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Maybe I was a liiiitttllllee harsh with the Olthof comment..the townhomes they built in Lake Hills are probably their best product. Everything else they build is crap. But while Lake Hills is upscale, it is not "BY FAR the most upscale". When I think of "by far, the most upscale" i think of places that are extremely exclusive. Park West price point keeps it exclusive. While Briar Ridge is aging and has some homes that are in the $400-$500k range, the high MANDATORY association dues keep it exclusive. Even though Morningside is in Crown Point, it still has a very high price point as well. When you can buy a 1/3 acre of land in Munster for the same price as a new house ON a 1/2 acre in Saint John, that is what I call exclusive.
In terms of topography, I would place Lake Hills on the top AND second on the list. I can't think of another subdivision that comes close in that aspect....you feel like you're in the hills of The South when you drive through Lake Hills. But many of the homes in Lake Hills can also be found in other subdivisions (sans the walk-out basements) as most are semi-custom..some of the homes can also be found on online catalogs. In fact, one of my favorite homes in Lake Hills (that is actually for sale right now) came right out of the catalog. But looks great!
Munster still has a certain exclusive feel to it. So, you're saying Lake Hills has some "cheap" quality homes? There's a mix of builders, but many of the homes look very nice. Regarding the aging subdivisions in NWI, I can remember when Sherwood Forest in Valpo was the rage back in the '90s, but now it looks sooo old.
Munster still has a certain exclusive feel to it. So, you're saying Lake Hills has some "cheap" quality homes? There's a mix of builders, but many of the homes look very nice. Regarding the aging subdivisions in NWI, I can remember when Sherwood Forest in Valpo was the rage back in the '90s, but now it looks sooo old.
Well, what I am saying is that Olthof Homes is not the most quality builder in NWI. Take a tour of an Olthof Home in other subdivisions (like Saddle Creek) and see for yourself. The townhomes and paired villas that they built in Lake Hills are NOT the norm of what they usually build. Their townhomes and paired villas are pretty luxurious compared to what they usually build and since they are known as "the affordable home builder" there is no way that any of their current single-family homes would pass the architectural guidelines to be built as their price point and quality is too low.
I do agree that the mix of builders has lead to a diverse array of high quality homes!
Well, what I am saying is that Olthof Homes is not the most quality builder in NWI. Take a tour of an Olthof Home in other subdivisions (like Saddle Creek) and see for yourself. The townhomes and paired villas that they built in Lake Hills are NOT the norm of what they usually build. Their townhomes and paired villas are pretty luxurious compared to what they usually build and since they are known as "the affordable home builder" there is no way that any of their current single-family homes would pass the architectural guidelines to be built as their price point and quality is too low.
I do agree that the mix of builders has lead to a diverse array of high quality homes!
I think you're mixing the words "quality" and "luxury" to loosely. A home does not have to be custom built with every luxury feature available to be of "quality". Not everyone that wants a new home can afford custom. I know a couple of Olthof home owners that are very happy with their homes, they are a value builder. They also have a A+ BBB rating which is on par with the rest of the region's builders even with building far more homes than anyone else every year.
I think you're mixing the words "quality" and "luxury" to loosely. A home does not have to be custom built with every luxury feature available to be of "quality". Not everyone that wants a new home can afford custom. I know a couple of Olthof home owners that are very happy with their homes, they are a value builder. They also have a A+ BBB rating which is on par with the rest of the region's builders even with building far more homes than anyone else every year.
True, a quality home does not have to be a luxury home. But take a look at a builder such as Barrick Builders. They have homes that are affordable middle class homes of good quality. I have toured a few of their homes. They have a floorplan (forgot the name) that is literally almost an exact copy of Olthof's "Brookfield" plan. The difference in quality is huge. Even if you are just an average business, it is very difficult to get below an A rating.
