Westin Homes in Cardiff ranch

[firsthomebuilder]

RPS13 is right but as far as built quality and finish is concerned, TM is way better than Westin.

[Sevn86]

Originally Posted by firsthomebuilder

RPS13 is right but as far as built quality and finish is concerned, TM is way better than Westin.

This I agree to 100%! It's been a nightmare for me and one of my neighbors building with Westin. If I could go back in time before the price points of other builder in the area didnt go up and out of our budget I would have gone with either Taylor Morrison or Trend Maker.

[MIBA1234]

We signed a contract to build a Westin home (Gardner floor plan) in Cardiff Ranch in October, 2014. The reason we picked Westin homes was that we liked their floor plan. Our sales representative is a very nice and straightforward person. Being a first time home buyer, it was very important for us to work with someone, we could trust. Westin homes did not negotiate on anything. We basically signed the contract for the stated price plus 3% incentive. We picked a lot that did not have any premium as they were not willing to negotiate on lot premiums either. We chose the elevation B (paid extra $8000 for it), which comes with an unfinished attic space. We either had the option to pay another $12,000 and convert this space to a 5th bed/4th bath or leave it as it is. Since, we did not want to spend this much money, our sales person recommended us to just get the plumbing done. This way we would be able to convert this space into a room and bathroom later, as our family grows. He said it would cost no more than 1,000 bucks. So we signed the contract.

Then, came the design center appointment day. We spent our entire day choosing all kinds of options. It was an overwhelming experience but the design center people were very helpful. However, at the end of the day, when we went over everything, the person at the design center told us that there is no option for plumbing. So either, we pay $14,000 for the entire room or we just get the unfinished storage space. Of course, we called our sales person and after multiple calls, our sales person told us that it was an honest mistake on his part and he did not realize that this was an option. Knowing, our sales person, we believe that he did make an honest mistake. What was very disappointing to us was the fact that Westin Homes was not willing to take any responsibility for their employee’s mistake. We were basically told that it is something between us and our sales representative and Westin has nothing to do with it. Westin was basically ok with us walking away from the contract rather than doing anything to make up for our loss. They were not willing to give us any discount on building the fifth room or any other incentive to make up for the fact that they made a mistake. I have never seen a company behave this way. In our jobs, when we talk with clients, we talk on the behalf of our employer. And our employers stand by us even when we make mistakes. We had looked for a house for almost 7 months and had already committed too much time to walk away at that point. So we decided to stay with our contract and swallow the bitter pill. Our sales person was very apologetic but nothing can ever make us forget the behavior by Westin builder and its top management.

Our design center appointment was on November 6th. Our foundation was poured on Dec 29th and when we went there on Jan 10th, our framing was almost done. They have told us that it should be ready by May/June but of course they did not guarantee the timing. We haven’t had much interaction with our project manager, but he does seem like a nice guy. Even if Westin builds an awesome house with no flaws, we can never forget the behavior by their top management. At the end of the day, what matters is how you treat your customers. And now we will always question everything done by westin homes, because clearly they don’t care about customer satisfaction. However, I would say that we haven’t had any other problems with westin yet. Our sales person is always quick to answer our queries and help us in every possible way.
Our base price was $334K, and after adding all the options including a media room, the total price was around $432K.

[RPS13]

Sorry to hear of your disappointing experience, but this is a pretty common thing in new home sales. There were some "exaggerations" told to us in the process, and I was skeptical, so when the reality wasn't quite so rosy I didn't feel that slighted.

As for just getting the plumbing done, it really depends on the design center, and how open they are to "custom options." I felt like TM was pretty open to custom options that weren't in the pre-priced option book, and the price would range from fairly reasonable to outright insanity. With chatting to the Westin sales rep, they seemed less willing to do custom options beyond things like backsplashes and small cosmetic things. Seems that impression wasn't that far off the mark.


