New Home Lot Sizes..

[neddy]

I know KB homes in other states are pretty to very good. For some reason KB homes here in Texas seem to have a lot more problems. I have started to notice the KB is coming in to the market with a higher end product now days in SA and Austin. With that being said I also know a few people with KB homes that are very content. I think there are a few even on the board here if you can get in touch with a real estate pro here they would be able to tell you the difference. I know my last agent I had said that she had a lot of Cali clients that would see KB here and think wow great deal but once they saw the house itself they would walk away cause it was not the KB they were used to.

[Turtle_Mom]

Well we are in one of the neighborhoods where they have really tried to create a better product, neighborhood etc.

The stories about problems with KB are close to 5 years old now. They really have worked on taking care of those problems and changing their image.

I don't think they are any different than any of the economical homes like Ryland, Centex, DR Horton etc.

I think the house style in general is different out here than California. The standard home in California will have the taller ceilings, rounded corners, architectural niches, open great rooms, etc. The standard house out here with only front brick, or 3 sides brick with siding does look quite different to people used to stucco or stone. A lot of the houses start to look the same - like big boxes. There is also very little variation in the floorplans with the living/dining combo and then family/kitchen. You do have to go up to the 300K range to start getting any home with character here in SA.

[chito]

Well thanks for all your responses. Its given me a pretty good idea what to expect. There seems to be a lot of differing opinions about builders, but I guess I'll get to see things first hand when I get out there. I was more concerned about subdivisions that are block walled in. Creating these ridiculous looking eyesores out in the middle of open spaces. The KB development I'm in is quite nice because it has lots of open space surrounding it and there are no block walls to delineate where one subdivision starts and the other one picks up. Were interested in acreage in the long term, but we figure a builder home would be a good transition for a few years till we get acclimated with Texas

[guerosincero]

Originally Posted by chito

Well thanks for all your responses. Its given me a pretty good idea what to expect. There seems to be a lot of differing opinions about builders, but I guess I'll get to see things first hand when I get out there. I was more concerned about subdivisions that are block walled in. Creating these ridiculous looking eyesores out in the middle of open spaces. The KB development I'm in is quite nice because it has lots of open space surrounding it and there are no block walls to delineate where one subdivision starts and the other one picks up. Were interested in acreage in the long term, but we figure a builder home would be a good transition for a few years till we get acclimated with Texas

Do you have an aversion to older homes in older neighborhoods? You can get some really nice houses on either side of 410 north of town.

[bowjak]

Up until a year or so ago, most of the cookie cutter builders were just mowing down all of the trees and building houses within ten feet of each other. A typical lot now is probably .15 to .20 acres, the larger of which is a corner lot. I am not sure why the cookie cutters don't just build row houses. That way they could squeeze out a few more homes in every neighborhood and make more money. San Antonio used to be a very quiet and clean large city. Moderator cut: rude

People seem to have an aversion to row houses outside of areas where they were the norm for single family residences (I'm thinking particularly of Baltimore). Since Texas just has so much land, there's really been little to no need for attached SFRs, so people aren't used to them and are uncomfortable with the concept. Even if the yard in McMansion Glen or Tract Home Estates is the size of a postage stamp, or even if the builder is following a zero lot line plan, people still need the psychological distinction of "a yard".

[2Blonde]

Originally Posted by chito

Well thanks for all your responses. Its given me a pretty good idea what to expect. There seems to be a lot of differing opinions about builders, but I guess I'll get to see things first hand when I get out there. I was more concerned about subdivisions that are block walled in. Creating these ridiculous looking eyesores out in the middle of open spaces. The KB development I'm in is quite nice because it has lots of open space surrounding it and there are no block walls to delineate where one subdivision starts and the other one picks up. Were interested in acreage in the long term, but we figure a builder home would be a good transition for a few years till we get acclimated with Texas

Well most of the subdivisions in the city limits are block walled at the entrances and exits but they seem to keep in line with the architecture of the homes. As far as the lot sizes there are more subdivisions opening up outside of the city limits that offer lots from one to three acres. A lot of these offer gated and non-gated areas and someone else already explained the fencing regulations. But if you are considering this in a few years I would really suggest looking at his land now and finding a lot to purchase. A couple of hundred dollars a month extra right now to buy that lot is something you won't ever regret. You can build later but the land prices keep going up so if you buy your lot now you can still get it at a decent price. Then if you change your mind later and decide you want a different lot, you can sell your lot for a profit and use it to buy the new one.