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Has anyone used Brentwood Homes to build? We are currently interested in purchasing from them at Oak Terrace Preserve, however it seems while all the other builders have "for sale" signs up on their lots and are showing building activity, Brentwood doesn't have anything.
I think Brentwood's been doing a great deal of business and quality construction with their Earth Craft houses and they have a number of communities underway. Cokers Commons and Crossing in Goose Creek, Highwoods in Summerville, Hunt Club in West Ashley, Indigo Palms and Oka Terrace in North Charleston, Summertrees in John's Island, Terrabrook in James Island and Limehouse in Ladson. I think they're also building some homes on lots in Park Circle, if I'm not mistaken.
Have your realtor grab a list of everything that Brentwood has available in that neighborhood. It might just be that they're seeing a lot more activity in other neighborhoods besides Oak Terrace. That, also, might be great news for you if they're looking to offload some inventory at unpublished deals.
I have heard good things about Brentwood. Sausy Burbank, Centex and Sabal seem to build better quality homes also, and seem to have a transparent building process.
If you are considering building or buying a spec home, NEVER deal with a company that will not allow private phase inspections. EVER! They are always hiding something and if their customer service is that poor before the sale, what is it like after you buy the home and have problems? Municipal inspectors can't catch everything and even if the home you by is fine, the rest of the neighborhood may not be as well. The Shoddy built homes of today are the slums of tomorrow.
I have personal experience with one such builder in Summerville where people are getting water damage because the builder is not not flashing the windows before they are installed and charges $1000 extra for Tyvek and does not apply it as per the manufacturer instructions.
This is the same company that last year were also at one time building homes and not applying a moisture barrier on the OSB board behind the siding- despite what the siding installation instructions and industry standards dictate.
It is little wonder why builders also have binding arbitration clauses to indemnify themselves against civil prosecution. Just try and win a case- the construction industry has the arbitrators in their back pocket. The danger with a new home is, you can't sue your builder, but you have to declare any defects to the next buyer and take the lumps yourself. I really feel the consumer is much better protected when they buy an after sale house.
Having moved back to Chas. 5 years ago and working in real estate (not for a builder), Brentwood is one of my favorite builders. They're a southeastern regional builder but not of the biggest box variety. Their floorplans are typically well thought out and their finishes are nicer than many others for the price. I've helped four families purchase new Brentwood Homes and all have been happy with the home. They have had warranty issues - mostly with the windows leaking, but Brentwood has responded and fixed them. I've also had the opportunity to help some of these folks sell their homes as they were relocating and the homes had held up well over the years and re-sold in good time. My husband had to live in Mt Pleasant when we moved back here and we couldn't afford a Brentwood home in Mt P. I would have bought one in Summerville if it had been solely up to me. Many of the builders in the area unloaded their inventory last fall and are just taking orders for homes and building them as orders come in now. I agree wholeheartedly with SBOHandley on the inspections. Get your own inspector and have them look closely at any home. If it's new construction, have them check at every phase and do a final inspection.
Leaking windows seems to be the most common form of water entry. If a company does it's best to flash the windows and water still leaks it doesn't make me so mad. What does make me mad is when companies cut corners on window flashing to save a couple hundred bucks.
Water intrusion causes big problems in newer construction because the walls don't breathe and builders are using materials such as OSB board that are more prone to rotting than plywood was in the past. You would think that this being the case, builders would be doing more than ever to properly install windows, right? Wrong! This seems to often be a corner that gets cut.
This is what a installed window should look like. The black trim inside the window called flashing has been stapled to the window envelope BEFORE the window has been installed.
This picture below is what not to do. Notice on the window that there is none of the flashing as shown above. Also look at the top of the door. This was not flashed, just like the window above it wasn't. It appears the builder is trying to throw the county inspectors off by putting flashing tape above the door frame. Notice how it is falling down? That is because tape will not stick to OSB board because it has been wax coated. Pure Crap! By the way, the county did not catch this little short cut, and this is a company that will not allow phase inspections. Scary!
Last edited by sbohandley; 01-14-2008 at 07:53 AM..
Reason: mistake
Huge moisture intrusion problems in Brentwood homes in West Ashley- Hunt Club subdivision. Water is wicking up through the slabs into homes. Difficult company to work with. Impossible to talk with president of company. I do not recommend them AT ALL.
I've read some very distubring things online about problems with concrete slabs in Brentwood's homes wicking moisture into the living areas of their homes. I'm also concerned since Brentwood suddenly folded up their operations and re-incarnated themselves as Crescent Homes.
I'm getting ready to build a home with Crescent Homes in Summerville and I'd love to know if any of Crescent Homes' customers has experienced similar problems with more recent homes constructed on monolithic slab floors. I'm hopeful that they've learned from the past and are now putting in proper moisture barriers beneath the concrete slabs, but I'm honestly a little skeptical at the moment.
From what I understand, Crescent IS Brentwood Homes - they are just using a different name. My advice? Do your due diligence before purchasing.
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Crescent Homes
