Promontory Pointe (Ryland Homes) (San Antonio, Spring: neighborhoods, schools, subdivisions)

[winst0n]

from my friends' experiences ryland homes in general is a good reputable builder... the thing that happened in live oak is somewhat isolated... and there is no perfect builder, even with the most expensive house/builder people always have to have something to complain about...

and promontory pointe is a very nice area... its sitted high and depending on the neighborhood you are in, you have views of either the city or the hill country...

[lamiss933]

Ryland, Medallion, Pulte & Wilshire have all been here in San Antonio for years. McMillin is a newcomer but I was familiar with that company when I lived in San Diego many years ago. The 3 neighborhoods you're looking at are all very nice -- Promontory Point does have nice views. San Antonio property taxes are high -- but most of it is school tax. Out of the city in the county you will have lower taxes until the city annexes that neighborhood --- which is not an over-night process. Comal County taxes are less than Bexar County taxes -- but I wonder how long that will be the case, as more and more subdivisions sprout up there and there's a need for more fire & police stations and of course, more schools (which our taxes pay for).

There are other subdivisions that are very nice and priced similarly to those 3.
They're located off of IH-10-W around Boerne Stage Rd. and north of 1604 W between IH-10 and Hwy. 151. The area is growing rapidly and these subdivisions are located in the Northside Independent School District which is also an award winning school district.

[TXRose]

McMillin is newer, but they bought Gordon Hartman Homes which had been in SA for quite some time. Thy kept any of the sales and construction staff that wanted to stay on. Gordon Hartman was a very reputable builder here.

[JNA]

Thanks for all the feedback! It's been very helpful for both me and my wife! We look forward to our next trip to San Antonio on Labor Day weekend. We plan on having a final decision made by then.

[pobre]

Originally Posted by sailorgirl2007

We worked with an agent who says that Stone Oak is one of the more prominant areas of SA. Is this true?
Although we were impressed with our neighborhood and the model home, we're starting to hear all the horror stories regarding Live Oak. Anyone Ryland home owners from Stone Oak willing to provide some good insight? Also, how long did it take for your house to be built? We signed in late April and they've just barely started building.

Stone Oak: Yes, it is one of the premiere places to live. Great schools, low crime, great property values, master planned community, wide range of home prices.


Ryland in Stone Oak vs Live Oak: First of all, many of the problems the Live Oak people are having are mailnly due to the soil type (soft soil=shifting foundation). The soil can vary greatly across San Antonio. In Stone Oak, you are almost on solid rock (STONE Oak, get it?) Seriously, you should niot have the problems they are having. My home in Stone Oak (by Ryland) is NOT having issues, and it is now 6 years old.

As for building speed, we have had HUGE amounts of rain, which does delay construction. We signed our contract late April (2001) and they strated around end of June. Factor in the copius amounts/days of rain we have had, and it makes sense.

[JNA]

Originally Posted by pobre

Stone Oak: Yes, it is one of the premiere places to live. Great schools, low crime, great property values, master planned community, wide range of home prices.

Ryland in Stone Oak vs Live Oak: First of all, many of the problems the Live Oak people are having are mailnly due to the soil type (soft soil=shifting foundation). The soil can vary greatly across San Antonio. In Stone Oak, you are almost on solid rock (STONE Oak, get it?) Seriously, you should niot have the problems they are having. My home in Stone Oak (by Ryland) is NOT having issues, and it is now 6 years old.

Thanks! All the feedback has helped us feel more comfortable. Still haven't made a final decision about which community we'll be deciding on, but my wife and I are both anxiously forward to being able to making a decision soon and hopefully living in San Antonio by middle of next year!

[sailorgirl2007]

Thanks for the great feedback. We are just very excited and can't wait for our house be finished.

[2Blonde]

I feel your pain Sailorgirl, I signed a landscaping contract over 2 months ago and it was was supposed to take 3 weeks to finish all the work. Everything went beautifully the first 4-5 days while they cleaned, cleared and scarified my land. Then the rains set in. Over the last 2months we've gotten in about 3 more days of work. Every time it rains we have to wait a few days for it to dry out so they can get the bobcats in to finish the sprinkler trenching and a bunch of other stuff. I have been having to wash my dog off every time she she goes outside to pee because she gets muddy since we have no landscaping. But tomorrow is supposed to be the big day, SOD!!! if it doesn't frigging rain again tonight.

[JNA]

Originally Posted by sailorgirl2007

Thanks for the great feedback. We are just very excited and can't wait for our house be finished.

Hope it turns out great! We just entered into a contract and hope to be a part of the neighborhood and San Antonio by middle of next year!

[SoCal transplant]

We moved from L.A. in July 2006, and moved into the Stone Oak area. I too visited several times, and thought that traffic was pretty tame (visited mostly on weekends) - let the schools be back in session, and traffic will be much worse. Aside from that, the area is great. Lots of conveniences, medical/dental (any specialty you could think of), lots of dining and shopping (lots of upscale), and stores to choose from: HEB (no Ralph's, Albertsons, Trader Joes, etc.), Target, Costco, and even a Wal-Mart.

We moved into a semi-custom in The Glen of Stone Oak, on the opposite side of S.O. Pkwy from Promontory Pt - and the schools are really good. That development is part of Stone Oak ES, probably the new for 2007-08 Lopez MS, and Reagan HS (both Stone Oak Elem. and Reagan are exemplary schools).

There are some other subdivisions you might want to consider that are close to Promontory Pt - "Terra Bella" is a great development with good builders (David Weekly Homes in particular), The Ridge at Canyon Springs (Highland Homes), and a great neighborhood with great appreciation, The Heights of Stone Oak (new development, Park Hill, for Monticello Homes).

Taxes really are going to be the shocker - remember, the average is 3% of the appraised value! We pay over $9,000 in taxes. After January, you can file for a "Homestead", which will help keep the appraisal district from appraising your home some unGodly amount (our home appraisal was 26.99% higher than last year!

Good luck