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Hello, I am very close in buying a CBH home in the SW Boise Area. The Subs I am talking about is Harrington Glen and Devonshire. However, I have only lived here for 4 month and have no past history of this area or any future outlook. So any advice here is strongnly appreciated. I have the questions listed below:
1. Are CBH home really that bad? What I am most concerned about are the guts of their homes, the electric wiring, the pipes they use for plumbing, and the material they use to build the frame. I do not care much about whether they use granite countertops or hardwood flooring (those things I can do myself later to my liking).
2. Is CBH going bankrupt/bought out or are those just rumors started by jealous competitors hating their purchasing power/volume?
3. How is that general SW Boise area? So far, the only thing that annoys me is it's distance to the airport, so maybe some slight noise, but it's far enough as it doesn't bother me. What type of land was that area used for before? Are there any sort of things I need to becareful about in that area? (drugs, crime, meth labs, etc etc)
Any other comments about the general SW boise area or CBH home are greatly appreciated. I hope to close on a house within the next few weeks. Those CBH subs are selling out fast.
Seems a little late in the game to be asking these questions
IMHO , but since you have, here are my thoughts.
I live in NW Boise/Eagle area and am not familiar with those exact subdivisions, but do like the SW Boise area in general and actually almost bought down there. There are many things to look for when checking out an area and nuisant factors should be a huge consideration. You can drive around yourself and check that aspect out. Airport noise was definitely something I considered when looking at SW Boise.
Regarding CBH (aka Corey Barton Homes), it is not a home I'd ever buy for the following reasons:
a) Perceived value and quality - most people I've spoken to consider them the very low end homes and during the past several years they've been bought by out of state investors with the intention of flipping them or renting them out.
b) Due to investors buying them, most CBH communities have a larger percentage of renters/empty homes, which destroys the community IMHO.
c) CBH resale values are also not as good as other builders in general
d) Their homes are way too cookie cutter for me and with the market heading downwards now, the last home I'd want to buy is one that looks like a million others.
Happydawglady, thanks for the response on this. That makes sense to me. Actually, this will be my first home and I don't want to stretch myself too much just yet. I might not be living in this area longer than 5-10 years. If CBH homes are known as a rental area...then...actually that helps me. Easier to rent property out there than if I bought at a more expensive area. I just know for both these areas, the schools are Mountain View, Desert Sage, and Lake Hazel Jr. Other than Desert Sage (being new), the other two rank 8 and 9 respectively in ratings for schools in Idaho. As long as the homes themselves are not using shoddy material that fails in 5 years, I think it's still a good buy.
I was actually just more concerned about SW Boise in general. The Harrington Glen sub I am talking about are in between Lake Hazel on south, Maple Grove on East, 5 Mile on West, and Amity on North. The Devonshire is in the block that is Maple Grove East, 5 Mile West, Lake Hazel on North (one block south of Harrington Glen)
what "if" someone told you something very negative about CBH or the area, are you able to back out of the purchase without losing any money?
The reason I ask is because I checked out all the homes listed on MLS in these subs (and there are quite a few) and I have no idea if there are also FSBO's or investor owned properties that may be coming up for sale in the spring, but I believe you could easily find a better house for those prices in a nicer area of Boise.
Now mind you, I am not a realtor, involved with a realtor, nor do I make money from any advice I give , but I have followed real estate for about 4 yrs and I believe you could do a lot better IMHO (anyways) .
Uncertain if anyone else will reply before you close escrow, but again I wish you the best on your first home!!!
Last edited by HDL; 01-30-2007 at 07:00 PM..
Reason: spelling
Hi Happydawg, oh I haven't closed on anything. Thank goodness you came on here and set me straight. I sent you a private message. Please reply on that. I am ALWAYS looking for things better. If you have any advice, please let me know.
I'm in the process of building a Craftsman style Sundance model with CBH. I have found the process to be very good so far. As far as builders go, it totally depends on how much money you want to spend. Hubble homes are the low end for the money (lots of space but very box-shaped homes) CBH ranks in the lower middle. Better designs, but you're going to get the typical suburban community look with four to eight models predominating a development. If you want to drop half a million, then you can build pretty much want you want. But if you are an entry level homeowner, a CBH home would be more in the ballpark.
This is why many out of state investors buy them - they are good investments for rental or resale. You don't have to drop a ton of cash to get into one. This doesn't mean they're bad. On the contrary.
There are a number of communities set up with the "bring your own builder" idea. But they are very expensive to build in, some standard lots going for 50 - 100K+ before you even choose a builder and home size for the lot. If you're buying in a tract, then CBH would be a good choice for the money. Their resale value has been good, and I wasn't able to find any complaints about them on the internet from anyone who owns one.
It's how much bang you want for the buck. A 1200 sq ft home with a more expensive builder, or a 2500 sq ft home with CBH. Upgrades are more expensive with other builders as well. I know we're happy with our choice so far.
Thatsarap. Thank you for your comments. I actually found and purchased another home. The builder is Aspen Homes and the subdivision is called LakeRidge in SW boise. Aspen homes has a taller ceiling on the first floor. That kind of made the deal for me. I think their build quality is slightly better than CBH, just slightly. This subdivision backs up to Brownstone (Legend Co. Builders). Those are $131/sf houses. I think for the price, these two builders can't be beat. I just can't see myself living in a complete cube (hubble homes). But this is good enough for a cheap first time buy of a new property with little to do.
Again, thanks everyone here for the helpful comments. Now it's all up to decorating/upgrading. Anyone got good furniture to sell? haha
I call them CardBoardHutches...and that is what they are! Upright and standing in 36 hours, and roof going on. Yikes. No skill in that kind of construction!
I call them CardBoardHutches...and that is what they are! Upright and standing in 36 hours, and roof going on. Yikes. No skill in that kind of construction!
I would say that if you can put a house up in 36 hours that meets building codes, that is skill!
I totally agree, if you can put up something that big in 36 hours and pass the inspections any builder should be given the proper praise.
We all know 36 hours is a major stretch and there is no way anyone can do that. Unless your working for a TV show and rebuild homes in under a week.
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Seems a little late in the game to be asking these questions
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