Newmark's Independence Homes (Austin: sales, house, construction)

[Beethoven]

Hello,

Does anyone live in the new "Independence" homes by Newmark in south Austin? I drove around inside the property, and it looks very nice. Could anyone who lives there or lives in a newmark home share their expierence with me?

many thanks

[Beethoven]

Please give me your thoughts in Newmark homes, thank you!!!

[FromCalitoSteinerRanch]

Originally Posted by Beethoven

Please give me your thoughts in Newmark homes, thank you!!!

We have a Newmark, but it's in Steiner Ranch. We have been in the home for about 30 months now. As the time has gone by, I just can't seem to recall all the issues we had with the sales process, and some of, but not all of, the warranty response, so I guess that means at the "end of the day" they were relatively minor issues.

One thing that I have recently became pleased with is the energy efficiency of the home. We have almost 3,700 sq. ft. and our average elec. bill for last 13 months is only $92.36/month. We are told that is simply amazing for our size house. Now granted that is using the efficient programmable thermostats that came with the house, set to 78F during waking hours, and 24/7 use of ceiling fans during the hottest months, but still, it is pretty good.

We are also happy with the workmanship, and only recently experienced some very minor settling cracks on one corner of the house, on the inside, which can be caulked and repainted very easily.

One thing you could try, we got our house from them when they were having financial issues, so got a great deal. You have missed their fiscal year end, but they will have FY09/Q1 ending at the end of April, so you may try and go in around April 20th and start with a fairly low offer, and see what their counter is with the intent to sign before April 30th!

[Trainwreck20]

We live in a Newmark home in S. Austin, not sure what the floorplan is called, but since it is 9 years old, I suspect it is not the floorplan you are looking at. It is two story. We bought it when it was one year old, so not sure about construction problems (or non problems). We did have one semi-major warranty repair (a faulty toilet installation and subsequent damage to the wood floor). Their response was fair - they had us call a plumber to determine the root cause, and after it was determined that the fault was the installation, they paid for the plumber and the flooring replacement. No real hassles. They did make it clear that if the plumber determined it was not an issue covered under warranty, they would not pay for it. Fair enough in my book.

Another poster was asking about finish work, and as far as construction quality, everything is great (ignoring the one toiler installation ). The home we got, though, had all 'base' hardware (door knobs, lights, bathroom fixtures) which, while serviceable, are not the most attractive after a few years. We have, little by litte, replaced most of the decorative lighting fixtures (dinning, kitchen, bedrooms), installed and/or replaced fans, and redone all the fixtures in two of the three bathrooms so far. This is all just for look, no issues with failures or anything. As part of the process (and having done this elsewhere), the root construction was done competently. You get a good idea of the quality of the crews that did the work when you look at the fixture boxes and plumbing installation. Again, the construction was done 9 years ago, so not sure how this applies to today's construction.

[bkelly]

Anyone have experience with Independence Homes in South Austin?