Home Builder Troubles in C. Springs . . . does anyone notice? (Denver: sales, neighborhood)

[love colo summers]

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The quote is a post I made in an old thread titled “Wolf ranch and classic homes”. I caught a fair amount of pushback for my “garbage” list at that time, especially because I included John Laing in it.

I’m sure most people have heard John Laing recently filed Chapter 11 and left several states with a handful of “ghost” homes left incomplete. I met one local business owner who told me their home was left incomplete 3 weeks from the closing date; Laing just gave them their earnest money check back and walked away.

I heard all these builders are facing Class Action Lawsuits right now for no longer honoring warranties on their homes:

John Laing Homes
KB Homes
Engle Homes
Pulte Homes

I thought the issue would be good to discuss as these builders all have homes in Colorado Springs. I must say it feels good in this economy to be in a home backed by a strong local builder.

Does anybody have personal experience that can shed light on the issue?

Originally Posted by love colo summers

I don't think it matters what builder you choose, there could always be something to complain about. Classic Homes is from my experience the BEST builder in Colorado Springs, hands down. I've built 2 Classic homes in a row, and I haven't had any problems with either of them - and the couple minor things that came up were fixed immediately by the builder. I've had a hard time finding much dirt on them. My next new home will be a Classic too.

Keller, Vantage, and Saddletree all have good reputations too. I think the key to all 4 of those builders (Classic included) is that they are locally owned companies.

Here is a list of garbage to beware of:
Lennar is the worst
Richmond is a close 2nd
Pulte
John Laing (now owned by the country of Dubai)
Beazer
DR Horton

[Bullitt007]

My only personal experience is with Lennar/US Homes.

I've had very few problems with my new Lennar home (purchased new 3 years ago). When I did bring the problems to their attention, they were resolved to my satisfaction each and every time. As a matter of fact, they've actually done work on my home that was no longer under warranty...a couple of times. No complaints from me at all...

[love colo summers]

Originally Posted by Bullitt007

My only personal experience is with Lennar/US Homes.

I've had very few problems with my new Lennar home (purchased new 3 years ago). When I did bring the problems to their attention, they were resolved to my satisfaction each and every time. As a matter of fact, they've actually done work on my home that was no longer under warranty...a couple of times. No complaints from me at all...

That's good. Are they still building in town? I know they left my neighborhood (Meridian Ranch). Or are they just servicing warranties now?

[Bullitt007]

They left my neighborhood too. (Stetson Hills) Yes, they are still servicing warranties and are based out of Denver.

[reginhild]

Classic Homes is not typically categorized as a "local builder" they are a "national builder". The local builders are companies that only build in one location/one state.

Examples of local builders for Colorado Springs are Saddletree Homes, Campbell Homes, Keller Homes, Symphony Homes, Vantage Homes, and Goetzmann Homes.

All our local builders won't pull out unless they totally go out of business - they are likely to keep going unless they make some really bad decisions and don't even have the ability to "rough it out". One local builder, Creekstone Homes, seemed to have made some bad decisions by overbuilding but they also seem to be sticking it out so far.

[love colo summers]

Where else does Classic Homes build? I'm about certain they only build in Colorado Springs too.

[reginhild]

Originally Posted by love colo summers

Where else does Classic Homes build? I'm about certain they only build in Colorado Springs too.

Wow, you are right. Someone had told me once they had a Classic home in Florida and I had been thinking all along they were a national builder. I just checked online and only found Classic in Colorado Springs.

[springshomeblog]

Well, "Classic Homes" isn't that original of a name, so they're probably all over. The Classic Homes that's here is definitely local, though.

[Rangerspouse]

I've definitely noticed. We live next to three of John Laing mid-build abandoned sites. I have no idea what will become of these. I'm hoping another builder will buy these out and finish them. Is that possible? Sad to pay to live in a neighborhood where we are strict with garbage, yard requirements, etc yet a builder has left a HUGE eye sore. And I absolutely love my John Laing home (and disagree with the statement that these are garbage builders. Their quality is great, just their CA market drug the company under. They continued sales and growth here - slower than past, but still they had some growth.)

[love colo summers]

Originally Posted by Rangerspouse

I've definitely noticed. We live next to three of John Laing mid-build abandoned sites. I have no idea what will become of these. I'm hoping another builder will buy these out and finish them. Is that possible? Sad to pay to live in a neighborhood where we are strict with garbage, yard requirements, etc yet a builder has left a HUGE eye sore. And I absolutely love my John Laing home (and disagree with the statement that these are garbage builders. Their quality is great, just their CA market drug the company under. They continued sales and growth here - slower than past, but still they had some growth.)

Thanks for the feedback. I was beginning to think it was good news nobody was seeing an impact. I've only heard about the problems, but I don't have John Laing Homes around my house, so I haven't been directly affected by the incomplete homes.

The word "garbage" can be interpreted different ways, but the way I see it if a builder is going to commit to a long-term warranty but then bail on everybody and not hold up their end of the deal to me that's garbage. When markets get slow all the big national guys pull out of Colorado Springs; to me that's garbage. You might think your home quality is ok, but you just said it yourself: your own builder left your street a complete eyesore; to me that's garbage.

That's why I think local builders are the way to go. They have more of a stake in the community. They naturally care more about the community because they live here like we do.

The reason JLH left all those homes incomplete is because they have too many liens on the properties. So it's not likely another builder would buy them until the liens are resolved, which won't be until JLH completes their Chapter 11. By that time, it might be too risky to buy some of the homes because they have sat around too long and could have problems from that (e.g. weathered wood, mold, theft, vandalism, etc.).

People can hang on to their love for John Laing, but they just stuck it to everybody. I doubt we'll see them ever again, and if we do I would imagine it would be under a different name after pulling a stunt like that.