Log Homes

does anyone have any extra 6x6 or 6x8 D style logs from Southland. I need 200 Linear Feet to finish out my detached garage. I would rather purchase this from an individual because of shipping costs. I would be willing to come and pick them up.

Wow, Sounds like my story. I was approved by bank, gave Southland a deposit and then became unapproved. I had to break contract and have until Sep 2010 to sign another contract. I am kind of gunshy now to deal with them. But don't want to throw away that deposit.

Wish I would have found this site before I bought from Southland Log Homes in Jackson Ms.. The sales man will say anything and every thing just to get your money. We ordered the 8" x 8" dove tail, and received the saddle notch. After getting in touch with what they call a project manager "which is a joke". and explained to him that I order the dove tail not the saddle notch. He explained to me that they did not offer the dove tail in the 8" x 8". And that the contract only said dove tail on the first page, the rest of the pages "that my wife and I signed" said saddle notch. Also told the sales man the we wanted the french double door for the back. We received a french sliding door. I would like to know the difference between a sliding door and A french sliding door.

My finace and I purchased a Log Home from Daniel Boone Log Homes two months ago. The company seems great, and the salesman has been for the most part easy to reach since we bought. Does anyone have any negative or positive things to say about this company?

Just an FYI for what you're in store for at
Southland.

Once you sign the contract, your salesperson, other than maybe giving you a list of qualified (? - TBD) log home builders is completely out of the picture.

Then you get to deal directly with the SOUTHLAND LEGAL DEPARTMENT for the duration until your delivery. And if you're not ready or property appraisals or perk tests or whatever delay the schedule they're all over you. Their attorney! Not a production supervisor, not a customer service rep (forget ever talking to one of those)- -
their @#*%#$% LEGAL department! This is needlessly intimidating to most people, and
they constantly threatened us with losing our
deposit due to our inability to complete the
contract. My wife and I were fearful of bankruptcy at the time, and they couldn't have cared less.

Well, as they say, it ain't over til it's over. Wish me luck folks.

hey sandy, your comments struck home. we did the caulking and staining of the statesville model. the only person in the statesville office to deal with is brad hoch. i was in and around the place working for several weeks and made many observations. steve and brad are the only ones to deal with in statesville. i am sorry you had such an unpleasant experience. gary k. wooten

I was very displeased with Southland log homes in Statesville, NC. THe sales person (Jamie) started out nice and was informative but as I met with him to ask questions and narrow down my log home choice it was clear he was annoyed. He wanted to make the sale "today" so I could receive all the promotions. Who are they kidding? I am not signing paperwork with out checking it all out just to save $6000 on a $170, 000 home! Too pushy, not professional and too inexpensive. I could not even get a written quote to compare to other companies. I am sure there were hidden expenses which was why he wouldn't give it to me. Well, it helped narrow down my search....Not Southland.......

I contracted for a log kit from Southland Log Homes in
2005, made a $5,600 down payment and then two months
later lost my job through no fault of my own.

At no point in time did Southland give me any options
on getting out of my contract, even when it was clear
I was not going to be able to qualify for a construction
or mortgage loan under the circumstances... Their only
concern was seeing that contract completed and the kit
delivered and paid for, That,or we would forfeit our deposit.

Does anyone know the legalities of attempting to recover
such a deposit? I haven't received so much as a splinter
from Southland and it's now been going on three years.
I would be grateful for any advice in this matter...

You will get no better treatment in Fredericksburg VA. I purchased a home from Southland and it has been a very unpleasant and costly experience. I concur with the "anything to get your check."

Glad you went with Honest Abe. Southland dumps their logs and then you are on your own. Talked to 3 customers from the nashville area. Here was their complants. They supply you with a builders list called yellow pages but none of them meet the price they tell you. Salesman said $110 a square foot. Well closest bid was $145. Store Manager Partner said he was new to Nashville and could not help them also commented that they should have read their contract. Thank goodness we didn't buy. Was dealing with the store manager and he just gave me the run around and anything to get the check. Plus found out they were owned by a Muslum investment company. I try to keep money in the USA.
Great site any updates and can I comment on my Log home building as well.
Going with Honest Abe.

