Moving into the Quarry at Iron Mountain (Post: buying a home, inspector)

[NIX159]

Originally Posted by mrstxcop

it is a nice neighborhood given that it is KB ... i was impressed but not any more impressed than the KB neighborhood out in Boerne, Herff ranch ... the high end Herff Ranch homes were just as nice, IMO...i am sure banker has a much different opinion...

as many have said though, at a 275k+ price tag i don't think KB would have been my first choice because of the name and because of resale...it was hard enough selling our previous KB home for 155k because of the name, i can't imagine trying to resell a 300k KB home...our realtor admitted that several people backed out of seeing our home due to the builder...

I agree with your point 100% with the resale challenges of a KB Home. My neighbors that have been trying to sell their home had numerous amounts of feedback from the buyers "we would probably buy if it wasn't a KB Home". This is what really opened up my eyes. Despite the quality of the product, the KB name really has an influence on a buyers decision. This was even before the kblies signs in the front lawns surfaced in the neighborhood, and the car parked in front of the model everyday with a kblies.com sign in the windshield. I can't imagine their reputation improving anytime soon becasue I still occasionaly see KB on the news with some sort of bad feature on them.

[mrstxcop]

Originally Posted by banker

Herff Ranch offered the Liberty series home (which I built) but never offered the Estate plans. In addition, the new floor plans that are coming next month (a new model is under construction) will be nicer than what is available at Herff Ranch.

As to reselling something from a builder with less than a stellar reputation. You are absolutely right, that can impact resale. But I would venture to say that a $155K house isn't built to the same standards as the homes in the Quarry. So - to a degree you are comparing apples and oranges. I also know from personal experience that after a number of years, the home buyers become more interested in the houses themselves and the current quality of the community rather than who built the house. When I say, a number of years, I am talking 20 years +/-. There are plenty of nice homes that were built 20 years ago from builders that went out of business for one reason or another that sell because of the house and community. I am a prime example...my last house was built by NPC - a bankrupt builder from 25 years ago. NPC had a poor reputation in its day - one of the reasons they went under - but when it came time to sell my house - it sold in five days - for asking price in January. Why? Well - people wanted to live in that community, loved the house and appreciated the condition of the home.

Now - I had spoken to some of the original residents that built in that community with NPC before they went out of business and they said that initially you couldn't give the houses away - But after the construction was done and the neighborhood became established values began to increase. There is an element of that with every builder...even the ones that have poor reputations from other communitites. KB managed to build very nice homes in the Quarry - and in time I am hopeful that the mature community will only enhance the value instead of letting the KB name detract from it.

while i agree with you that a 155k home varies greatly to a 300k home in the end you still see KB --- KB is what screams out --- you mention a home being built with standards, but that's just it, all KB homes are built by KB standards, i don't care how much you paid for it ... i don't care that a 300k home has granite or high ceilings or big front doors or 4 sides brick ... regardless of whether the studs are 12inches apart or 16inches apart ... a home at ANY price level can be and should be built to a certain standard, a standard that KB long since disregarded ... the shell of the home is what holds that home up and if KB would have just done things right from the beginning this horrid stigma that follows them would not exist...

i know what you are going to say...that all the things i listed are selling points and it does matter how far the studs are but i can bet money that if someone had 300k to drop on a house and they saw say a Wilshire home w/ 16inch studs or a 300k KB home with 12inch studs the Wilshire home would win out, just because of KB's reputation...

i know you will have an arguement, you always do, and that's okay, but 1 person rooting for KB is not going to change KB's reputation ... only KB can do that, and it seems like maybe they are trying...but it also seems that it may be too late --- they have long since dug their graves ...

if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck...well...you know the rest of the saying...

[nrlatsha]

Originally Posted by NIX159

I still occasionaly see KB on the news with some sort of bad feature on them.

I though ksat had a section devoted to KB stories... It used to be between the weather and entertainment buttons...

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by mmac12

The traffic at Stone Oak can be high at rush hours ,but it's not bumper to bumper it moves slowly during these times. Trust me this is not the traffic nightmare it's made out to be !

I'll beg to differ. It's often worse than portrayed. Sometimes it moves...but it's the overall density of vehicles in the area...it's saturated!! No thanks.

