Reputation of home builders in SA (Schertz, Alamo: sales, insurance, lawyers)

[ko1212]

Can anyone tell me about the reputation of various home builders in SA? Who would you consider the better, more reputable builders in the area. I'm considering relocating to SA from FL. Thanks.

[ALQNsMommy]

Avoid Meritage Homes (Legacy Homes) at ALL costs! We moved here from out of state in June and purchased a newly constructed home from them. Life has been a living hell ever since. The shabbiest construction I've ever seen. A builder like this from back home would have been run out of town. I'd be curious to see if you anyone posts info on a good one though as we'd like to move out of this dump and custom build. P.S. Our home was on the market for over $400 so not cheap.

[ilmd]

You need to find a builder that does not hire illegals- so many hire the guys coming over from Mexico who can't read- that means they can't measure, either!! A friend has had to get out of 2 contracts because he went every day to the building site. The shoddy workmanship that he wittnessed was shocking! During the framing process, the boards would be several inches off- not good! The master bedroom plumbing was 4 feet off- it wasin the family room! You might be better to interview some smaller builders- ask specifically about who he uses for his different jobs. You would be better off with a GC who hires his subs himself. Good luck.

[lgly]

What about David Weekley and Newmark? A friend of mine just bought a David Weekley's home, when they shop for home insurance, they got discount point for reputable builder. I also hear Ryland is also good, though I have no experience with them.

[cheermomof4girls]

We are having a Ryland home built. I have been very happy with the sales people and the building supervisor. They welcome any questions, comments and concerns. They also welcomed the mentioning of hiring a personal home inspector during the building process. But, just like the inspector told me, it is not necessarily the company you have to worry about, but how good your building supervisor is. I don't think there there is any one perfect builder. We have had issues here and there, but they have been very good and quick about resolving them.

[nrlatsha]

KB Homes has foundation issues, at least in some neighborhoods, I know banker will disagree.

I had a KB Home, got engineers, lawyers, yada, yada, yada, long story short. I now have a Pulte Home in Alamo Ranch that I love.

I've also said before that all builders have problems, its simple percentages. The real key is how they handle those problems. I give KB a 0 (a sliding scale of 1 to a million).

[texscot]

Originally Posted by ko1212

Can anyone tell me about the reputation of various home builders in SA? Who would you consider the better, more reputable builders in the area. I'm considering relocating to SA from FL. Thanks.

Benchmark and Tillson have good reputations. Try the North East of the city. We live in the Schertz/Cibolo area. Growing, but not too populated as yet.
Texscot

[els565]

From what I've heard, the quality of a home really depends on the construction supervisor and how many homes he is supervising and just how good he is.

It's frustrating because one house might stink and another could be great quality...all within the same neighborhood.

FYI...most homes east of I-35 have the potential (not a guaranteed thing) for foundation problems because they are sitting on clay. Watch the weather tonight and you'll see that west of I-35 is rock and east is clay. So, you have to be extra vigilent regarding your foundation if you're going to buy a home east of I-35.

Good luck!

[Daduw6kids]

Originally Posted by els565

From what I've heard, the quality of a home really depends on the construction supervisor and how many homes he is supervising and just how good he is.

It's frustrating because one house might stink and another could be great quality...all within the same neighborhood.

FYI...most homes east of I-35 have the potential (not a guaranteed thing) for foundation problems because they are sitting on clay. Watch the weather tonight and you'll see that west of I-35 is rock and east is clay. So, you have to be extra vigilent regarding your foundation if you're going to buy a home east of I-35.

Good luck!

This is true. Builders are a hit and miss. I bought a Meritage home and am happy, but I've heard stories about others who are not (with just about every builder). The best thing you can do if you are buying a home on spec is to hire a good inspector. If you're building, hire an inspector, but also get involved in the process - the more questions you ask and the more times you go out to the property to check up on things, the better. Homes are investments, and they require you to roll up your sleeves if you want to make sure it's done right.

[Latinocowboy]

This is why you arm yourself with knowledge, hire your own inspector, and prepare yourself mentally for the battles ahead. Go in with both eyes open.

You can have the best Superintendent that has good intentions and still end up with major construction issues. Ours was supposedly one of D.R. Horton's top guys, however, he could not keep up with the amount of homes he was responsible for, in addition to constantly having to re-address punch-lists due to trades that just couldn't get it right the first, second, third time.

There are upper management pressures, cost-cutting, quotas... and everything is hinged on the quality of the trades (i.e. unskilled workers). Top it all off with an unregulated, corrupt industry and you'll see how the home buyer is fighting an uphill battle from the start.