Legacy Communities (Atlanta, Marietta, Douglasville: homeowners association, lender, home builders)

[jtmony]

Just in case some of you are interested in "do-it-yourself," the site I was looking for was homedpot.com tv. It was very easy to get to from the main site. If it had been a snake it would have bit me.

[insightful_914]

I have read all and have been quite enlightened knowledge wise, but as I said before, that is my personal preference. I know gutters are a minute thing, but, it is my personal preference not to deal with both Legacy nor Homelife. I have several colleagues around me that are having problems with both, and I have seen them myself. Yes, they did get inspectors, but, let's remember that inspectors only inspect up to codes. I've lived here all my life and I know what I've seen over the years. Yes, a home is an investment, but it should be a wise, worthwhile investment, and as a resident of South Fulton County, I can say that corners are being cut that shouldn't be. In that instance, I don't want to pay anyone to put gutters around my house, especially when I ask for them and the builder tells me, "Yes, we will put them around your house, but, if your neighbors ask who did them, tell them you paid someone else." Come on, are you serious? Please. I don't want anyone building my home taking ANY shortcuts, I don't care if it's as minute as a door bell, especially how high Fulton County taxes are. Take it for what it is, in the end, it's about personal preference, and I personally, do not want to buy a house from a builder that cuts corners with ANYTHING.

[khristinah]

04-30-2007, 01:36 PM
BobKovacs
Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006
568 posts, read 119,583 times
Reputation: 119




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Quote:
Originally Posted by apa1128
Sorry, I've just lived in national builder production homes, and have had nothing but problems. You would think a company that builds thousands of homes per year would focus a little more on quality.....IMO.

Another quote I heard thousands of times. "Quality" is entirely subjective, and is therefore something that cannot be readily quantified. It does, however, typically correlate to price.

Take your comment on "cheap cabinets" in a previous post. What makes a "cheap cabinet"? Is it "cheap" because it has particleboard sides? Is it "cheap" because it doesn't have 150 lb-rated drawer slides? Is it "cheap" because it doesn't have a 20-coat, hand-rubbed lacquer finish?

If your production builder had put less "cheap" cabinets into your home, he would obviously have to charge more for the home. If he used better insulation, more energy-efficient windows, better doors, etc., you'd soon find yourself unable (or unwilling) to purchase that house.

As much as the buying public has blamed builders for "cheapening" their product, the public is as much to blame. We want more amenities, larger rooms, a bedroom for each kid with a walk-in closet, more special-purpose rooms, more overall square footage, 3 or 4 bathrooms, etc., and we still expect to be able to afford to purchase the home at a reasonable price. I'm not absolving the builders of trying to eek out every last penny from their construction costs, but they've learned that spending $2,000 to put in granite countertops instead of laminate gets them far more buyers than spending that $2,000 on better windows and insulation.

So, in effect, we've made "quality" what it is (or isn't) in today's housing market.

Bob

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This falls right into the topic about legacy...just some FYI from someone with experience about this topic.

[john1963]

no gutters in the rear of the house??? I'm suprised they don't offer free termites.

Before buying with this company, i would talk to many current homeowners or even better, send a post card to about 20 homeowners in several of thier subdivisions that says "i am thinking about buying from this company, are you happy? You will hear if they are unhappy, i can almost guarantee that.

[jtmony]

Insightful,

I've read a number of your post on this forum and a few others, and would like to know which builder do you recommend. In each one of your post to drive the point home about the gutters, which are very good points. (for the record I plan on ensuring Legacy takes the gutters all the way around, and I don't care who pays for them) You never recommend a builder. I got it, Legacy and Homelife buyers beware....I understand the problem, now I'm looking for feasible solutions. Where can I purchase an affordable home in the ATL area where the crime is low (relatively speaking here), schools are above average, and communities are profitable? There is no American business that do not pass on the cost to their customers. Simple cost accounting. So I thank you for identifying the problem with these builders, but I really need a solution. I still have time to pull out of this contract and begin looking for a new home builder. Any suggestions/recommendations?

[insightful_914]

First of all, I guess I was ranting and raving because of my personal experience, that's all. I was very, very, very upset that that's even an option. As a virgo personality, it really ticked me off that I had to go through that. We are very, very meticulous (I know I am, LOL), so every little thing bothers us. That just bothered me considering how much it rains down here, and how much of a foundation problem that could be. Yes, I know I can pay someone to put them all around, but my thing is, WHY? I didn't have to do that with my first home, nor with a freakin TOWNHOME. Both were in south Fulton County. Just pure utter cheapness.

