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Old 04-23-2008, 04:13 PM
 
172 posts, read 507,595 times
Reputation: 35

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Quote:
Originally Posted by vish View Post
Hi ,

I read through many complaints about Grand homes on this forum. I still went ahead and signed the contract with them and closed my home just few days back.

On the whole I am very happy and I think they did a very good job. When ever I had any issue the sales person and builder and VP of construction immediately resolved it to my satisfaction.

I do agree there are some ups and downs during the construction process and some times I am not happy with some work but at the end they worked hard, patiently listened to my complaints and fixed the issues.

Also I think since Grand home is custom Builder there may be some issues and I truly believe that they are really working hard to make the buyer happy.
Grand Homes is not a custom builder. Their homes appeal to people whole like towering ceilings and towers in the front of the home (Sotherby - also notorious for this). What I found they lacked was a certain finish that you get with a Drees or a Darling home. I'm sure some people like Grand Homes but I'm certainly not a fan of their floor plans which i feel lacks a certain imagination.
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Old 04-24-2008, 09:36 PM
 
Location: Frisco,TX -Stonebriar
116 posts, read 446,760 times
Reputation: 32
All the builders mentioned have different "series" or levels of customization. I can show you a Drees in Shaddock Creek and a Drees in Cobb Hill in Frisco, where the 2 finished products are completely different. Same with Shaddock in Frisco, Darling, Grand, Highland and Sotherby. The differences may be crown moldings & baseboards, culture marble vs granite vs marble on master bath cabinets, appliance brands & levels, cabinets & sinks in utility rooms, wood floors vs amounts of carpets. None of these builders are custom untill you buy one of their homes over 1M. All these builders are reputable in my experience..some you have to call more ofter than other. Remember to log all dates & conversations-continue to ask for a supervisor till completed to your satisfaction!
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Old 09-13-2008, 05:13 PM
 
3 posts, read 7,882 times
Reputation: 10
Hi ,

I am looking for new build houses in west planao and found Grand Homes at a reasonable price of 350-400k . But i am hearing a lot of complaints about Grand Homes and was wondering if its worth to buy. Please share your experiences with grand homes? and also how much will they go down? Also they are charging earners fee of 15K. Please advice
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Old 09-14-2008, 01:43 AM
 
Location: Dallas
434 posts, read 1,476,182 times
Reputation: 92
I have owned a grand home and it was a great experience dealing with them.

I think what shapes a lot of the negative opinions are some of the bad employees at Grand.

My sales rep was great- my design person was ok-
my builder contact was phenomenal and I fought to keep him as they wanted to move him to another house when he was almost done with mine-my punch out guy was terrible so I placed a call to customer service and they assigned his manager to me who stepped up and took care of things in a timely fashion.

Basically there are good people there that help make the company run and deliver good service. Unfortunately within their industry it is hard to employ and retain the best people all of the time. Plus they run on a short staff it seems to me so their people sometimes aren't focussed and can make mistakes if you aren't looking over their shoulders. I found that my sales guy was managing the design person and sometimes the punch out process but that's what made it work: my sales guy actually cared enough to work hard to make sure I was happy.

As buyers we shouldn't have to do as much as we do to make sure the people we are paying are doing their jobs but it is usually the name of the game.

the only way you will every be 100% satisfied is if you build it yourself.
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Old 09-14-2008, 01:53 AM
 
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
4,207 posts, read 15,195,726 times
Reputation: 2719
Quote:
Originally Posted by ani_sri View Post
Also they are charging earners fee of 15K. Please advice
Do you mean they have asked you for earnest money of 15K... that is way too much. They may be asking you that much if you already told them that you have it. Typical earnest money is about 2-4K depending on the sales price of the home. If you are putting in a lot of custom upgrades, they will ask you to pay for those upfront so you don't back out. But still they usually ask you for that money at the time they are about to install those upgrades, not when you are writing the offer.

Are you represented by a Realtor? what do they advise you?

Are you building a house from scratch or are you negotiating on an inventory home?

Naima
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Old 09-24-2008, 10:40 AM
 
4 posts, read 20,518 times
Reputation: 13
Default 15k is too much...

Quote:
Originally Posted by ani_sri View Post
Hi ,

I am looking for new build houses in west planao and found Grand Homes at a reasonable price of 350-400k . But i am hearing a lot of complaints about Grand Homes and was wondering if its worth to buy. Please share your experiences with grand homes? and also how much will they go down? Also they are charging earners fee of 15K. Please advice

Please go with a buyer's agent!!! It costs you nothing and will be a lot of help while dealing with the builder. I learnt this lesson the hard way! I thought I could negotiate and get the benefit of the 3% the buyer's agent gets... but found myself in hot soup! 15k sounds like a lot! I payed 5k as earnest money for a contract with the same builder in Stonelake West in Frisco and later got inputs that that itself was a huge amount! 1k is nominal and maybve the max... not a penny more.

Read about an experience with the builder at
Thoughts collected in utter chaos
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Old 09-24-2008, 04:36 PM
 
Location: Frisco,TX -Stonebriar
116 posts, read 446,760 times
Reputation: 32
Default Know Upgrade prices before contracting

In your instance...15k did sound like to much earnest money. Again, the deposits depend on the over-all price range, whether a builders spec home and which stage of building the home is in(Frame, sheetrock) .If you chose a lot and start from scratch on a build job-a home priced 400-600K, 15k is reasonable and should be refundable before the slab is poured, once final architechure plans& prices complete & construction loan approved. Some builders collect 5k upfront and then the balance of deposit when slab is poured.
***Most importantly is to know the builders standard features, lot price & grade fees, basic elevations price, as well as PRICES FOR UPGRADES BEFORE CONTRACTING. The last place you want to find a 50K surprise is at the design center!!!
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Old 09-26-2008, 07:45 AM
 
313 posts, read 1,711,983 times
Reputation: 82
I am probably the most "PRO" GRAND person you'll see here

we bought a little over a year ago and they have been AWESOME! I'm so glad we went with GRAND
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Old 09-26-2008, 08:19 AM
 
Location: WESTIEST Plano, East Texas, Upstate NY
636 posts, read 1,909,568 times
Reputation: 281
I have friends in Grand Homes in McKinney and Allen; both love their homes and had no problems with any part of the process. As most already know, from a construction standpoint, the competence of the superintendent makes all the difference. I have seen completely different levels of quality from the same Drees and Weekley homes that were located in different subdivisions.
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