I purchased my home as a 203k project directly from the bank. After closing on the property I informed Mr. Potts that we needed to move into the home because I was not positioned to pay rent plus the mortgage while repairs were being done. There was a lot of work needed so I assured him we could coordinate to avoid interrupting the workflow. Let me highlight a FEW of the problems encountered before I terminated the contractual agreement with Potts. FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS: Do not dismantle the kitchen. Start working on the other areas: Basement, 2 decks, dining room, living room and 3 upstairs bedrooms. However, upon moving into the home we found the kitchen sink and all of the counter tops removed. No Joke! We had NO prior discussions about the type of counters that would be installed and so I'm now trying to address this situation to provide a functional kitchen. When Mr. Potts was given the sample(s) which I had chosen for the counters he responded by saying, "This is extravagant". The only counter product that he did not have an issue with was the cheapest one (and I went thru a few) and this was typical in other areas as well. I was not at all comfortable that my desire to build quality into the home, was something that I could trust him with without a careful eye on everything he was doing. SECOND: A number of things needed to be thrown out, such as the basement bathroom vanity/sink. Mr. Potts workers removed the vanity and literally tore/broke the PVC plumbing line in the wall. Yes... broke, not disconnected. After I fired him I should have retained the funds he was due until this was fixed but I did not. As a result, I was not reimbursed by Mr. Potts for the work done by Len The Plumber to correct this. In his opinion it should not have costs what I paid, yet he didn't take the responsibility that was his for getting it fixed or fixing it himself. He did however, offer a partial payment of the bill I gave him which I refused. I consider him at best "shady" in character and give him and F for business integrity. If he needs it that badly... keep it. My blessings will come. THIRD: Although Mr. Potts claimed to have been experienced with 203k projects which are funded as part of the overall loan and needing to meet bank standards of satisfaction, he was expecting to be paid for sheetrock work in full when the basement work was completed. The only problem was, there were holes as well as damages in the sheetrock in other areas of the home. So my question was, do you think that the instructions for sheetrock repair only applied to the basement and that the bank was OK with holes in the walls in other areas of the house? C'MON FOLKS! Really... do you really need to have this kind of conversation with a PROFESSIONAL who TAKES PRIDE IN THEIR WORK and VALUES HIGH QUALITY CUSTOMER CARE??? I terminated the agreement a month and a half into what was supposed to be a six month turn around. The reason it was 1.5 months is because I didn't follow my first mind which would have gotten me out of that situation in under 30 days. You can try him if you're a regular at the Casino and gambling is your thing. read more

Great customer service & efficient knowledgeable contractor! He has over 10 years of experience and he is helpful when explaining how a project will get done. He prices well and works well with customers to build relationships. read more

Mr. Potts installed a handrail for me from my basement to the main level. I needed to have the handrail installed due to an upcoming surgery. As I discussed my situation and need with Mr. Potts, he was very professional, knowledgeable, and genuinely concerned for my welfare. He also did an excellent job with the install, constructing a handrail that matched perfectly with the surrounding environment and one that will provide the much needed support I'll need post-surgery. I will not hesitate to contact him again for any construction needs I have in the future. read more

The short version of this review is to STAY AWAY. There is nothing good that can come from working with this company. It was a complete nightmare working with them and one of the most stressful six months I've had to endure. I could fill pages and pages with additional details, this is a very small sampling of the issues I encountered with Derek Potts and Potts Construction. 1. He is extremely slow - they took what should have been a 2 month project and turned it into 6 agonizing months. They often show up just once a week and for a few hours before disappearing for another week. When asked why he's quick to blame me, as if I have some control over it, or to make up some ridiculous excuse to shift blame on someone else. It was clear that he was completely incapable of managing more than the most basic schedule. 2. He never took responsibility for anything - They repeatedly made foolish decisions which had to be fixed (like dropping a ceiling 18" when it only needed to be dropped 6"), crooked walls and ceilings, bad installations. At no point did Derek Potts take responsibility for any of these mistakes. Instead he repeatedly blamed me for everything. Everything! 3. He should not be trusted - All the contrived and nonsensical excuses and you can't help to think they're full of it. If that weren't bad enough though I believe he outright extorted money from me. He took a materials invoice I paid two months into the project, that he said was included in the original contract price on at least two occasions, only to turn around in month five and tell me that it wasn't in fact included and that I now owed him an additional $6k. The emails showing his agreement that it was included did nothing to dissuade him from extorting me for the $6k by threatening to stop work at a point when we were so woefully behind and things were a complete mess (month 5). It was clear that he mismanaged his finances and took money from one project to pay for another. I believe he was in a jam and used me to solve his issues. 4. The quality of his work is terrible - There were issues with the quality of their work throughout the project that repeatedly needed to be fixed, resulting in delays and additional costs. There are still numerous issues which I'm stuck with including warping floors, a shower that takes 15 minutes to drain, crooked and uneven walls throughout, and finish details that look terrible. 5. No attention to detail - He was more concerned with getting things out of the way than doing it right. I already mentioned the dropped ceiling issue and that wasn't unique. There was little if any attention to detail and he repeatedly made foolish choices that were sometimes irreversible (without spending a lot more money). Like installing the hardware on the kitchen cabinets incorrectly (can't change this without ordering all new drawers now). Or installing the wrong bathroom floor tile after sending him detailed lists of where specific tiles were to be installed. I could go on for hours and hours. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of Potts Construction. You should also read the hidden review here. Their experience is similar to mine. read more

