Best Home Builders in Ft. Myers / Cape Coral area?

[firemed]

Originally Posted by celticbyrd

I would like to know who to contact at Adams & ph number. Thanks

If you wait you will get a great deal in Cape Coral. Homes are just sitting with banks holding the buck. You can make some good mony just cutting grass at all the homes sitting empty.

The News-Press, news-press.com, Local & State, Costs to mow grow in Southwest Florida

[121804]

I am thinking another 10-15% drop if not more in Cape Coral in the next 12-24months.

Something is going to have to give to get anyone to buy there.

And one can do way better than Adams Homes in Cape Coral for a decent price. But just my opinion.

Pulte & Toll Brothers are not top of the line, but have better product than Adams.

[FSU_Alum]

I wouldn't build a home in the Cape yet; the market is about to plummet (I would say AT LEAST 30% more). Come late 08 onward, there will be deals to be had. Make sure you check out insurance costs and taxes, too. They're rather high here.

re: Schools

Gulf Middle is the best in the Cape. Diplomat is also good, but Gulf has long been considered the best.

I've heard good things about Ida Baker High. Another new one just opened (Island Coast?).

Population in the area is dropping, even in the school systems. We were supposed to keep getting increases even though the rest of the state is losing students. Though we do have more students now than we did last year, families are moving every day. (That's if they can sell their homes.)

[sunnyswfl]

Try PGI Homes, they have models all over SWFL and have been here 30 years+. We had a custom home built by PGI and its great, the staff is a little snobby at first but the home is well done. Check out PGI Homes, they have a couple models on Cape Coral Pkwy if your in the area. You may want to check out Punta Gorda Isles as well (they have models there too), its a neat little town just north of Cape.

As for the market, real estate is down now and it will go up later.......it always does. If your in the market long term than you'll be just fine. I can assure you very few people have a crystal ball on the Florida real estate market, I've been in Florida for 20+ years and the market has pulled back 3 times, every 10 years (or so). It has gone back up every time it dropped in the past....usually even stronger than expected. Florida is a great place to live.....enjoy it!

[firemed]

Originally Posted by sunnyswfl

Try PGI Homes, they have models all over SWFL and have been here 30 years+. We had a custom home built by PGI and its great, the staff is a little snobby at first but the home is well done. Check out PGI Homes, they have a couple models on Cape Coral Pkwy if your in the area. You may want to check out Punta Gorda Isles as well (they have models there too), its a neat little town just north of Cape.

As for the market, real estate is down now and it will go up later.......it always does. If your in the market long term than you'll be just fine. I can assure you very few people have a crystal ball on the Florida real estate market, I've been in Florida for 20+ years and the market has pulled back 3 times, every 10 years (or so). It has gone back up every time it dropped in the past....usually even stronger than expected. Florida is a great place to live.....enjoy it!

The last time the market in Florida changed this fast was 1925. I don't have a crystal ball but I do have a history book. 82 years is a very long term investment.

In 1925, the inevitable began to occur in the real estate industry. Land prices had reached such a zenith that new customers failed to arrive and old customers began to sell their land. Suddenly, the only market for Florida land was for selling land.

There was plenty of evidence that the Florida Land Boom was on swampy ground. Forbes magazine warned that Florida land prices were based solely upon the expectation of finding a customer, not upon any reality of land value. New York bankers, losing money over Florida investment, attacked the entire operation as one great sham. By 1925, there were other signs. Companies were laying off construction and other blue collar workers while the number of realtors and auto mechanics was still increasing.

The larger cities of Florida felt the impact first. They had borrowed heavily to finance new road and public service construction and utilized sales taxes and land fees to pay their debts. Now the Yankee dollars were vanishing.

[sunnyswfl]

Your correct, 82 years is a long term investment. I think it might come back a little sooner......but everyone is entitled to an opinion.

[steelertom]

I know there are lots of different ideas/thought on the real estate market, builders, etc. in SW Florida. For what it is worth, Paul Homes built my home last year and we are very pleased! Check them out before you choose a builder! There are currently LOTS of builders ready to go under!
I hear Paul Homes currently has a pretty good deal and they have been around for over 20 years. They will sell you a discounted home and guarantee the price for at least a year. So, if you think the market is going lower, you can at least hedge your bet that way. I do not know of any other builder offering this guarantee right now.

Go Steelers!!!!!

[alvadad 42]

Originally Posted by BeerWolf

We are new to the area and are thinking about building a new home in Cape Coral or Ft. Myers. We want to know if anybody has any information on home builders. We know for sure not to use Harden Homes as we are renting a home they built and it's very poor quality. Hammer Homes is one of our favorites so far and they seem to build quality homes.

So share your stories, good and bad if you have one.

My family has had 2 homes built by Harden Homes and are currently living in an Engle home. Speaking from experience, Harden Homes has much better quality. Our last new home walk through with Harden Homes had "0" items on the punch list. Our superintendent was Mike Skerzak and he was awesome! He always called us back and answered questions that we had and even met us on weekends at our home. We currently have the home rented and have not had any problems to speak of. The water system had some problems, but we used the Hardencustomhomes.com web site to fill out the warranty request forms and one of the owners of the company called us immediately! The problem was fixed that afternoon. As far as the other bulders, i cant say. We met with the people at Hammer and were very nice, but i liked the models that Harden was selling. I also liked the fact that Harden offered 2 different levels of homes. One was builder grade stuff, which is probably what you are living in, and the other was upgraded stuff in the Silver series which is what we bought. It came with wood cabinetry and granite tops everywhere. I am not saying that Harden is perfect, but we had a great experience. It took longer than expected but it was worth the wait.

[yayaof7]

i have built with tracy homes a few years ago...quality is excellent but they are very slow to complete the home. you get more for your money than you will with other builders.