Senators-Schell Brothers Builders in Lewes (Wilmington: for sale, HOA, mobile home)

[Rick672]

Was visiting Lewes last Saturday with a friend. She has never been to Lewes and really like it. We ate lunch at Jerry's Seafood and had ice cream at Kings Ice Cream. Very good! We stopped in the development (Senators)along Gills Neck Road and walked through the models... Beautiful homes. Very impressed. I am surprised they had basements. The models have plenty of square footage, gas heat, located close to Lewes and Rehobeth, and there is a bike path going into Lewes and connecting to Rehobeth Beach. We are going to start searching locations, developments, and try to get a feel for the area. Just walking around Lewes gave the feeling of a slower life style. How nice. I see Schell builders has another development called Independence which we are going to check out this summer.
I would be interested in any opinions of these locations, and the builder to see what your thoughts might be. Seemed like a nice location.

[Seaponies]

We've visited many of the builders in the past, including Schell Brothers, Ryan, etc. Schell makes nice homes however we found out that for the price per square foot, we didn't get as much space/features for the $$$. In other words, you would need to pay for upgrades to get what you wanted, IMO. Ryan on the other hand, makes cookie cutter homes and the perception is they give you more for your $$$, although in our opinion, it isn't as nice quality as a Schell home.

I don't know what the The Senators HOA is. I know that the Independence had high fees, they 'schell' out (pun intended) lots of dough. Some people don't mind paying out $3500/yr, for example, to have their lawn taken care of, some utilities, snow removal, upkeep for pools, clubouse, tennis courts, etc. It really depends on what you are looking for.

Are you looking for a retirement community, family oriented with kids, pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, active community, trails, dock, etc ? Do you want to be near rt. 1, 24, etc ? Or away from the major highways ? Do you want to have a leech field in your community versus public utilities ? Do you want to be near mobile homes on the drive to your community, not that there is anything wrong with them ? Many things and factors to consider.

[nuts2uiam]

I will respond with an answer that was told to me four or so years ago and we had just started looking. The first phase was up for sale and we did not like the location, However, our agent told us that many of the sales were to investors to make the sales process seem attractive. i.e. more sales, a booming community. Is that true? I don't know. That said,
there are pros and cons to a new neighborhood. The more obvious ones are sales concessions and ability to pick your lot. The cons "CAN" but not always be. You have no neighbors for a long time, if they buy the plot and choose to hold it til later to build, once they do build you will have noise and construction dust, the last one and a big one in my mind, is that depending upon the ultimate number of homes to be built as compared to the current number of both built and sold homes. That is important because the amenities are covered (guaranteed) by the builder for a period of time, till a percentage of the homes are sold. That percentage is in the sales docs. That said, if he chooses to bolt and the homes are still not at the percentage the homeowners are on the hook. It may not happen all that often, and it does indeed depend upon a lot of variables but, I would definitely ask those questions.

DH and I looked at NV homes Grande at Canal Point at that time and NV also had the identical homes at Red Mill Pond for $100,000 less. We decided we wanted Rehoboth and later found out that NV pulled out of Red Mill Pond. Within the past two years, I think Hovnanian has now taken that site over.

Now the market does seem to have picked up a bit so take what you will from what I said. I CD search The Peninsula in this forum and you will see a lot about what I was saying. Also search Senators and check the dates in the left hand corner to see the timeliness of the comments.

[Rick672]

Thanks for the responses. Good information. We plan on buying into a development that's a few years old. One that has already been built and established. My friend bought new, years ago, and is aware of all the upgrades and extra costs.
The HOA fee at Senators is 140.00 a month and did not include lawn cutting. The sales person did say the landscapers there do cut lawns at 20.00 per cut which is a good price.

We are going to stay away from retirement communities because of the resale value. We think a house in a regular development would be a better value if we decided to sell. Lewes is a very unique town and initially we are leaning towards living in close proximity to it. We have to get a feel for the other areas as well. I have a boat so I would be looking for a Marina in the area also.

Thanks for the information and appreciate anyone making comments....

[James420]

Schell Brothers helped to take down Wilmington Trust, there are a few independent builders I would use in Lewes, Russ Palmer probably being the one I would trust the most, although he may be more expensive.

[ictulips]

Originally Posted by Rick672

Thanks for the responses. Good information. We plan on buying into a development that's a few years old. One that has already been built and established. My friend bought new, years ago, and is aware of all the upgrades and extra costs.
The HOA fee at Senators is 140.00 a month and did not include lawn cutting. The sales person did say the landscapers there do cut lawns at 20.00 per cut which is a good price.

We are going to stay away from retirement communities because of the resale value. We think a house in a regular development would be a better value if we decided to sell. Lewes is a very unique town and initially we are leaning towards living in close proximity to it. We have to get a feel for the other areas as well. I have a boat so I would be looking for a Marina in the area also.

Thanks for the information and appreciate anyone making comments....

Schell Brothers builds a quality home. We are happy with ours! You should also consider The Villages at Herring Creek or Bayfront. Particularly if you have a boat, both developments are close by to Love Creek Marina. Love Creek Marina has just had extensive work done and looks great. Good luck in your search, that is half the fun!

[livegonzo]

I hear Ryan homes are more or less junk! I see a lot of issues on the net from people who own them. Anyone agree ?? Or is this off-base??

[ictulips]

Originally Posted by livegonzo

I hear Ryan homes are more or less junk! I see a lot of issues on the net from people who own them. Anyone agree ?? Or is this off-base??

I am not sure that is entirely fair. It seems that for the price, you get what you pay for. With as many homes that they build nationally, you would expect that there would be some unhappy customers. I was impressed by a couple of their models, but ultimately chose Schell because the floor plan we selected suited us best. I also think that you can walk through the many homes being built by various builders down here and it is obvious that the Schell finishes are superior. I don't think that makes any of the other "more or less junk", just lesser quality.

[nuts2uiam]

Originally Posted by livegonzo

I hear Ryan homes are more or less junk! I see a lot of issues on the net from people who own them. Anyone agree ?? Or is this off-base??

Impossible to make that statement. For example, I know a lot of people that own the Select Comfort beds and swear by them. We bought one, and hated it so much that we paid to return it early. It all depends on a lot of variables. Peoples budget, buyers knowledge and understanding of the building and construction industry standards, location etc. Some will swear by them and others not so much.

[Seaponies]

To really get the answer to the question about build quality,you may want to go visit the models in each builders' community and then while you are in the community, talk to some of the neighbors to see what their actual experiences are like. Many of the neighbors will give you a good feel as to what to expect.