New home builders in Lincoln/Roseville? (Sacramento, Richmond: for sale, 2010, foreclosed)

[Stan Darsh]

Does anyone have feedback on new home builders, or an idea where I can find it?

I am now getting close to looking for a house and would like some input. I don't know if I should try to find a short sale or re-sale deal as they seem hard to get. I'd rather buy a new home (without having to do any renovating).

When I move at the begninning of 2010, it will be my wife and our newborn. We like the Lincoln and Roseville areas. There were some models that were for sale in the Twelve Bridges area by Richmond American (?) a year ago, and we hope to find something like that now. They were, at the time, a good deal. I like that area, also, I have looked at some stuff by Centex, Standard Pacific. I have just started focussing in on the next step of the move - which is securing a house - and am all over the place.

If anyone knows of builders who offer good value, let me know. Also, let me know if you have any input on which subdivisions are good or not in the area.

Specifically, we want to live in Lincoln - Twelve Bridges seems ideal for us. We don't know too much about the areas. I have been getting market info sent over from a friend and we feel that it is the time to buy (for us). We are looking for 3,000 sq.ft to 5,000. It really depends on the layouts. I hate wasted space, but i need to have enough room to house visitors and operate a temporary home based business (1 room, basically). We aren't looking for the cheapest home, rather, we are looking for the home with the most included for the least amount of money. Quality and materials are important.

A general question (and it may sound stupid), but how does new home warranty work here? Is it legislated by the government that the home builder participates in a specific program or is it different for ever builder.

If anyone has any input, recommendations, advice or musings on what builders to look at or avoid in the area, I'd be pleased to see it. Feel free to PM me, if need be.


Thanks in advance,
Stan

[Stan Darsh]

Can anyone help with this?

[Majin]

Sorry no one lives in Lincoln

[Phil Minor]

Search the archives for the names of the builders you are interested in.

The problem you are facing right now is that foreclosed homes are selling for much less than brand new homes, which has dried up the market for brand new homebuyers. As a result, there just aren't that many people right now look at buying new homes. But if you search the archives you should find people discussing the quality of various builders when that was much more common.

You might also have better results if you mention the name of the builders you are considering and then check back several times in the next couple of days to see if anyone has responded to your thread.

[victoriaR]

Hmmm..

Well, you are going to be getting some nice houses in Twelve Bridges. I don't really remember all the builders, but KB and Beazer have not had the best customer service record. Centex and JMC are better about it. When you purchase a new house, you are given a local agent/office to contact if you have any issues that can be covered with the warranty. I had only a few issues with the warranty people from my builder. Most of the time, they fix it right away and call back to make sure it's all sorted out and you are happy.

There was a major issue I had with the ac unit they put into our house (after replacing it and footing the bill it was discovered the unit was not only way too small for our house, but the coil and furnace were incompatible to the unit. FRUSTRATING!! And they didn't care). So, MAKE SURE your AC unit is big enough for the size of your house, as it gets HOT and if it's underpowered, you will get monster bills (mine reached $700 a month at one point!) Anyway, back on track. You have plenty of choices over there right now. I personally like the Meritage homes. They seem to use nicer materials and they have some of the best floorplans. I don't know of any Meritage in Twelve Bridges, but I do know there are some off of Nicolaus Ave., but that's on the other side of Lincoln.

Personally, I would be looking at re-sales since you can get some REALLY nice houses over there right now, for a FRACTION of what they were even 2 years ago. A lot of them had nanny/in-laws quarters and monster offices, etc. You really can't go too wrong with anywhere in Twelve Bridges. Be sure that the warranties are usually only 5 years. If you are getting an older home, most of them will be running up soon, but the cost difference might make it worth it anyway.

[Stan Darsh]

Originally Posted by Phil Minor

Search the archives for the names of the builders you are interested in.

The problem you are facing right now is that foreclosed homes are selling for much less than brand new homes, which has dried up the market for brand new homebuyers. As a result, there just aren't that many people right now look at buying new homes. But if you search the archives you should find people discussing the quality of various builders when that was much more common.

You might also have better results if you mention the name of the builders you are considering and then check back several times in the next couple of days to see if anyone has responded to your thread.

Thanks for the advice. I will search now through the older posts.
We are looking at Standard Pacific, Centex and William Lyon. There have been others, but it seems that we like the plans of these three the most.

Originally Posted by victoriaR

Hmmm..

Well, you are going to be getting some nice houses in Twelve Bridges. I don't really remember all the builders, but KB and Beazer have not had the best customer service record. Centex and JMC are better about it. When you purchase a new house, you are given a local agent/office to contact if you have any issues that can be covered with the warranty. I had only a few issues with the warranty people from my builder. Most of the time, they fix it right away and call back to make sure it's all sorted out and you are happy.

There was a major issue I had with the ac unit they put into our house (after replacing it and footing the bill it was discovered the unit was not only way too small for our house, but the coil and furnace were incompatible to the unit. FRUSTRATING!! And they didn't care). So, MAKE SURE your AC unit is big enough for the size of your house, as it gets HOT and if it's underpowered, you will get monster bills (mine reached $700 a month at one point!) Anyway, back on track. You have plenty of choices over there right now. I personally like the Meritage homes. They seem to use nicer materials and they have some of the best floorplans. I don't know of any Meritage in Twelve Bridges, but I do know there are some off of Nicolaus Ave., but that's on the other side of Lincoln.

