Comparison of Builders

[CallMeLaura]

The empty field behind us has been sold and we understand K. Hovnanian will be building in the next year or so. I'm a bit concerned because their other properties seem a bit cheap, by price alone. I can't find a lot on the Internet either good or bad. The only site seems to be a handful of people in NJ and CA.

Thoughts on K. Hovnanian?

[ts_ohio]

Originally Posted by Ilong2bN10aC

Avoid Ashton Woods homes like the plague. Three words of advice - MOLD! MOLD! MOLD!

What do other builders do to prevent mold that Ashton Woods doesnt? I am curious, since I am planning on buying a home built by them.

[MurphyPl1]

Originally Posted by charlie44

Texas Newbie you are on target. Both Drees and Toll Brothers are top tier.

I've heard too many horror stories about Drees in the Garland, Richardson, Murphy area to ever consider one in this area. Actually I would highly recommend anyone looking to buy in Firewheel (other than the newest area across Brand) to find out if a home was built by Drees. I knew of at least 10 people who either filed suit or had to threaten in order to get serious problems resolved. All of those homes were built within a close time-frame and I'd be highly suspect that other Drees homes weren't built by the same shoddy sub-contractors.

[loves2read]

from what I understand after my time looking for a home in the Tarrant co area--my realtor says that there are some volumn builders who do build good homes w/few problems--and there are some who have a much more erratic history for problems/complaints---
since TX now has a law that prevents home buyers from going to court and filing lawsuits against builders when problems are not remediated to their satisfaction--ALL complaints are dealt with via arbitration--meaning PRIVATE means--there is NO PUBLIC RECORD for people to check a builder's reliability lke there was before the law was passed---that is big point in favor of builders keeping all their bad issues sub rosa--
some people post on web sites and some builders take out court orders to keep those complaints off line

there is BIG difference in builder quality between two different subdivisions in two different cities by the same building co--mainly because of the foremen who supervise construction and the crews that do the work...
think of it a little as the different between McDonald's in TX --I guarantee that they all are supposed to do things the exact same way--but you know that there are some McDonalds that are dirty and you walk out when you go in because you don't want to eat there--and there are some that actually have pretty good food for a fast food restaurant...
NO tract home builder wants to lose money on a home he builds---most of their construction is geared to present something that LOOKS good for the people who spend maybe 20-30 min walking through the model that looks great--and another 2 hours making their choices of colors/carpet/light fixtures/tile/brick/shingles from the pre-determined samples the builder has put together for that house design---
there is NOTHING WRONG with that---you just want to get FAIR value for the money--
the problems come with things like not sealing/caulking/installing windows correctly---or not building a proper slab--or designing the HVAC system to really deal with the needs of that particular house design on that particular lot facing that particular direction---
shortcuts/issues of re-doing plumbing/electric/framing that involve pulling out wrong and putting in right---
that is what turns a home into a problem...the quality control that allows car mfg or tv mfg or ipod mfg into useable, fairly dependable products does not happen with home construction--when you are building one home at a time with a variety of crews...

[aginther]

I can only speak to Highland-- as a Highland homeowner.

I bought a Highland house because of their unsurpassed reputation for happy customers. They are so good at taking care of their homeowners. Even those that aren't original homeowners-- if the home is still relatively new-- they're out to make sure you're happy. I know they also have a great reputation amongst various subcontractors. When we've added upgrades to our house, the guys who come in to install always comment on the high quality and craftsmanship of the Highland Homes. They have great resale... thank goodness, because we've only been in our brand new house in Allen for a year, and we're already transferring to Seattle!