Morrison Homes

We are building our house in Cornerstone with Morrison and are not happy. We have asked at least 10 times about the basement plan before waiving our conditions if we can have a window on the clearance side to build a room so we don’t need to change our main floor layout and patio door to a garden door, and they said it would be ok. Now they told us you cannot have an egress window on the clearance side of the basement, and you have to change your main floor layout. There are some other charges, which we were not expecting, and the area manager told us we are fighting for Nickel and Dime. I wish we could cancel our deal.

BUYER SERIOUSLY BEWARE! They dont fix their own mistakes. I had to go above them and force them to fix a missing insulation issue. It was a huge 2 year long battle and headache. Once we finally got it open, we discovered it was in fact missing insulation. They wont ever fix their own mistakes.

I wanted to buy a home and found a nice corner lot offered by Morrison. The home plans were kind of generic and not quite what I wanted. I ws told I needed to give a 3k check deposit for the custom drafting but the check would only be held until the final drafting was to be don. I told them that I didn't keep all my money in that account and if they were to cash it, I needed one day to make sure the funds would be available. They said they would inform me before the drafting was done. For 2 weeks I gave their person clear plan drawings and pictures of what I wanted but each time they showed me an updated sketch it was nothing like what I wanted I kept showing them my drawings but as soon as I left their office my information was completely forgotten and the sales person just repeated their first sketch. I kept saying that I didn't like their design and wanted it changed before any drafting was done. Finally they sent me an email saying they were talking to the drafting department. I said not to do ;that until we were closer on the design. Without telling me they cashed the deposit check which of course bounced. Now my Credit Rating just dropped 50 points which screws me out of getting a house this year. THANKS MORRISON. Buyer Beware!

BUYER BEWARE! I am currently in the building process and am experiencing just a terrible, terrible experience. The only reason I give a 1 for my rating is because they definitely know how to sell and get you in the door to sign a deal! After that, it's a totally different company... When you ask questions or request quotes on upgrades, at every turn there are delays upon delays with no great communication other than to say 'the estimator is on vacation' or 'we'll let you know when we find out.' I'm a patient person, but the impression is that either they have one person to handle each process (i.e. estimating) or they all go on vacation at the same time. Building with Morrison Homes means that when you sign the contract to build, you are left to make decisions with the sales team, not an expert. This becomes a constant battle as even when you setup an appointment to discuss your build, they will still focus more on walk-ins (people that are thinking about building, or just browsing). Don't believe me? Just go in to a show home and you might see someone sitting in a chair when the sales team greets you. You'll feel great that they pay attention to you, but once you've signed a contract and are in that chair - it's a whole different world. In other words, consider yourself a second, third or fourth class citizen. Having made a booked appointment in advance, I once spent five hours sitting in a chair waiting most of that time. It could have taken only 15 minutes. If choosing to build with Morrison, be prepared to wait for simple answers, sometimes for months. I literally have been waiting two months on a simple quote on price per feet. The reason for the delay, as I am told, is because the estimator is on vacation. (If you're looking for a job, maybe they have good benefits - two months vacation!) Outside of the delays, they are unprofessional. Since I now know that each second I do get with the sales team is precious, I have submitted documents (that I spent time creating carefully) that simplify and outline exactly what I am looking for. I've received (on numerous occasions) a reply on my request in the form of a text. Seriously? I am spending nearly tens of thousands on a simple upgrade and you want to quote me by text? (Consider this. As a car buying customer, would you agree to buy a car via text?) Morrison Homes used to be builder of the year and they love to mention how many awards they have (from the past). But they definitely have a lot of work to do now that they haven't won the award in the past few years. In fact, the experience is such pure torture, I'm wondering if they paid for them. I have reached out to head office, and also received no reply. At this point, there's no choice but to stick through it. As soon as I finish the build, I will also be selling the house as they don't seem capable of creating exactly what I want. (I assure you, I'm not asking for anything complicated). So I give Morrison a 1 (for great sales), but buyer beware!

