Stanley Martin Homes

Thinking about buying a Stanley Martin home? First imagine spending nearly half a million dollars on a brand new home, thinking that you’re going to get the best. Then imagine on move in day, only half of your house has cooling (In the DC metro area in the thick of summer). And just to make matters worse imagine that the half of the house without AC is where you are supposed to sleep. Then imagine within a week of moving in, you’re hosing friends and family… Perhaps celebrating the purchase of a brand new home. Then imagine using the communal bathroom on the living room floor (number 1) and it clogs. You can’t think of a reason why it would clog, you try unclogging it to no avail… and it’s Friday evening so the builder is unresponsive. You call roto-rooter to the tune of $800.00 to come out and inspect only to tell you that there is a blockage underneath the concrete slab in the garage. The builder finally responds to you on Monday, very apologetic, but also tells you they will have to cut out the brand new concrete in your garage to replace a crushed pipe. Imagine the same thing happens again a month later to a different pipe in the garage. Everything needs to be removed from the garage, loaded in to a pod, while they cut out brand new concrete, make a mess, and then you have to move everything back again yourself. Then imagine over a year later you notice water leaking through the window of a spare bedroom. It’s been leaking the whole time you lived there - but you had no idea because it’s a spare bedroom and you assume that when you buy a new house, you wont have water pouring inside and down your wall. The builder is apprehensive… “It’s not in the warranty period we’re not sure we can fix it but we’ll send someone out to look at it.” Now imagine just over the two year mark - you’re finally feeling like all the kinks have been worked out and you’re just beyond the warranty period for your HVAC unit and then your 3rd and 4th floor HVAC unit (the one referenced earlier that wasn’t even ready by move in day) shits the bed. You call the warranty dept, and they tell you it is outside of warranty - that there is nothing they can do but to send someone to tell you that it is indeed broken and outside of the warranty. It’s not working because all the refrigerant leaked outside of the unit (likely leaking during the warrantable period), and there’s nothing they can do. So you call the HVAC person to figure out what this repair will cost and they tell you, somewhere between $1000 - $1500. Do yourself a favor and avoid Stanley Martin like the plague. They over promise and under deliver and skirt responsibility time and time again. The quality of craftsmanship is sub-par at best.

Just closed less than 3 months ago, the worst experience ever. SM planted a dead tree in our front yard before closing, we have been asked by the HOA to replace it. we reached out to SM and they replaced the dead tree with another dead tree. They are now refusing to plant a live tree. SM does not care about veterans, much less disabled veterans.

Bought a new construction in the White Oaks Farm leesburg community and love it. The sellers are super fake but we got very lucky to have Eric Stewart as the construction manager, I can't say enough about him! He is a true expert, very knowledgeable and great at explaining things and has been available whenever we have needed him. He is the reason why we are happy with our home. If you can ask for Eric Stewart and you'll be in great hands!

So I moved into my new home almost a year ago. Let’s not talk about the long delay, let’s talk about the kitchen and the concrete pour. At first the kitchen looked okay, even tho I realized very quickly that my last apartment had better quality cabinets. Now, after 9 month, the dark wood lightened a bit, I guess. I can see the corrections that have been completed by the contractor. (Scratched, dents ext) they are everywhere. I feel that I received scratch and dent cabinets, and I am not happy. I paid full price. The granite is horrible as well, they came once to fix the chopped corners, but it won’t last long. Let’s talk about flooring: carpet… horrible quality. After 9 month this carpet looks like it’s been there for years (no stains and I vacuum regularly) The laminate flooring… In The kitchen (because I’m a lot in the kitchen) you can already see the tiles losing the top layer. Paint… baseboard looks like it was painted while wet. It’s just weird. Never seen anything like it. The stove in the kitchen also has a large dent that I didn’t see during walk thru. I’m suppose to call Samsung. Like this is my job. It really isn’t. Long story short… check EVERYTHING, shop around.I wish we would have a choice of appliances, flooring brands, etc. I am not happy at all. My next home will not be with SM

Stanley Martin is the worst builder I’ve ever seen. Their work and materials are substandard. I’ve been in my home 3 months and it is falling apart. They have been here making repairs for three months when they should have done things right the first time. I will never recommend them to anyone. They have successfully turned my dream home into a nightmare! Don’t trust their word and certainly not their homes. Buyer Beware!

This is a bad company with bad practices. They agree to a contract with some great options to grab you in, then out of the blue they send you an update contract without any options agreed at the original contract. Contract goes one way to protect the builder and the owner has no rights. You will get a plain builders grade house… some change in colors, but nothing else. Even a small request in design is denied. For the price, they are better options. Run away from Stanley Martin.

I bought a Stanley Martin home in 2004 and the leak around a couple of windows started happening less than a year. The builder have come out to fix it and the problem continued. I finally replaced all of the exeriror trim because it was getting rotten. After pulling out the rotted trim, I noticed the builder used cheap materials and took corners not using flashijg around the windows and properly water proofing material behind the trim and shiding. How did they pass inspection? I will never buy another Stanley Martin home.

If I could give a half-star rating I would. I’ve lived in the house for less than 7 months. The walls are bulging at almost every seam, cracking and literally falling apart. The grout and caulk have all shrunk - the molding is separating from the boards. Improper wiring - 4 outlets did not work because they were not wired properly and we found exposed live wires. The rooftop deck is sloped so much furniture cannot be placed on 1/3 of the deck and can cause possible tripping hazards when wet. The funny thing is their model homes have nearly flat rooftop decks while still achieving proper drainage. Work, if done, is completed over several visits. There were many no shows and ordering of wrong parts. We have burned through a lot of leave and work is still incomplete. Overall, the work is done quickly and sloppy throughout. I lived in 2 other new homes by different builders that are almost identical in model but have never encountered any of these issues. SM likes to say it’s due to settling but I have never seen settling like this. Too embarrassed to invite people to our new house.

From our experience, they are great at selling, horrible at building and disastrous at post purchase servicing. Pays / gives incentives for positive reviews. We've had multiple leaks and construction defects, in over a year the builder still could not fix water leaks. While inspecting the roof, it was made clear that waterproofing was not comprehensively applied (which is a requirement under Virginia building code) You can see the issue in the picture. Have you ever seen the movie "The Money Pit" ?(with Tom hanks) We are experiencing a real life version. For good Karma, we have shared our experiences and photos of the poor construction with friends and family and steered them towards a better choice.

Purchased my home in Ashburn, VA from Stanley Martin back in 2006 and have never had any problems with it. The quality of my home has been excellent, the buying process was smooth and hassel-free, and I love the layout and design!