Curious about new construction (Mercedes Homes) near A1A (just south of 518 in Melbourne) (Palm Bay: sale)

[jjphillips48]

My wife and I have just begun looking at real estate in Melbourne. We're looking for at least 2,500 square feet (preferably 3,000) and we want to be as close to the beach as possible. We like new construction and have been looking at the Merecedes builder. Does anyone have experience with them? Or experience living near the beach between 192 and 518? Prices seem fairly reasonable considering the proximity to the beach. Almost too good. Anything I'm missing as to why prices aren't higher? Are the schools decent? How bad is home insurance? Property taxes? Any information would be appreciated.

[Nypafl4u]

I had a Mercedes built home back in 1990 in Palm Bay. At the time they were one of the largest builders in Florida and did a decent job considering my lack of experience back then. After the crash in 2008, they folded, firing most of their employees and selling off their huge office building. My understanding is that they reorganized, changed their name slightly and are back in business. I can't say much more than that. Look up their history on line and try to find chat rooms that recent customers comment on. All builders will have their issues with new construction. Its how an issue is resolved post sale and build, that really differentiate a good from bad one.

[chopchop0]

Mercedes I've heard is OK. Stay away from Maronda.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Mercedes I've heard is OK. Stay away from Maronda.

Mercedes is the company that had water infiltration through the walls during the hurricanes of 2004.

Homes that did not lose windows or roofs had water coming through and ended up with mold problems.

Hopefully they have corrected all the problems and have a better response to correcting problems in their homes than they did back then.

I live in a 1984 Maronda home-concrete block. Not fancy but sturdy. Why do you feel people should stay away from Maronda?

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

Mercedes is the company that had water infiltration through the walls during the hurricanes of 2004.

Homes that did not lose windows or roofs had water coming through and ended up with mold problems.

Hopefully they have corrected all the problems and have a better response to correcting problems in their homes than they did back then.

I live in a 1984 Maronda home-concrete block. Not fancy but sturdy. Why do you feel people should stay away from Maronda?

You're thinking of maronda I think. Google it

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

You're thinking of maronda I think. Google it

Maybe they did too; but Mercedes took a beating on the news and in the papers after the hurricanes-especially in the center of the state where homes didn't lose windows and roofs in the wind.
There is a video on U-tube right now from 2010 showing mold inside Mercedes home walls because of infiltration still in 2010.

Of course each area has different building crews working on their homes so they may have better records in some areas and both companies have homes that have had no complaints at all. Both build affordable homes so that means cutting costs to match the price people want to pay.

[Nypafl4u]

A lot of corners were cut by most builders in the early to mid 2000's due to the extreme boom and low supply of decent building material. That is when Chinese sheet rock came into play with all of it's issues. No one, even the better builders knew what they were getting at the time. Compound that with accelerated building times and I would agree, corners were cut. Back then, you bought a house to flip and make $20,000-$30,000 or more in a matter of months as soon as the it was built. Very minimal inspections and far fewer regulations spelled disaster for many unlucky home owners at that time.
I know when my house was built in 1990, it was a block home and had very few issues at the punch list. It withstood the hurricanes with the exception of the roof, which most houses in Palm Bay were damaged. So I couldn't complain. In any case, the old Mercedes was completely reorganized and I can't say with certainty who actually remained from the old company. Today, it is much harder for builders to get away with cutting drastic corners. There are inspections throughout the build process and minimum storm standards that must be met (gives a lot of money to the local government as well). You likely would be fine, but do research them on line and see if there are recent (since 2011) complaints with their homes.