BUYER BEWARE General info We contacted Morrison Homes upon our return to Calgary (after 10years away) to build a house for our family of 5, based on the 11 time builder of the year. The initial experience was great, until we signed on the dotted line. We purchased an estate level house for build in Mahogany. The build process was similar from what we have heard from our friends and family that have built similar calibre homes. However, it seemed that Morrison was banking on that 11 time builder of the year accolade and the prices reflected it as (but I guess you pay for quality and re-assurance). We budgeted for $1 million home, and this put us into the estate level standards and floor plans. They are busy and so they have separated their process into stages...which is geared to helping the build complete in an optimal period, however, as you get through each stage you are continuously upgrading as you realize the standard levels are very basic (or priced at a bear minimum/sq foot) which leaves the upgrades being quite costly. Just when you think you are done.....it is not. Ie) Estate basic standard----plugs/switches were the old style round plugs---common since the 70's, 80's 90's. You would upgrade to the DECORA SWITCH which is the square plug (you see in all showhomes)...its an upgrade!!! And we didnt find out until we asked a stupid question!!!! We told another couple after they already signed off, and they were told $5.00 per outlet to upgrade and $10.00 per switch. (kind of nominal considering this is an ESTATE LEVEL HOME)!!! Also, we had questioned the pricing. The people you deal with are great. They will show you the products they have in store in their show room, however, for the pricing...we found that much of it was done by another person internally in their costing department (someone who is NOT emotionally connected to the customer; kind of like the dentist who will fix your teeth...but sends you to the business manager to show you the price.) They know that you have already signed..so you are committed to building...and you are trapped. We knew we wanted upgrades and understood we had to pay for it....but towards the end it got so bad..we started shopping the costs and found that pricing was very pricey through Morrison (ie...tiling on backsplash $3000.00 through Morrison whereas we found $1400.00 through tiling company using exact same tiles). And certain items they had not prepared for correctly (ie) they charge to put in a Barn door in our den, but neglected to put in a case to finish it off from the inside (there was a gap, this should have been known and accounted for). All and all, the build process wasn't overly great...at the end of it we felt that Morrison's build process was designed to maximize upsells/upgrades. POST POSESSION \\ BUYER BEWARE At our possession walk through we were able to identify deficiencies which is a part of the warranty work. We had come various items which were to be expected. Small caulking, paint...etc. However, when it came to the flooring we had noticed throughout the Hardwood flooring...there were paint drips all over the floor. In one area...you could see that they tried to clean up the mess, but made it worse. It was bad enough that after inspecting just the great room and dining room---the walk through representative said---its obviously around the whole main floor. As this was a common area where our guests would spend much time... we upgraded our flooring to the 2nd highest level Morrison offered with a SIGNIFICANT surcharge, A white oak 7" board hand scrapped wood. We have identified areas to Morrison showing paint marks within boards (Morrison keeps saying this is normal due to drywall dust etc)...and white residue patches where the painter attempted to clean the paint. It has been 6 months, 2 treatments later, 3rd one pending (now a replacement of quite a few boards) we have been last advised by Morrison Management that they have attempted to do what they can...but, "In reviewing your concern about the discoloration in the wood grains on your flooring against the Alberta New Home Warranty standards, we feel those standards would not consider the discoloration to be a defect." Basically, they screwed up our floor (not a manufactures defect or natural staining)...and I will have to live with Paint drips on my expensive floor. The Painter attempted to clean up the original paint drops and left a light white residue patch(not visible during with sunlight; only visible at night). I fail to understand why they don't seem to think they need to fix it completely to the original state. I am pretty sure the Alberta new home warranty and the standards created are against manufacturers defects......not for Contractor issues. But Morrison management does not consider discoloration due to this paint to be a defect worthy of being fixed. I paid the price based on Morrison's reputation. And this is how they would treat me a new home build for their screw up. I am planning to move again in the next 5 years (hopefully to a bigger and better place), but having received this last comment shows the companies true colors. HOW CAN I TRUST them irrespective of whether I was building a $500K home or a $2million home. Would you?? They are working at fixing most of the other deficiencies but this is to be expected of any builder warranty. At the end of the day comparing notes with our Group of friends Millenium Plus Homes (build all around the city) and Cooke Custom Homes (in Watermark) all build Estate level homes but scored better on Pricing/value and service (very quick to resolve issuing including major ones; we are the only ones with a major unresolved issue longer than 3 months). We have since spoken with neighbours and comparing notes and It is surprising to hear the similar comments from the others, each one of us thinking it was a unique situation limited to our builds). This is a big investment for many----go walk around the new build communities and ask the homeowners for their thoughts on the builder. I wish I had instead of relying on an accolade of Builder of the year.

