Any experiences with Grand Haven Homes or the Avalon division in Pflugerville? (Austin: HOA, lender) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Austinian · 02-14-2009, 05:03 PM

Happy V-Day all,

My wife and I are looking for a bigger house and one of the nicest floorplans we've come across so far is one from Grand Haven Homes over in the Avalon development in Pflugerville. Unfortunately, Grand Haven is a local builder with only a couple of years behind it and Avalon is a really new development, so we haven't been able to find out much. Anyone here have any experience with either?

Our next step is to just start knocking on doors and asking owners in Avalon what they think, but I thought it was worth a shot to check on here.

Cheers,
Austinian

ForeverTexan · 02-16-2009, 04:10 PM

We purchased a Grand Haven home over a year ago in Mayfield Ranch and absolutely love it. (The neighborhood and home.) We've had people stop and compliment our home several times and don't think we'd have an issue selling in the future.

They have been very quick to do any repairs even some that honestly I didn't think they would do since we asked a year later(minor things we should have caught during our walk-through). The home inspectors that inspected our home did not find anything that would be a concern.

All of our neighbors that live in Grand Haven homes seem pleased. I have yet to hear a complaint and we have asked. However, I'd recommend driving around the various neighborhoods that they build in and talk to people who own a GH home. We've had people stop us outside or knock on our door to ask. I find most people willing to tell you the good and bad about a builder if asked.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. When we were contemplating buying our home, I searched all over the internet and couldn't find anything on Grand Haven, so I am happy to help. I personally want to hear the bad, and I would share those if I had anything to tell you.

Austinian · 04-11-2009, 04:47 PM

Ugh.

After spending nearly two months and literally 150+ hours trying to get a good deal set, we ultimately had to turn away from Grand Haven. We did so having gotten approved by their preferred lender and having signed a contract for a house a full $80K more expensive than the average home in Avalon. Heck, I even packed out our library in preparation for the move, which means now I've got about 40 boxes worth of books to unpack and reorganize on our bookshelves.

My wife is so ticked about the whole experience that she wants to blog about it in depth so that all future potential Grand Haven customers can have a detailed account of what can happen even with the best of intentions. I'm inclined just to move on. They've already sucked away enough of my time.

In any event, I appreciated the feedback, ForeverTexan. Sorry I never got around to saying so earlier.

Hope everyone has a happy Easter weekend!

Cheers, Austinian

tourbound129 · 04-11-2009, 11:38 PM

Care to elaborate on what went down? That is a lot of time to spend. I can only imagine your frustration.

My wife and I looked at some inventory homes by Grand Haven at Paloma Lake and we walked away not feeling very impressed by the floorplans, the build, designs, pretty much everything.

Austinitegirl · 04-13-2009, 08:45 AM

Have you considered homes in Falcon Pointe? They're a little too expensive for my budget (I live in one of the less expensive neighborhoods down the road on Kelly Lane), but my husband and I did check them out when we were house hunting a year or so ago - nice big floorplans, nice neighborhood, just about $15K out of our budget.

lizardliz28 · 05-17-2009, 07:33 PM

Don't buy a home here, first of the HOA is so terrible they act like the own your home and they reminder you that they do, there no swimming pool and we dont know when will there be one, and we pay outragous fees for what nothiong at all.
Go and find a home where they will treat you like a human and not dollar signs, find a home that has no HOA believe me you will be more happy!

utmikeg · 03-07-2010, 08:13 PM

My wife and I looked at Grand Haven at Avalon and were not excited about the general area. In a nutshell, the land was flat and uninteresting. Also, with the only outlet from Avalon to the highway going directly through a school zone, be prepared to sit through traffic. However, we really like the Grand Haven product.

If you are like us and appreciate Grand Haven Homes, you should take a closer look at Paloma Lake in Round Rock. They have the same great homes in a much nicer area. Also, the price is excellent for the quality of the homes and the unique floor plans. Please note: If you're looking for a cookie cutter home, then Grand Haven is probably not for you.

Hope this helps anyone who is looking.

riaelise · 03-08-2010, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by utmikeg

My wife and I looked at Grand Haven at Avalon and were not excited about the general area. In a nutshell, the land was flat and uninteresting. Also, with the only outlet from Avalon to the highway going directly through a school zone, be prepared to sit through traffic. However, we really like the Grand Haven product.

If you are like us and appreciate Grand Haven Homes, you should take a closer look at Paloma Lake in Round Rock. They have the same great homes in a much nicer area. Also, the price is excellent for the quality of the homes and the unique floor plans. Please note: If you're looking for a cookie cutter home, then Grand Haven is probably not for you.

Hope this helps anyone who is looking.

The area surrounding and including Paloma is flat and uninteresting as well. Mainly new homes with immature trees. Oh, and with a man made crater/lake somewhere in there. It is not all that close to the interstate, and the main thoroughfare while not having a school zone isn't a quick zip.

utmikeg · 03-23-2010, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riaelise

The area surrounding and including Paloma is flat and uninteresting as well. Mainly new homes with immature trees. Oh, and with a man made crater/lake somewhere in there. It is not all that close to the interstate, and the main thoroughfare while not having a school zone isn't a quick zip.

Clearly, there is a difference in opinion. Rest assured, though, homes get older and trees become more mature over the passage of time. If you're looking for an establish community with mature trees, Paloma Lake is probably not where you will be happy.

Another positive feature at Paloma Lake is the combination of various homes priced from $170,000s to $400,000s. This mixture of home prices, in addition to the growth of medical industry and educational institutions in the area, will translate into better home appreciation in the long run.

We have also noticed that those purchasing Grand Haven homes in Paloma Lake are young, like us (late 20s)! We are excited about establishing age-appropriate friendships when we move into our new home in Paloma Lake.

However, if you're reading this and are serious about buying a home, I suggest you do your due diligence and visit each community and do what feels right to you.

I am happy to answer any question!

roundrock88 · 02-03-2011, 10:02 AM

Grand Haven is incapable of fixing a temperature issue in our 16 month old home. For over a year, we have complained about 3 rooms in our home and the drastic temperature difference (more than 5 degrees) in these rooms. They have sent out several of the installers who couldn't "find" a problem. Of course, the installer will not admit fault! The builder claims that since these rooms face north, there is nothing they can do to remedy. They told us to turn up the heater/air conditioner to solve the issue. There are at least 4 other homes within one block of us with the exact same issue.