Southland delivered as promised on…
Southland delivered as promised on time! Products were of good quality and anything that was backordered did come as promised. I would have given them a 5 Star IF.... the builder they " highly recommended" ( they know who he is ) wasn't recommended at all. Our builder turned our dream into a nightmare and that's putting it lightly. Our Builder was unprofessional, rude and condescending, was neither knowledgeable nor resourceful- We had no choice but to reach out to local contractors ourselves and forced to take matters in our own hands- It took this builder 2 years to do highly questionable quality of work . He did not even show up before inspection or at inspection - ( it failed) - My friendly advice for Southland is NOT recommend any contractors- "Highly" recommending someone with this mentality is a future lawsuit and is not the vision your company seeks. One great day you guys will get caught "highly" recommending someone like this( especially if this joke of a builder is paying someone to do so) and he will get caught most definitely if not sued for the manner in which he plays nasty games with your good customers.
Stephanie
The Best Log Cabin Company = Southland Log Homes
I just recently moved into my New Log Cabin from Southland Log Homes. Throughout the build I was extremely well supported by the Staff at Southland. From Mike in sales, to Danielle in Project Support, and Stephen in their technical support! They were more than able to offer viable answers to any of my questions throughout the build! Yes, there were a few supply and demand issues with various products throughout the build period, but they were always responded to and eventually resolved! Believe me when I say, I vetted every Log Home Cabin Company I could find online, and at the end of this project, I can say with great confidence that I chose the right Company!
Consumer
Southland Log Homes - Run away - don't even walk
The only reason I would give them a single star is that the home product is good. The sales staff is dishonest, the corporate culture is poor. Customer service is zero - beyond Southland's keeping an interest in money. That is all they care about. They absolutely refuse to address any other issues. Their solution is to talk to the sales person - who is frequently the source of the problem (and in the Dallas area I would run away from that office). The are completely misleading as to the total cost to build - which you cannot accurately determine until you have signed a contract - which has no out They keep your 10% even though you will find out the financing is difficult because you will be upside down in true appraised value for a number of years after purchase. Not a way to do business. As for me, they tried to shove a second contract when I made some changes - without acknowledging the first one - and when called on the issue, all I have gotten is the run around. For example their VP of Customer Relations (and I would not know her title except that the previous CEO told me that he was forwarding my letter to the new CEO and the VP of Customer service) addressed a number of concerns as follows:I’m encouraged that your final comment sounds as if you intend to move forward with developing a design and moving toward continuance. "Our process, (though you do not agree with it) is that as we are working with the customer to achieve their desired outcome, we quote a new design in an attempt to get closer to what they desire.Once it’s to their liking, we will add the changes via proper change order as an addendum to the original contract and sales order and update the final design."All about the sales, nothing about the issues. Her letter, though, is a good example of the poor corporate culture - nothing about who she is, or her position, just out of the cold dismissal. I have more examples of their dodging and dishonesty, but this review is already too long.Overall, Southland Log Homes is one of the worst, if not the worst, companies I have ever dealt with.Their reply is the typical stock answer (see others including BBB complaints). They can't address the specifics as they know they have real internal problems that they won't address. Further, after contacting builders and banks, I have found that, unless you have a lot of cash and don't care, you will be upside down in their product - possible for many years. If life throws your a curve ball - and you need to sell, appraisals are difficult and you will very likely lose a substantial sum of money. Southland knows this and I suspect that one of the main reasons they play hide the ball with finances, and too bad so sad once you sign on (which is the only way you can get pricing).
AQuittner
We started looking at Southland Log…
We started looking at Southland Log Homes models over 15 years ago and talked with the same sales representative year after year. He was patient and never grew visibly tired of our visits to the office and our question. Finally in 2019 we handed him the check to begin our Southland Log Home. It is nearing completion this month and is more than we ever hoped far. The folks at the North Carolina office worked with us to modify plans to include special items that we wanted; the end results are nothing short of spectacular. We selected a local builder in the Houston area recommended by the Conroe Texas Southland office and expectations have been exceeded once again. Our new home features some of the finest wood craftsmanship that I have ever seen. An second story addition over the garage provides us with a unique guest cottage and the upstairs of the main house is filled with abundant space for kids, grandkids, and guests. Kitchen, pantry, dining, great room, fireplace, master suite and baths on the first floor are all just what we wanted. And a bonus space in the form of a screened in porch off the dining room and matching pergola bring the east Texas piney woods into our home.Our builder could not have been better in overseeing incredible detailed work in the house, garage and on the site which included roads, electrical lines, a well and a aerobic septic system because of the sites isolated location. Miracles still happen, especially with Southland's expertise and a builder like Kevin Fox.
