Ryland Homes (Houston, The Woodlands, Howe: insurance, appliances, house)

[RK555]

Hi,

Did anybody bought a home from Ryland?? Can you please tell me your experiences??

We are interested a plan from Ryland but don't know anything about the builder??

Thanks in advance.

RK

[paradoxcop]

I own a Ryland home in The Woodlands. We've had some problems develop, but nothing extraordinary. They are a major national builder, and in this area, I'd rate them as average to above-average. For comparison's sake, they're about on a par with Lennar. I'd say they're superior to Pulte and KB, but would add these caveats: at one time, Pulte was so sub-standard that they were thrown out of The Woodlands. I understand they are merging with Centex Homes, so I'm not sure how that will turn out. And in the last couple of years, KB has improved. Builders superior to Ryland would include David Weekley, Toll Brothers, or Tilson Homes (if you're doing a custom build).

One thing to watch out for with Ryland in the Houston area is their continued association with Ford Flooring. Ford does not have a stellar reputation, to say the least. When it comes to selecting your flooring, the ideal situation would be to get a flooring allowance and do your flooring independently. However, that's next to impossible. Therefore, your best course of action is to select the cheapest grade of carpet and/or wood available and then upgrade it yourself. It's worth the extra expense, and easier to do when the house is new. We did a "triple category" carpet upgrade and it fell apart in a couple of years. My complaints went nowhere. We've redone the whole house in hardwood. The ceramic tile areas, however, are fine.

Upgrading all the appliances through Ryland is highly recommended. You could say the same for most any builder.

Our "20 year roof" sustained major damage after 10 1/2 years (during Hurricane Ike). I found out it wasn't properly installed. Luckily, insurance still covered us fully.

Hopefully, you'll be in the area during the building process. We weren't, so some issues slipped through the cracks. I didn't get the right front door, the right kitchen sink, the surround sound and CAT5 prewire, etc., but all of the oversights were corrected prior to closing (thanks to a good home inspector). To be fair, I've had similar problems with other builders in other parts of the country...it comes with the territory. Overall, the problems I've outlined aren't unique to Ryland (except for the flooring situation). Keep a close eye on the construction, get a professional inspection before closing, and you should be fine. We'd buy Ryland again....but our next move is to a custom log home in the wilderness of Idaho.

[seretha]

Paradoxcop thanks for sharing that information on Ryland. I was impressed with the energy efficiency of the Builder. What are your thoughts on that?

[chris_ut]

Almost all builders have the same energy efficient upgrades and they are pretty much all mandated by the govt.