What Builders Should I Avoid in Cary/Apex?

[ferrickhead28]

I recently bought a house through Anderson and I LOVE it. Energy saving home, definately saved me alot of money on my electric bills. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful customer service. Even a couple of months after purchase, they still go out of their way to answer any questions we may have.

Yeah, I wasnt impressed much with KB homes either.

Centex is pretty good, they did get the JD Powers award. The ones I viewed had very small lots so you were really close to your neighbors.

I think in your price range, you might want to look at the bordering cities. Clayton (where I live) has several houses in that range. Another place to look would be Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina and possibly Apex.

Good luck!!
Feel free to PM if you have any questions!

[Crooklyn Lover]

Originally Posted by erin1965

Preservation Homes gets high marks from me. Also the builders that have built in White Hall Manor. Both of those are Apex neighborhoods.

I lived in a 40+ year old "real" house in Baltimore for 10 years. Hardwoods throughout. Smooth ceilings - high ones. A basement!!!!! We had the original furnace taken out to install AC. The thing was fine.

Bought new in Apex nearly 11 years ago....have had a few issues in terms of quality of the AC that was installed, and some flooring issues. Love the floorplan but it's not a "real" house to me.

Steer clear of production builders. And good luck!

"Production builders"? Is that a company or a style of home?

[sacredgrooves]

Some background before my opinion; I am a building inspector with a family owned company that has been around over 25 years. I personally have inspected approximately 5,000 homes. I have absolutely zero stake/partnership with any builder.

Centex: my favorite tract builder. They all have issues, but what sets Centex apart is their service after the fact. I have seen firsthand Centex willing to fix items 10 years later that would not of been evident at the time of construction.

Tract builders in general: The foremen are the direct reason for quality of work. If the foreman allows alot of slack, the laborers will run with it. If the foreman is on point, the laborers tend to be also. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" definitely applies with tract builders. You need to be visible and show that you are paying attention. If you see something that looks amiss, bring it up immediately. At the same time, you have to allow for certain cosmetic leeway as building materials are not perfect.

New homes vs. old homes:
new homes are more energy efficient
new homes are under warranty
new homes tend to appreciate significantly more

old homes are built with better materials
you know exactly what you are getting with the neighborhood
neighborhoods have mature vegetation and more trees
older neighborhoods tend to be more conveneient to the city


I personally like new homes because the layouts are more conducive to our lifestyle

[transplanted yankee]

This thread shows perfectly that you have to buy a home according to what suits you the best! Many good opinions here. Some people feel really comfortable in a new home and some feel really comfortable in an older home!
Just check re-sales in what ever neighborhood you are buying in. Are they appreciating and what is the average days on market.

[idotoo]

First of all....NEVER belive JD Powers rating. Trust me i know. I've worked for lennar,pulte,centex through out the years and know a little about them. The surveys are a farce. The MAIN goal of their operation(besides making $$) was the JDP ratings. Bonuses were based on their JDP ratings.(in some cases other things too) They will tell you anything to get an "extreamly likely" 10 on your survey. There are SOME who really want and will do the right thing,but to most its just numbers. Theres so many customers out there that dont even know a centex,lennar etc... employee actually filled out the suvey themselvs.

[amcjap]

We love our Centex home in Grandale and our neighbors are very happy with their homes as well. The two year warranty is great. They fix things within a day or two of an e-mail. Our gas & electric is less than $150 here. In NJ our (140 year old drafty) house was half the size and our gas & electric was
$450/month.

I totally understand the OP's feelings on NJ. My parents dragged me there kicking and screaming from NYC and it's taken me 32 years to get out.

[BigPapi33]

Hi,

We purchased a DR Horton home over a year ago. The homes are well built, but have their minor issues here and there, mostly cosmetic. However, it has been impossible to get them to do warranty work and their customer service is non-existant at best, downright rude and lying at worst.

They laid off the rest of the warranty staff and several builders...so who knows who will finish the warranty work.

My $0.02.

[eloyfan]

Originally Posted by I'minformed2

You can't stand NJ or people from NJ?......Then I don't think Cary or Apex is the place for you. There are probably more people in both of those towns who were born in NJ than were born in NC. You will feel like you never left. (and $180k to $220k really won't get you that much house here any more).

Oh yes, that x1000.........

[loweyecue]

I avoid Centex, Pulte, Orleans, M/I, ...list goes on
Good wa to judje builders is to go to neighborhhods that are 6-8 years old by the same builders and ask those people how they like their houses now. You will get a pretty good read on the real quality of the houses.

[mjohnson185]

You can buy a brand new home in South Lakes/Fuquay Varina. No tract homes. Local custom builders.