Any opinions on Craftstar Homes? (Germantown, Clarksburg: house, high school, agent)

[psychofan]

We're looking at a brand new construction (actually construction hasn't even started yet) by Craftstar Homes in Germantown (corner of Schaeffer Road/Clopper Road) and were wondering if there are any opinions about the quality and value of the homes and the builder themselves. They've cleared the areas, but actual construction may not start until November-February later this year into next. Therefore, no model homes to look at right now.

I know they recently built a planned community up in Clarksburg (which I might visit in a week or so), so I would love to hear opinions from anyone who had bought a Craftstar SFH or TH in that community. Which options were worthwhile (e.g. masters suite loft, 4' extensions, etc.)?

For elementary schools, this area sits between Spark Matsungna and Ronald McNair, while Middle School would be Kingsview and Northwest for High school.

Additionally, is it worthwhile to hire a realtor to negotiate with the builder? Lastly what is the typical range of homeowner's insurance cost in this area (Montgomery County)?

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by psychofan

We're looking at a brand new construction (actually construction hasn't even started yet) by Craftstar Homes in Germantown (corner of Schaeffer Road/Clopper Road) and were wondering if there are any opinions about the quality and value of the homes and the builder themselves. They've cleared the areas, but actual construction may not start until November-February later this year into next. Therefore, no model homes to look at right now.

I know they recently built a planned community up in Clarksburg (which I might visit in a week or so), so I would love to hear opinions from anyone who had bought a Craftstar SFH or TH in that community. Which options were worthwhile (e.g. masters suite loft, 4' extensions, etc.)?

For elementary schools, this area sits between Spark Matsungna and Ronald McNair, while Middle School would be Kingsview and Northwest for High school.

Additionally, is it worthwhile to hire a realtor to negotiate with the builder? Lastly what is the typical range of homeowner's insurance cost in this area (Montgomery County)?

I don't know anything about Craftstar other than they are the TH division of Craftmark -- of which my cousin owns a spectacular house in the darnstown/germantown area built by them, and they love it. They have the same facades as the Craftmark SFH, which are usually stone and quite nice. I would definitely recommend going up to Clarksburg, where you can see the TH model which has the master loft finished off (that is 4 floors). We looked at that layout but didn't like the fact that the kids would end up being below us instead of on the same floor/above us.

I would definitely use a buyer's agent in this market - not only do you not pay a thing (the commission is built into the (inflated) constructed price) but you need as much representation as you can get. One thing I would definitely do for myself this time around is get a lawyer to review any construction contracts. We were naive and stupid when we bought our new TH 8 years ago and by the grace of God have not had any problems. But it is worth the couple $$ for peace of mind because any contract by any builder is written to protect the builder, not you.

The options that you want at the time of construction are those that you cannot change after settlement - all the bumpouts, foundation changes, etc., that create more sq. footage but cannot be done after settlement. All the other stuff - putting in wood floors, upgraded lighting, etc., you can do after the fact (though it is a pain and sometimes can be cheaper for you to do during construction and roll into the loan - someone once told me that for every $1000 you add to your price, you are adding $7 a month to the mortgage note).

Those schools are very good. The Northwest cluster is a good cluster.