Builder feedback (Taylor, Huntington: living, prices, best)

[mikestrong]

Originally Posted by nsumner

They are part of Perry Homes

Wow. Used to like Perry back in the day. They pulled out of DFW when market crashed.
What differentiates the new brand with Perry? Just curious why they didnt come back under Perry name.

[mikestrong]

Originally Posted by Fiber Guy

We've built (2) homes with Highland Homes we were very happy with the fit, finish and quality. Almost built last home with Drees but no flexibility in their sales prices or incentives offered but receptive to making changes to their floorplans (personally know some sales staff). Drees corporate is very much opposed to lowering their prices and will lose a sale rather than be competitive. Highland Homes will negotiate on price and sometimes will offer incentives steadfast no floor plan changes. Both are quality builders, they have proven long time track records and both are always in the running for Best Builder of the Year awards. Remember construction of your home may involve sometimes thousands of parts, so don't let the sales price dictate your decision, you may save some $$$$ upfront but spend years cleaning up after a poor build job.

Good summary. I always equated Dree's as a more custom type home(ability to change floor plans) etc.
Highland was geared towards production and did quite a bit of inventory homes in the old days.

Dree's was always proud of their pricing(being more expensive then competitition). LOL

[UnfairPark]

Highland does custom/luxury as well, under their Huntington brand.

[mikestrong]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Highland does custom/luxury as well, under their Huntington brand.

Yes sir. Lot of people dont realize its the same builder. They do a good job of having different brands. Highland used to have a true custom brand as well, above Huntington. Not sure if it changed, and well as their lower end Horizon Homes.

[BongoBungo]

Originally Posted by smuninja

piggybacking on this thread how about dr horton,legend and miramonte

I have a lot of experience with DR Horton given that I've bought a couple new ones myself and have friends/family who have had them.

They are a massive builder and are kind of hit or miss depending on the community and the actual teams doing the building. They get a lot of complaints online (almost all builders do), but in most cases they do good work. Most of the DR Horton homes in DFW you shouldn't have a problem with, and because of stringent minimum standards for building codes, there's really not too much to worry about. Just make sure to get a third party inspection done at every phase of the build.

DR Horton in my experience will take short cuts if they can get away with it, and often times will "forget" to put in an option or upgrade you paid extra for when you went to the design center and builder's meeting, or do a sloppy job on something and only fix it when you point it out. Other production builders do this too, unfortunately. So you have to stay on top of them at every step of the construction and make sure they are doing everything correctly. They WILL fix if you point out the error. The good news is that most things related to structural integrity, electrical, plumbing, and energy efficiency they will do a good job on since they build literally hundreds of thousands of these houses, all very similarly, and because all those things have to pass inspection. When they screw up on something, it's usually on a non critical part of the house like an option you chose at the design center.

So do NOT go with a production builder like DR Horton, Lennar, Pulte, KHov, etc unless you are willing to visit the construction site 1-2 times a week to ensure everything is being done properly. But in the end, you can get very good value for your home if you are on a budget. What I paid DR Horton (the contract price) was actually less than what the value of the home ended up being by the time I closed - that's not usually going to happen with higher end builders.

Dr Horton in my experience has also treated me very well, even after closing. They promptly fixed any issues with the house, even if it shouldn't have technically been covered under the 1 year warranty. Some of the issues they had to fix for me were expensive fixes too, but it was all done promptly and to my satisfaction.

After the homes were completed and after dealing with a few hiccups in the first month or two after the houses were completed (all of which were fixed for free under the warranty), I have had 0 issues with my DR Horton homes. Nobody else in my neighborhood I've talked to has had any major issues with their houses either.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by mikestrong

Wow. Used to like Perry back in the day. They pulled out of DFW when market crashed.
What differentiates the new brand with Perry? Just curious why they didnt come back under Perry name.

Never cared for Perry Homes. They built nothing but big boxes with little imagination. Old man Perry died a few years back

[Bp25]

Drees doesn't build as many as Highland does but all of their builds hold value very well. I like their floorplans better than Highlands', but that's a personal choice.
In that price range or a little higher, you may want to look at Toll Brothers. Darling used to be good but now they are under different ownership after the downturn.

[UnfairPark]

I like Toll Brothers floor plans and finishes, they make a good looking entry level luxury house but I've heard way too many complaints about them in recent years.

[smuninja]

@BongoBungo
thanks for the feedback ,any comments on beazer or ashton woods or calatlantic,meritage

[EcoDeb]

Look at some of their houses that are 10+ years old (especially foundation issues here in N.TX) and if they haven't been in business that long I would look elsewhere. There are some great REAL custom builders in the area, cost is higher but ya get what pay for.