Moving into the Quarry at Iron Mountain (San Antonio, Spring: sales, lease)

[banker]

Today my wife and I signed papers to build a home in the Quarry at Iron Mountain. Hopefully we will break ground shortly after the start of the new year. After all the back and forth of trying to negotiate a build to order home as well as the negative and positive feedback concerning KB we decided to make the decision to build.

So - I want to chronicle our adventure in building as well as find out if there are any other readers that live in that neighborhood - or in the related Iron Mountain Ranch subdivision - that post on this site. The community is relatively new and has a lot of out of town residents that have moved to San Antonio from other parts of the country. I am one of the few locals that have decided to build there. I plan to work hard to keep the San Antonio friendliness alive and well in this upscale community!!

If you want to bash KB homes I'm not interested in your comments. Those that have shopped the production builders and have compared the Quarry product with the other builder's offerings know that this is not standard KB homes. If anything - most KB neighborhoods being developed today are nothing like KB communities of even 10 years ago - even the more middle class offerings like Spring Tree and Fox Grove. I would challenge any skeptic to go and see the model homes in the Quarry, walk the job sites and talk to the residents and then see for yourself what KB is capable of building. Also - try finding a community where every lot is at least a quarter acre, where every home is standard four sides massonry, wide 50 and 60 foot floor plans and large inviting floorplans - all standard!!! Nothing comes close in the north central cooridor unless you go custom or spend a half million dollars.

There are those that refuse to believe - and they will come out and question this. If you haven't walked the models, been on the job sites, seen the community then don't hate the houses.

Hopefully I can shed some light on the real side of KB through the eyes of a real home buyer. I welcome the input of other KB home owners. If you post - tell us how long you have owned your home and what community you live in. I am especially interested in those that have or are in the process of building in one of their other high end communities like The Woods of Alon (spring 2008), the Trails at Herff Ranch (Boerne), Saddle Mountain (Stone Oak) and of course the Quarry.

After writing the $10,000 earnest money check this morning...I have no regrets. Now...to sell my house!!

[banker]

Well yesterday my wife and I completed our selection process spending about $35K in upgrades to our home. We selected primarily structural items to upgrade like the third car garage, bonus room and covered porch. There were some minor cosmetic items we upgraded - but since the homes in the Quarry have so many standard features it wasn't necessary to go crazy on those items in order to get a nice home. We will address many items in time after we move in. The process took about 4 hours (we had done much of the work going through their design/options list in advance) and covered everything from appliances to brick. Our goal was to get into the Quarry on the lot of our chosing for less than $300K after all costs/upgrades. We succeeded comfortably. I believe KB will now work to begin scheduling subs so we can get a construction date/timeline.

So far every step we have gone through has been great with their staff being helpful and very friendly. For those interested in moving next summer I would check out the Quarry soon. There is a lot of construction activity on their current floor plans which are set to be phased out in the next two months. A new product is coming in that will be similar to the high end product being built in The Woods of Alon early next year. Those houses will be priced slightly lower than the current Quarry offerings - but still in the mid to high $200K up to and over $300K.

So - selection and purchase - great. Design/upgrade selection - great. Now for construction! I can't wait.

[Montirob]

Congrats. I know that you have talked about building in this area for a long time.

Regarding the "new" KB, I completely agree that they have moved past their Rayco years and have a much better product. A couple of years ago, I toured their model out in the Quarry and remarked to the KB president (he was at a meeting I also attended) that these were not the KB homes of old, but were more like their homes in other states.

[cljblind]

Congratualtions on the start of your new home. I have seen K&B homes in various locations, mostly in the mid-west. I found them them to be of fine quality and not the typical cookie cutter one tends to find in many SA sub-divisions. The only thing is that not everyone can afford the style home that you suggest, and hopefully someday they will provide affordable homes in Texas. It is not necessarily the cost of the home it is the taxing methods that casuse so many default loans in Texas from those that I have encountered. That is why we choose to lease vs own becasue we find that homeowners pay unfair taxes in Texas and deminish their available resources for savings. Additionally wages for the average earner do not meet the cost of living in San Antonio and not everyone is fortunate to be a "banker"

[banker]

Originally Posted by Montirob

Congrats. I know that you have talked about building in this area for a long time.

