Need Some Opinions on Beazer Homes (Indianapolis, Lawrence: real estate, showing, work)

[Robroy]

My wife and I currently live in Indy on the north-east side. We are looking at taking a step up from our current 1900 sq ft home. We are looking at Davis and Beazer homes -- primarily on the north/north-east side but we are willing to consider communities on the west side. I know Davis has a pretty good reputation. However, I also realize that over the past several months, Beazer's reputation has sunk dismally. The problem we're having is that we've found a home with Beazer that my wife and I both believe could be "perfect" for our needs. We're having a harder time finding a Davis home that fits our needs as well.

If it wasn't for all the bad word-of-mouth that I hear about Beazer, I'd go with them. Does anyone have any informed opinion or experience with Beazer -- Good or bad?

btw, regardless of who we build with, we will have it thoroughly inspected before close.

[Southside Shrek]

I don't know if you looked at Maple Bluffs off Sunnyside in Lawrence but it is a new 'Beazer Homes' community. The large sign at the entrance says homes at $240K. I said to myself 'Fine, I want a Beazer Home there for $240K' and then found out they jacked their prices up to $320K and above without taking that sign down.

while at Maple Bluffs I spoke with one homeowner who told me he paid $250K for his last fall and that Beazer had a big price increase since then.

I might add that I was not impressed by what I've seen in a Beazer home, i.e., cheaply built and slapped together.

[mbuszu]

Originally Posted by Robroy

My wife and I currently live in Indy on the north-east side. We are looking at taking a step up from our current 1900 sq ft home. We are looking at Davis and Beazer homes -- primarily on the north/north-east side but we are willing to consider communities on the west side. I know Davis has a pretty good reputation. However, I also realize that over the past several months, Beazer's reputation has sunk dismally. The problem we're having is that we've found a home with Beazer that my wife and I both believe could be "perfect" for our needs. We're having a harder time finding a Davis home that fits our needs as well.
If it wasn't for all the bad word-of-mouth that I hear about Beazer, I'd go with them. Does anyone have any informed opinion or experience with Beazer -- Good or bad?
btw, regardless of who we build with, we will have it thoroughly inspected before close.

A realtor in Ft Wayne recently told me they used to build good homes. That said, here's my take on what you've described hearing about "recent experiences" - listen to them seriously. If something is bad enough that you hear about it (which means Beazer didn't address it to satisfaction), then definitely don't go with them as your builder. It most likely has to do with the specific batch of subcontractors working or which worked for the builder - and I wouldn't want to take the chance of ending up with them working or having worked on my home. It just isn't worth it. Go with what you hear (reputation) in combination with the facts you find out for yourself - house buying and building is likely to be the biggest investment of your life... be cautious (and also don't be cheap and go with the lowest end builder - there is always a reason why they can offer a cheap product).

Regarding inspection - although a good one can ease one's fears, most subcontractors know how to meet the minimum requirements or to hide deficiencies from an inspector. The same goes with previously owned homes and previous homeowners (most know how to hide things or can figure it out with little effort). Thus I wouldn't say that a good inspection would solve all your problems. I had an inspector in the past which missed what I later realized was obvious water-damage, a roof in need of repair, and foundation issues resulting from shoddy initial work. They even missed identifying a leaky plumbing valve, weak water pressure issues. Most of the things my wife and I missed as amature buyers but for a home inspector to miss, someone who is supposedly trained to notice things, it amazes me even today.

[Robroy]

We've looked at Maple Bluffs. We actually don't live far from there now. It's an area we like. Yesterday the sign was actually advertising home prices starting at $220K-ish down from the $240 it's been for the last several weeks. The Beazer website is still showing their lowest-end model in that neighborhood starting at $228,900.

We're also strongly considering communities in the McCordsvillw/South Fishers area.

We did not use an inspector on our current home, which was built by M/I. We were pretty green, however we asked a litany of questions and we did keep a very, very sharp eye on the build process as things went along. We should have used an inspector to cover all the things that we might not have understood ourselves, but all things considered, I think we came out pretty well and it was a good experience for a first-time experience.

If we could go with a custom builder, we certainly would. However, even though our fortunes have changed for the better in the last couple years to where we can afford a house which suits our needs better, the custom option just isn't an option. In Indianapolis and surrounding suburbs, I think it would be very difficult to do a custom home for less than around $500K in the square footage that we're looking for (3K minimum) and that's not a possibility for us. We're looking at building a family home with room to grow for a top price of around $300-315K.

[Zig'sbird]

I believe it was Beazer or it's parent company that was sued by some home owners in Carmel for mold in their houses.

[atticus1223]

I currently live here. The sign up front for the starting price has been like musical chairs. It's from the 280's, no 240's, now the mid 200's. The reason is this, real estate sales have taken a dive. Most builders had an excess inventory of homes and needed to get rid of them, so prices had to drop.

Maple Bluffs has been good so far, I've been here since Janauary. In an earlier post, someone said they talked to a person who got in here for $250,000 last fall, I don't know who that was because I was the fifth person in here and the others prior to me paid more than I did, which was no near $250,000.

We've had problems like most other new home owners, but I have to give Beazer there do, they've fixed the problems. Nothing major, just small stuff.

There will only be 37 homes back here, they're not going to develop two lots by the model, which actually is a better thing for homeowners here. It's quiet, lot's of tree frogs at night, packs of deer, and the neighbors are great. Not too many places left in the Lawrence area like this one.

My advice, go look at other Beazer communities. Stop and talk with homeowners who are outside. Ask them about their experiences and then make a decision.

[atticus1223]

were from Trinity homes in Carmel. Not only Carmel, but other sub divisions. Beazer bought Trinity and inherited the mold issues. They are taking care of them from what I understand.

[Southside Shrek]

here's the problem with a builder/developer putting up a large sign at the entrance stating homes at $230K or $240K. People who then turn in expect to find a house in there for $230K to $240K instead of $325K to $350K. I wanted a 230K home and they expected me to pay almost 100K more.

[domergurl]

That's because that base price is the bare minimum ... walls, basically. I remember when we built in Illinois, that 180K home turned into a 220K+ home quickly because that price doesn't include jack squat.

[Southside Shrek]

the Beazer sign at Maple Bluffs didn't say 'jack squat home' for $230K to $240K. In fact, when I saw that large sign while driving south down Sunnyside, I slammed on my brakes hard and swerved left to turn into that Beazer subdivision only to be disappointed when they told me what the real price was. I felt like they were trying to pick me up, turn me upside down and shake another 100K out of my pockets.