High volume builder: which would you choose? (Dallas, Arlington: renting, new home)

[bdlee73]

If and when we move to Dallas, our price range for a new home will mostly likely be in the 120k-140k. Since we’d like a new or newer home, we’ll most likely be considering a “cookie cutter tract home” by one of the high volume builders in the DFW area. If you had to choose one, who would you recommend?

Not being in the area, we don’t have access to the “word of mouth” information about local builders in the area. There are a lot of builders to look at and their websites are all pretty slick with mention of various awards and accolades they have received, but I still have no clue about who has a good or bad reputation and why.

Here is a list of some builders that have communities in our price range: Coleman, Wall, Centex, KB, History Maker, Ryland, Pulte, DR Horton, and Lennar.

Help?

[momof2dfw]

Drive thru the neighborhoods of any and all of them. Go down the alley too. Go at different times of day and weekdays and weekends. How is the neighborhood part that is already built being taken care of. Are the yards neat, mowed, edged, clean. I mean, someone being on vacation for a week is one thing w/ some little bit of high grass, but if you can tell that it stays edged and kept up is the difference. Something I have never understood and it is in EVERY price range (high and low), why is it the worst kept yards the ones at the entrance or on the corners were they are most visible?

Anyway, just get a feel for how the owners living there are taking care of things. Are they out? Sociable? Stop and ask how they like the area. Drive in and around all of the adjoining neighborhoods. This will also let you know how well the general area is. I mean you can have all ranges near each other and all be very nice.

[bdlee73]

Thanks- any thoughts on builder quality or other known problems?

[Guingirl]

Hiya...I have looked at some of the builders that you have mentioned and one that I know that I would stay away from personally is KB...used to be Kaufman Broad and they had such horror stories they had to change their name.

If you have specific neighborhoods that you are familiar with, I would check to see if they have a local online forum that you can join.

Also "google" the builders and just what you come up with.

Im in CA now, and we currently live in a Lennar home. They really flipped this one up and I am trying to stay away from them again. Although they have different crews there than here, but it may be just a company wide mandate and then also there is no saying that they haven't changed in the few years that they built this house.

I know that Lennar have different divisions that they used to represent, Renaissance, Wincrest, and I believe US Home.

[bdlee73]

I took your advice and did some google research; now the thoughts of buying a new home is frightening. I think people had complaints about every builder you can can think of- are things really this bad?

[Guingirl]

I think unless you can do something custom or one or, these builders are under a lot of pressure to get them up quickly. I would use your best judgment and just really monitor the whole process of the new home that you buy. I know that you can be involved in all the walk throughs. Most of them have a warranty period as well that they can come in after a year or so and fix anything that might have failed during that period.

In one home we were renting here in California they had a roof beam issue that they had to come in and replace a year later.

Good luck to you.

[socketz]

120-140k....that's low. Where are you looking that is that cheap new ?

[Guingirl]

Out by Texas Motor Speedway - Alliance/Haslet area has some that start that and a little lower for starter homes.

[bdlee73]

Red Oak, Forney, Lancaster, etc. have a lot of new homes in that price range.

[GoPadge]

There are some neighborhoods in South Arlington/Mansfield in that range as well.