New construction trouble with Grand Homes

[hdao]

Hello all! My wife and I were also considering to build with Grand Homes in Mansfield. Some of their newer floor plans are absolutely beautiful, but we heard the horror stories from previous home owners. We were hoping that they have improved their build ethics/qualities within the last few years since most of the complaint threads I've found and people we talked to were from 2012 and older. Glad I came across this thread, it made us reconsider our options. I had a few questions I was hoping someone had any insight on.

Is there a recent JD Powers report on DFW home builders? The last one I found was 2010.
Is there a way to make a Grand Homes build into a quality build? Maybe asking for build material upgrade? Hire independent inspector to come frequently?
Has anyone alter the contract in favor of the buyer? Such as clauses to where GH has to fix defects even after 1 year if sub-par material was used or bad workmanship?
How costly are their upgrades? Heard they significantly mark every up.

Thanks in advance!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

They are not going to alter their standard contract.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by hdao

Hello all! My wife and I were also considering to build with Grand Homes in Mansfield. Some of their newer floor plans are absolutely beautiful, but we heard the horror stories from previous home owners. We were hoping that they have improved their build ethics/qualities within the last few years since most of the complaint threads I've found and people we talked to were from 2012 and older. Glad I came across this thread, it made us reconsider our options. I had a few questions I was hoping someone had any insight on.

Is there a recent JD Powers report on DFW home builders? The last one I found was 2010.
Is there a way to make a Grand Homes build into a quality build? Maybe asking for build material upgrade? Hire independent inspector to come frequently?
Has anyone alter the contract in favor of the buyer? Such as clauses to where GH has to fix defects even after 1 year if sub-par material was used or bad workmanship?
How costly are their upgrades? Heard they significantly mark every up.

Thanks in advance!

What is the price range you are looking at? My neighborhood was built by Grand and Darling homes, I have a Grand home. These were at the $500-$650k price point new 6-7 years ago. Now they go for ~$750k new. At that level, they do good work. My neighbors and I have no complaints. I've encountered a few minor things to be fixed since we moved in (previous owners didn't do ANYTHING in 6 years to the house) and have been pleased with its efficiency and build quality.

I would still hire an independent inspector to come in at each stage of building though, just to make sure plans are being followed and that any problems are caught early when they can be fixed easily. But I would do this with any builder if I were buying a new home.