Potts Construction - potts construction & design group logo - General Contractors Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

We contacted Potts Contruction & Design Group shortly after purchasing a foreclosed home with massive vandalism, water damage and mold; an inevitable 203K.  And yes, I still saw the potential after all that was mentioned. Derek, the owner, met my husband and I to give an estimate within days of explaining the property status.  It was very reasonable for the work - which was basically taking the interior down to its bare bones and rebuilding it back again with detail and style to just about every room. Our home is a 5 bedroom & 3.5 bath SFH with a basement. Not a small project at all! As I mentioned, this was a 203K loan with loads of paper work and additional loan and realtor audits/steps. However, Derek's knowledge of the process made it seamless. My husband mentioned during the renovation, we should look into flipping houses because of our experience with Potts Contruction. Thats HUGE coming from my husband and this was his first home purchasing experience. I have to say Derek and his Crew went over and above what was expected in every step of the renovation. Derek always listened to my concerns and did his best to remedy any issue that came up. He's extremely personable, honest, efficient, and most of all - they listened to my husband and I and did everything possible to create the best renovation experience possible!! Including my mid-reno request---and there were a few. I don't think you will find a better remodeling company in the DC-MD-VA area, especially with the knowledge and experience with 203K loan renovations. BTW, everyone that has walked through our doors love our home and we love it even more!!! read more

Potts Construction - KITCHEN (before) - General Contractors Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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Contrary to the previous reviews, our experience was the total opposite. My wife and I purchased our second home and it needed many repairs to make it habitable. Mr. Potts and his crew was highly professional, knowledgeable, honest, fair and helpful. He exceeded our expectations and I highly recommend him and his company to anyone and we look forward to working with him again. D. Smith read more

Please please please pay attention to these reviews. Potts Construction is not a company you want to deal with! I recently hired him to do some work on my home. While the finished product turned out okay, I found myself having to stay on top of every single detail during my renovation. From reminding Derrick Potts (owner) of previous conversations and agreements to watching every dime that was being spent to ensure I was getting what I actually paid for. Like the previous reviews, Derrick is very arrogant and could not appropriately respond to concerns or questions about the renovations in MY house. There were constant threats from him to "stop work," but when I used the same tactic after he stated he could not provide a quote for unaccounted for damages and would have to bill as his workers worked, miraculously a quote appeared. In addition, Potts Construction backed out of completing the rest of my renovations by sending an email saying they did not have enough time in their schedule!!!! This was a 203k project and I am still confused how all of a sudden he has no time to complete the rest of the repairs when he had to bid for the job with my lender. To date he has not returned any of my calls or emails since he received his payment on the first part of my renovations. At the end of the day, Potts Construction is not a company I could ever recommend and is one that I would advise homeowners to stay away from. There are plenty of decent contractors out there and Potts Construction definitely isn't one of them. read more

We selected Potts Construction & Design after meeting with several other contractors of various price and style levels to build an additional bedroom with bath onto our colonial style home for my parents. The design phase was very smooth as all of my suggestions were incorporated whenever possible and if they were not viable, clear explanations were given as to why not. Some delays could have been avoided if clear expectations of client purchases had been communicated in a more timely manner. Never the less, the project was finished within budget and relatively on time. Any issues, which all projects have hiccups, were dealt with professionally and immediately. Subs were friendly, neat, clean, respectful and knowledgeable. The room ended up beautiful. We were very pleased, more importantly, my parents, who moved from North Carolina, are also very pleased. Overall a blessing to work with Potts Construction & Design. read more

I used this company to renovate my entire basement area and found them to very professional and helpful to me. During the assessment and bid process, there provided the most thorough presentation of performance requirement and a detailed schedule of tasks to be performed. While they were not the cheapest of the bidders, they worked most closely to determined my desires for the job. Scheduling was very effective and for the most part tasks were performed as scheduled. I was particularly impressed with the on-going follow-up performed by Mr. Potts. He was on the job monitoring activities on a daily basis. Upon completion of the job, I have been very satisfied with the quality of the workmanship and follow-on support. read more

I didn't finish reading the other review below but the 1st half sounds VERRRY much like how Mr. Potts would behave. We only had two conversations, and while we did spend 20-30mins discussing the scope of the project over-the-phone, he is rather rude, dismissive, arrogant, and made me feel uncomfortable. He did not respond when I asked a basic question and is very curt. As an entrepreneur myself, there's no way I could have lasted this long in business if I had Derek's brash and unprofessional mannerisms. If someone asks you a question, JUST ANSWER THEM. You never know what kind of client you're pushing away, and which clientele you're losing from word-of-mouth. I'm glad the other reviewer (Dave) wrote on Potts Construction b/c it confirms to me that my gut feeling was correct.... I totally dodged a bullet. read more

This company is only good for labor. Be sure to hire a designer or know how you want your design implemented before working with this company. Also, be sure to have the contract include deadlines for work to be completed. And beware if this company provides contract where they receive 75% of the payment after demo occurs. Have a timeline and stick to it. No excuses. read more