tens of thousands over DSH's original "completed estimate" for a unit that was again no-where near complete with much work left to do. I refused to pay this due to the poor quality of work and damages; instead of resolving this dispute professionally, DSH chose to escalate with an aggressive and excessive lawsuit that I am now forced to defend with a lawsuit of my own.
Let me be clear. My wife and I just wanted to move forward with our lives after this insane experience. But DSH has chosen to escalate with not only threats, but the filing of an actual lawsuit for money he is not owed. Now we have to pursue all of our own claims + attorneys fees in a nightmare that will seemingly never end.
I would never recommend DSH Homes, pools, or whatever else Derek is calling his business these days based on my experience and opinion. This process has cost my family and business significant financial losses and delayed our ability to operate in Texas as planned. I trusted this company to help with our transition, and instead, it resulted in a stressful, costly legal battle.
