Atreus Homes & Communities

[kdenise1]

My husband and I bought our Atreus aka Homelife home Jan 31. They tried to charge us an extra $3,ooo because we had (what they call) a front porch. We resolved the issue and they waived the charge thus the price of our home was $295K. Only 30 days after we moved in, they dropped the price of our home $30k and are now selling the same home in our community for $265!!! Within 30 days we are now $30k negative equity.
Don't let this happen to YOU!!!

[scgraham]

Originally Posted by kdenise1

My husband and I bought our Atreus aka Homelife home Jan 31. They tried to charge us an extra $3,ooo because we had (what they call) a front porch. We resolved the issue and they waived the charge thus the price of our home was $295K. Only 30 days after we moved in, they dropped the price of our home $30k and are now selling the same home in our community for $265!!! Within 30 days we are now $30k negative equity.
Don't let this happen to YOU!!!

I’m sorry to hear of this situation. You make a very interesting point; but, there isn't too much a buyer can do in that situation. It's the market-forces at work. The best leverage one can gain is to buy a new inventory home and negotiate a good deal. When building a new home, there is too much time between contract signing and closing. If the market weakens, then prices might drop; and, you will be locked in at the higher price. If the market strengthens, prices could go up and you would gain equity. There’s no sure approach.

[LoufromNewYork]

For anyone looking to purchase a new home. Consider going to Inest.com - If you buy directly from the builder, you get a 1% rebate. I've never tried it since I used an agent the last time I bought a house, but getting something back never hurts.

As far as the home prices going down, it really pays off to see what other builders in the area are doing. The builder that we bought our home from (Crown) was giving $25k off, and giving $5k towards closing costs. The other subdivisions didn't know about this so their prices were a lot higher despite being the same general floor plans with less detail-work to the home.

Immediately after though, I drove through a Legacy Community nearby and they were matching the offer. Now they are only doing 13k off. I'm glad we were able to buy when we did b/c I would be pissed if I paid 12k more for no good reason.

[Pinkeye]

Originally Posted by BronxtoATL

Anyone with experience with this home builder please leave your feedback.

Research online shows that the communities are very affordable.

I plan to view some of there communities in Febuary and I would like to know if anyone has had a good or bad experience with this company.

If you can recommend other new home builders in Cobb and/or Douglas County, I would appreciate it.

Single Family Home - Price range $140K - $200K.

Thanks for your feedback.

Atreus Home Builders do very shoddy work and you will not get them to fix it even when it has all been documented. My home has been flooding with water in my garage and all around the foundation since Dec 2006 and they still have not fixed it so just be ware there are major problems you would rather not face with your home.

[KrissyKayPhoenix]

That is NOT a reflection on Atreus so much as it is on the market itself. When you sign a contract, and the prices decline, most builders will renegotiate (at least in Phoenix). It is up to the consumer to do their due diligence as far as pricing, incentives, options, etc. I worked as a salesperson for a local builder in Phoenix, Az, and I paid $500k for a loft home from my own company which most of my neighbors paid over $600k for. I was excited thinking I 'got a deal', but then a month after closing, the model larger than my loft home sold for $100k less than mine!!! So in a month I lost $100k...lol. It is an investment. Just like Wall Street, sometimes you reap the benefits when the stock price rises and sometimes you don't. I never hear anyone whining when they make $30k in equity in a month now do I? It goes both ways. Who knew the whole finance industry would take the world economy down with it? Blame Wall Street, NOT Atreus. Atreus was just as victimized as you. We all were. My $500k loft just sold for $250k!!! That wasn't pretty. Nobody to really blame though from the building perspective. Such is life and if you learn to roll with it, it stays fun. It's only money. My kids are happy and healthy, my dogs and cats are unaffected, etc. Keep life in perspective and life is beautiful. Money comes and goes. So what. Never love anything that doesn't love you back

[KrissyKayPhoenix]

They changed their name because it was great from a marketing perspective so when people do searches, Atreus comes up first for builders. Just doing a little search engine optimization and marketing strategies. It wasn't because of lack of intregrity or problems. I've researched this builder myself and they do a lot of charity and community work. It is a great company. No one is perfect and homes are built by humans. There is always going to be error when humans are doing the work. No company is failsafe. Not to mention all the builders use the same subcontractors anyway so it is the same craftmanship building each home regardless of the company....