Homes by Avi - Addison Community (Austin, Pflugerville: sale, condo, appliances) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

trublu516 · 03-14-2016, 11:23 AM

Hello Everyone, my wife and I moved to Austin about 2 years ago. We bought an older home (1996) in Pflugerville last year. We love our home but since we both work south, driving is starting to become an issue. We reached out to our realtor friend to get more information on comps in our neighborhood and it appears that we should be able to get all of our money back (20% down).

We started searching for our next home and the biggest criteria was we wanted a new built that will appreciate in value. Looked at couple of places and ended up going with Homes by Avi in the Addison community. Addison -

Builders were a little difficult to work with. They won't budge on the pricing or a plot premium - 35k!!! I can understand why they wouldn't budge; I need them more than they need me. That being said we were hoping to score big in comps to hopefully build our forever home with modern upgrades. That didn't happen either. We got less than 15k in comps which is not enough since the builders are cheap and literally nothing good is standard. For example, they have half walls for the stairs rather than stair railings. I know this might make me sound like I have really high standards but I'll be spending north of 350k for this home and would like it to have these nice touches.

Now to the main reason for this post: I wasn't able to find any reviews or prior experiences from people who have worked with this builder. If you have worked with Homes by Avi in the past, I would really appreciate some insight on how your experience was. Also, wouldn't mind hearing about the quality of their work either.

Thanks in advance!

balor123 · 03-14-2016, 01:16 PM

The builder doesn't want to budge because they run on thin margins to begin with. Don't know this builder but $350k is on the low end for a building. Yeah everyone wants a "forever" home but no one actually gets it. People stay in homes on average about 7 years, about the same as they hold cars for. Home trends last about a decade and then they start having problems and look dated. You can never fully rebuild a house, usually it's cheaper just to sell it and build a new one. Trends are for buildings to depreciate and land to appreciate so the further out you go the more expensive the new premium becomes. $35k might seem like a lot for a lot but it's really not, a lot can cost $400k+ in the urban core. It only looks like people are making a lot of money reselling homes because of inflation. Rich people always flock to the newer neighborhoods, leaving older stock for first time home buyers because they're sold at a discount relative to newer homes around.

My preference is to live central so I can work wherever with a good commute. The urban core is where all the fun is and you get the best appreciation on properties. The down side, of course, is that homes tend to be older, smaller, and density is higher (bonus for some, drawback for others). You get less building and land for your money but you also need it less since you have greater access to city amenities, if you're not a homebody. But on the bright side, it tends to be easier trading space for "newness". You can buy a new condo for example or an older single family home so you have choices, whereas in some neighborhoods the cost of buying new is prohibitively expensive because density doesn't increase. Schools are good to great in most of the urban core as well but then there's cultural differences, people are different in both locations.

riaelise · 03-14-2016, 02:06 PM

My opinion only - $350k for that area and what is being offered by that builder is too much. Schools suck. Not many amenities. Builder grade house. Despite what the previous poster said, $350k is not low end at all in many parts of Austin. Instead of buying there, take that money and get a resale in some of the established areas of S and SW.

sojourner77 · 03-14-2016, 02:38 PM

I totally understand the appeal, everything else new within 6 miles of downtown is insanely expensive. 350K for Addison sounds a little excessive though - it's the cheapest new-build neighborhood you'll find with (tiny) houses starting at about 230K. Have you looked a little further south at Easton Park?

trublu516 · 03-14-2016, 05:19 PM

I don't have any kids yet so not too worried about schools. I'm counting on schools improving as more people move in that part of Austin. I believe between Addison and Easton Park there will be more than 7,000 houses build.

I have looked at Easton Park but the prices are pretty similar. Also, not sure how I feel about being in the middle of constructions for next 6-7 years.

RooCeleste · 03-15-2016, 06:39 AM

AVI built houses across the street from us in the $325-350K range (to build, appraised at more now) and they are pretty with some good floor plans. I think the owners are happy with them in general, but I've heard numerous comments that everything looks the same in all of them -- the same cabinets, the same tile, the same fixtures, even the same exterior façade next to each other in some cases. I know one neighbor's kitchen sink fell out, literally, and AVI wouldn't fix it. It cost them a couple hundred dollars to have it reinstalled. Another had trouble with kitchen cabinet doors not being installed level.

Being in the middle of construction for years sucks -- we built in 2009 and only in the past couple of years has it been quiet and clean, without a lot of dust everywhere. We had no qualms about asking the subs to turn the Mexican music down (it helped that my husband is law enforcement) and we went to the superintendents when things got too messy. The constant hammering and jackhammers got to us, though, and made weekends not too terribly relaxing.

Trainwreck20 · 03-15-2016, 08:17 AM

This subdivision is right on Onion Creek? Right by the Airport? How big a house are you buying?

I have no idea on where you work or what your personal constraints might be, but I would take the same 350k and move to SW Austin, where you can get a 20 year old/2,400 sf house or so that is in its 'original' form (not update much or at all) or a 2,000 sf house that is nicely update (not builder grade appliances/fixtures, etc).

No airport, no flooding potential, better schools (even if not for you, for resale), closer amenities, mature trees, etc. Everyone has their own idea of what a house 'should' be, but if I had that budget (give or take):
http://www.austinhomesearch.com/home...8749-171038699
Right near Dick Nichols park - free city swimming pool, excellent schools, close to tons of shopping, nice lot.

Or:

http://www.austinhomesearch.com/home...8749-166774678

But that is just me. The whole process of 'building' a house is not fun and not usually financially as prudent (long-term).

riaelise · 03-15-2016, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trublu516

I don't have any kids yet so not too worried about schools. I'm counting on schools improving as more people move in that part of Austin. I believe between Addison and Easton Park there will be more than 7,000 houses build.

I have looked at Easton Park but the prices are pretty similar. Also, not sure how I feel about being in the middle of constructions for next 6-7 years.

don't count on that. $350k is too high for that area. it's not the "new East Austin". I'm surprised that you are just getting all of your money back with the Pflugerville sale. 78660 homes are selling very quickly...we made a lot of money on the sale of our home. if you are looking for appreciation, ditch the new build thing and go with an established neighborhood. we did the new build thing initially and by far our best home purchase has been in an established (30 years) neighborhood with trees and amenities. Good luck.

sojourner77 · 03-15-2016, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riaelise

don't count on that. $350k is too high for that area. it's not the "new East Austin". I'm surprised that you are just getting all of your money back with the Pflugerville sale. 78660 homes are selling very quickly...we made a lot of money on the sale of our home. if you are looking for appreciation, ditch the new build thing and go with an established neighborhood. we did the new build thing initially and by far our best home purchase has been in an established (30 years) neighborhood with trees and amenities. Good luck.

Not bad advice. $300K-$350K will get a 2000sf house in 78749, 78747 or 78745 that will be 15+ years old. It will also be further from downtown, if the OP is okay with that.

mikeyyc · 03-15-2016, 11:54 AM

Avi is a Canadian builder. Originally from Calgary, they expanded to Edmonton and then Austin about a decade ago. They sort of started the "custom tract" home idea there. Where you get a lot of flexibility and input on their designs, as long as you don't move exterior or plumbing walls. At least in the great white north, they built a quality product.

I've met the man personally, and while a shrewd businessman, he has always followed through on promises made, and I would have no issues dealing with him again.