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Old 02-13-2011, 07:05 AM
 
214 posts, read 397,501 times
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I'm talking about the tract or spec homes and subdivisions. In this CLT metro area where I am now, a lot of the houses were built literally overnight during the housing boom years. Many are not well built so we opted for an older home not in a HOA subdivision and glad we did. Is this true for the newer housing in the Phoenix metro area?

Also, I have heard about Chinese drywall problems (in newer homes in Florida) and wonder if this drywall was also used in the newer PHX area homes?
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Old 02-13-2011, 07:42 AM
 
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My personal observation on a new home that my friends owned may provide a clue. He asked me to help putty in a doggy door, so I went over to assist him. All we needed to do to put the doggy door in was a stud finder, a hammer and tin snips. We got through the outside stucco in just a couple of minutes, used the snips to cut out the chicken wire, few minutes later we were attacking the drywall. After seeing this I asked him why he even bothered locking his door, all I need to break into his house is a hammer and tin snips.
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Old 02-13-2011, 07:52 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
38,947 posts, read 50,859,936 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ILikeEveryone View Post
I'm talking about the tract or spec homes and subdivisions. In this CLT metro area where I am now, a lot of the houses were built literally overnight during the housing boom years. Many are not well built so we opted for an older home not in a HOA subdivision and glad we did. Is this true for the newer housing in the Phoenix metro area?

Also, I have heard about Chinese drywall problems (in newer homes in Florida) and wonder if this drywall was also used in the newer PHX area homes?
It is a myth that they made them better back in the 1960s (comparing tract to tract). Newer homes have more stringent electrical and structural codes, materials in many cases are safer and more durable. Newer homes are much better insulated and the appliances and HVAC have greater energy efficiencies. On the other hand, the construction skills of the workers are lower and more mistakes are made in newer builds.

Chinese drywall was brought in to the market here, but there have been relatively few complaints. Either there was not that much of it or the lack of humidity here prevents many of the problems that arose in Florida (or our lawyers are focused on some other scam). Some home inspectors check. Homeowners can look in the attic under the insulation for the "Made in China" label.

Last edited by Ponderosa; 02-13-2011 at 08:04 AM..
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Old 02-13-2011, 09:10 AM
 
Location: Historic Central Phoenix
652 posts, read 2,701,432 times
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Most newer homes in subdivisions and HOAs were built very cheaply. Custom homes not so much.

The tract-homes built by developers were purely built for profit and put up as fast as possible. From my experience they do the bare minimum to meet code. They have cheap appliances, thin carpets, poor insulation, cheap windows, and yes, many of them may have dangerous things like Chinese drywall.

If you buy one that is pushing 10 years old you may be looking at hefty repair bills as the appliances, plumbing, carpets, etc may be at the end of their life.
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Old 02-13-2011, 09:35 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
38,947 posts, read 50,859,936 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nickw252 View Post
Most newer homes in subdivisions and HOAs were built very cheaply. Custom homes not so much.

The tract-homes built by developers were purely built for profit and put up as fast as possible. From my experience they do the bare minimum to meet code. They have cheap appliances, thin carpets, poor insulation, cheap windows, and yes, many of them may have dangerous things like Chinese drywall.

If you buy one that is pushing 10 years old you may be looking at hefty repair bills as the appliances, plumbing, carpets, etc may be at the end of their life.
So were the older tract homes. Builders do not build out of love. The motivation is profit. Codes do not address quality of construction or materials generally. Tract homes are and have always been built to minimum standards. The standards today are higher and the materials are often better. The biggest improvements have come in energy and safety. Homes today are much, much better insulated than they were in the 70s. Builder grade appliances have always been low end, but at least today they generally are Energy Star approved. The minimum SEER values for HVAC are twice what they were in the good old days. All builders offer upgraded material quality and efficiency as options.

Numerous more stringent requirements for safety, especially with respect to electrical practices are now in effect. Examples include extensive GFI protection, fire alarms, and sprinklers in some jurisdictions. Structurally, homes today are better. They require much more bracing to resist earth movement, for example. Truss loading and tie requirements are also increased over years ago. Even slab construction has been improved with the use of post-tensioning now standard practice.

Last edited by Ponderosa; 02-13-2011 at 09:53 AM..
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Old 02-13-2011, 09:38 AM
 
Location: Oxygen Ln. AZ
9,319 posts, read 18,678,474 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nickw252 View Post
Most newer homes in subdivisions and HOAs were built very cheaply. Custom homes not so much.

The tract-homes built by developers were purely built for profit and put up as fast as possible. From my experience they do the bare minimum to meet code. They have cheap appliances, thin carpets, poor insulation, cheap windows, and yes, many of them may have dangerous things like Chinese drywall.

If you buy one that is pushing 10 years old you may be looking at hefty repair bills as the appliances, plumbing, carpets, etc may be at the end of their life.
I think it also depends on the builder. Our Shea home is built well enough for a tract home and many people buying during the blitz upgraded the homes far too much. If you buy a 10 year old home and the carpet has not been replace, I don't care who built it, you will replace it along with the appliances and perhaps some plumbing items. If your home is 10 years old and the insulation or the windows have not been replaced with Low E, then again, does not matter who built it, you will have energy issues along with replacing the AC unit if it has not been replaced. The builders here in Vistacia did not use Chinese drywall. I will agree that a slump block home is better construction than sticks and stones, but again you will be looking at replacing windows and to do that in a slump block home is labor intensive and it is difficult to change the sizes of the windows and doors. Homes, no matter what the construction only last so long and to attempt to paint a picture that does not tell the whole story to readers is not helpful.
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Old 02-13-2011, 10:03 AM
YAZ
 
Location: Phoenix,AZ
7,697 posts, read 14,008,138 times
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When we were house hunting here, we found that the older homes had more character and the lot sizes tended to be bigger.
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Old 02-13-2011, 01:40 PM
 
2,942 posts, read 6,489,330 times
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Quote:
Are newer houses poorly built?

Some are, most are not. Next....
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Old 02-13-2011, 02:06 PM
 
65 posts, read 212,139 times
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I had a modest older rental home [1960's] that still was much roomier than the new higher end homes. It had a mud room, enclosed front entrance, kitchen that was twice the size of most modern homes, a pantry room big enough to be a small child's room, thicker walls, and sturdier throughout, huge backyard and good sized front yard. From a time when builders took into consideration the real needs of folks. My friends have found this to be true too, and you can go into most older neighborhoods and see this for yourself.
I am not trying to offend folks in real estate currently, but folks can look for themselves in older neighborhoods; tho these areas may now be less safe, you can tell the homes were once gracious.
Adreana
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Old 02-13-2011, 04:35 PM
 
537 posts, read 1,537,606 times
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I have always lived in red brick houses. The brick house makes me feel secure, although I know mine would be the first to fall in an earthquake. On the other hand, I know that no one is going to make a hole in the wall with tin snips. If I ever had the chance to build what I wanted, it would be made from Integra block or brick and the house would have a full basement. I recently heard that some upscale homes here are being built with safe rooms in them.
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