True, a quality home does not have to be a luxury home. But take a look at a builder such as Barrick Builders. They have homes that are affordable middle class homes of good quality. I have toured a few of their homes. They have a floorplan (forgot the name) that is literally almost an exact copy of Olthof's "Brookfield" plan. The difference in quality is huge. Even if you are just an average business, it is very difficult to get below an A rating.
I have heard of Barrick builders before so I just checked out their website... Olthof's starting prices on a townhome are about $50,000 less and over $100,000 less for a single family home - still a huge difference for most homebuyers. I think a lot of people are more willing to upgrade their homes over time than get everything at once in this market.
I think you're mixing the words "quality" and "luxury" to loosely. A home does not have to be custom built with every luxury feature available to be of "quality". Not everyone that wants a new home can afford custom. I know a couple of Olthof home owners that are very happy with their homes, they are a value builder. They also have a A+ BBB rating which is on par with the rest of the region's builders even with building far more homes than anyone else every year.
I've consistently heard bad things about Olthof Homes, thought it builds many homes year after year. Someone told me about one home having so many nail pops it was unreal. Unfortunately, that's the opinion of many people about this builder.
I've consistently heard bad things about Olthof Homes, thought it builds many homes year after year. Someone told me about one home having so many nail pops it was unreal. Unfortunately, that's the opinion of many people about this builder.
They build many new homes per year because the people buying them only care about "new" and that's it. You can bet that most of the buyers of Olthof's homes wouldn't be able to afford new otherwise and Olthof makes homes affordable by cutting many corners and doing the absolute legal minimum. Olthof's homes that they built in their early years in Lansing and Munster were solid (as were most homes built years ago)...they actually used real brick and wood siding. Now? They use vinyl and decorative concrete facade which (in my opinion) are not as nice and although "maintenance free" do not hold up as well in the long run.
Even take a look at the Park Place Townhomes in Highland (off of Ridge and 5th). These were built around 1998 or so by Olthof and actually used good materials. They were not the most high-end on the inside, but still used quality materials...now take a look at the newer Hamilton Square townhome/condo community in Crown Point (you can see it from I-65). Almost identical floorplans to those used in Park Place but aside from getting stainless steel appliances and a newer place in general, there is not much more that you would be getting.
Overall, if you want a new home but can't afford builders such as Precision, 1st Metropolitan, Armani, or Cook, there are other builders you can go with (Accent Homes, Barrick) that build new, but better quality than Olthof.
They build many new homes per year because the people buying them only care about "new" and that's it. You can bet that most of the buyers of Olthof's homes wouldn't be able to afford new otherwise and Olthof makes homes affordable by cutting many corners and doing the absolute legal minimum. Olthof's homes that they built in their early years in Lansing and Munster were solid (as were most homes built years ago)...they actually used real brick and wood siding. Now? They use vinyl and decorative concrete facade which (in my opinion) are not as nice and although "maintenance free" do not hold up as well in the long run.
Even take a look at the Park Place Townhomes in Highland (off of Ridge and 5th). These were built around 1998 or so by Olthof and actually used good materials. They were not the most high-end on the inside, but still used quality materials...now take a look at the newer Hamilton Square townhome/condo community in Crown Point (you can see it from I-65). Almost identical floorplans to those used in Park Place but aside from getting stainless steel appliances and a newer place in general, there is not much more that you would be getting.
Overall, if you want a new home but can't afford builders such as Precision, 1st Metropolitan, Armani, or Cook, there are other builders you can go with (Accent Homes, Barrick) that build new, but better quality than Olthof.
