Any experience with CastleRock Home Builders? (Pflugerville, Point: 2014, rental, lawyer)

[GWV5903]

Everything was ok, a little slower than we expected. Since we moved in they have taken care of our problems quickly, minor issues.

[lopezclan97]

Lets start with the positive. They have BEAUTIFUL floor plans, and quality homes...that's it. Unless you don't care how long the build takes, or not getting regular updates on the progress, then by all means, proceed. This builder has caused me NOTHING but stress and delays. We've even CLOSED on the home (12/31/13) and they allowed us to do that before the certificate of occupancy was issued, meaning, we cannot even move in. To make a long, drawn out story short, we started the process in March 2013, when we were told the build would take 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 months. 9 months later, the build is finally complete, we've closed, and STILL cannot move into our house. The sales consultant never knew what was going on, we would be updated on what would happen next and when (but not before my realtor got in their *****e$ about getting regular updates), but the progress would happen much later than told, the superintendent was terminated for something "inexcusable", they've hired a new superintendent who isn't much help either, I've got the number of the area or district manager who never knows what's going on, I'M the one calling the city of austin to find out what is still lacking and relaying THAT information to the manager, everything is always someone else's fault, and the manager's supervisor only apologizes but that's where it stops. Because we'd been told we would close at the end of October, we locked our rate, filed for an extension twice, which was the max, and ended up losing our rate. I could say MUCH more about this experience, but I'll just leave it at It has been HORRIBLE! If you don't care how long it takes to build your home, please proceed by all means. Again...the floor plans are beauuuuuutiful! The only reason we didn't walk away was because I was in love with the floor plan. But proceed with caution!

[RooCeleste]

Originally Posted by BriansZ

Our realtor recommended we not look at Gehan and she even encouraged us to avoid neighborhoods where Gehan built because of future home values. I didn't look further into it so it may have been a personal bias that she had.

Sounds like it because we live in a Gehan we built 5 years ago and it has been the most solid, well-built house....we've heard quite a few complaints about various issues from condensation in windows, AC going out, water heaters going out, cracked tiles, etc from other builders in our neighborhood but our house, at least, has been very solid. Maybe it was because it was the second Gehan build in our 'hood and the trades weren't trying to put up five or six at once. Who knows. But we're very pleased.

And as for home values, homes sold recently in our neighborhood have gone for tens of thousands (heard one was almost $100,000) over the appraised value......so the worry over home values in neighborhoods with Gehan homes seems to be wrong, at least when you're talking about Gehans where the average build price is about $300,000 to $310,000.

[BriansZ]

Originally Posted by RooCeleste

Sounds like it because we live in a Gehan we built 5 years ago and it has been the most solid, well-built house....we've heard quite a few complaints about various issues from condensation in windows, AC going out, water heaters going out, cracked tiles, etc from other builders in our neighborhood but our house, at least, has been very solid. Maybe it was because it was the second Gehan build in our 'hood and the trades weren't trying to put up five or six at once. Who knows. But we're very pleased.

And as for home values, homes sold recently in our neighborhood have gone for tens of thousands (heard one was almost $100,000) over the appraised value......so the worry over home values in neighborhoods with Gehan homes seems to be wrong, at least when you're talking about Gehans where the average build price is about $300,000 to $310,000.

I'm sure the end product is similar among all of the builders. You're in Walsh Trails, right? We looked at that neighborhood as well as R@BC. It's crazy how much homes have appreciated in those neighborhoods over the past couple of years!

[bam405]

I just closed on/moved in to a Castle Rock home in San Marcos, TX. If it was not for the location and the floor plan we really wanted (they do have great floor plans) we would have walked months ago. Please bear with me. From the seller, lender, and construction manager, there was a total disconnect and lack of communication with everyone we dealt with. No one knew what was going on. I would be told one thing and something else would happen. I knew gutters were part of the house, when we had our walk thru they were missing. I was told they are not part of my plan. Then a few days after closing some guy shows up and he's putting gutters on my house. We were never a customer, just a $ sign. They tried to push us to a certain loan that they could get done fast but we were going with a different loan. The seller told me in an email "if the house is ready and I delay the closing it could result in a 1% penalty," because the loan we wanted would take longer. It was all about the money and how fast they could get it. They rushed the closing on us and its been a huge headache since. There were so many mistakes in the house and believe it or not, they forgot to add a doorbell. It was wired for one and the ringer was installed but no doorbell outside.
We were pushed and rushed the entire time and then after closing the house failed inspection. The fault could be pointed in my direction there and maybe we should not have signed but we really needed to get into this house. We could not even move in for another 2 days. Castle Rock could have fixed the issues that day that would have allowed us to move in but never returned my calls or emails. So after waiting 2 days for our keys and began moving in they cut off the power, and water off on us. I paid for 2 days of interest on the house and then shelled out almost 300 dollars to put rush orders in to get our utilities turned back on. I asked Castle Rock for some kind of compensation but got nowhere.