Ben Raimer
I would gladly purchase another!!
My wife and I have purchased and built 2 log home kits from southland. I had extremely horrible experience with my contractor for the first house. That had absolutely no reflection on Southland. Just a crappy contractor. The home was beautiful. Later we bought another kit and that one I assembled myself. I did everything except the masonry foundation and the metal roof. The Kit, instructions, plans, and phone support were excellent throughout the entire process. We had a few descrepancies with shipping and measurements but were quickly rectified through Southland's team to minimize any inconvenience I had.I would happily purchase a 3rd if my time and money permit.
Adam
John Flanagan
John Flanagan: We are having the SAME issue right now. After finding impossible to find log home builder, we picked one of the three on their warranty list. One would not return calls, the other was WAY over our budget. The house is almost dried in. Builder didn't have inspections along the way. Now the house may have to come down and start over. Pretty sure the builder does not have insurance. He didn't build the house to plans either with major structure problems. We may end up with a hole in the ground and a pile of logs.
Kim Chase Gillard
Southland is all about the money not the customer.
Southland is all about customer service until there is problems with your build. My wife and I purchased a log home package and hired one of the recomended builders. Long story short the house wasn't built to the plans, materials were left out of the build and its been over a year fighting a lawsuit. Basically once we relized the builder had cut corners we called Southland for advice and recieved a long speech about how they only sell kits and have no responsiblity after that. The builder list they provide is garbage. They were absolutely no help in figuring out what had been done to the home. We are 220 thousand dollars in and still don't have a house. I will never buy or recomend anyone from or to them again. They have great ads and zero follow through beyond that.Yes Southland does not hire contractors. However they pro ide a list of approved contractors. This list is pro ised to Southland by a third party company. All on the list and supposed to be licensed, bonded and insured. This is not the. As at all. I agree that Southland has grown into one of the leading log home companies is the us. However when the rubber meets the road the simply wash their hands of the problem stating they simply provide a kit and nothing more. I requested 3 times to have a Southland representative come to our project to help make sense of the mess that we are now facing and three times was told no it's not their problem. They did however offer to allow me to buy another kit to replace e the one that was ruined at last years prices. I served my country for 21 years and was wounded, spent three years in a hospital getting put back together. Southland has done nothing to remedy this. They simply washed there hands of and laughed while counting the money. So in short my opinion is they aren't worth the hassle. Overpriced and out for a profit.
John Flanagan
We had a beyond expectations experience…
We had a beyond expectations experience with Roger and Southland! This began with Roger helping us choose the right design and showing us how to tailor the design to fit our needs. The material was delivered in a timely manner. When construction started Roger and Southland were easily accessible when needed. The finished product was exactly what my wife and I had hoped. What we didn't expect was how tight and sealed the logs were. My wife was amazed by how little dust came in the home and we both appreciated how the home held the comfortable temperature either heated or cooled. We strongly recommend Southland and appreciate Roger in the San Antonio office.
Nick Grant
No words can explain what an unethical…sad truths
No words can explain what an unethical and poorly managed organization this has proven to be. They did not deliver quality or quantity of pro ivy. Backordered materials was refunded for pennies in the dollar. Cheats and liars. Sad
DJ
We agreed to purchase a log home…
We agreed to purchase a log home package for a modest size 2 bedroom. When we were at the meetings the sales rep told us that even though Southland did not construct the home they, he, could help facilitate getting a builder in our area that could do a turn key walk in with furniture job at a price around $170k including package cost. We thought that fit right into our budget. It turned out that the cheapist builder we could find was 10k over this which really made it tough. Southland did help by taking $15k off of package. We are proceeding to have it built but through a lot of heart aches. Hoping in the end it will be worth it. Conventional building around $80 sq ft. This building over $100 sq ft.
