Weiss Homes (South Bend, Mishawaka, Granger: wood floors, sales, new home)

[fallingwater]

I was wondering if anyone has a home built by Weiss Homes. If so, how was the experience?

[domergurl]

Are you talking about Weis homes in South Bend/Granger? If so I'll tell you that I had a neighbor is valpo who had a weis home built, well, without going into detail ... Weis Homes wasn't allowed to build in Porter county anymore. Proceed with caution and get the home THOROUGHLY inspected even if building new.

[West coast at heart]

Originally Posted by domergurl

Are you talking about Weis homes in South Bend/Granger? If so I'll tell you that I had a neighbor is valpo who had a weis home built, well, without going into detail ... Weis Homes wasn't allowed to build in Porter county anymore. Proceed with caution and get the home THOROUGHLY inspected even if building new.

I always thought that Weiss built fairly decent homes. Of course I have never had one built for me, nor have I owned or know of anyone who has owned one.

The company I used to work for insulated 95% of their homes. I do not think there are too many builders that have a 100% record on their homes. I know when builders would go out of the county that they normally build in, they had complications. What one county stressed as being important, another did not. It seemed like their was always a learning curve with new counties and dealing with new inspectors. I think some inspectors made it difficult for some builders trying to build in their county.

Now I always wondered why builders did not try to work with the local inspectors to make sure they were up to code in that county. Again though, it seemed that some inspectors had it in for certain builders.

I would definitely agree to have the house inspected. That is one thing I learned form the construction business. The majority of the builders hire subcontractors for the various aspects of process. Very few "subs" have quality control inspectors like the company I worked for. We went around to make sure that what was being done was correct and up to the quality that our company was noted for. Of course we were fairly large and our jobs were spread out pretty far and it was next to impossible to check all of the jobs.

My advice (for what it is worth), be involved in the building process. Show up every day that work is being done. Ask questions ( the only dumb question is the one not asked). If not happy with what is being done, talk to the builder. And always have the house professionally inspected by someone from the county that the house is being built in. If you know someone in the construction business, ask them to take a look also. YOU are the customer. If you are not happy, say so.

Sorry so long winded. I worked for 10 years in insulation and my father was a carpenter all his life too. I have seen lots of happy and unhappy customers. Weiss is a good builder, but always have things checked out. Good luck with your home.
Peace,
wc@h

[fallingwater]

Thanks for more info. Actually I found a repo in a Weiss sub. They are still building the sub and this home I am looking at was built in phase one. I had went to meet with the builder about starting a house from scratch and came across this one. lol. I dont think the woman in the building office was thrilled I saw the repo. The house looks solid but not sure if the people walked away due to money woes or maybe the house had something horrible with it and they chose to dump it cuss the builder was bad. Im sure the warranty is no longer valid through Weiss. So I guess I was wondering over all if the quality of their homes are worth the trouble.

[West coast at heart]

Originally Posted by fallingwater

Thanks for more info. Actually I found a repo in a Weiss sub. They are still building the sub and this home I am looking at was built in phase one. I had went to meet with the builder about starting a house from scratch and came across this one. lol. I dont think the woman in the building office was thrilled I saw the repo. The house looks solid but not sure if the people walked away due to money woes or maybe the house had something horrible with it and they chose to dump it cuss the builder was bad. Im sure the warranty is no longer valid through Weiss. So I guess I was wondering over all if the quality of their homes are worth the trouble.

I would ask them the particulars about the house. If they are not willing to give you the background on the home and to your satisfaction, then walk away. Of course if you really love the house and it is a good deal, have the house thoroughly inspected. Have everything looked at (including the insulation in the attic). Ask if there are any problems that have been corrected (the house and the subdivision itself: flooding, cracks in foundation or basement walls, leaks in roof....) If there are neighbors, ask them about their home and the subdivision. You might even find someone who saw your home being built and remembers some pertinent information. But always have the home inspected. Do not rely on word alone.

It is a good time to buy a house. There are a lot of builders that would be happy to sell you a home. It is okay to be choosy.

Just out of curiosity, what subdivision is it?

wc@h

[jodyrose]

Originally Posted by fallingwater

Thanks for more info. Actually I found a repo in a Weiss sub. They are still building the sub and this home I am looking at was built in phase one. I had went to meet with the builder about starting a house from scratch and came across this one. lol. I dont think the woman in the building office was thrilled I saw the repo. The house looks solid but not sure if the people walked away due to money woes or maybe the house had something horrible with it and they chose to dump it cuss the builder was bad. Im sure the warranty is no longer valid through Weiss. So I guess I was wondering over all if the quality of their homes are worth the trouble.