I still have people coming and going everyday fixing things that were not done correctly the first time. Its been a nightmare but at the end of the day I am happy about being in this house, just not happy that its a castle rock home. I could have given my money and time to another builder that appreciates their customers. I could be here all day discussing castle rock's issues and overall ethics but I dont want to. If you can avoid them, I would.

Best wishes

[RooCeleste]

Originally Posted by BriansZ

I'm sure the end product is similar among all of the builders. You're in Walsh Trails, right? We looked at that neighborhood as well as R@BC. It's crazy how much homes have appreciated in those neighborhoods over the past couple of years!

Yes, Walsh Trails with RBC literally in our backyard. And the appreciation is unreal! Houses are selling in our neighborhood well above the appraised value, up to $100,000 over it, in mere hours. And RBC behind us isn't helping keep prices down either -- there is a one-story right behind me that is 200 sf bigger than my house (making it about 2800 sf), with a tiny yard, smaller porch, and trimmed out basically the same as my house (ie same fireplace minus the stone that I have around mine, hard woods, built-in appliances but they have a double oven, etc) and it sold for about $100,000 more than my house!!!!

Maybe I DO need to figure out something and sell my house now, instead of in about 10 years as we had planned! But that would be dumb, as I still have to live here for those 10 years.

[demoguy]

At the beginning all was well with the build. I do give Kudos to our salesman Blake at the Sunfield community homes in Buda. He was very professional and pleasant to work with. His construction manager Zack (castle-rock owners son) was another story.
It seems he must be getting tired of his job or over worked but he gets a big ZERO. His attitude is ****ty and needs a class on customer service.
As for the house, where to begin...

1) five months after closing the rear patio which is not attached to the slab sinks, separates and cracks in three directions. I called em on it and was told it was not covered under the one year warranty. Also found out the materials used was not the quality material required, i.e. (mesh wire vs 3/8" rebar). Had rebar been used, it would require it to be attached to the house slab therefore eliminating the possibility of separation, sinking.

2) Throughout the year I made multiple complaints about the temperature in the master bedroom. Somehow the room does not cool as evenly as the rest of the bottom floor. Several attempts were made to correct the issue but ultimately is was never resolved and continues to be bothersome.

3) Master bathroom during the painting of the walls.....the large frosted window overlooking the ceramic tub Jacuzzi was exposed to overspray as well as overspray on opposite wall. Ask Zack to correct the issue and he sent the painter to clean it up. Unfortunately his efforts did not correct the problem so Zack himself attempted to clean it. Thus far I cannot enjoy my master bathroom fully due to the overspray on both surfaces...yeah

4) I'm just going to list the additional things that went to **** during the first year. The rear door hinges remained loose thus off setting the door and not shutting properly (not covered). Our wooden floors began to separate in a few locations due to poor craftsmanship (not covered). Nails fastening the sheetrock to the ceiling on the second floor began to fall out (not covered). Oh get this my 30 year roof which is two years old is leaking into my dinning room (not covered) very poor craftsmanship. The roof gets inspected prior to signing off so you would think the inspector or the contractor who installed it should be liable for the repairs (not covered). Oh, the builder failed to install all my outside lights. Stress fractures in the garage immediately after the slab was poured. Which eliminates the excuse "oh Texas heat dry's the foundation".

5) Toilet downs stair guest bathroom leaks, master bathroom shower seals inoperable causing water to escape onto the ceramic flooring. Mold on the weather strip above the master bathroom window. Springs and lifting mechanisms on arched window broken and inoperable.

I understand with a home comes the responsibility of care and maintenance, but for a house which is about two years old and a price tag close to $390,000.00 you would expect the highest quality products, above average craftsmanship and a company which stands behind their product.
I am very displeased, frustrated and angry that I got duped into this overrated home.
You can be assured this Veteran and wounded warrior WILL not buy from you again and will dissuade others from doing so as well.

SFC Villarreal Ray (Ret)

[RTDatx]

You'll find that virtually every builder has customers that complain about one thing or another. Unless your building a custom built home, there are things bound to happen with a mass production builder. Customer service however is the key, even if mistakes are made. This is my 3rd built home. My wife and I signed with Castle Rock in Hutto-Carol Meadows off Limmer loop back in jan 2013. We closed October 2013. We actually had a flawless process, no issues with construction and inspections. The only issue we had was a nail biter last minute (like day before closing) approval for our mortgage loan.

We are happy as can be with castle rock.

[Riya712]

Hi we are planning buy a home in hawks landing community with castle rock in the new section. We would like to know how was your experience with them?

[oscarivan81]

Haven't had any issues with them so far. The house was inspected and only minor issues came out. Hopefully I won't be in a nightmare situation with them in the future. The construction process went smoothly and I'm about to close. I'm buying a nee glenwood model in Hawks Landing in Katy, TX