Kenneth Dosier
We built a Southland Log Home in…
We built a Southland Log Home in Youngstown, FL and could not have been happier with Southland’s customers service throughout the process. The time and advice John Vick provided during and after the sale to the flexibility and responsiveness given by Danielle Whorton from delivery to dry-in. Months after the materials were initially delivered and the builder identified missing material, Dorthy Richberg and Stephen Knight didn’t hesitate to make arrangements to immediately ship the material and it arrived within and couple of days. We always felt that we could count on Southland’s support and that included the engineer assigned Evan Disosway, who fielded every call with reliable answers. We have just completed the dry-in and hope to finish the rest in the next couple of months.I would highly recommend anyone building a Southland Log Home use one of there approved builders even if they’re from outside of your state. We didn’t do that and paid dearly. Southland did everything they could to cushion our negative experience with the builder, Tracy Winters (Winters Construction Group) out of Lake Ciity, FL including putting them on their “not recommended” list and looking for a replacement builder to help finish the build. If you get a good builder and a Southland Log Home, we think your experience will be amazing. Steve and Erika
Stephen Zentz
BUYER BEWARE!
DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY! Just like the previous reviewer, the exact same horrible things happened to us as well! The project manager was useless and unresponsive. Our plans took over 2 months to complete and we received no help whatsoever. Because we were prior military, we only had to put a $5k non refundable deposit down, based on their cost estimates! Looks like others had to put $25k deposit. So sad. The salesperson told us that their builders could build our 3 bedroom log home for $262k including site work when in all actuality not one builder came in under $350k not including site work. The salesperson also told us not to seek quotes until we had the plans i.e; pay the non-refundable deposit. After committing and paying the deposit, we found that everything the salesperson told us was untrue. The builders we spoke with said they did not like to work with Southland, which also caused us more problems finding a builder who would take on our project. Instead of a 3 bedroom house, we would have had to downgrade to a one room cabin to afford their final costs. We sold our home, bought land and are now renting an apartment solely because Southland convinced us this home was more efficient and more affordable than standard homes. Absolutely untrue! We trusted that they were a moral and ethical company. Our dream log home is now gone and we are out $5k. The company refuses to own up to the commitment of their salesperson. Save yourself the money, headaches and non refundable deposits, do not buy from this company!
madash123
This is a very bad company to deal with …Bad, bad Company
This is a very bad company to deal with to say the very least. My husband and I went to the Danville in PA model home and we were told the R value of their logs is far superior to that of a conventional stick frame home. They did mention the 46% energy efficiency rate but said it was because of the R value of their logs being at R-45. AFTER we gave them a $20,000.00 non refundable deposit, we received the Blue Prints (CAD design) on which it shows an R value of R-9. The R value of a conventional home is R-23.Their sales Rep told us, our log because we picked the better southern white pine and the wider blank, would be between R-45 to R-50.I their statement it sounds like they gave me a ton of documents, help and guide lines BEFORE we gave them the deposit. That is an incorrect statement. Everything we were given, came to us after we gave them the deposit. Everything in this statement is factual. The meeting took place between my husband,our GC, myself and the sales rep from Southland Log Homes. When you read their reply it sounds like the person that is writing the response was in this meeting. Everything they state is NOT what we were told by the sales person and we have witnesses. This is not accusatory, this is factual.We were also told that the builder they recommend will charge $25.00 per square foot to build this home. Before we signed the contract we verified this and were told it would be around that price. After we signed the contract, the per square foot price to build this home went up to $56.00. MORE THAN DOUBLE!!!!!! When we spoke to them they stated that's because they would include heating. After I made them aware, the contract in big print states there is NO heating in this price, they started scrambling and came up with a builder that was NOT on their recommendation list. They are trying to force me to go with a builder that they do not recommend. On Trust Pilot there are many other reviews for all to read . Before anyone signs a contract I would recommend for you to read up on this company. I am sure after one reads all those negative reviews you will be convinced to find another Log Vendor. I wish I had known about this site before I signed a contract with Southland Log Homes.I know I will prevail but it's a shame that they make me jump through hoops. If this was a descent company after all I presented to them, they should have refunded my deposit and had a conversation with their salesman and maybe even enroll him in new training