Negotiating with Heartland Homes (Pittsburgh: sales, new home, buyers)

[bulldog98]

Can anyone share their experience in negotiating the price of a new construction home with Heartland Homes? The price of their options seems rather high. Will Heartland negotiate on price and if so, how have the negotiations been (quick, drawn out, etc?).

[burger69]

we bought our home.. Heartland Homes has this "we're the best" kind of attitude.. Trust me, they are not.. Buyer beware is all I have to say. If you are one of the lucky ones to not have an issue with your Heartland Home, great for you. If you do have issues with your newly built Heartland Home, buyer beware is all I have to say!!!!

[bulldog98]

What types of issues did you have?

[sr1234]

In this market, you should be getting a great deal for a new home. New home construction in the Pittsburgh area was down around 20% in 2008.

[Kippy]

I can not give you any first-hand experience on negotiating with Heartland, as we decided to go with a smaller local builder. However, I did meet with a Heartland rep to discuss the possibility of building with them and to price out options. I firmly agree with you that Heartland has a "holier than thou" attitude, and the mere mention of negotiating on price was met with a scoff. Behind the rep's desk were newspaper clippings and magazine articles about how Pittsburgh was immune to the declining housing market.

I hope for their sake that it is simply a business tactic. If they can convince you that they don't need your business and have no need to negotiate, you'll simply agree to the sticker price. My advice -- NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE!!! If your rep will not work with you, ask to speak to their superior. There is absolutely no reason that anyone should pay the full asking price for a house, new or exisiting, in this market.

Had I decided to go with Heartland Homes, I guarantee that I would have fought tooth and nail to bring the price down. I also would have insisted that I could use the bank of my choice for the mortgage, as opposed to their "partner" Princeton Financial. Any promotions that they are running, such as free upgrades, are simply the baseline for further negotiation.

In addition, keep in mind that if you bring in a buyer's agent to represent you, they will pay the standard 3% fee out of their pocket. Therefore, by my logic, they should be willing to lower the final price of the house my at LEAST 3% if you do not have a buyer's agent.

Good luck!!!

[bulldog98]

Great comments, thanks. I agree, they do have a "holier than thou" attitude and seem to be dismissive of the true economic realities that they are living in now.

And good thoughts on the 3% buyers agent fee. I never thought of that.

[burger69]

Bulldog98, sorry for the delay.. some times I don't get to check emails that often.
One thing I can say about Heartland; once the sale is complete and they have their monies, there is a 99% chance you will never see them again if you have home issues. All I can say right now is they kept putting us off on some major issues with our brand new built home, throughout our 1st year. After our 1st year warranty was over, they were gone and actually stated to us in writing, that our one year home warranty has expired, the issues we are experiencing are not their issue. I can't say more at this time, but trust me when I tell you, their "customer satisfaction" bs they post, that is about all it is, bs.. If you are fortunate enough to not have any issues, that is great. If you are like us and some other folks we've met; if you have brand new home issues and you own a Heartland Home, buyer beware is all I can say right now... Thanks and good luck! Best advice would be to not waste your time because they really don't care once they have your monies, they are done, period!!!! That was almost straight from the horses mouth!

[Truman325]

A friend of mine is a Realtor and actually admitted to me that it is harder to negotiate with Heartland than other builders in Pittsburgh because they are actually selling more homes than ever before despite the economy. I moved into a Heartland about 7 months ago myself, and I can tell you that they do certainly offer some incentives - just nothing like what Ryan offered us.

I didn't like the idea that Ryan could "suddenly" offer us $50,000 off what the retail price was a year and a half ago. Really was a red flag for me. We built one of Heartland's smaller homes that was new, and their sales person told us their tactice was to offer simply a smaller house with the same quality to make their homes more affordable instead of dropping prices like a rock on their bigger houses. Makes sense to me.

I would certainly negotiate and do your best! We felt like we got a fair price on a great home.

[tootsie69]

My experience with them is not good at all. We have several problems, the worst being crooked floors and a weight bearing wall that wasn't supported properly. They have come to "fix" some things but the results haven't been good either. When they put our baseboards in, they did a lousy job, nail holes not filled and sanded properly all over! Several of our neighbors have problems too. My house is only four yrs. old and paint is chipping outside, walkway is crumbling and sunk, front step sinking and my floors squeak and bounce!! After only 4 yrs? It is not worth the money. I wished we had gone with Ryan or custom. I know there will always be problems, but the problems we have with the floors( I think) all stem from the weight bearing wall not being supported. So now, we are hiring someone on our own to get it done right and we have to pay for it. After paying 368,000 for the house. I would sell this house in a heartbeat if I could.
Now they are trying to put a house on a lot that slopes over the hill side next to me. They don't care about anything but getting the money. A structural enginneer that we had here said "they are crazy if they try to put a house on that lot." Oh, and after being here for 3 1/2 yrs, the come to dig in my front yard and put a manhole cover in it. No one ever called to talk to us about it and it was not in the original plans we were given. We may take them to court for it.
Everyone has water pooling in their back yards. They have fixed some for people but not anymore. They have to have french drains put in themselves. They hire the cheapest landscapers that don't offer quality work. But their service tech guys are extremely nice.

[Truman325]

What community do you live in?