Any experience with CastleRock Home Builders? (Austin, Buda: apartment complex, motel, neighborhood)

[Stressedout1]

Let me start by saying CastleRock has great plans but if you don't mind waiting beyond verbally promised deadlines and constantly changing stories then don't proceed. We have been under contract since April. The sales rep stated it will be six months to build. The date that they were to begin building change six times. We were told they were waiting on addressed and permits and were to begin in May, then end of May, June, end of June, July, then end of July. I finally called the city of Pflugerville at the end of May to learn they just applied for addresses on May 28. Mind you we signed April 1. By July 23rd a permit finally issued the were to begin busing July 28. Well here it's Aug 2 and no preconstruction meeting or build date. Oh and now we are told 6-8 months to build but how can you believe there sell rep Linna? You can't. She speaks and makes promises without the facts and then has to back track because her boss overrides what she said previously. I understand why people have said its 10-13 months to close. I sold my house in March and anticipated a short rental stay as Linna stated all I would need. What a LIE!! And they do not care. You are only a sale!!! I have watched over the last four weeks four lots with shored up foundations a gravel either left in piles or rolled out and that's it for progress after four weeks! I have watched Gehan in that same time cram pour a foundation and frame the same home. Wth! Gehan has multiple crews working on multiple homes. Castlerock none! Rumors are they are having issues hiring contractors due to the amount they want to pay and their reputation. So beware!! If you can wait and want them then at least go informed. As for me, we wish went with our first choice Gehan and our now considering hiring a lawyer and walking away.

[RogerMurdock]

Are you moving into Avalon? Gehan has had it's fair share of issues on houses because of contractor issues but it seemed to be only a few houses that suffered extremely long delays in building. I almost wish they took a their time and slowed down a bit. They try to get their build times down to 4.5-5 months. They closed on my house about 1-2 weeks too soon. Various things not completed. The punch list sheet wasn't long enough for the amount of items. Mostly they were small issues but still. Overall I am fairly pleased with Gehan though.

[tcrandall86]

Just curious Stressedout1 where are you building??? AVALON. We are looking into building and going with our realtor soon to meet with the Castle Rock people and we have felt some of the same issues too how their rep handles things. Our first impression was that they were very unorganized and that's when our relator explained to us not to meet or speak to them unless he has asked us to contact them.

[rimp69]

tcrandall86 - had similar experience myself with Castle Rock, interested in few plans and wanted to walk through their process, timeline, ask our questions etc and just had a hard time talking with them, getting info, questions answered, very disorganized / under staffed so we decided on Gehan and had the best experience from day 1 and till now being in the home for about a year now. I do still think about that one plan we liked but living in this house and plan we chose is working very well for us, the other one at CR had smaller guest rooms, Gehan offered 2ft extension on the plan we chose .

[brucetran09]

Stay away from Castlerock Builders. Closed 12/12/2014 after months of delay. Now I'm a homeowner with extreme buyer's remorse. Don't bother going through the headaches and frustration like I've had. And don't waste your time expressing our concerns/frustration with the General Manger Greg, he's just a condescending salesman that doesn't listen or let you finish what you have to say.

[hung812]

Not recommended. Actually bought a home from them.
1. Roof leaked in first year bought home. They repaired it but quality of work not great.
2. Shingles on home not evenly flat. Shingles bulging Upward. It won't leak, but makes home looks non sturdy.
3. Concrete driveway with multiple bug holes.
4. Warranty limited to what can be fix, and only good for two years. After that, even Complaints to better business beareau is useless as BBB goes by the warranty contract.
5. AC unit in home, not engineered so great. Air unevenly distributed in home. AC damper installed but so hard to adjust. Back to square one.
6. Had pretty significant settling of home and windows wouldnt open in 2nd year built. They fixed it, but raises questions on future foundations.
The above will make your home lose value and probably hard to resale.

FYI. Don't let the sales person rush u. Have all our needs in writing and don't sign on the home until satisfied. Usually have up to a year to sign home but check ur contract. Would recommend u pick our own mortgage company as well.

[toremo]

When it comes to new home builders, it's best to do your research about their construction methods. They usually advertise their building specifications on their websites. The most important thing is making sure you keep a close eye on the sub-contractors! Don't be surprised if different builders are using the same crop of guys for different projects all over the area. It's pretty much a daily job to make sure they are doing everything right. If you have no knowledge of home building or the time to babysit, then you should hire an inspector as well.

[hung812]

Inspector hired, passed city inspection, however poor outcome after 1 month of sale. Quality of work issue. Kind of like that saying. "Not made in the USA, but made in *****"

FYI. Sub contractor hired and watch is the duty of the company, thats what consumet pays castle rock for. To do a excellent job and provide quality of work.

BBB rating of company needs to be re evaluated.

Again, Castle Rock communities (home construction) Not recommended as many cosmetic issues, roof leaked, AC unit, concrete, mortar issues, and framing issues.

[toremo]

The BBB has always been worthless! I hope BBB doesn't get any tax payer money? I've seen horror stories from many builders over the years. It really is a daily babysitting job on a build. Many Builder Construction managers are not aware of what goes on while they are'nt looking that gets covered up. We aren't talking about too many skilled Craftsmen you know. Most of the people hired can get another job within days or even hours of leaving their current job.

[Mforbes08]

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.

We are in Blackhawk and have a Gehan home. Our problem is that the resale value is extremely high due to all the building in Falcon Pointe which are "new builders" it seems but Chesimar "Lennar" Emerald Homes which are starting at $450 and is actually a DR Horton Home. Why would you buy a DR Hortin home for $450 when you can go over to Blackhawk and get a Scott Felder or a David Weekly home for $450k and know that the quality your getting is of high standards and not shady business happening like you get with DR Horton. Anyhow, we have one of the highest property taxes around and it's thanks to the Lennar and DR Horton homes they are building in the $280-$450k price range. That's why there are a lot of them still available. And now I am seeing that Castlerock Communities has purchased a lot of lots and I am reading a lot of bad things about them. Seems like the are just another DR Horton2 .