[RedRockAAAA]

Obviously you have gotten your answer.

Yet I do agree with some understated facts that may have gotten lost in the shuffle.

Location. Locatio. Location. Find the right immediate neighborhood for your family schools, commute to work, etc. Then look at the surrounding area for perceived problems in neighboring communities, crime etc. Then look at the builder, warranties etc. THEN research, research, research customer service for that builder, even if you have to knock on doors.

Witht the right location, great customer service overcomes everything. Good Luck.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by jotnik

I'm interested in one of their properties and was wondering if they build quality homes. Opinions?

Just the fact they're built out of wood (matchsticks) should, alone, tell you something about their quality. The people from Mexico and Latin America are probably the most puzzled buyers of all. South of the border, for thousands of miles all the way down through Chile, all you will encounter is quality concrete houses, many with spacious concrete rooftop decks and balconies, and a WOODSIDE pile for their fireplaces.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Just the fact they're built out of wood (matchsticks) should, alone, tell you something about their quality. The people from Mexico and Latin America are probably the most puzzled buyers of all. South of the border, for thousands of miles all the way down through Chile, all you will encounter is quality concrete houses, many with spacious concrete rooftop decks and balconies, and a WOODSIDE pile for their fireplaces.

That particular battle has raged forever with no obvious winner. Either style of construction can easily out last the useful life of the building.

And masonry construction is actually less viable in earthquakes than frame.

So you build to suit the local materials and labor costs.

[tijlover]

A stray bullet cannot pierce a concrete wall.

A concrete house in Southern Calif. would be impervious to a brush fire.

The entire west coast from Alaska to the southern tip of Chile is subject to earthquakes. Is that why reinforced concrete homes are preferred? When I had my Arqui-Mex designed earthquake-proof concrete house designed for my lot in Baja California, it was one less worry for me.

So you forgot to turn the stove off or the coffee pot or you dumped an ashtray of butts into the trash before you went to sleep. So what!

In my house in Phoenix, I wouldn't have had to have the exterminators over every 3 months to spray for termites. Concrete does not make for a very tasty meal for termites.

Americans, as a rule, do everything to avoid danger and risk, yet they sleep like logs in their matchstick homes every night.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by tijlover

A stray bullet cannot pierce a concrete wall.

A concrete house in Southern Calif. would be impervious to a brush fire.

The entire west coast from Alaska to the southern tip of Chile is subject to earthquakes. Is that why reinforced concrete homes are preferred? When I had my Arqui-Mex designed earthquake-proof concrete house designed for my lot in Baja California, it was one less worry for me.

What is generally built in Baja CA is not reinforced concrete. It is stuccoed concrete block. Those are different things.

Stick built will probably do very well compared to stuccoed concrete block. If you get to poured or erected reinforced walls different story. Then again if you simply do a first class job on bolting down and reinforcing frame structures you will likely do better yet. Frames weighs a lot less and is proportionaltely stronger than most masonry construction. You can do super masonry...but you can also do super frame.

So you forgot to turn the stove off or the coffee pot or you dumped an ashtray of butts into the trash before you went to sleep. So what!

Garden variety wall board will hold for a while. And concrete construction does not always provide protection. The interior furnishings burn very well. See any of the high rise fires of recent years.

In my house in Phoenix, I wouldn't have had to have the exterminators over every 3 months to spray for termites. Concrete does not make for a very tasty meal for termites.

If you never treated for termites in Las Vegas it is 20 to 1 or better you would be fine. The problem needs to exist before you can fix it.

Americans, as a rule, do everything to avoid danger and risk, yet they sleep like logs in their matchstick homes every night.

[/quote]

Silliness. You end up just as dead when your masonry home falls in.

The likelihood of being burned to death in a fore in an urban us location is very low. More likely the CO from the car will get you.

[RedRockAAAA]

Americans, they ARE a hardy bunch. Have you ever given much consideration to how easily you give trust to the guy driving the car approaching you at 70 plus mph on a two lane road?

We all makes our choices and takes our chances.