Good/bad homebuilder experiences in Charlotte area? (Waxhaw: townhome, buying)

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by Cassie

I'm happy that they are happy with their homes. Doesn't invalidate any one else's experiences with them either in N.C. or in other areas of the country.


Regards,

Cassie

You are correct, everyone with an experience has a valid point

[friendnc]

Eight years ago, we had Ryland Homes build us a home here in Concord. It's a great house and well-built. But we had some problems we needed resolved just as we were moving in, and they completely ignored us. The customer service was horid!!! I had to go to Action 9's Don Griffin (The consumer watchdog guy from the ABC station in Charlotte) to get anything done. Even then, they did it begrudginly. They're great when they're trying to sell you the house, but once you've signed the papers, pray no problems come up. They'll aviod you like the plague. If you're willing to risk the customer service part, they do build good homes with lots of attractive floor plans. Just begg God no problems arise. I'll never build with them again. It's just not worth the risk or hastle.

[LI_PWas]

I have not heard positive things about Ryland Homes. Personally, I would go with another builder...

[TrvlMPT]

im on my second home @ 32, both custom built. the first was beazer outside of dfw and it was a grade A cluster !!!!. totall cost 289k, upgraded floors, appliances, etc. crew was either stoned or drunk every time i was there, crew not there at 10a on a day they were supposed to start at 7a, tried to get me to close when i had compiled a list of 35 things that needed to be corrected. not just a dry wall smudge..... 6' of crown molding missing, rooms painted wrong color, 10k in granite not installed, etc. the company rep was a 29 y/o guy that knew jack about home construction. the foreman spoke about 10 words of english and i had to call tennessee three times a day to get answers. cluster to the nth degree.

after two months of delays in 90* prime texas home building weather due to the lazy and incompetent crew and company i was done. would rather build a house of mud and beach grass rather than deal with beazer again.

im actually in talks and should be signing a contract w/ eastwood this week. talked to sales rep's in three communities and they are all very knowledgeable and have proven sales in other communities that have sold out in north and south carolina.

ive talked to 15 home owners in floor plans from 2200 to 3000 sg ft, talked with developers that have been working with EW for years and talked with countless real estate brokers about them. in a month of looking and discussions ive yet to hear and ill word about the company.

as far as others i tried to contact, ryland didnt call me back for a week. when someone finally got back to me the first question was who was financing the home??

K Hov... well when i finally got a call from someone we set an appt. they took me to a nasty looking low rent development behind a friggin strip mall. then i got a speech on how i shouldn't buy so much home not being married and all. THEN....THEN the person and i use the term very loosely asked if i would have any issues getting financing. lol. i showed the guy some pics of my old house on my treo, 2700 sq ft, granite/slate/marble, 4 br, 3 ba, deck, etc. then told the moron what i do for a living and i bank around 4k per month not including the xtra 1500 from prn work and told him to take a flying flip and left.

eastwood has been very accommodating going so far as to spend about a day in a car between different developments, lunch and some sightseeing. the four or five other companies i talked to didnt give me the courtesy of a phone call or proved themselves not worth to sell mobile homes much less
200k+ property. i dont know what motivates the companies in the triad. im 32 and not married and didnt know i needed to wear armani to house shop or be 50 and gray headed to look like i could get a loan, lol. thats my experience in triad area...

-trvl

[TrvlMPT]

oh and there are two things i keep with me everyday when im building/buying/etc. a video camera with a fully charged battery. mini dv is small and you can throw it in the console or glove box. hook it right to your computer, can burn it to a disk for your records.

digital camera. something that is inexpensive and can take good low light pics. when your place is drywalled its gonna be a little dark. also get a huge memory card and fresh batteries.

my grandfather taught me two things as a kid. only trust family and CYA, cover your axx. when building a house everyone makes mistakes, its going to happen. we all cant be watch dogs and be at the home site daily. get a family member to swing by if you cant.

snap pics randomly of plumbing, wires, ducts, etc. if you know nothing about the process - educate yourself. someone that is illegal and working for cash isnt going to tell you they drywalled over bowed studs.

if you video in a panoramic motion thru your rooms you can go back later and make sure everything is right. digi pics are great too, there is proof to send to your contact that something is wrong.

dont feel like you are bothering them, the builder, whoever. its YOUR money and no one is watching out for you except you.

just little tidbits that ive picked up a long the way.

-trvlr

[mmdj43]

Originally Posted by TrvlMPT

oh and there are two things i keep with me everyday when im building/buying/etc. a video camera with a fully charged battery. mini dv is small and you can throw it in the console or glove box. hook it right to your computer, can burn it to a disk for your records.

digital camera. something that is inexpensive and can take good low light pics. when your place is drywalled its gonna be a little dark. also get a huge memory card and fresh batteries.

my grandfather taught me two things as a kid. only trust family and CYA, cover your axx. when building a house everyone makes mistakes, its going to happen. we all cant be watch dogs and be at the home site daily. get a family member to swing by if you cant.

snap pics randomly of plumbing, wires, ducts, etc. if you know nothing about the process - educate yourself. someone that is illegal and working for cash isnt going to tell you they drywalled over bowed studs.

if you video in a panoramic motion thru your rooms you can go back later and make sure everything is right. digi pics are great too, there is proof to send to your contact that something is wrong.

dont feel like you are bothering them, the builder, whoever. its YOUR money and no one is watching out for you except you.

just little tidbits that ive picked up a long the way.