Just wait until you deal with warranty claims on problems your first year. That's 10x more painful than the design center process in my experience, because they already have your money at that point.

But hey, you're through that process, so just look forward to moving into your new house. It's all about staying positive and not letting the (very trying) process wear you down. As sad as that sounds, that's half the battle when building a new house.

[philboyj]

I loved the Westin plans - they seemed more upscale than many of the others. I did not go into Churchhill Farms at all during buying phase ( later trips to the area made me wonder why I did not consider CHF) I could not afford Westin as they wanted 550+ in Cardiff for what I liked with the porto cochere...lol, so I ended up in Cinco NW - great deal on inventory home in Bandera Glen for $397( Originally quoted at $ 468 reduced to $412 minus some additional discounts) in Feb 2014. It was for 3800 sqft with 5 beds, 4 baths, 3 car garage, media room, appliance package including washer and dryer, paint upgrade and corner lot upgrade. Very happy with purchase in a great location.

While conducting research for a friend in the market recently, I saw this link to Cardiff Homeowners site : Board / Annual Meetings | Cardiff Ranch Community

On reading the Minutes of Meetings, things like : "Security patrol was suspended due to lack of funds" is something I would want to investigate in further. Places that have finance issues like this is going to start cutting corners in other areas - landscaping, amenity upkeep and so on.

[bghouston]

Originally Posted by philboyj

I loved the Westin plans - they seemed more upscale than many of the others. I did not go into Churchhill Farms at all during buying phase ( later trips to the area made me wonder why I did not consider CHF) I could not afford Westin as they wanted 550+ in Cardiff for what I liked with the porto cochere...lol, so I ended up in Cinco NW - great deal on inventory home in Bandera Glen for $397( Originally quoted at $ 468 reduced to $412 minus some additional discounts) in Feb 2014. It was for 3800 sqft with 5 beds, 4 baths, 3 car garage, media room, appliance package including washer and dryer, paint upgrade and corner lot upgrade. Very happy with purchase in a great location.

While conducting research for a friend in the market recently, I saw this link to Cardiff Homeowners site : Board / Annual Meetings | Cardiff Ranch Community

On reading the Minutes of Meetings, things like : "Security patrol was suspended due to lack of funds" is something I would want to investigate in further. Places that have finance issues like this is going to start cutting corners in other areas - landscaping, amenity upkeep and so on.

Who was your builder ?

[philboyj]

bghouston - the builder was Village / Lennar.

We had a good experience so far ( I guess with any home the key word is always "so far"..lol ). Being a civil engineer myself, I was anal about the details. In 11 months, just one warranty call for shower head leaking and they fixed it promptly. Will probably get another inspection done before 12 month warranty period expires next month.

[homebuyer1786]

Westin sucks! TM is the best. I must say after a bumpy ride in the start, TM has been great in working with us.

[Tinyone68]

I bought my home here in 2011. I currently have 2 broken shower valves upstairs. The master bath downstairs wasn't built right. There is a leak opposite side of where the plumbing is and has rotted the wood on the outside. The drain tray isn't catching the water I'm guessing. I work a lot and a single mom, so very hard to keep up with. Today I was going to replace both upstairs shower valves and the main shut off valve is inaccessible. Also, under my kitchen sink is a bucket catching water from the faucet. Lots of plumbing problems in a fairly new home. Not to mention the master bath was not leveled and has a constant calcium ugly ring in it because it can't drain. It's all a mess due to carelessness. The problems started early on, just after warranty was up. Just one year warranty. Terrible. Never will buy another Westin home. Ever.

[inspector80]

Originally Posted by Tinyone68

The problems started early on, just after warranty was up. Just one year warranty.

Not that it helps much now, but there is a 2 year warranty on plumbing, electrical, and mechanical systems. Water shut off valves, I believe, are typically inside the garage for a 2011 Westin. It should be located either on the interior wall or the exterior wall less than 5 feet from the garage door. Hope this helps.