D.R. Horton Builder Reputation in DFW? (Carrollton, Frisco: sales, apartment)

[CosmosMpower]

Just found this forum and have been reading quite a bit. I'm looking at buying my first home very soon and have pretty much decided on a D.R. Horton new townhome community in Carrollton (121 tollway and Hebron Parkway).

I just wanted to do a quick check and see if anyone in the area has experience with the builder D.R. Horton and give some positive or negative feedback. Being a first time homebuyer I would even prefer to pay for a nicer product if the builder is not dependable and will cause lots of problems along the way. I read some horror stories about Horton, but they are such a large builder and I'm sure some areas have issues and some don't so I'm inquiring about DFW in partciular.

If any of you have any experience with the Bella Casa community in Frisco off the Tollway the ones I'm looking at are the same floor plans, so direct feedback on how those are holding up would be great!

Thanks in advance.

[loves2read]

no direct info about that development
but tract builders are basically looking at bottom line==assembly line building
the person who is the construction foreman for each development is the one who has the most control and ability to make better building decisions because of being the go-to person on the job

some people do spend time reviewing what contractors are doing--some don't-they spend more time in office going over selling numbers and sales quotas

remember that you SHOULD have an RE agent help you with this choice--the price for one is already built into Horton's price and you stand better chance of negotiating WITH a realtor who is familiar with Horton and other builders' practices and can give you opinion about options that Horton's sales people won't...

go to GardenWeb - The Internet's Garden Community and the building a home site-- do some searches on tract builders and construction/design threads
educate yourself about how a well-built house works

frankly because most tract builders build to the minimum of city code you will pay to upgrade to what are better building standards--but even getting contractors to execute what they build with proper techniques is fairly impossible -- MOST building work is shoddy--even in houses that cost 500K or 1MM--because most people don't take the time to do it right in the first place
city inspectors are pretty much worthless--the banks/mortgage companies don't care about the quality of the home they are lending you money to buy--
you can try to get into the contract that you can have outside inspector come in and check the work of the builders periodically and that Horton will remediate any issues at its expense but that will likely cause stink...

educate yourself and walk through some of the homes under construction in the framing state--so you can see how the foundation was poured--how the framing, electric, plumbing has been done
see if radiant barrier decking is standard in their builds
ask if they actually do a J-calc for each individual home they build --they will tell you yes, but the real answer is probably no because it would add too much cost into the equation--
J-calc needs to be done for each individual home because of orientation on lot for one factor
if every one of their home plans with X sq ft winds up with the same tonnage/system--then they are not doing J-calcs

[TXbackwoods]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Just found this forum and have been reading quite a bit. I'm looking at buying my first home very soon and have pretty much decided on a D.R. Horton new townhome community in Carrollton (121 tollway and Hebron Parkway).

Builder DRH puts up sharp looking houses of slightly above average quality. DRH is an assembly line builder.

Keep in mind that a townhouse may suit your needs but they are very slow when you want to sell. If not built with extra sound barriers then they are not pleasant to live in.

I very much agree with educating yourself on the different builders and the unique needs of different locations. In TX you will want massive insulation to keep down power bills in the many summer months.

Why not rent an apartment for a year while you get familiar with the area. Then you are much better qualified to know what you want an need in a single family dwelling.

Never be in a hurry to buy what you might think you want that later turns out to be an expensive mistake.

