Help in choosing a builder in rocklin area (Richmond, Vista: real estate, rental)

[Shiny2702]

Hello ,

We are planning to buy a new house in rocklin area and found two communities that we like,
two oaks by D R Horton priced $ 500k - $ 600k for 3100 to 3800 sq.ft homes
The Vistas by JMC homes priced at $550 k- $ 630k for 3100 to 4000 sq.ft homes,

both come under the same school district , i am just really concerned about the D R HORTON reviews by really liked their models homes where as the

[Shiny2702]

Hello ,

We are planning to buy a new house in rocklin area and found two communities that we like,
two oaks by D R Horton priced $ 500k - $ 600k for 3100 to 3800 sq.ft homes
The Vistas by JMC homes priced at $550 k- $ 630k for 3100 to 4000 sq.ft homes,

both come under the same school district , i am just really concerned about the D R HORTON reviews, so many online reviews recommend not to buy D R HORTON homes, i really like their models homes but cant take a chance.

Any suggestions plz....

[daddiesgirl]

Personally I would go with JMC Homes. My wife and I have bought several "new built" homes by various builders including KB Homes, Shappell, DR Horton and also Richmond. My current homes is a JMC and we absolutely love it. The service is fantastic and we have not had any repairs or requests for repairs compared to some of the other builders in the past. But I guess it really depends on your preference on which models you like to be honest. Most newer built homes have much better standards and newer tech these days and I think you'll definitely get what you pay for with both builders.

[enigma99a]

I have a DR Horton home and luckily i have had no issues. But in the neighborhood had issues with their windows leaking and getting behind the stucco.

[Shiny2702]

Thank you Daddiesgirl and Enigma99a for suggestion and your experience with D R Horton builders, i really liked the D R horton model homes and their floor plans with upgrades.

JMC homes are priced 60K more for the same SFT.

[online1]

We had been looking for a home in the area for a few months, primarily older homes. Happened to visit the Serenity homes of DR Horton in Rocklin. We liked one of their plans and decided to consider it. Since there were so many negative reviews about the builder, we were being quite careful. Our experience was pretty much in-line with many reviews you find on the net. We are lucky to get a preview of the company's attitude towards its customer before they had our money so that we could get out. This is our advice for you – Be careful. Read all their policies and fine lines before you go there. Do not be in a hurry, they are not in a hurry to sell you a home also. (Strange!) . If possible, go there with an agent the first time.

[derekjones]

Most new construction homes you are looking at 3-6 month build time once they break ground. No home unfortunately is going to be perfect or problem free. Houses settle, products get recalled, workers make mistakes. Aesthetics wise most builders are even plus or minus a few upgrades. Things to consider about builders are things like who goes beyond bare minimum code? Who makes their homes energy efficient? Solar? Who stands behind their workmanship?

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by Shiny2702

JMC homes are priced 60K more for the same SFT.

JMC costs more for a reason.
When I was house hunting, I'd avoided DRH. If you open the cabinet doors, drawers, shower enclosures, etc at both builder's model homes, you will see a difference. It just depends if the higher end/quality product is worth your money or not. No one can make that decision for you.

Originally Posted by online1

We had been looking for a home in the area for a few months, primarily older homes. Happened to visit the Serenity homes of DR Horton in Rocklin. We liked one of their plans and decided to consider it. Since there were so many negative reviews about the builder, we were being quite careful. Our experience was pretty much in-line with many reviews you find on the net. We are lucky to get a preview of the company's attitude towards its customer before they had our money so that we could get out. This is our advice for you – Be careful. Read all their policies and fine lines before you go there. Do not be in a hurry, they are not in a hurry to sell you a home also. (Strange!) . If possible, go there with an agent the first time.

And get a home inspection, especially on a new DRH house!

[hamstertime]

Originally Posted by Shiny2702

Thank you Daddiesgirl and Enigma99a for suggestion and your experience with D R Horton builders, i really liked the D R horton model homes and their floor plans with upgrades.

JMC homes are priced 60K more for the same SFT.