Regarding the "new" KB, I completely agree that they have moved past their Rayco years and have a much better product. A couple of years ago, I toured their model out in the Quarry and remarked to the KB president (he was at a meeting I also attended) that these were not the KB homes of old, but were more like their homes in other states.

Thank you!

Nice to hear of others that have actually toured their models. Most people stick with their old RAYCO perception and refuse to acknowledge the fact that they (KB) could actually build such a product - or even that some of their other more moderately price neighborhoods like Saddle Mountain and Herff Ranch in Boerne.

Their models are incredible - as are many of the homes in the Quarry. Mine won't be quite that nice. The models range in price between $350K and $500K.

[JZ31171]

I live in Iron Mountain Ranch. Please PM me and I will explain alot more information about both The Quarry and Iron Mountain Ranch.

[banker]

Originally Posted by JZ31171

I live in Iron Mountain Ranch. Please PM me and I will explain alot more information about both The Quarry and Iron Mountain Ranch.

Are you in a Pulte or KB home in Iron Mountain Ranch?

[banker]

Well today another positive step in the building of my new home. Along the way I had asked for a minor change to KB's standard packaging. Mind you I was not asking for a structural change or some kind of packing change - but a change none the less. It was minor but me against the giant builder. I will not go into detail as to what the change was - so as not to cause a flood of request for a similar change - but KB's construction, sales and service team met and ultimately decided to allow this minor deviation from their standard package. Granted I am working with the Quarry team (arguably KB's best) and am spending a lot of money on a house - but that should in no way diminish their excellent customer service and working with the customer.

For those of you that have any doubt as to the product, service and quality please go visit the model home and talk to the sales staff on site - they are wonderful! I look forward to working with the construction manager in the Quarry.

If any of you reading this thread are in the market for a home priced between $280K and $450K please go check out this neighborhood. If you ultimately don't even set foot in the neighborhood because of the KB name you are selling yourself short. They are one of the few 100% brick/stone veneer neighborhoods in Stone Oak, frame homes with 16 on center studs, have wonderful access via Hardy Oak and offer larger lots than most new neighborhoods. They have a new model nearly complete which indicate a change in available floor plans and pricing coming in the near months - slightly cheaper (but still in the mid $200K to mid $300K range) houses will be available in a neighborhood full of $400K plus priced homes.

I hope to have an update on site work in the next week or so. I will post pictures once the slab is started to further document my home building experience. The permits have been requested and hope to have site work started within the next 10 days.

[Bowie]

Banker, I was in this neighborhood the other day after making a wrong turn on Hardy Oak. It looks like a nice area. I use Sonterra Parkway frequently to avoid the interchange at 281 and 1604. I had no idea there were so many homes up there!

Is the only access to this neighborhood from Sonterra Parkway? That road is just packed with traffic during afternoon rush hour.

It looks like Hardy Oak will be extended northward at some point. Any idea what it will connect to?

[banker]

Originally Posted by Bowie

Banker, I was in this neighborhood the other day after making a wrong turn on Hardy Oak. It looks like a nice area. I use Sonterra Parkway frequently to avoid the interchange at 281 and 1604. I had no idea there were so many homes up there!

Is the only access to this neighborhood from Sonterra Parkway? That road is just packed with traffic during afternoon rush hour.

It looks like Hardy Oak will be extended northward at some point. Any idea what it will connect to?

The best way to get to the neighborhood is by taking the 1604 Access Road and turning north on Hardy Oak. That way you avoid 281/Sonterra and Stone Oak/Sonterra intersections which can both be horrible. There is a light at Hardy Oak which makes crossing Sonterra very easy.

Not sure when Hardy Oak will cut through the ranch - supposedly the family (the Stuebing Ranch) wants to keep what is left of their ranch for a while. If you look at an arial veiw you can see where Huebner and Hardy Oak would intersect back up in the ranch. The active quarry and large dam on the East side of the ranch prevent any access from 281 into that area - but when Hardy Oak cuts through I expect the ranch to be developed into high end residential neighborhoods as it will be the last undeveloped tract within Stone Oak. For now it is a nice unknown area back there.