Great sales team, horrible customer service after everything is signed off. We had an issue with our paint colour in our estate home. During the selection process we had asked the interior designers, who were assigned to work with us, for a light colour interior (light coloured walls) and they recommended a specific colour (which we only saw in a 3 inch x 2 inch colour sample). Since this colour was suggested by the interior designers as a light colour choice we took their professional advice for it and selected this colour for our home. Design services from accredited designers have the responsibility to obtain the vision the future homeowners desire otherwise what is their purpose if it is only to record choices made solely by the purchaser(s). As with anything else in life, when there has been some advice given in error, professionals will assist in rectifying. This was not the case with Morrison Homes. As an added note, we had to go through 3 designers during this process as the previous designers left to move on to a different company and left us with the added task of having to repeat ourselves over and over to the next designer would take on our account and make sure that we explain to them our requirement of a light colour interior (light coloured walls). This is the reason we chose to build our house as opposed to purchase one. This builder also asked us to fit 9 hours of meetings in approximately 5 days as we were pending to leave on an extended holiday out of country and they really wanted to have selections made and sent to their head office so THEY can keep on schedule. We sacrificed out heavy work schedules to accommodate them and when we wanted upgrade prices at the times of this meeting their designers were not equipped with that information. The meetings were stressful and long and if we took time to deliberate on anything we found some negative feeling attitude towards us. It is very important to know dollars upfront when deciding on where to spend money on upgrades. With the designers arms crossed and waiting for a response on paint color we went with her recommendation. A few months later when the painters painted the walls with this colour we realized that this paint colour was quite dark and not light and airy as we had requested (as we had also selected a dark espresso brown hardwood colour for our floors along with oil rubbed bronze lighting and fixtures which is also dark in hue. We went immediately back to Morrison and requested to address this issue as we had clearly requested light colour walls and what we had received were dark walls. Their response was that we should pay an extra $4,200 to rectify this issue created by the recommendation of THEIR interior designers. After arguing for a few days and receiving some pretty dismissive emails from their design centre we were called by the Morrison COO who just confirmed the message we were receiving from their design centre all along. That Morrison would not accept responsibility of their designers' false advice and we would be charged if we wanted to get the light colour we had originally requested. This has been a very stressful and disappointing experience, more so because Morrison pride themselves as one of the top builders in Calgary. From our experience the customer service we received so far is one of the worst we've ever received from any type of company. When building what Morrison calls a semi- estate home and you're spending a lot of money the least you're expecting is a pleasing experience and an excellent customer service to go with it. Instead, we've received dismissive emails and statements that our disappointment on their designers' shortcoming doesn't mean anything to Morrison and if we want the issue created by their designers resolved then we'd have to pay the hefty price to re-paint our house. This has been a very frustrating experience so far and at this point our house is not even complete yet. I’m really concerned on the type of issues we’ll be facing over the next few months if we had to deal with such terrible customer service for a smaller issues like wall paint. I would not recommend this builder to anyone.

