Toll Brothers home in Cinco Ranch NW? (Houston, The Woodlands: wood floors, appointed)

[TexasMom12]

[SIZE=3][/SIZE][SIZE=3]We are interested in buying a home with Toll Brothers inIronwood Estates in Cinco Ranch NW. Has anyone purchased a home with them inthe Houston area? We love the floorplans and the subdivision but are not sureabout their reputation. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]

[Rip808]

Toll Brothers builds all around the country. I wouldn't be too worried, in the end its your superintendent that makes all the difference. All the builders use "subcontractors" that get paid $10 an hour anyways. Get yourself a good inspector and be patient. New home building is a roller coaster experience, but in the end so worth it. Cinco NW is a beautiful area.

[TXbywayof]

We also just looked at a Toll Brothers home in Towne Lake. I have to be honest...I was disappointed. For a $650k price point and touting themselves as a semi-custom builder, this home had no custom features whatsoever. Yes, it had granite counters and stainless steel appliances but most reputable builders have that anymore. The salesperson called this home "the reality check". Wood floors were only in the study; carpet everywhere else. Me, I just expect more features at this price point.

We lost a Partners in Building home in The Woodlands that we loved. This particular street was a combination of Partners in Building and Toll Brothers and looked fantastic. I really expected the Toll Brothers homes to be on par with the PIB, but in my opinion it was not.

Like I said, I'm sure they are a great builder. I just didn't feel like I was getting my bang for the buck.

[Cbink]

Originally Posted by TXbywayof

We also just looked at a Toll Brothers home in Towne Lake. I have to be honest...I was disappointed. For a $650k price point and touting themselves as a semi-custom builder, this home had no custom features whatsoever. Yes, it had granite counters and stainless steel appliances but most reputable builders have that anymore. The salesperson called this home "the reality check". Wood floors were only in the study; carpet everywhere else. Me, I just expect more features at this price point.

We lost a Partners in Building home in The Woodlands that we loved. This particular street was a combination of Partners in Building and Toll Brothers and looked fantastic. I really expected the Toll Brothers homes to be on par with the PIB, but in my opinion it was not.

Like I said, I'm sure they are a great builder. I just didn't feel like I was getting my bang for the buck.

Really? The wife and I have been looking at those at of interest but haven't been in them. They had peaked our interest from the outside but we're yet to go in them. They have (had) some nice lots. The nicest in Towne lake in my opinion.

I was kind of expecting Viking/Wolf/Subzero type appliances etc and high quality finishes as standard. That would explain why a few are being listed in the $900's when the base is in the $5-600k range

[TXbywayof]

Cbink, By all means go and look. I have been seeing Towne Lake billboards for years with the pictures of the family boating and waterskiing. Finally last year we went to look. Both my husband and I were like "I don't get it". There appeared to be one pitiful manmade lake. Fast forward to now. A friend of mine who moved there encouraged me to go look again. I'm glad I did because I can now see their vision and I think I like it. There is a lot more water and it all seems to be interconnected. There are also canals. I saw the Toll Brothers sign and thought I might as well look since they seem to build along with PIB. The model was very nice but I didn't get that same "feeling" I did with the PIB home I loved. The quality of finishes just didn't seem to match up to the price point. Then it was suggested we look at their inventory home. Ugh. Take any tract builder home and make it bigger, this one was 4,200 sq. ft. I agree with you. I too would be expecting Viking/Wolf appliances as well. I think their price point has more to do with the fact they are in close proximity to the water vs. truly getting a bang for your buck as far as home features go. They are also asking a $250k lot premium for a water lot. It is a pretty area and we may delve deeper and see who else is building there. To me, you can get a Newmark or Trendmaker with more upgrades for a heck of a lot less than a Toll Brothers home. Almost forgot, the property tax rate in the section where we looked is 3.76%.

[Cbink]

Thanks. We'll probably go and look out of interest this weekend.
We only moved into our house 2 years ago and are close to Towne Lake in Copper Lakes so are in no rush (and have only just put in a pool), just curious. Like you, some of the potential amenities appeal to me and I know what you mean about the transformation this year since they opened up the water at the front which was dammed previously. They also build Mediterranean style and have a couple with tile roofs rather than shingles which my wife and I really like and I actually like a couple of their floor plans.

We'll see, maybe I'll just set up an alert on HAR and see if any are on the market in a few years time.

Looking online, all of their kitchens they show have Wolf/Sub Zero. I guess they're all upgrades.

[viren55]

My Wife and I just signed for a home in Cinco Ranch Ironwood Estates with Toll Bro's. Just before this we were in negotiations with Partners in Building (PIB) (which was not a pleasant experience.) I'll explain the PIB story later.

Before I signed, I was skeptical about Toll Bro's. I googled them and found 3+ pages of negative results which frightened me; so I did a random knock on the door to ask folks who live in a Toll home what their feelings were. To my surprise, people only had great things to say. Example: We asked an Asian lady in her late 50's / early 60's in Towne Lake and she said she moved here from Boston and she was on Toll waiting list 6 months before Toll even opened up in Towne Lake. She said that in Boston and the North West, people look for Toll homes and they buy with their eyes closed.

We also asked another guy in Towne Lake (South American home owner) what his experience was. He said he was quiet happy. So I asked him "What are things you didn't expect, that you ran into? Give me the negatives." So he gave me examples:
- The standard with any Toll home in the Houston Area is that they spray paint the inside of your home; So if you want a beige color, they'll spray paint the walls and the ceilings through out the home all the same color. Yikes! My wife and I decided if this is the case, we'll get a white paint as a basic, and we'll paint the walls in the future.
- Toll is not a custom builder - as they are selling so many homes (in certain communities) they will not add extra windows (if you want.) Because they are so busy and want to build more homes than windows, they would rather invest that time in homes.
- Everything is an add on; As is with most builders. BUT HERE's THE CATCH - every Toll community offers different standards. Example: Someone in this thread mentioned that they give hardwood in the study room in Towne Lake; Well in Cinco Ranch Ironwood, the standard is hardwood (level 3) or Tile (level 6) in the following rooms: study, foyer, dining room, butlers pantry, greatroom, breakfast and kitchen.

