reetman, Hillpointe or Newmark homes, any info....in Dripping Springs? (Austin: sales, rental) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

CravenClan · 09-25-2007, 05:51 PM

We are coming out on the 18th and are looking into DS, Belterra. I am curious if anyone has good/bad things about Streetman, Hipghpointe or Newmark??as they are who builds in that development.

I spoke to a rep at Streetman, and have their info and brochure. He was very nice, and helpful (is everyone that nice in the Austin area?? I HOPE SO, as that is why we want to leave So.Cal!!)

Thanks all!!

FromCalitoSteinerRanch · 09-25-2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CravenClan

We are coming out on the 18th and are looking into DS, Belterra. I am curious if anyone has good/bad things about Streetman, Hipghpointe or Newmark??as they are who builds in that development.

I spoke to a rep at Streetman, and have their info and brochure. He was very nice, and helpful (is everyone that nice in the Austin area?? I HOPE SO, as that is why we want to leave So.Cal!!)

Thanks all!!

I have always tried to be balanced when I talked about our Newmark experience, but after reading about the issue in one particular neighborhood in Hutto, I will say we are pretty pleased with our Newmark now with some perspective. We don't have wavy ceilings, walls, or floors. We have been in for 26 months now, and not a single cracked tile, and we have about 1400 sq. ft of tile. No leaks, no popped nail heads, basically a good experience.

From reading many postings here however, I would say that it applies to Newmark, and other builders, don't let them move you in until they have fixed everything on your final punch down list. They will pressure you, becasue they want the home off the books, but with this market, you can probably just say, thanks, but no thanks. This will certainly change their tune.

The issue we experienced with getting things fixed after closing is that is during the warranty period each home has a warranty fund, with any balance going to the Supervisor after the warranty is expired. He will send out the cheapest labor he can to insure as much money as possible is left over for him. I am all for earning a living, but they sent out moving company personnel to fix a gas leak, and two minor water leaks. Granted, they corrected the issue in each case, but our perspective initially was "we don't need any furniture moved."

Actually, one of the guys even fixed a tooth cap I had that came loose, for only $5 extra! Just kidding, but you get the point I hope.

tanyagail · 09-25-2007, 09:41 PM

We just finished building with Highland Homes in Belterra and are very happy with our home. We unfortunately did have to close with some punch items remaining (our fault- we needed to get out of our rental so couldn't move the closing date) but I could not have been more pleased with their service. Our construction manager is amazing and aims to please for sure. Gets his own hands dirty (spent 45 minutes digging a hole for the cable guy himself--not a punch item for sure) and returns every phone call promptly if not turning it into an actual house call. They welcome you visiting your home (as I did EVERY day) and are open to listening to concerns/questions etc.

Three other homes just got finished up on our court too and it seems everyone is pretty happy with their results and customer service.

I do not know much at all about the other builders here in Belterra. Streetman seems great but is definitely pricier and I felt everything was an upgrade. Highland is building on a great double cul de sac which we loved too.

Feel free to PM me anything else about Belterra. Haven't lived here long but love it so far!

achtungpv · 09-25-2007, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CravenClan

I spoke to a rep at Streetman, and have their info and brochure. He was very nice, and helpful (is everyone that nice in the Austin area?? I HOPE SO, as that is why we want to leave So.Cal!!)

If I was going to make a fat commission off of you, I'd be pretty dang sweet to you too.

tanyagail · 09-26-2007, 05:26 AM

I am sure there IS some truth to Achtungpv comment but I have found Austinites to be very friendly in general. More so than up North in Wisconsin where most people just keep to themselves.

CravenClan · 09-26-2007, 08:27 AM

I hope his comment is not the typical Austin, as then they would be no different than California, oh i forgot he had posted somewhere about San Diego and how he loved it, maybe that is why he posted that!! That would be a typical california response.

There is a difference in being nice to get something from someone and just being nice. I am no idiot, i have been born and raised aroung crappy people from California, and the guy at Streetman was being NICE..Not a typical "salesman" never did he ask for my info or # to hound me like most do..He actually said what i have seen posted on this thread, "ask the people in the neighborhood you are looking in, if they like Austin, he said they will tell you No, they LOVE IT!!!" That is what we plan to do...

anyways not to get off topice, which is easy to do, i am looking for info about the homebuilders themselves not sarcastic comments!

Thanks!!

Trainwreck20 · 09-26-2007, 08:34 AM

My folks had a Newmark home built many years ago in Scoffield Farms. There was a long punch list of cosmetic fixes, but they all got fixed. I suspect that this is the case for most builders, since they basically use the same labor. Anyway, we bought a one year old Newmark home some years ago, and had to get some warranty work done several years later for a toliet that was not seated properly. Newmark followed their warranty to a tee, and pretty promptly the problem was fixed for free. They made it clear, though, that if the problem did not fall under warranty, they would not fix it. Personally, I have no issue with that.

I have very little other experience with homes, other than ones built in the 70s or before

.

Phisch · 09-26-2007, 10:00 PM

Our home was build by Newmark. It's just a year old but we only moved in a month ago or so. The inspectors said it's really well built and we've really no reason to complain.

We also looked at Belterra. The Wilshire folks over there were really helpful and easy to work with. We had picked a home layout we liked and they let us walk through one that was almost ready to be handed to the new owner. Also, at the time we were looking, they had something like $20k worth of incentives.

I'm so glad we didnt' go that route though. In hindsight, it was so nice not to wait until next year to move into a new house plus it would have been too big! I'm not a great housekeeper. Hehe.

kingfish08 · 02-17-2008, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by achtungpv

If I was going to make a fat commission off of you, I'd be pretty dang sweet to you too.

How rude is that? Do you go to work to make money? That's what a sales rep does also. You can see if someone is fake or real by talking with them. I live in Belterra, and I love it. The rep was really great. But like you he has to support his family. Sales Reps for builders are not car salesman. At least mine wasn't.

Hmeflip1 · 04-01-2008, 05:38 PM

I am building with Streetman in Belterra. I have never ever had the level of customer service my salesman Matt has given me when making a purchase. He calls every few days about the progress of my home...without me having to ask him to. If somthing comes up, he handles it and does so quickly and effectively. One of the first things he said to me was, "This is supposed to be fun, not a painful experience" and he's delivered. I have no problem paying him for the hours he's worked on my behalf already. Yes being nice is a Texas thing compared to other places but there's a difference between being nice and being nice while working hard. I heard Newmark filed for Chapter 11. Has anyone else heard anything about that?