Guess what - Cultured stone and vinyl siding are what most people want these days. Why wouldn't cultured stone hold up the same as brick? It's made by Owens Corning and it never has to be tuck pointed, it also costs more than real brick. Also, who wants to have to repaint the exterior of their home every few years - I certainly don't - that's why people prefer vinyl over wood siding. The truth is every builder in the region uses the same subcontractors. It's just easiest to go after the frontrunner in building for perceived deficiencies. My parents built a "custom" home by one of the "quality" builders you listed above and had all kinds of problems (the home shifted so much that the countertop separated from the wall by more than an inch). No new home is going to be absolutely perfect forever. The most reputable ones will come back and fix anything that needs to be corrected - which Olthof does. You won’t find any Olthof homes on the MLS listed for re-sale that are deeply discounted because they're falling apart due to lack of build quality. You continue to compare expensive custom homebuilders (which few people can afford) to a production builder like Olthof (which many people can actually afford). This is like comparing a Mercedes to a Ford. While you may prefer the Mercedes and think it's the best thing ever that doesn't make the Ford cheap or undesirable. You just happen to have more expensive tastes and greater means than most other people have and the continued berating starts to sound like snobbery after awhile.
Guess what - Cultured stone and vinyl siding are what most people want these days. Why wouldn't cultured stone hold up the same as brick? It's made by Owens Corning and it never has to be tuck pointed, it also costs more than real brick. Also, who wants to have to repaint the exterior of their home every few years - I certainly don't - that's why people prefer vinyl over wood siding. The truth is every builder in the region uses the same subcontractors. It's just easiest to go after the frontrunner in building for perceived deficiencies. My parents built a "custom" home by one of the "quality" builders you listed above and had all kinds of problems (the home shifted so much that the countertop separated from the wall by more than an inch). No new home is going to be absolutely perfect forever. The most reputable ones will come back and fix anything that needs to be corrected - which Olthof does. You won’t find any Olthof homes on the MLS listed for re-sale that are deeply discounted because they're falling apart due to lack of build quality. You continue to compare expensive custom homebuilders (which few people can afford) to a production builder like Olthof (which many people can actually afford). This is like comparing a Mercedes to a Ford. While you may prefer the Mercedes and think it's the best thing ever that doesn't make the Ford cheap or undesirable. You just happen to have more expensive tastes and greater means than most other people have and the continued berating starts to sound like snobbery after awhile.
Cultured stone costs more, yes, but with Olthof, only the bottom half of the first level front is usually cultured stone (in some cases, the first story front of the home). Also, while I personally have my tastes in the more custom range, I also listed builders who price ranges are similar to Olthof. Barick townhomes start at 164k and their single-family homes at 289k. While it was stated that their single-family homes start almost 100k higher than Olthofs, that is because Barick starts with a larger model. The model that is most comparable to Olthof's is roughly the same price (give or take $10,000 which over 30 years is not much at all).
I am not berating people who cannot afford to build million dollar plus+ homes or anything like that. I know I can't personally afford a million+ home at all. I am just saying that many people lead people to Olthof NOT because they are actually a quality builder, but because they are an inexpensive builder. But I am here saying that there are other area builders almost or just as inexpensive that have built just as many homes (if not, more). People act like if you want an affordable new home, it's "Olthof or bust"...this is not the case.
Cultured stone costs more, yes, but with Olthof, only the bottom half of the first level front is usually cultured stone (in some cases, the first story front of the home). Also, while I personally have my tastes in the more custom range, I also listed builders who price ranges are similar to Olthof. Barick townhomes start at 164k and their single-family homes at 289k. While it was stated that their single-family homes start almost 100k higher than Olthofs, that is because Barick starts with a larger model. The model that is most comparable to Olthof's is roughly the same price (give or take $10,000 which over 30 years is not much at all).
I am not berating people who cannot afford to build million dollar plus+ homes or anything like that. I know I can't personally afford a million+ home at all. I am just saying that many people lead people to Olthof NOT because they are actually a quality builder, but because they are an inexpensive builder. But I am here saying that there are other area builders almost or just as inexpensive that have built just as many homes (if not, more). People act like if you want an affordable new home, it's "Olthof or bust"...this is not the case.
No, it's not the case. I will say people speak with their feet and their wallets though. Instead of critiquing a local homebuilder who has been helping out the local economy for 50 years why don’t you look at what the national builder DR Horton is doing in Winfield and hoping to expand to the rest of the area:
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