I agree with the other posters. All builders at one time or another have "challenges". The management/owners of the company cannot 100% watch all their subs and workers 100% of the time. If you are considering ANY repo from anywhere, find an inspector that has been used by others you know and even if you have to pay for an inspection PRIOR to purchasing, do it. Sometimes repos can be trashed..but that is usually very visible, but it never hurts to find out from a pro. Also contact Weiss and find out if any of their builder warranty transfers from one owner to another. I have custom built a home w/ a contractor before and staying on top of the building process is KEY. I have also had an inspector that totally missed a major flaw in a home I purchased which cost me $4,000 3 mos after I moved in. So if the home is fairly new, I might just find a good plumber/electrician/ac/heat guy and pay them to come and inspect the individual systems to assure you of the condition of the home.

Finally you said it was a Weiss subdivison. Pick a nice day, stroll about and talk to the neighbors up and down the street and ask them how happy they are with their Weiss home.

Good luck in your pursuit of this home, it sounds like it could be a terrific opportunity for you.

[Savannahlane]

we built a home with weiss homes 2 years ago, and let me tell you it was the worst experience we have ever had. The home had so many problems, not to mention the staff and customer service was horrible. DO NOT BUILD A HOME WITH WEISS YOU WILL REGRET IT. Even two years later we are still finding problems with the home. They didnt even have the home cleaned, air ducts nothing after construction. the drywall is all uneven, the insulation is terrible, the dust problem we have is horrible, the paint work was bad, crooked walls, brick was layed crooked outside. Fireplace brick was wrong, the granite color was installed wrong, the carpet in the basement was defect. The wood floors have started to move. I could go on and on about why not to build with Weiss Homes, South Bend Indiana.

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by Savannahlane

we built a home with weiss homes 2 years ago, and let me tell you it was the worst experience we have ever had. The home had so many problems, not to mention the staff and customer service was horrible. DO NOT BUILD A HOME WITH WEISS YOU WILL REGRET IT. Even two years later we are still finding problems with the home. They didnt even have the home cleaned, air ducts nothing after construction. the drywall is all uneven, the insulation is terrible, the dust problem we have is horrible, the paint work was bad, crooked walls, brick was layed crooked outside. Fireplace brick was wrong, the granite color was installed wrong, the carpet in the basement was defect. The wood floors have started to move. I could go on and on about why not to build with Weiss Homes, South Bend Indiana.

Oh my goodness! Im so sorry to hear about what you are going through with your house! Thanks for sharing your story. We decided to wait out the market a little longer. I like the idea of a new home but it seems Weiss has the strong hold on building around here. They got subs everywhere. They seem pretty aggressive in sales tactics. I met with one guy at the Piedmont sub in Mishawaka. He held me captive for 2 hours. I told him I had to go to lunch and think it over and he said well I can come to lunch with you! I was thinking holy smokes I cant get rid of this guy! I never went back to that sub. I went to the one in Osecola and the woman there was really nice.

I looked at their rating on Better Business Bureau and it said they are free of complaints. I would go to that website and put in a complaint, otherwise they appear to be totally free of issues.

[domergurl]

When we thought we were moving to Granger, our realtor wouldn't show us Weis homes.

[West coast at heart]

Originally Posted by Savannahlane

we built a home with weiss homes 2 years ago, and let me tell you it was the worst experience we have ever had. The home had so many problems, not to mention the staff and customer service was horrible. DO NOT BUILD A HOME WITH WEISS YOU WILL REGRET IT. Even two years later we are still finding problems with the home. They didnt even have the home cleaned, air ducts nothing after construction. the drywall is all uneven, the insulation is terrible, the dust problem we have is horrible, the paint work was bad, crooked walls, brick was layed crooked outside. Fireplace brick was wrong, the granite color was installed wrong, the carpet in the basement was defect. The wood floors have started to move. I could go on and on about why not to build with Weiss Homes, South Bend Indiana.

Perhaps I spoke too soon. I would encourage you to contact the individual subcontractors that provided the service to your home. I know the insulation contractor I worked for stood behind it's work (or did when I worked there). I don't know exactly what you found wrong, but it may help to talk to the subs first. Sorry for the new home blues. Good luck.

wc@h