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by mrstxcop

while i agree with you that a 155k home varies greatly to a 300k home in the end you still see KB --- KB is what screams out --- you mention a home being built with standards, but that's just it, all KB homes are built by KB standards, i don't care how much you paid for it ... i don't care that a 300k home has granite or high ceilings or big front doors or 4 sides brick ... regardless of whether the studs are 12inches apart or 16inches apart ... a home at ANY price level can be and should be built to a certain standard, a standard that KB long since disregarded ... the shell of the home is what holds that home up and if KB would have just done things right from the beginning this horrid stigma that follows them would not exist...

i know what you are going to say...that all the things i listed are selling points and it does matter how far the studs are but i can bet money that if someone had 300k to drop on a house and they saw say a Wilshire home w/ 16inch studs or a 300k KB home with 12inch studs the Wilshire home would win out, just because of KB's reputation...

i know you will have an arguement, you always do, and that's okay, but 1 person rooting for KB is not going to change KB's reputation ... only KB can do that, and it seems like maybe they are trying...but it also seems that it may be too late --- they have long since dug their graves ...

if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck...well...you know the rest of the saying...

Agree here. Certain folks see things through rose colored glasses though. I have a friend that's like this..nicest guy you could know but he gets burned due to naivety. Sad. He's very regimented and thinks logically,but there can be no "gray areas" for him..it's either black..or white. That hurts him in the real world.

[jas2389]

Originally Posted by NIX159

This was even before the kblies signs in the front lawns surfaced in the neighborhood, and the car parked in front of the model everyday with a kblies.com sign in the windshield.

For those on the fence about accepting Banker's offer to preview the Quarry...What other neighborhood can you come view the premiere product offering of the builder, and see the above mentioned disgruntled grass roots marketing.

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by firstclassflyer

I'll beg to differ. It's often worse than portrayed. Sometimes it moves...but it's the overall density of vehicles in the area...it's saturated!! No thanks.

From what I've encountered, that area is up on my 'places to avoid at all cost during certain hours' list along with parts of Hwy 281, anything with "Bandera" in its name, and the far (north?)west part of town on and near the outer loop.

[mrstxcop]

Originally Posted by jas2389

For those on the fence about accepting Banker's offer to preview the Quarry...What other neighborhood can you come view the premiere product offering of the builder, and see the above mentioned disgruntled grass roots marketing.

you know, you make a really really good point --- you are so correct --- this is their premier line, best of the best, nothing else like it in san antonio...and yet there are STILL kblies.com signs, disgruntled homeowners, and lots that were once filled with trees mowed over...

i guess to try to put a positive spin on the situation people can atleast say that KB is consistent...

i know there are disgruntled homeowners with ALL builders ... but very few have gone to the extent that KB homeowners have gone to...

[nrlatsha]

Consistent, and they don't discriminate!

[banker]

Originally Posted by jas2389

For those on the fence about accepting Banker's offer to preview the Quarry...What other neighborhood can you come view the premiere product offering of the builder, and see the above mentioned disgruntled grass roots marketing.

Keep in mind that the three families with KBLies.com are not disgruntled because of the quality of their home. In fact, I have spoken to all three families and they love their homes. They are disgruntled because they bought the most expensive line of homes in the Quarry and KB has since lowered the price point effectively reducing their equity based on the average price dropping over time.

While KB has made some dumb moves such as clear cutting the remaining lots and introducing product that was sold in Saddle Mountain and Cobblestone...the other factor that has impacted their equity is the fact that all three bought at the peak of the real estate market...which has declined due to national economic troubles.

Thankfully - due partly to my own grass roots effort (which began long before the KBLies.com disgruntled movement) KB is bringing back a unique premier product to the Quarry that will not be shared with other cheaper communities like Saddle Mountain and Cobblestone.

Keep in mind that I have invited folks to come see the community and the new model home under construction...even though I know KBLies.com will be marketing their own disgruntled movement - which sole purpose is to get KB to buy back their houses. I know all those things and still think our community and the coming higher end homes - have a lot to offer.

KB has definitely dug a big pit from which they will need to dig out of. But it can be done, if they can be consistent going forward. What I discovered when I looked at the physical product a year and a half ago - was that the actual quality in the Quarry was better than the perceived quality. I will not argue what will happen to my resale value in 20 years...no one knows that. But I do know what is true...and that is that the actual quality is top notch from a construction standpoint - and is much higher than their other communities and some of the competition (Pulte, Wilshire, Medallion) at the same price piont. With the exception of the eight lower line homes built in the Quarry - the previous series and the new series coming next month are something that the sales staff and the residents can be proud of.