Ryland Homes (Indianapolis, Lawrence, Fishers: comparable sales, for sale, real estate)

[Christa96]

Does anyone have any information on the reputation and quality of Ryland homes? Looking to relocate to a suburb of Indianapolis. I noticed they have built homes in Plainfield.

[domergurl]

Ryland builds a very nice home. We looked in their Tanglewood neighborhood in Fishers. For a production home builder, we liked their options. Another builder that we looked at was Hansen and Horn. They are local to Indianapolis and again, they build nice homes.

[billman5000]

I did Ryland once, I think most of the tract home builders are 'ok' but you gotta stay on top of them. I cannot imagine why anyone would build a house during a real estate slump but to each their own...

[Southside Shrek]

billman5000
you mentioned the real estate slump in the Indianapolis area market but I haven't noticed any significant price reductions in the asking prices of existing homes for sale in and around Carmel, Fishers, Lawrence, etc. Frankly, I think many existing older homes are not selling because they are over-priced. I'd rather buy a new one than pay the same price for a house which is outdated and 'in need' of a lot of updating and repairs.

[Southside Shrek]

I am off to check out some more homes. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a nice one that I would actually enjoy living in.

No mold homes for me!!!!

[boysmom5]

Ryland has some nice homes in general. They only thing I would be cautious about is to make sure that Ryland starts and finishes the subdivision. We have a subdivision about 3 or 4 miles south of where we live (hamilton county)and Ryland started the subdivision but now CP Morgan is finishing it! Our friends bought their 2 story home for $186,000.00 and now CP Morgan is selling homes starting out at $99,000.00. We thought about building there and are very glad we did not. The residents in that subdivision are not happy at all. CP Morgan does not have the same quality home as Ryland (we owned a Morgan home and did not like it (poor craftsman ship)and they do not re-sell like Ryland homes do either. So just imagine what would happen to your property value if this were to happen to you. I would just be extra cautious, of couse the aren't going to tell you if they aren't going to finish the whole subdivision either. Best of Luck to you.

[sweetana3]

Builders dont want to lower prices but they give "discounts" or "pay closing costs" or give you free things like basements or appliance packages. These they can give or take away at any time so the price is not necessarily what a home sells for. I saw $40,000 discounts in a Florida subdivision but it never made the advertising.

The subdivision issue happens no matter how expensive the subdivision is or who the builder is. We were in a condo in the early 80s that did not finish 1/2 of the condos. After we sold, they sold the remaining land to a developer and he put single family houses on it. Changed all the financial plans for the development.

That is one of the big risks in buying into a subdivision or a planned development in the early stages. There is little legal protection that plans will be finished as described. Land changes hands when builders no longer want to work in the area. Just happened to KB Homes who just announced they were pulling out of the Midwest and Indy and concentrating on the East and West Coasts.

So you may get a lower price but assume the risk that the development will not finish, the prices may be lower because of builder inducements in the future, etc.

Personally, I want to see the finished product and not have to put in a yard, landscaping, have everything in place before I make a purchase.

It is really bad for the people who are forced to move when they cannot sell because a builder can give the inducements and they cannot recoup their original cost. This is often the case until the subdivision is finished.

[lpaul]

I think the most important thing to look at before you make a decision is the neighborhood itself. We built a Ryland Home at The Boulders in Fishers and could not have a better group of neighbors. Everyone knows everyone and helps each other out. Families take turns bringing dinner to the families that just had a baby, and there is always some sort of social event going on from ladies maincures to an 80s themed cocktail party.

Neighborhoods like this are those that hold their value because it is a true community that everyone looks out for. We got way more than a roof over our head when we bought there.

[bhappy0675]

I am in my mid 30s and was thinking about purchasing a townhouse at Stanford park as a first time home buyer. They are advertised by Ryland as being in Carmel, IN, but when you actually see the paperwork, they have a Westfield address. The salesperson pointed out comparable sales to me saying "this one sold for $160K and that one sold for $170K." pointing to adjacent townhomes. He had mine priced at $157K in mid 2009. I drove to the assessor's office and discovered the last 5 units in the complex sold (brand new) for prices in between $117K and $122K! The comparable properties he pointed out to me were over 2 years old when the market was at its peak. I had questioned his comparables before I went to the assessor, and he said that people indeed were paying that much because it was Carmel. The properties are in the Carmel school district, but an appraiser can't compare Carmel addresses to Westfield addresses. My point is that these people will stomp all over the truth to make a sale. Don't trust appraisers either. Most are friends with the mortgage brokers and inflate values to keep business from the mortgage broker. Do your own homework. Go to the assessor's office and let the lovely women there help you find out how much properties in a neighborhood are currently selling for.

[Michelle Morris]

OR hire a Realtor, it's our job to do that sort of stuff, and we work for YOU in the process. The builder pays us, not you.