Building in Wichita?? (Overland Park, Derby, Hope: real estate, housing, rent)

[cjones15]

We are looking at a possible move to Wichita. We were there this past weekend and went out with a realtor to check out several houses. We are throwing around the idea of building as well. The area we live in now the housing is a lot different then in the Wichita area. Basements are unheard of down here.

Can anyone recommend any builders? Any questions we should ask about? We did build our current house so I'm halfway familiar with the process just wanted to make sure I don't miss anything since the style of houses are different. We are thinking about the Derby area. We drove by a development yesterday off of Rock Rd - Spring Creek possibly but I'm not certain on the name. We are looking in the 180's or so.

Any help would be appreciated!

[leighland]

Originally Posted by cjones15

Basements are unheard of down here.

Tornadoes. Basements and multistory brick homes like on the East Coast are unpractical.
Please don't get freaked out about Tornadoes now! Its not that bad. I've been in Toranado warnings, SoCal Fires and Hurricanes. They all equally stink, well the Socal Fires were very scary now that I remember it.

[cjones15]

I'm originally from Missouri and have been in a lot of tornadoes. They don't scare me at all!! I was actually in school and a tornado took the roof off. We really like the basements because we need the extra sq. ft. We are looking at 2500+ sq ft. I have really bad knees so having most of the living space on the main level and having the basement area for the kids is ideal for us.

[Predaking]

I would Personally ( If you have the Time) just self contract out the jobs so you know what you are getting. A lot of the contractors here do the cookie cutter houses, on minimum budget. and often cut corners to make a higher profit for themselves. Theres plenty of sub contractor workers here. They all work for these same builders (I could list them all, but it is pointless and pointing), but anyways the point i was making is that the sub contractors do not like a lot of what they are doing in the houses they build. There is Less than 5 "Good/Fair" Contractors. You can get higher quality work, finished product, and a full say-so/knowledge base of your home. It is truly an awesome experience spending a little time dealing with each aspect.

[cjones15]

Part of our problem is we will be moving in approx 1 month. We don't have a date set yet but it's fairly soon. I was told building in the area can take a very long time, which we don't have. We may have a chance to "build" a house that has already been started and would fit our time frame better. It is a couple months out from being done but I can always stay in our current home a little while longer. Waiting 2-3 months max is all we have.

I do agreee with you that contracting it out would be a great idea, just doesn't fit into our time frame. This move was kinda thrown at us and we haven't had a lot of time to research all the areas. We spent 4 days in Wichita last week and that is probaly all we will have before we move.

[Predaking]

That sounds as a great start actually as long as what you have is documented and you are happy with what you are getting then you can finish out from there and truly have a Home to move to. Because thats what Kansas becomes often when we move here .

Originally Posted by cjones15

I was told building in the area can take a very long time, which we don't have. We may have a chance to "build" a house that has already been started and would fit our time frame better. It is a couple months out from being done

Actually Workers are hurting for work right now because of the slow down in Real Estate but again your call.

Hope This Helps

[cjones15]

Where we currently live it takes 2 months start-finish on a house. The area we were looking at they said could take 6+ months depending on the weather to start from scratch. I do understand the longer build time but I have a family and 3 kids that I don't feel like moving around 6 months later to move in.

In my perfect world I would build the house of my dreams and be done but right now it just isn't an option.

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by cjones15

Where we currently live it takes 2 months start-finish on a house. The area we were looking at they said could take 6+ months depending on the weather to start from scratch. I do understand the longer build time but I have a family and 3 kids that I don't feel like moving around 6 months later to move in.

In my perfect world I would build the house of my dreams and be done but right now it just isn't an option.

It is amazing how times change, eh? The neighborhood in Overland Park where my parents used to live before moving had homes that were built during a time period of about 5 years between the late 60s and early 70s. This was before the cookie cutter age. To compare the difference is like night and day.
Good luck on your move to Wichita

[cjones15]

It's amazing how far we have come!

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by cjones15

It's amazing how far we have come!

I wouldn't call cookie cutter houses or McMansion's an improvement at all, but that is my opinion. I would take a 30 year old house compared with a new cookie cutter house anyday of the week.