-trvlr

When my husband moved down and lived in an apt for a few months while our house was being built (builder is John Wieland), he used to go every other weekend (the alternate weekends he used to fly up to NY to visit us) to the house and see how it's progressing. My husband had a lot of prewiring work being done. Had he not seen the progression, we would have had a major problem with some of the extra electrical work because it had not been done or done incorrectly (no fault to John Wieland, just the electrical contractor). So each time my husband was there checking up on the house while it was being constructed, he would take tons of pictures. Then he and I would discuss his findings over the phone. I would then draft an email to the builder with all the questions/concerns. I was very pleased with the fact that the builder always responded to each individual question/concern. As a matter of fact, whenever the builder was working on a particular Saturday, he would meet my husband to walk him through the house which I thought was great. Yes, when they have your money, expect that there will be a little less attention to you. That's the nature of the beast. But, I will say that even after we closed on the house and moved in, the builder came by with the quality manager to see how things were going. Then they reminded me to get them a list of any other findings that may have occurred (fan not working, drawer not being straight, etc.). We have up to one year to address any new issues even after that as a result of settling. And in 3 months they will be giving us a survey to fill out to see how pleased/not pleased we are with the purchase. Overall, we are very pleased and happy with the decision we made. You will always have issues, no matter what. It's just a matter of how serious the issues are. Plus, if anyone is having major issues, you can always use the scare tactic of telling them that you will report them to the better business bureau. I'm sure that's the last thing they want to deal with.

[rasberi247]

Hello,

I am looking to relocate to the Charlotte area from NYC and fell in love with a Dr. Horton Home. Did anyone have any good/bad experiences with them.

I am also trying to find a decent neighborhood. When I look at the crime rate stats for Charlotte, it seems rather high.

Have a 7yrs old., and quality education is a high priority for me. Any info based on an area and/or a community would be greatly appreicated. Were looking for 2 homes were we can get alot for the price range of 150-165k.

Thanks

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by rasberi247

Hello,

I am looking to relocate to the Charlotte area from NYC and fell in love with a Dr. Horton Home. Did anyone have any good/bad experiences with them.

I am also trying to find a decent neighborhood. When I look at the crime rate stats for Charlotte, it seems rather high.

Have a 7yrs old., and quality education is a high priority for me. Any info based on an area and/or a community would be greatly appreicated. Were looking for 2 homes were we can get alot for the price range of 150-165k.

Thanks

I just bought one myself, which one are you in love with
I bought in June and they are dragging their feet getting started but that's all the experience I have with them so far. I have my fingers crossed it will be a good experience.

[TrvlMPT]

after a two hour pow wow with a couple of eastwood people ive decided to go with them. mmdj43, much like what you were saying, eastwood seems to be very focused on the details. the amount of warranty is very impressive as well as the amount of pre con and other meetings that they schedule throughout the construction. i had to make my own impromptu mtgs because beazer would never call.

i asked about taking pictures and touring after work, etc. their staff offered to take pics of anything/everything since im between missouri and high point at the moment. i woke up this morning to three separate emails with home ins contacts, utility providers, etc etc. two difference home specialists emailed to make sure i got all my questions answered. the five or six things i wanted to know about are already answered by 10am the next day. the reps dont get to the model homes until 11am. very impressive.

living away from a metro but still being close is great. i know zero about charlotte. the counties on the south of the triad are perfect for me, the taxes compared to texas..... no comparison. lots are 65' (130'x65') which i would like to have bigger but i dont really want to do separate deals for land, builders, etc. figure i will make a decision on area by weeks end.

-trvlr

[Jackiev]

Originally Posted by rasberi247

Hello,

I am looking to relocate to the Charlotte area from NYC and fell in love with a Dr. Horton Home. Did anyone have any good/bad experiences with them.

I am also trying to find a decent neighborhood. When I look at the crime rate stats for Charlotte, it seems rather high.

Have a 7yrs old., and quality education is a high priority for me. Any info based on an area and/or a community would be greatly appreicated. Were looking for 2 homes were we can get alot for the price range of 150-165k.

Thanks

I am a Realtor here in Florida and have worked in the construction industry for about 12 years for a couple of different builders. Here, DR Horton homes have the reputation of being very skimpy and basic when it comes to construction. The homes seem to be extremely lean on features and their extras are very few. Here, we have very strict builing codes, so the construction has to be solid in order for it to pass inspection anyways, so I am sure they are built well. They just seem to cut corners where they can.

We did walk two DR Horton models while visiting Charlotte. The overall impression I got was mixed. The exterior had Vinyl siding/pillars on the front of the home, which made the house look like it was made of plastic. This never makes me feel good about the rest of the home's construction and what you can't see. The inside was nicely decorated (as most models are) and they offered many more upgrades than their homes down here. All in all, it looked nice inside, but I am leery of them to begin with so I knew I wouldn't be buying one anyways (which I am sure affected my opinion to start with.) Just my $.02

I would ask them what their standard specifications are (get it on paper) and compare them with other builder's specs in the area. Make sure that you get what you pay for. Get references and don't be afraid to walk up to the doorstep and ring the doorbell at a house that is the same model you are thinking buying. Most people are happy to share their experience with you...just don't do it at dinnertime