Diamond Homes secured a lot in a desirable part of town, offered us great customization flexibility and built our home in a way that's very energy efficient. And while we received a house that photographs well and has a pleasing overall aesthetic, our experience working with Diamond Homes was nothing like what is depicted in other reviews. It was unfortunately fiercely frustrating and we hope by sharing it we can help other inexperienced home buyers like ourselves carefully evaluate their options.
Our frustrations building with Elia and Armando Jr. center around the following. Diamond Homes did not provide solutions within our budget, they did not provide consistent or transparent communication, and they did not maintain professionalism in their communication. Prior to the build we asked all of the questions we could possibly think of, but when problems arose, they forced us into reactionary situations instead of volunteering information proactively. Despite our requests they never scheduled regular walk-throughs and they continually made decisions and changes to approved plans without consulting us. Diamond Homes also lacked attention to detail, requiring many hours on our end to ensure their vendors delivered everything correctly and their accounting was accurate.
Oddly enough, we were made personally aware that the project was costing more than Diamond Homes had foreseen due to things like the owner of the lot next to us requiring daily payment for staging equipment and another client deciding not to build with Diamond Homes after DH had completed the shared townhome firewall for that client. In addition, we were also told that multiple spec homes were completed more quickly than our home. As the project progressed, we believe these issues directly and negatively impacted the level of quality with which our home was completed - far below what was promised before the start of the project.
Since completion and warranty phase commencement, we've either been ignored or we've been met with continued disrespect and an unwillingness to address items specifically stated in the warranty as being up to the builder to correct. Elia even verbally admitted to our faces that Diamond Homes stands behind the lower quality work in our home.
While we do enjoy living in our new house, and we of course understand that no home is perfect, we would caution individuals looking to build with Elia and Armando Jr. You must be extremely well organized, have ample time to oversee details, and have some experience building before so you know all the questions to ask upfront. Feel free to contact me for specific details not listed here, additional insights, photos, etc. read more