I know I currently have a Meyer Sutton home; Moderator cut: builder sales link. They are a small builder that primarily builds on the southside. I haven't had any problems with my home, and the couple I did, I was able to email the CEO and he got right back to me; within the next 24 hours, problem resolved. Their customer service is OUTSTANDING, but you don't hear too much about them because they are small. They build quality, well built homes. They are a little pricey, though. I have a townhome with them. My first home was a Choice home Moderator cut: developer sales link. It was a well built home as well. My realtor friend bought a DRHorton home a couple of years ago and loves it. They too are kind of pricey, but you get a pretty good well built home. And, let's remember you get what you pay for. A lot of great features in her home. She's at Oakley Township in Union City. Moderator cut: developer sales link. Brayson Homes, are also great homes. Their homes are a little smaller, but, you get a great home, Moderator cut: developer sales link. Others to check out are Silver Creek Communities and the Knight Group. For a complete list of communities, you can go to Moderator cut: developer sales link and read more information about these builders as well as get a rebate for your purchase.

I, personally, am tired of new construction and am buying a 10 year old home with some equity so I can renovate it and make it the way I want. If you plan on buying new, just make sure you get an inspection for framing, sheetrock, and the final one, or just get a sheetrock and final inspection if you can't afford all three. Also remember that when you are getting an inspector, they are only going to inspect what's up to code. And, after talking to a few knowledgable inspectors, gutters all around a house is something that DOES NOT have to be included on a house here in the state of Georgia, can you believe that? But then again, that doesn't surprise me seeing that you don't have to have a contractors license to build here anyhow. Homelife and Legacy are the only ones I saw that didn't include the gutter feature and as I said before, that just really, really bothered me.

In the end, it just depends on your area and preference. Homelife and Legacy are just cheap to me, but, you get what you pay for. There will always be complaints with builders, but, if you want a cheap home, just be prepared to fix whatever goes wrong quite frequently. Prior to my research, I had not heard one good thing about Homelife, nor Legacy.

Hope all this helps.

[jtmony]

Thanks for your list of builders. I'm going to check out Brayson, Knight and Silver Creek.

[mallychi14]

I recently heard that some doors wee kicked in (robberies) in the cooks landing community. I am moving from new york and really do not know the area that well. It appeared to be a nice quite area, but I am hearing some things about robbery and stealing rims off of cars. Please advise iy anyone knows anyting.

[CiciInAtlanta]

It should be mentioned here that Fulton County does not require that gutters be installed on the rear of the house. I would not be surprised if this is a requirement in Douglas and Cobb counties. Trust me -- Legacy only does the minimum required. So if they put gutters all around homes in other counties, it's because those other counties require it.

I should also say that even though Fulton County does not require gutters on the rear of homes, MOST BUILDERS PUT THEM ANYWAY. Legacy and Homelife are the only ones I know of who do only the minimum county requirement in this area.

Of course, if Fulton County would require more, then even the minimum would be much better.

Originally Posted by jonjon01

Thats good information Insightful. I have also seen that Homelife and Legacy use gutters in Douglasville and up North. They feel as if the Southside buyer doesnt care about quality. For those of us who live in Atlanta you know who the Southside buyer is (people of color).

[CiciInAtlanta]

Hi, Mallychi --

As a real estate agent who works all over Atlanta I can tell you that crime is happening all over the city right now. While there have been burglaries in several new home subdivisions in South Fulton, there have also been a large number of burglaries in the Virginia Highland and Druid Hills areas as well.

A Fulton County officer who came to our community Neighborhood Watch meeting recently said that the increase in crime goes with the influx of people moving into the city. He said that he has talked to City of Atlanta policemen, Cobb County policemen, and Douglas County policemen who are *all* talking about the sharp increase in burglaries. More people are here, so there's going to be an increase in crime.

He gave us a packet of information that had tips in it to help prevent from being burglarized. Send me a private message with your email address, and I'll shoot it over to you.

Originally Posted by mallychi14

I recently heard that some doors wee kicked in (robberies) in the cooks landing community. I am moving from new york and really do not know the area that well. It appeared to be a nice quite area, but I am hearing some things about robbery and stealing rims off of cars. Please advise iy anyone knows anyting.