classes.Save yourself a lot of money, time, heart and head aches and go elsewhere. These people are BAD and you dont find out about it until you give them a 10% NONE REFUNDABLE deposit. Run as fast as you can and dont deal with them.This updated review by Southland Log Homes does not accurately reflect my situation. We had two contractors which met a few times before the contract was signed. I did my due diligence. I know contracts are legally binding. The builder recommended by SLH was only going to be contracted for the "shell" of the home. In other words nothing else but the logs and the roof. Everything else such as but not limited to, the foundation, electrical, plumbing, flooring, stairs, railings, kitchen and bath cabinets, etc. etc. was going to be handled by McCarrie Homes. SLH builder committed to a number of around $25.00. This was discussed at least three times before we signed the contract. Within two weeks of this document being signed, the builder Southland Log Homes recommended hit us with a fee of $56.00 as supposed to his acknowledged fee of $25.00. I was deliberately mislead into signing this and I believe the fact that one signs a contract for the material before one signs the contract for the builder is done by design in order to mislead the customers. The builder told us he could not give us a price in writing until he sees the Blue Prints (makes sense) but you can't get the Blue Prints from SLH until you sign the contract to do business with them. NON REFUNDABLE and earned at time of signing, this means you have to get an attorney to fight this. I have contacted government agencies and are presently waiting for their decisions. If this company was so on the up and up as they state, why not have a rescind clause as every home buying experience dictates.We were very clear from the start, we had a budget of $500,000 to build this home. Before we signed the contract we were told this was a realistic number for a 3000 square foot home. After we signed the contract we were told we needed to increase it by $300,000. I know there are many Americans that have $300,000 laying around. We for one or not in that category. We would have not even received approval from a bank to increase our 400k mortgage to 700k. SLH statement that they have tens of thousands of happy customers, I believe that is not true. I only see many unhappy customers on TrustPilot.As of today 6/28/18 we have been unable to resolve this amicable and therefor I will keep up with the bad reviews.
Iris Grupski
Log Home
The initial buying experience was easy, informative, and hassle free.The only thing I would suggest is to be able to give the name of appraisers that have experience with log homes. When we did our permanent mortgage, our home appraised 60,000.00 less than what it cost to build.Pick your contractor carefully. Took over 15 months to complete our project
Anonymous
2280 Hurricane Creek Road
All was fine, we only had two engineering questions. Do not buy Southland Log Homes if they include Monarch windows.
Edward Lawler
Very simple and one man did it all.
Like I said very simple and exact instructions. I built our 2 story 3 bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bath Log House with attached 24 X 24 foot garage by myself. I was 61 years old at the time I started. Plenty of lumber should you make a mistake. Enough wood preservative for 2 coats in side and out. Over all I am very satisfied and would recommend Southland Log Homes to every body. One last thing this home withstood the Strongest Typhoon that has hit Taiwan in the last 40 years (180 mph winds) just a little gutter damage. The gutters were bought from a metal supplier here in Taiwan. OOPS! One more last thing we recently had a 6.0 earthquake the house shook very much for a few seconds and still no damage. I am sold on the quality of Southland Log Homes.
Leonard Richardson
love my southland home
I looked at several other types and companies looking for the home I wanted. Couldn't find anything like what I wanted and southland agreed to take my sketch and make some blue prints, then they put together a home kit for us. We love it. Thank you so much, Southland Log Homes
Danielle Mallett
Materials were excellent along with service
Good people and on time delivery turned into a beautiful Log Home looking over a peaceful river
Shane & Diana Whittemore
Absolutley in love with our home 4 years later!
The ability to customize this lake house, moving windows to allow for rooms with bunk beds, reducing closet space since it was a vacation property, pulling second floor ceiling over kitchen to allow for a functional loft space, while not losing the vaulted great room were just a few awesome customizations. We pulled front porch overhang out an additional 8 feet for a beautiful covered porch and were even able to split the Master bedroom into a master with a additional bunk room for the kids making a 4 bedroom home out of this 3 bedroom plan! I thought the ability to revise my plans to me specifications was effortless and the outcome was amazing!!!
Mike Odiorne
Great Log House
If your looking for a great looking log house, this is the one for you. My only bad experience is the builder that was associated and one of the recommended builders by Southland Homes. I was told he had his own seasoned crew, but what he did was He contracted people who had never ever built a log home before, leaving me with many problems too numerous to explain, and lots or extra dollars out of my pocket.
Robert & Rhonda Haseman
