Ranking the Builders

[isdsms]

Thank you for your thoughtful response.

[motordavid]

You are welcome...the more I think about it, the more I have come to realize that our serious 'mistake' in this last build by WCI was unfortunately our being absent during the build, as in 700+ miles away.

The 'on site mgr' was worthless, we went through 3 of them during our build so communication was lacking, generalized and not accurate or caring, and we should have hired an objective 'wander by' building inspector type during the build. We did hire a 3rd eye building inspector for the walk through who found dozens of things we might not have found or overlooked, even though we have some experience 'building'.

If one is present and in area during a build, one can always get in after hours, see stuff, look at stuff, etc. and then diplomatically approach on site build mgr with normal persuasive methods. I suspect a daily or weekly eyeball on one's new build would go a long way in catching some stuff and just seeing how it is put together...We could not due to distance and the revolving door situ during our build.

The builder brand should not matter much, if specs, materials, subs and oversight are in place. But in our latest experience WCI, (We Care Initially, but not after check clears), was a very non enjoyable experience and we have a new house that was basically 'budget built' with C to C- materials, and barely C workmanship, imo.

Had we been 'here' I suspect we could have alleviated some of the issues and problems, even with Just Say No & Smile WCI...
GL, mD

[amdmaxx]

No DR Horton or Mattamy on your list?

and I would recommend you check out Vantage homes.

Originally Posted by isdsms

I am curious as to what the members here think of the various builders and how they would rank them:
Neal
Taylor Morrison
Lennar
WCI
DiVosta

[Coachgns]

Originally Posted by motordavid

You are welcome...the more I think about it, the more I have come to realize that our serious 'mistake' in this last build by WCI was unfortunately our being absent during the build, as in 700+ miles away.

The 'on site mgr' was worthless, we went through 3 of them during our build so communication was lacking, generalized and not accurate or caring, and we should have hired an objective 'wander by' building inspector type during the build. We did hire a 3rd eye building inspector for the walk through who found dozens of things we might not have found or overlooked, even though we have some experience 'building'.

If one is present and in area during a build, one can always get in after hours, see stuff, look at stuff, etc. and then diplomatically approach on site build mgr with normal persuasive methods. I suspect a daily or weekly eyeball on one's new build would go a long way in catching some stuff and just seeing how it is put together...We could not due to distance and the revolving door situ during our build.

The builder brand should not matter much, if specs, materials, subs and oversight are in place. But in our latest experience WCI, (We Care Initially, but not after check clears), was a very non enjoyable experience and we have a new house that was basically 'budget built' with C to C- materials, and barely C workmanship, imo.

Had we been 'here' I suspect we could have alleviated some of the issues and problems, even with Just Say No & Smile WCI...
GL, mD

Can someone recommend a good "wander by" building inspector to keep his eye on our upcoming build, especially for times when we are away.

Intersting though that EVERY building site we've seen has "No Trespassing" signs in front of the site, which, if they want to enforce, would keep that inspector off the premises.

[Sunshine Rules]

Can someone recommend a good "wander by" building inspector to keep his eye on our upcoming build, especially for times when we are away.

Intersting though that EVERY building site we've seen has "No Trespassing" signs in front of the site, which, if they want to enforce, would keep that inspector off the premises.


I have been a buyer's agent for several new construction homes over the years, including for people that were out of the area during the building process. None of the builder's ever turned down my requests for access to take photos for my customers during the various stages of building. Often workers were present on site when I was there. But I always got permission first and scheduled a specific time to be there.

Recently I stopped by a new construction neighborhood of a national builder where there were several spec homes in progress to get info on the various spec homes. The on site sales rep merely handed me a map with the lots circled and told me to help myself. All were in various roughed in stages, a couple had roofing nails scattered about on the ground. And not one construction crew member stopped me or asked me why I was walking around the unfinished homes......

If you want an inspector to stop by during the various stages of construction to check the work for you, I would suggest making arrangements with the builder up front, get a name and number of a contact person for your inspector to call for access.

[Coachgns]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

Can someone recommend a good "wander by" building inspector to keep his eye on our upcoming build, especially for times when we are away.

Intersting though that EVERY building site we've seen has "No Trespassing" signs in front of the site, which, if they want to enforce, would keep that inspector off the premises.


I have been a buyer's agent for several new construction homes over the years, including for people that were out of the area during the building process. None of the builder's ever turned down my requests for access to take photos for my customers during the various stages of building. Often workers were present on site when I was there. But I always got permission first and scheduled a specific time to be there.

Recently I stopped by a new construction neighborhood of a national builder where there were several spec homes in progress to get info on the various spec homes. The on site sales rep merely handed me a map with the lots circled and told me to help myself. All were in various roughed in stages, a couple had roofing nails scattered about on the ground. And not one construction crew member stopped me or asked me why I was walking around the unfinished homes......

If you want an inspector to stop by during the various stages of construction to check the work for you, I would suggest making arrangements with the builder up front, get a name and number of a contact person for your inspector to call for access.

The Builder is very open to an inspector. That won't be an issue.
But how do I find such a person? What kind of cost is involved?

I already told the builder he has to supply us with hard hats, as we'll be checking things often. We've "trespassed" onto some of his other properties to check the build quality to the best of our knowledge. In one case, a neighbor threatened to call the police on us. We told her the builder gave us permission, but she didn't care.

[mruane1953]

Originally Posted by Coachgns

I already told the builder he has to supply us with hard hats, as we'll be checking things often. We've "trespassed" onto some of his other properties to check the build quality to the best of our knowledge. In one case, a neighbor threatened to call the police on us. We told her the builder gave us permission, but she didn't care.

I hope she isn't too close to your house. Sounds like a peach of a neighbor

[Coachgns]

No - not too close. SHe was far from pleasant about it!

[motordavid]

Dunno if I am allowed to put up names for rec'd, but here are two:
Ted Lemek
Ted Lemek | Certified Inspector | American Society of Home Inspectors, ASHI


He did a series of 'in process' build inspections for a friend of ours in our SW FL community, during their build. Wish I had had him during our build.


Post build, we used David Hoskins for the walk through and he found stuff we wouldn't have or would have taken days/weeks to find those glitches. But, he does not do 'in process build' inspections:
David Hoskins
Home INSPECTOR VENICE FLORIDA


Fwiw, we have wandered through several communities' houses under construction, when we were scouting out places to move to from our previous Naples area winter house. As someone mentioned, we would go through the gate remarking that we wanted to see models, (which we did), and then walk around in some under construction to get a feel of how the sub crews were doing things. Never a problem, though mi Espanol es decente and I would always ask the crew if we could wander in. No one ever said no.


I do regret not having an in process build inspector, or being local to come and walk around every week.
GL, mD