TopNotch Homes, LLC

TopNotch Homes, LLC is a Methuen-based residential builder — Michael Wakeen owns it, Shane Wakeen manages it — that builds new single-family homes and adult-community neighborhoods across New England and also seeks land to develop. The company's site says it's been 'trusted for over 25 years,' though the LLC itself was incorporated in Massachusetts in 2003, about 22 years ago. The reviews on file split sharply by year and by what they describe. Two recent Google reviews, from 2024 and 2025, describe a smooth, professional experience: one customer credited sales rep Stephen with patiently walking through home delivery and financing options, and another praised Shane for reliably hitting deadlines. Further back, in a 2020 review, a customer who had lived in three of the company's homes said their build quality outdid anything else they'd seen. Set against that, two reviews raise serious concerns. In a detailed 2019 account of a $592,000 home, a customer alleged cut corners, broken promises, and a refusal to fix problems after the sale. A 2023 Google review separately called the builder unprofessional, alleged poor-quality materials, and used the word 'scam.' Worth knowing before signing: BuildZoom attributes a Massachusetts general contractor license to Michael Wakeen personally, not the LLC, and states it expired in 2021 and was still showing inactive as of mid-2026 — that's BuildZoom's own tracking, not a state-registry check performed here, so current licensing is worth confirming directly. The company's BBB page also shows an A+ rating while explicitly stating it is not a BBB-accredited business. For a full custom-home build, the record here is genuinely split between customers who say the company delivered well and a couple who describe a difficult, costly experience — worth digging into references and getting every promise in writing given what's on the table.