[CosmosMpower]

Originally Posted by loves2read

no direct info about that development
but tract builders are basically looking at bottom line==assembly line building
the person who is the construction foreman for each development is the one who has the most control and ability to make better building decisions because of being the go-to person on the job

some people do spend time reviewing what contractors are doing--some don't-they spend more time in office going over selling numbers and sales quotas

remember that you SHOULD have an RE agent help you with this choice--the price for one is already built into Horton's price and you stand better chance of negotiating WITH a realtor who is familiar with Horton and other builders' practices and can give you opinion about options that Horton's sales people won't...

go to GardenWeb - The Internet's Garden Community and the building a home site-- do some searches on tract builders and construction/design threads
educate yourself about how a well-built house works

frankly because most tract builders build to the minimum of city code you will pay to upgrade to what are better building standards--but even getting contractors to execute what they build with proper techniques is fairly impossible -- MOST building work is shoddy--even in houses that cost 500K or 1MM--because most people don't take the time to do it right in the first place
city inspectors are pretty much worthless--the banks/mortgage companies don't care about the quality of the home they are lending you money to buy--
you can try to get into the contract that you can have outside inspector come in and check the work of the builders periodically and that Horton will remediate any issues at its expense but that will likely cause stink...

educate yourself and walk through some of the homes under construction in the framing state--so you can see how the foundation was poured--how the framing, electric, plumbing has been done
see if radiant barrier decking is standard in their builds
ask if they actually do a J-calc for each individual home they build --they will tell you yes, but the real answer is probably no because it would add too much cost into the equation--
J-calc needs to be done for each individual home because of orientation on lot for one factor
if every one of their home plans with X sq ft winds up with the same tonnage/system--then they are not doing J-calcs

Thanks for the information, I will definitely check out the garden forum. What is a J-Calc by the way?

I'm actually very familiar with the area and grew up less than 5 mins from the home I'm considering and my current apt is 1 exit down the highway. I was highly reccomended hiring an independent mid build inspector to come in and check out the house at various stages of the build so I think I will do that. I'm guessing that is something that should be explicitly written into the contract?

Additionally what kind of specific extra insulation should I ask for so I don't hear any noise through the wall? Is there a specific process, insulation type I should negotiate?

[Rakin]

DRH does not have the best of reputations, they build a mass production home. One of the things that bother me about that subdivision is how close to Hwy 121 it is. It seems there would be a whole lot of road noise and resale could be a factor.

I've watched that subdivision and it appears sales / development has been very slow.


You might check out some of the comments on:

The Home Builder Implode-O-Meter - tracking the home building industry implosion

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Thanks for the information, I will definitely check out the garden forum. What is a J-Calc by the way?

I'm actually very familiar with the area and grew up less than 5 mins from the home I'm considering and my current apt is 1 exit down the highway. I was highly reccomended hiring an independent mid build inspector to come in and check out the house at various stages of the build so I think I will do that. I'm guessing that is something that should be explicitly written into the contract?

Additionally what kind of specific extra insulation should I ask for so I don't hear any noise through the wall? Is there a specific process, insulation type I should negotiate?

The North American Insulation Manufacturers Association has a nice little document describing acoustic insulations/insulating homes. You can find this at http://www.naima.org/pages/resources.../pdf/BI476.PDF. Before you make any requests to the builder for additional or special insulation I would recommend that you speak to the builder about what steps they already take to limit noise between units. Obtain specifics such as party wall construction methods, insulation used, etc. Also find out if they have had their noise reduction plans reviewed by professional Engineers/Architects who specialize in these issues. Once you know specifically what their design is you can check on the WEB to see more details and if the design is sufficient.

A j-calc is a method of properly sizing your heating and cooling system for your particular use/home. You can read about it here Energy Savers: Sizing Heating and Cooling Systems. Again this is another item that I would ask the builder about. Any good design would also include a review of the needed heating and cooling requirements all the way from how much to where all of the components are placed and their installation. During inspections we do find a lot of strange configurations that indicate possibly builders are leaving the heating and cooling design requirements to individual, local HVAC companies instead of providing the HVAC company with their required and proper design.

If you plan to have inspections performed during the build then yes I would most definitely have that provision in your purchase contract. If you choose not to have phase inspections performed at least have a final, pre-acceptance inspection performed. There are ways around having various phase inspections performed under your situation with a multi-family building. Many things you can even check yourself. If you choose to go that route be prepared to visit the site often and take LOTS of pictures for your later use if needed.