Pulte vs. Lennar (home, elementary school, basement)

[coltank]

Originally Posted by anuram

Thank you all for the helpful replies.

Regarding 540, it is 2000 feet away, and there are bunches of houses and some trees, between the lot and the hwy. I am hoping we will be fine there.. we are still researching it.

Lennar's options are acceptable for us, but the daylight basement is really tempting. The house has the potential to grow with the family. We are just worried reading about Pulte's reputation (But I also see similar, maybe not quite as much, bashing about Lennar and in fact, about every other builder like KB, DR, etc too).

From sacredgrooves' post, I am hoping the Pulte has better quality now than before. We will be sure to do the inspection, thanks for the tip.

*IF* we decide to go with Pulte, by how much can we expect to bring down the discounted list price (the original list price was some ridiculously high number)?

Be sure to only pay attention to anything local. A lot of times there on things people post on the internet that may have nothing to do with how things are done in this area. Personally, I wouldn't pay too much attention to someone's bashings, as you only get one side of the story, and they may be whack jobs anyway.

[techtemple]

The Lennar community you're talking about is close to Durham. In fact, I think it borders Chatham county. If there is any rezoning, you could end up in Chatham county. Not that its bad, but if your preference is to be in one county, it may be. I also heard that there is a recycling facility near 147 and 55 and that in the summer, on days when the humidity is high there is a slight stench. Has anyone experienced this before? I also heard that your kids will sometimes go to Chatham county schools, even though you live in Wake county.. I'm not sure if anyone knows more details.

[sls76]

Originally Posted by techtemple

The Lennar community you're talking about is close to Durham. In fact, I think it borders Durham county. If there is any rezoning, you could end up in Durham county. Not that its bad, but if your preference is to be in one county, it may be. I also heard that there is a recycling facility near 147 and 55 and that in the summer, on days when the humidity is high there is a slight stench. Has anyone experienced this before? I also heard that your kids will sometimes go to Durham schools, even though you live in Wake county.. I'm not sure if anyone knows more details.

Do you seriously think Cary and Wake County are going to give up land to Durham? Those homes are assigned to Wake County schools and I wouldn't worry too much about suddenly being assigned to Durham schools.

[TechieMommy]

Techtemple, I was also a little concerned about the proximity of Lennar to Chatham county. I am new to Cary and NC, and so I am not sure of the policies surrounding school zones.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by anuram

Techtemple, I was also a little concerned about the proximity of Lennar to Chatham county. I am new to Cary and NC, and so I am not sure of the policies surrounding school zones.

If the home is in Wake County, you will be in Wake County Public Schools.

[VickiR]

As far as price...with Lennar "everything is included" so the price that you agree upon IS the price you pay.

With Pulte, you start with a base price and then add your options at the design center. Be careful of what you add. Have your Realtor ask the onsite agent what the typical options run...it could be anywhere from 10% to 20% of the base price.

Pricewise, you may be surprised to end up with the price being very similar.

I've never heard of Wake County giving up land to Durham County or Chatham County.

Maybe you are thinking of Morrisville giving up land to Cary, but that is all within Wake County.

Living in Wake County means you go to Wake County schools even if you are closer to one of the other counties.

Vicki

[MikeJaquish]

I think some of the confusion stems from Cary's annexation of a portion of Amberly in Chatham County.
Kids in Chatham County go to Chatham County Schools, and Wake kids go to Wake.

[TechieMommy]

Yes, Morrisville giving up land to Cary, and Amberly being spread over Chatham and Wake caused some confusion. Now, it is clear though, thanks!!

[CAKD]

We owned a Lennar home. I will never purchase from them again. Their company has no morals. Their product was shabby ($500-900K homes in CA) they were awful.

[techtemple]

Did you buy your Lennar home in CA or in NC? It all depends on the location because the quality is determined by the subcontractors.

<b>Not many people know that Pulte homes in Cary/Raleigh and Toll Brothers in Cary/Raleigh use the same framers!!</b> That's just here. In other parts of the country, it could differ. So, don't generalize quality.

There are bad reviews out there on the internet, but remember, Pulte is a national builder. They build millions of homes all across the US. The ratio of complaints to homes built is far less for Pulte than other builders. The average buyer out there googles for Pulte quality and comes up with photos of shoddy workmanship claimed by someone. These guys do it just for the compensation, ability to sue. It's like a few people saying they found a finger in Wendy's hamburger.

It's dumb to brand a whole builder as shoddy or incapable. The materials, regions, subcontractors, project manager, construction workers, cost, time, economy all go in to determine the quality of your home. Don't blindly follow custom builders and don't blindly discard track builders. Use a home inspector and inspect every inch of your home for quality, workmanship, etc. Study/Research the community, area, schools for resale value, price per sf, etc. This is what will ultimately determine your home's quality.. not the brand name.