Empire Communities

In September 2012, I moved in. I've had a great experience with Empire, and don't understand all the negative comments on here. I've had several minor issues (which are always going to be present in a new home), which were all repaired promptly. I love my house.

We love our Empire home. Fabulous customer service and we've never had a major issue! Home is very well built and is what we expected. Some buyers seem to need to adjust their expectations. If you understand the reality that you are not getting a million dollar custom built home for $350k you will enjoy the experience a bit more. Lot sizes are generous for a new home.

Empire has made us as first time homebuyers, the most disappointed regretful, unhappy people you can imagine. Do not buy from this builder- Do your research and find one that actually cares. Our front door leaks water- our basement (4 month old home) has mold growing in the insulation already- (yes, we have been running a dehumidifier from day one) They had our house key for 4 months to come in and fix all the other issues, like the trim work which is disgusting, or our front door, or the grout work of our backsplash, and did nothing. only to find out when we asked for the key back that they couldn't locate it. Yes, the lost our house key- and we had to wait over a week before they considered replacing the lock for us. They service guys showed up a half hour late to tell us they didn't have the part they needed, and that they would come back the next day- all this missed time at work hits the pockets really hard. If you want to see pictures of the "beautiful" work this builder does, please email me at findtaryn@gmail.com- If anything will stop you from purchasing a new home from these people, it will be these pictures! I don't want to see any other person go through what we are going through right now.

We purchased our home in August 2009 and took possession on Mar 2, 2010. We love our empire home and would build another in a heartbeat. Empire had taken on too much of a project that had delays and structural issues but that was not the case when we bought our home and has greatly improved since then. Everything was ready upon closing and we closed on time. Infact our washer and dryer were delivered on the day of closing and they did not have the washer and dryer we purchased available so we were upgraded to top of the line machines at no extra cost to us. I find that everyone complains about an unhappy experience but no one mentions the good stuff :). We weary with every builder I hear lots of complaints from the Other 2 builders in the area also. Empire was easy to work with and you have Tarion to back you up if you are not pleased with the on site service which I never had an issue with :)

Had a great experience with Empire Communities. The sales team was very knowledgable and not pushy. My husband and I visited the sales office about 4 times before making a purchase and every time joanne and antoinette were very helpful. The model homes are beautifully designed. The construction process has started, and our site super Justin has been great and keeping us informed. Can't wait to move in!

I bought my first town home form Empire....while there were a few things that needed to be touched up they saw to them right .
It made the experience of buying a home very easy

Adele has the worse customer service I don't understand how she is the manager! I have been dealing with her for almost a year now in regards of resurface my steps! Adele NEVER calls me back or email me back.
We move in on Dec 15th and empire is trying to get away with not resurfacing the steps when they clearly know they need to be done and we did not damage the steps with cheap salt as Adele told me her inspector said! the salt is still in my garage if you would like to see it! Empire pull the same story on 2 other units but is not going to work with me! We did not damage the steps Empire need to honor this job as they told me when we moved in drive way and steps will be done in the fall...this was last year i'm still waiting.....

Having a bad, unprofessional, has no customer service skills as a manager is not helping either. This does not help Empire Communities reputation!

We moved in to our newly build house by Empire Communities in September 2011. There are so many problems in the house I could not believe. There was a crack in the basement wall and we had a leak. Empire did fix the problem. The wall in the kitchen was not straight so the fridge door could not open properly. Empire did fix it. The paint in the bathroom started to peel off after two months. Empire did not fix it because they don't fix paint issues. We are currently having a huge leak in the corner on the wall every time it rains, the paint is peeling off and there is a large stain on the wall. We have complained to empire since December 2011 and now its End of March 2012 and nothing has been done. The empire staff keeps saying someone will come by to fix the leak and so far nothing has been done. The garage door opener is not working and people came to fix it but it still does not work. The quality of workmanship is so poor, the brick on the back of the house was done in a sloppy way with too much mortar. When we complained about the brick, empire said its the kind of brick we chose. But we told them that the brick on the front of the house looks nicely done without any excess mortar. There was no response. We upgraded to hardwood stairs, the quality of workmanship is so poor, the stairs are not straight, the staining is not even, there are varnish leak stains on the wood. There is one railing missing on the front porch of the house and empire refuses to install it. So we have one side of the porch with railing and other side is empty, which looks incomplete. The insulation on the house is poor, one room in the house that is above the garage gets very cold in the winter. The staff in the office is rude and don't want to help. I would not buy with Empire again. I would advise those who are considering buying from empire, do your research and don't listen to empire sales people because they are not honest.

We are extremely displeased with this company as a builder. They smashed our brand new air conditioner and 6 months later, we're still waiting for them to fix it. They promised the dividing walls would block sound but all I can hear every day is our neighbours stereo. Our neighbours are great but heavy smokers and they smoke in their garage, the smell permeates right into ours so badly but Empire told us they are not responsible for making the garage air tight (kind of a safety issue, if you ask me). The quality of paint is terrible! Comes off if you try to wash a pencil mark off the wall. The appliances they provided were installed broken and Empire says they are not responsible for taking care of it once you move in. The cupboards were all installed crooked. This is just a few things of the problems we've had. I'm already looking into selling our home after 1 year.