Mercedes Home Builders

[datacity]

Originally Posted by Cali~girl

(hmmm..sounds like you work for Mercedes?

I do not have any interest in Mercedes homes other than my experience with them when looking for a home, and from speaking with one friend who actually built a home with them.

I am sure they have their share of issues (particularly in Hurricane prone Florida where they have been building with concrete walls and have had issues of leaking). As I implied in my earlier post, with any builder you have to keep on top of the construction of your home to ensure it comes out right. My experience and that of those I know has been that Mercedes is okay; others obviously have had issues. I have yet to find a builder without any issues and I certainly hear about other builders with far more issues.

Again, be aware.

[musicman107]

As a Texas-licensed, Professional Home Inspector, here are some of my observations:
Regardless of the "name" of the "builder", drive around a neighborhood in which new homes are being constructed, and you shall see who is actually buidling your home: the laborers who are wielding the hammers and saws.
Home construction is rather complex, and has a GREAT MANY components and sub-components.
"Builders" subcontract the foundation to one company, the framing to another, the plumbing to another, the electrical to another, the roofing to another, the HVAC to another, and on and on....
Subcontracts are commonly awared to the lowest bidder, and you very often get what you pay for.
As a frequent visitor to new home construction sites, the laborers who I observe actually building the home are working with little-to-no supervision.
Thus, regardless of the name of the "builder", I have seen quality of construction all over the map.
I have personally inspected two brand new (as yet unoccupied) homes, right next door to one another, built by the same "builder" in exactly the same time frame, and it was obvious that the two homes were built by different crews.
As DataCity and CaliGirl have pointed out: sub-contractors (which change frequently) are the ultimate gauge of quality and workmanship; keep on top of your new home under construction. (
And, unfortunately, you cannot rely heavily on city inspectors or the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) for overseeing quality of construction.