This was our first build and we were a little nervous going in. We decided to build with Morrison homes via word of mouth , their experienced sales staff and quality of their showhomes. Though Brad may be a bit slow with emails his experience and knowledge by far exceeded anyone else at any of the other showhomes we visited and made us feel very comfortable along the way, never making us feel like they were trying to suck every last dollar from us. Michelle and Krista were also very helpful and pleasant to deal with during the building process with whatever we needed or had questions about. The selections studio is fantastic with a ton of high quality choices for every budget. Even with a lower budget we were able to walk away with a beautiful home that feels very luxurious and that didn't break the bank. Adele was fantastic to deal with and helped us make amazing selections. She was very prompt in replying to all our emails and change orders. I have to say she must have a ton of patience to be in that position but she does it all with with a smile on her face and the utmost professionalism. Great job! We did run into one issue with one type of tile that we selected but everyone was very accommodating in rectifying the problem and switching it out to much better one without any hassle. Pre-possession and possession days were amazing. Jeremy and Tom were very informative in touring us through our new home and explaining everything in great detail. They are both awesome guys who really care about the quality of the finished product and it shows, not something you really see anymore. Their attention to detail blew us away come possession day and we were over the moon happy with the finished home. Awesome job!!! Great customer service isn't about being perfect all the time, its about how problems are dealt with when they arise and Morrison Homes gets this. There is always going to be problems that happen during a build no matter who is building the home but its how those problems are solved and its because of that if we ever build a new home again it will be with Morrison Homes and we won't hesitate recommending them to anyone else looking to build. Extremly happy customers Jesse & Liane

Morrison homes has provided us with excellent service from beginning to end. The staff was knowledgeable, friendly and most pleasant to work with. The home was completed slightly ahead of schedule. First approach with the staff from the show home was great. They explained everything we needed to know and gave us complete pricing without making us feel pressured we had to buy with them. The selection studio staff was personal and helped us designed our home with our criteria. She made excellent suggestions with color choice that we wouldn't have thought of. We were able to view our home at any stage anytime. Morrison allowed us to ask questions and point out discrepancies at any stage of development. All of concerns were taken care of in a timely manner. The finished product shows amazing quality of craftsmanship compared to their competitors. The walk through went well and possession was smooth. Even the follow up trade day (1 month after possession) was more than expected. We had made a few dings on our walls from moving in, which Even Flow painting has graciously touched up with no questions asked. Service was phenomenal. The warranty staff was thorough in explaining everything a new home owner needed to know and more. I would not recommend any other builder as we have heard many horror stories from friends.

Morrison is a pretty good builder by far I have ever seen in Calgary. Compare with my friend's new build house by another builder. Although there are some minor imperfections, but they are all acceptable. And they already scheduled the repair date right away. Recommended builder and Brad sales representative in Nolan Hill area who did a huge favour for us to fit our tight schedule.

Great professionals. They try their best in identifying and addressing your needs and nice-to-have options, guiding you thru the whole process of building a new home from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

We have nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for the Sales team at Morrison Homes. The ladies were all extremely helpful, and went above and beyond for us during our build process. They answered any questions we had, and if they didn't have the answers, they were more than willing to get them for us. The hours they work to ensure their customers are happy are very impressive! After possession, however, we felt that this experience wasn't as positive as it had been on our previous build. (This had nothing to do with the sales team). There were several deficiencies in the home, which they did try to rectify, though there are still some outstanding to date. We took possession on November 29, 2013 and this week we finally had our seasonal work completed. There are still issues within the home, and we are hopeful that they will be resolved by our one year anniversary/inspection.

Was once a decent builder in Calgary. I cannot say they are anymore. Our first experience with this company was pleasant enough but this time around we've noticed how bad their service and quality is. Be warned if you plan to use Morrison, that there will be many hidden charges you won't find out about until it's too late. They have been very disorganized with getting accurate pricing and close inspection of pricing details often showed double charges for the same item. This may be an example of a builder that became too large and forgot about building a quality product with the homeowner taking precedence over profit.