Shiny,

If you're not in a rush to buy, take your time to learn a bit about build quality and construction cost. We live in a larger custom home now, so we have learned a lot over the years. I'm sure you can tell now that sq does not = sq ft.

I have personally been through almost every model home in every higher end tract neighborhood in the area reaching from Elk Grove all the way to Lincoln from around 2002-2007. It would be impossible for anyone to have seen more homes than I, because I have been through almost every single tract. It was sort of my hobby at the time, and I think with having many conversations with architects and contractors, I have learned a lot.

I would not touch anything by DR Horton or KB (KB probably being the absolute cheapest, terrible build, and many horror stories). In no particular order, in this area I really like Pulte, JMC, Standard Pacific best myself. I think Lennar built some interesting homes (especially the Laureate series and their grand Eisenhower plan, or even their lower series with the Coolidge and Carter plans), but those days are long gone. JTS built some cool homes (man if you check out their homes in Catta Verdera in Lincoln they are spectacular) but my God, they were over-priced and nickle and dimed their buyers for every little detail. Plus, some JTS communities had ridiculously high broker co-ops, meaning, they were encouraging agents to steer customers to them so they can earn a bloated high commission!

After 2008 or so when we had our big real estate crash, in general, you will see less or smaller windows, less counters, less cabinet space, cheap build, deep lots vs. wide lots, etc. Sometimes you can even tell the difference in year just by looking at the cheap roofs and fencing between homes (example Market Street in Roseville 95747...look at the strip of Lennar homes. You can see a drastic difference in quality between the homes built before/during the crash and post crash). I have friends that sold new homes in the area during this whole time and they tell me "they don't build them like they used to."

Look at some homes that were built in 2002-2007 and you will see some fantastic tract homes. Please, do yourself a favor and drive through these neighborhoods. Some great examples in West Roseville; Crocker Ranch (2002-2007), Morgan Creek (the early set), Morgan Greens, Willow Creek, Doyle Ranch. These homes were built at the peak of the market and no expense was spared (since people were paying $. although some will argue that they were rushed jobs).

For tract, they are FANTASTIC, and you will not find beautiful neighborhoods like this anymore in new construction.

Take a look at the new construction homes in Crocker Ranch, then compare them to existing Crocker Ranch neighborhoods such as Laureate by US/Lennar, Esquire by JTS, Vianza by JMC. You will be blown away by the difference!

Drive through Doyle Ranch by Pulte. They are absolutely gorgeous. Pulte made very little money on their single story floorplan, but they built them just to make the neighborhood look more desirable. Those turrets were budget killer$, but the builders overcharged so much at the time they didn't care.

We purchased a large rental for about 100k under building cost in Roseville last year. New construction is so cheap now, that this 2007 built home was priced great for the quality and construction cost. Just completely upgraded for a tract home; every counter is granite, granite in the shower, extensive radiant barrier, solar tile roof (no ugly panels), LOTS of kitchen counter, crazy amount of cabinets, etc.

I know the great feeling of owning a brand new home, but I think better deals/quality can be had in existing homes if you do your homework.

If you do decide to go with a new home, I can vouch for JMC (bought new in 2006). Their service was prompt and excellent. Except for 1 electrical issue I had in the home, which they never fixed. Long story short, they couldn't figure it out, and I was told there were "atmospheric conditions" over my house that were causing 1 GFI to keep going out. Ya, sure, just over 1 outlet, right. We also had a new Lennar home (bought new in 2002) and can tell you customer service was also great, but their turn around time was not as fast as JMC.

PS: The asking prices for new construction are just suggested prices. If you have cash and are a strong buyer you can squeeze a lot out of the builders. On my JMC home in 2006, I paid about $100k less than my neighbors who closed within couple months from me. I was also able to squeeze out about $50k in options at no additional cost. When I told them I'm either going to bring in a broker or they can help me further with the price, they gave me another 2%.

PPS: Now I feel stupid because this thread is over year old.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by hamstertime

PPS: Now I feel stupid because this thread is over year old.

Really good info though, so don't feel too bad.