As a 100% VA-disabled veteran needing ADA-compliant features, if you value your time, money, or…read moresanity, do NOT build with Mitchell Homes--especially if you want anything beyond their bare-bones, builder-grade models. Their marketed "simple, affordable, no-down-payment building on your land" turned into 8 months of mismanagement, opacity, endless excuses, and zero progress. If you have not yet read JC's Google review of Mitchell Homes (Richmond), he articulated our experience very well.
We signed in May 2025 for a custom AVA Farmhouse: $464,025 base + $393,202 in proposed upgrades = $857,227 total. 8 months later--with no finalized plans--we paid $16,641 just to walk away in disbelief.
From day one, we did Mitchell's job for them: hand-delivered a redlined 24×36 AVA plan with numbered additions, provided multiple well/septic contractors, and clearly requested structural/ADA upgrades (e.g., 3-ft ADA doors $3k; zero-entry shower $9.2k). Despite weekly follow-ups, every inquiry led to new questions.
Windows took over 4 months to finalize despite day-one specs for black-on-black casement. Repeated mistakes triggered redraws week after week. We quoted Pella/Lowe's prices ourselves--within $2k of their "in lieu of" costs--which left us unable to explain the pricing through normal errors or standard builder markups.
Our original sales rep was fired. Then, cabinet prices ballooned from the advertised $48,000 "Gourmet Kitchen" to $104,344 all in (excluding appliances). After objecting, an EVP got involved and offered $55k for kitchen cabinets (no backsplash, appliances, etc.) + $15k for butler's pantry cabinets (See image). Retail equivalent was $26k for both, installed. They would not provide line item breakouts.
Rheem HPWH: $3,500 (after credit) vs. $2,300 retail
Kohler Tub: $10,500 (after credit) vs. $2,500 retail
Roughly 30% of the CPRs appeared to reference the same items, compounding costs for the identical scope. There is not enough space to call everything out in these reviews.
They claimed we'd be expedited in the drafting queue due to delays. After weeks, still "waiting on well/septic quotes." I called the same contractor and got a quote in 24 hours; Mitchell took another week.
Plans were still not in drafting after 5 weeks, we had been told they were; then emails asked about the ADA doors--drawn undersized/non-standard--triggering more CPRs, repricing, redraws, and delays. Projected close of March 2026 was now September 2026+. VP of Sales, Freddy Vincent, admitted many issues were Mitchell's fault and promised that no further price increases would occur. That written letter never came. Mind you, we were paying for the 240-day price lock and STILL needed it because we were guaranteed to blow past that timeline.
Based on direct retail quotes we obtained for the same materials, Mitchell's pricing was consistently far higher, often more than double the quotes we received elsewhere. If wrong, Mitchell is welcome to share their markup formula publicly. I'm pretty sure Pella windows, cabinets, lumber, insulation, tubs, etc., don't have "better build quality" when Mitchell installs, versus buying direct from the company with their installers. No amount of sales copy, whether in emails or on voice calls, is going to change that.
After terminating on Dec 31, 2025, it took senior leadership 3 weeks to reach back out. In that same timeframe, we:
Bought a doublewide home with cash
Poured footers
Secured permits
Drilled the well
Had the home delivered
I would avoid Mitchell Homes. Non-Richmond offices seem even more clueless amid rapid expansion and inexperienced hires; they will send every single question you have to Richmond for an answer. Our experience mirrors multiple BBB complaints (delays, surprise charges, poor communication) and JC's review; it's not isolated. Eight months, $16,641 wasted. We had zero faith that costs wouldn't explode further and zero faith in their employees. It was such a poor experience; we went from building a million-dollar dream home to buying a double-wide just to be done with it.