2 negative things isn't bad at all!

Personally, we've gotten lucky with meeting some amazing people at Toll, including the Sales Manager in Cinco (Ironwood), The Design Center Manager, and the Construction Manager. I'm SUPER glad I did not build in Towne Lake, because the Sales Manager is nonresponsive to anyone who is not building in her community; She'll always brush you off saying "I'm busy, can't help." That's also what one of the home owners in Towne Lake had to say. But in December Towne Lake got a great lady to help with their sales (her name is Kristine.)

We LOVED Toll Brothers floor plans. We had considered the following builders prior to going with Toll:
- Newmark: Great homes for the $$$, but if you look at the basics, they're homes are that great for half a million dollars. The bathroom, pantry, laundry, bedroom etc.... doors are all about 2.5 feet wide. I'm 6 feet, 220lbs... I had to turn sideways to get into the bathroom. The other thing was, all their homes feel like they are sitting so close to the neighbours...When I'm paying 500k, I want a bit of space. But do check out Newmarks upperline (Fredrick builders) which was great! (Duke, the Sales Manager and his wonderful wife in Towne Lake were great... Great folks to work with.)
- Trendmaker: Same as Newmark, and I think their upperline is called Avalon?
- David Weekly: I found them to be of the quality of a Newmark / Trendmaker, but with the prices of a Toll Bro's. So this was out of the question.

Alright so Partners in Building - what happend with them?
My wife and I were about to go sign with Toll Bro's in Reserve at Katy; we called our Real Estate Agent, and she convinced us to consider in Cinco Ranch; So we looked at Partners in Building. The first thing we did was we went to their model home and met with the sales manager (Amy.) Amy was great! She kept saying "everything is negotiable." We told her our price range, and what we were looking for in terms of sq feet. She said "oh ya, totally do-able." So we kept talking, and looked at some of their inventories and their under construction homes. The next step was to draw up a floor plan and discuss pricing; But they wouldn't discuss pricing until the plan was finalized - which makes sense; But what I needed was a ball park figure of what I'd be looking at. So after 3 weeks wasting time trying to figure out a floor plan, I said "enough, I need at least a ball park of what this house was going to cost." So we sat with Amy and she said "Sorry the price is not negotiable. I can send it to my boss, but we have to make some money, we do not negotiate." WTH, then why did you waste my time? So I shook her hand, collected my Deposit check and walked out; Few days later we ended up at Toll Bro's in Cinco Ranch.

Now don't get me wrong, PIB didn't work out for me, but that doesn't mean it won't work out with others.

All in All.... my recommendations are as follows:
- Toll Bro's in Cinco Ranch Ironwood is a great location
- The Sales Manager (Catherine) and her husband (who helps out) are AMAZING!
- Karl - who is the VP of Toll in Houston has been responsive to all our requests.
- Keith - the Design Center Manager is very responsive and respectful. Everytime we go to the Design Center (without an appointment) he'll get up and spend time talking to us and assist us with any questions we have.
- Merlyn from TBI mortgage was great work with as well - but she is no longer there. Not sure why.
- Toll Bro's gives Jenn Air appliances in this community (6 burner gas stove, double ovens, microwave, dishwasher.) They do not give fridges - but none of the builders do.


Lot premiums - Oh ya these will break your bank account. Here's what I found with Toll Bro's.
- Lot premiums are different for each lot; In Towne Lake, a lot backing up to the lake will be between $190k - 290k.
- Towne Lake: Internal lots range from $0 - $45k. ($0 lot has a fence in the front of the house and a mail box - so expect heavy traffic in the front of your home. Your kid may get run over with all the cars passing by.)
- Reserve at Katy - Premiums were between $25k - 65k
- Cinco Ranch - Premiums were between $10k - 45k.

Towne Lake - Other Builders:
- Custom Builders with Lake lots: $190k - $390k (and expected to increase with the next phase.)
- Newmark: Internal lot (I can't remember the range but lot we wanted) was: $25k

Alright...that's enough of a post, considering it's my first post.

[DSL_PWR]

Originally Posted by TXbywayof

We also just looked at a Toll Brothers home in Towne Lake. I have to be honest...I was disappointed. For a $650k price point and touting themselves as a semi-custom builder, this home had no custom features whatsoever. Yes, it had granite counters and stainless steel appliances but most reputable builders have that anymore. The salesperson called this home "the reality check". Wood floors were only in the study; carpet everywhere else. Me, I just expect more features at this price point.

We lost a Partners in Building home in The Woodlands that we loved. This particular street was a combination of Partners in Building and Toll Brothers and looked fantastic. I really expected the Toll Brothers homes to be on par with the PIB, but in my opinion it was not.

Like I said, I'm sure they are a great builder. I just didn't feel like I was getting my bang for the buck.

That is the way we felt about Toll Brothers. Also have a few friends that built with PIB and swore they would never do it again.

We looked at homes in Cinco Ranch NW as well and decided that for what we were seeing as far as build quality, price, and lots we could get more for less elsewhere.

There are better builders out there for sure.

[TexasMom12]

Viren55- Thanks so much for the informative response! Did Toll Brothers in Ironwood negotiate prices with you or offer any incentives? Their prices have gone up quite a bit since they opened the subdivision last year....

[chris_ut]

They build in KW and I can't speak to the quality but man are they overpriced.