Reviews on Partners in Building and Glenn Haven Estates (Katy: construction loan, how much)

[oddjob142]

Anyone have any info on Partners in Building as a builder or the neighborhood of Glenn Haven?

[TexasCatherine]

I don't know anything about Glenn Haven, but I have several friends whose homes were custom built by Partners in Building. They are very happy with their homes.

[davidtk]

I have two friends who have built custom homes with Partners in Building, one in Sienna and one in Katy. They're both very happy with their homes but, as is typical, the 'upgrades' cost a lot of money. As with any custom home, you should try to figure out EVERY detail you want in the house, to the extent that you can, and negotiate that up front into the contract.

I would literally make a list of every item you think you want in the house, go over it with the builder, and work that into the contract up front if it isn't a 'standard' item. You could also walk one of their spec homes with the builder and ask them about what is standard and what is an upgrade, and how much.

No detail is too small, and you'll be shocked at how expensive some of the minor details cost, not necessarily because the builder is trying to tip you off, but some of these 'small' jobs aren't as simple as they look. If it's important to you, ask about it up front.

[Supermac34]

A thing to note, Partners in building isn't quite a true custom home builder. They are kind of a "luxury tract" builder that allows changes (which they charge for). They are not the typical one on one custom building company. It may not matter, and their product is apparently nice, but its just something to know. A truly custom builder doesn't charge for "upgrades." You basically have an allowance in the contract price that you can use anyway you want without set upgrade prices.

If you are looking in that area, there isn't much truly custom stuff left that is new construction. Make sure you check out The Reserve section of Champion Woods and The Falls at Champions for some truly custom builders.

[davidtk]

Originally Posted by Supermac34

A thing to note, Partners in building isn't quite a true custom home builder. They are kind of a "luxury tract" builder that allows changes (which they charge for). They are not the typical one on one custom building company.

We're probably splitting hairs here, but PIB will do a clean sheet, brand new design where you can pretty much draw up anything you want, within the bounds of architecture, HOA, etc. They do have many prior plans that you can use as a starting point, but you can also do a one of a kind design as well.

As for allowances, I also have friends who have done custom homes with builders that have no allowances. They paid for all materials and labor, and then the builder/general contractor charged above that, although I'm not exactly sure how the premium was calculated. However, by going this route, they also had to line up construction loans.

In the end, if you have a builder who will build the house any way you want (within reason), that seems custom to me, but YMMV. We met with a few of the big box builders and they were completely inflexible on any changes unless they were already on their options list.