Personally, I would be looking at re-sales since you can get some REALLY nice houses over there right now, for a FRACTION of what they were even 2 years ago. A lot of them had nanny/in-laws quarters and monster offices, etc. You really can't go too wrong with anywhere in Twelve Bridges. Be sure that the warranties are usually only 5 years. If you are getting an older home, most of them will be running up soon, but the cost difference might make it worth it anyway.

Thanks for the insight! I will look in to Meritage homes and see what they have. When I am in the Sacramento area I will try to find an agent in the areas that I like and see what is being offered. So far, I have found redfin.com to be a great tool.

[Marsh511]

Last weekend, our family did the househunting excursion in Roseville, Rocklin, and Lincoln, and we were surprised at how far out and difficult to get to Lincon was. It seemed like any place requiring travel on Route 65 ran the risk of some tremendous traffic jams during much of the day. For access to Sacramento Airport or anything downtown, the West Roseville side was much easier of a drive, with several "quick-cut" routes on surface streets like Pleasant Grove or Fiddyment/Walerga. That whole area also becomes a navigation challenge because of the wide railroad tracks that traverse diagonally between the East and West sides of Roseville and Lincoln. If you're in downtown (old town) Roseville, trying to figure out the best way to cut across to the east side (Sierra College, etc.) was a real puzzle! That said, despite the extra driving time, EAST Lincoln (Twelve Bridges area) was much more attractive than the West side of Lincoln. West Lincoln felt like converted industrial and light commercial land. However, West Roseville had the spacious feel of natural greenbelts and well-planned communities. Rocklin, which lies entirely to the east of the tracks, was the most middle-America/suburban feeling of all of these areas...which may be a positive to some, a negative to others. We personally liked the spacious feeling of West Roseville the best, not to mention the fact that it was the best commute to the airport.

I agree with some previous opinions on new home builders: the good include Standard-Pacific, William Lyon, JTS, JMC, and Signature Properties. The not-so-good would include Centex, KB, and Beazer. I'm on the fence with Lennar. I wish Pulte would put up some new homes, as their designs and floorplans are always appealing to me.

[Stan Darsh]

Originally Posted by Marsh511

Last weekend, our family did the househunting excursion in Roseville, Rocklin, and Lincoln, and we were surprised at how far out and difficult to get to Lincon was. It seemed like any place requiring travel on Route 65 ran the risk of some tremendous traffic jams during much of the day. For access to Sacramento Airport or anything downtown, the West Roseville side was much easier of a drive, with several "quick-cut" routes on surface streets like Pleasant Grove or Fiddyment/Walerga. That whole area also becomes a navigation challenge because of the wide railroad tracks that traverse diagonally between the East and West sides of Roseville and Lincoln. If you're in downtown (old town) Roseville, trying to figure out the best way to cut across to the east side (Sierra College, etc.) was a real puzzle! That said, despite the extra driving time, EAST Lincoln (Twelve Bridges area) was much more attractive than the West side of Lincoln. West Lincoln felt like converted industrial and light commercial land. However, West Roseville had the spacious feel of natural greenbelts and well-planned communities. Rocklin, which lies entirely to the east of the tracks, was the most middle-America/suburban feeling of all of these areas...which may be a positive to some, a negative to others. We personally liked the spacious feeling of West Roseville the best, not to mention the fact that it was the best commute to the airport.

I agree with some previous opinions on new home builders: the good include Standard-Pacific, William Lyon, JTS, JMC, and Signature Properties. The not-so-good would include Centex, KB, and Beazer. I'm on the fence with Lennar. I wish Pulte would put up some new homes, as their designs and floorplans are always appealing to me.

Thanks for the feedback. Being closer to the airport is a positive for us, and I think that Fiddyment is a possibility. I just don't know if I like that subdivision the way it is today. If development were to quicken up and the site get closer to finishing, it would be better. It's tough driving in to areas and seeing development that has been stopped overnight. All new subdivisions that I've looked at have that abandoned feel...

[romanceisdead]

We just got a new house out in Fiddyment. We have been looking to get into the market-- and waiting it out-- for YEARS. Last summer we got into freaking bidding wars for five different bank houses! So we decided to go new. MUCH easier, I can tell you. And it isn't true that new houses are way more. We found them to be about the same-- without all the issues with the bank.

One thing to think about with Lincoln, is the schools. They are NOT great. Look on Great Schools, and you can see the scores. We went with Roseville, because it has really good schools. And all the schools out there in Fiddy are brand new, as well. Nice. We almost went with house in Lincoln awhile back, but the schools stopped me. Rocklin also has great schools. And then, Granite bay and Folsom.

Good luck!

[Stan Darsh]

Originally Posted by romanceisdead

We just got a new house out in Fiddyment. We have been looking to get into the market-- and waiting it out-- for YEARS. Last summer we got into freaking bidding wars for five different bank houses! So we decided to go new. MUCH easier, I can tell you. And it isn't true that new houses are way more. We found them to be about the same-- without all the issues with the bank.

One thing to think about with Lincoln, is the schools. They are NOT great. Look on Great Schools, and you can see the scores. We went with Roseville, because it has really good schools. And all the schools out there in Fiddy are brand new, as well. Nice. We almost went with house in Lincoln awhile back, but the schools stopped me. Rocklin also has great schools. And then, Granite bay and Folsom.

Good luck!

How do you like Fiddyment? Which builder did you go with? I am leaning for new instead of going re-sale as I don't want the hassle as we are moving a large distance.

I've heard from other people too that the schools in Lincoln are not the greatest. It is something that we definitely need to consider.