New Homes at Cumming - Lennar vs Rylands vs Ashtonwood homes (Forsyth: apartment, rentals)

[SriSri2719]

Hi all,
We are considering buying a home in Cumming GA. We liked the James Creek area. There are three primary builders in this subdivision - Lennar, Ashton Wood homes and Rylands. When we compare the price of all the three builders, they are almost the same but we liked Ashton Wood homes better and then Lennar... but that again based on the look at the model homes that we saw. Any experiences with any of these three builders for good or bad? Secondly apart from these three builders any other builders? Our budget is 300 to 400k but would like to stay around 300k if at all possible.

Secondly if we buy a basement home with kitchen, separate back entrance with good ventilation etc, do you think it is legal to rent out the basement portion and more over will there be anyone ready to rent out basement homes in this part of the town?

Thanks for look into this posting and for your valuable inputs.

[Tarzanman]

Legal? Yes. Will it conflict with the HOA agreement? Probably.... especially if it is new construction in a new subdivision. It can always be done under the table, but in my experience neighbors who really care about HOA agreements are *extremely* nosy and will find out what is going on one way or another.

[gtcorndog]

Bought a townhouse in that price range from Ashton Woods 2 years ago. We've been pleased.

[BobKovacs]

Ryland and Ashton Woods are generally seen as decent quality builders. Lennar is a large company that more known as a production builder- if you're buying a Lennar home at the same price point as one from Ryland or Ashton Woods, you're likely getting more square footage, but lower quality materials and simpler finishes.

[FLMommy07]

Our home that we are selling in Florida is a Ryland home, and it's not the best of quality. They are building townhomes (6 homes per building) in about 2 months down here. I'm not sure if Ryland quality in Georgia is the same as in Florida, but it seems like down here, Ashton Woods is better quality. Just wanted to put in my 2 cents.

[ridesmart]

I would rate lennar bit less compared to others. Yes they are production builders and will not negotiate much on anything else.

As regards to buying a new home in cumming, we too played with the idea. However I find vast amount of land and new sub-divisions coming up almost every month, made us think twice. We are sticking to north fulton johns creek area where the new construction is reaching its limit. We hope the resales would hold some value

[SriSri2719]

Originally Posted by Tarzanman

Legal? Yes. Will it conflict with the HOA agreement? Probably.... especially if it is new construction in a new subdivision. It can always be done under the table, but in my experience neighbors who really care about HOA agreements are *extremely* nosy and will find out what is going on one way or another.

Thanks Tarzanman. Appreciate your opinion. Will check with the builder if there are anything in HOA agreement prohibiting basement rentals.

[flyonpa]

In addition to the HOA, you should check with Forsyth (or Cumming if you are inside the the city limits) Code Dept. to There maybe code requirement for basement apartment.

[SriSri2719]

Originally Posted by ridesmart

I would rate lennar bit less compared to others. Yes they are production builders and will not negotiate much on anything else.

As regards to buying a new home in cumming, we too played with the idea. However I find vast amount of land and new sub-divisions coming up almost every month, made us think twice. We are sticking to north fulton johns creek area where the new construction is reaching its limit. We hope the resales would hold some value

Ridesmart, I too have the same fear that Cumming has a vast vacant land and new construction coming up quickly but the prices in Johns Creek are a little higher and the traffic is very high with in Johns Creek and to reach 400, there are lot of other advantages in Johns Creek including an urbane feel which I wouldn't disagree.

[SriSri2719]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

In addition to the HOA, you should check with Forsyth (or Cumming if you are inside the the city limits) Code Dept. to There maybe code requirement for basement apartment.

Got it... thanks a lot for the tip.