We were deceived by Southland in Memphis TN We were told by their sales rep we would be helped from day one with the building and they never even found someone to build ours. We were also told we could build a 2600 square foot home for $100,000. Once we realized were we deceived we backed but did not receive any of our deposit back. Our rep also told us we would only lose $1500 if we signed up that day and changed our mind later. Never again for us, we will pass on a log home. Good luck with yours. Horrible Customer service Southland log homes!!!

Your site is great and has so much good information. I am relieved to hear you did not select Southland. Everyone should always ask for customer references and call them personally. I also recommend that folks research the various log companies in depth. For example, Southland is owned by Arcapita - a Behrain-based investment company! Arcapita was established in 1997 as First Islamic Investment Bank and acquired Southland back in 2005. Pretty interesting stuff. Google everyone you might want as a partner in your building process. Granted much info on the Internet is not true, but at least you can ask if you find something that you don't like.

Hi there, Brad.

We haven't started building yet, but we're inching closer every day.

We've had some major hoops to jump through with the banks. Mostly because our income is primarily "consulting income" and "online income". As a result, it comes from various sources and some goes to me, some goes to Jim, and some goes to our company.

In light of all of this, we have since incorporated our company and streamlined all of our income so it all goes to the company. But you wouldn't believe all of the delay on the banks' end of things that we've had to deal with. They obviously prefer to see "traditional" revenue sources.

PLUS... it's been next to impossible for the banks to find comps on log homes in the Swan Ridge area. Some banks won't even touch it. Others just sat spinning their wheels and passing the buck until we'd mention that we were going to try a different bank. Talk about frustrating!

Besides that... we're closing on our land tomorrow. It's out at Swan Ridge (near Dale Hollow Lake) in Celina, TN. It's so beautiful -- we've got a little over an acre on rolling hills and a huge lake view!

We definitely appreciated your help when we were getting quotes from log home companies.

And we are certainly comfortable recommending Southland log homes to anyone who asks.

Good to hear from you, Brad.

I spoke to you a few times regarding log homes and came across your site. How has it been going regarding the log homes? Have you started building yet. Just wanted to follow up.

Sincerely, Brad Dukes

Shane -
To be honest, it was a close call between the two. Each did a few small things differently, but nothing much to sway us toward one over the other. (For example, Southland was offering a free log-sided garage for a limited time.)

In the end, it came down to shipping charges for us. We were planning to build in an area very near Honest Abe's headquarters in Moss, TN -- therefore, the cost to ship our logs to our property was next to nothing.

Whereas, the shipping costs were pretty high for Southland to ship the logs from their headquarters in South Carolina to northern/middle Tennessee.

The other big difference is the fact that Honest Abe takes responsibility for the entire dry-in process. Whereas with Southland, they just deliver the logs and you have to find the contractor yourself.

To first-time log home builders like us (especially way back then so early in the process -- when we were still plotting our course & deciding what we wanted to do), we appreciated the fact that we could rely on Honest Abe's skilled & reliable workers to handle that step in the log home building process for us.

While we certainly didn't know what we were getting into when we made our decision to go with Honest Abe back then, I must say that we could not be happier with our decision to go with Honest Abe!

EVERY single individual, sales rep, mill worker, designer, accountant (and even Doug Smith the owner) have been superb to work with. They definitely have the mentality to go "above and beyond" for the customer at all times.

To be fair, the folks at Southland were just as pleasant and just as down-to-earth both times we met with them.

Overall, I would say there seemed to be more of a "big company" mentality or more of a "corporate vibe" when dealing with Southland. Whereas it's more of a "family business" mentality where everyone is "neighborly" with Honest Abe.