Should I buy a Perry home in Westhaven subdivision/ Pearland ? (Houston: sale, credit)

[jayden08]

I am considering to purchase a new Perry home in Westhaven sub. The problem is the school zoned to Fortbend ISD and we heard that the elementary school is not that good compare to Pearland ISD ( Merek elementary school). Appreciate any advices.

[Timnwendy]

Westhaven is on the far west edge of Shadowcreek Ranch. You are correct in that it is in the Fort Bend ISD, and the elementary school for the specific area of Westhaven is not considered as good as Marek, or Wilder (both in SCR). However, be advised that Marek elementary is not in the Pearland ISD, it is in the Alvin ISD. AISD is still good, but there is a difference.

I also suggest you search for the threads here concerning the landfill that sits just out of sight over that hill on the other side of Almeda Road, just west of SCR. Westhaven has close proximity to it, and some residents living on the west side of SCR have complained about issues stemming from it. Just wanted to bring that up, in case it was not disclosed to you. It may not bother you.

[jimmyev]

If you're buying from Perry the school district should be the least of your worries. There's a reason they lobbied hard to prohibit homeowners from suing homebuilders for defects. Might have something to do with the illegals that throw together their product in a few weeks.

[tdhg566]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

If you're buying from Perry the school district should be the least of your worries. There's a reason they lobbied hard to prohibit homeowners from suing homebuilders for defects. Might have something to do with the illegals that throw together their product in a few weeks.

Matters not to me what you buy but fwiw, I just purchased a dirt build Perry home in Imperial Lakes and I'm very pleased with the result. They have been very, very attentive after the sale, and quickly corrected some things we didn't catch during final inspection, including replacing the granite on the entire island due to a "burn" mark that wasn't readily visible (from excessive polishing) (and this wasn't the builder's grade granite but a multi-level upgrade my wife wanted, so replacing it cost a bundle, according to the granite company). They also told me they plan on coming back at the one year point after the A/C has run all summer and pulled water out of the new lumber. They expect some nails will pop and they want to re-seat them and re-paint. Home wasn't cheap, nor the most expensive (mid $300s), and Perry isn't a custom builder so it's not like I'm getting royal treatment. POINT IS, your construction manager is the key, not the trades people, as well as the warranty the builder offers and honors (Perry offers 2 years, and I'm in close contact with people who are in their second year and still getting service). I'm watching Coventry build similar homes in the same neighborhood and while I don't see the exact same people or cars, the work crews all look the same, vend at the same taco truck, etc etc etc. I don't know if these people are legal or not (completely separate issue), but I'm sure that you won't be able to find a builder who uses any other pool of laborers to build a house in the Houston area.

I have no doubt that Bob Perry is the hardball whatever that people call him, but that's immaterial to me. I don't know him personally, I'm not his friend, and I don't have a direct financial interest in his company. All I care about is that my construction manager is responsive and fixes the things I ask him to fix.

Whether the neighborhood is to your liking, I don't know. BUT before you buy ANY home in ANY neighborhood, talk to people in that neighborhood who've bought from the same builder recently and find out what kind of after the sale service they're getting.

[davidtk]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

If you're buying from Perry the school district should be the least of your worries. There's a reason they lobbied hard to prohibit homeowners from suing homebuilders for defects. Might have something to do with the illegals that throw together their product in a few weeks.

lol...the same illegals who put together a Perry home are the same ones who put together the million dollar homes, and probably the same ones who built YOUR home. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but it certainly isn't a Perry specific issue.

FWIW, our prior home was a Perry and it was a great home. I have to give most of the credit to our construction manager, who was great. Perry was also good about addressing our warranty issues. It was around 10 years old when Ike hit, and it held up without any problems whatsoever. In our old neighborhood, you could tell which ones were Perry and which were Newmark, because the Newmarks were the only ones with roof leaks.

[jayden08]

thanks a lot for those infos. I know about the landfill and i heard that pearland city is working in a project to stop it from expanding. i asked people who live there and nobodies experienced about the stemming. However there are two things make me not decide to buy that house yet:
1. Location is too closed to the landfill and also it will take around 15 mins from here to 288 during rush hour.
2. I didn't have good feeling when we walked in this subdivision and I don't know why. ( compare to Enclave or Emerald on Kirby/SCR )

[jimmyev]

Originally Posted by davidtk

lol...the same illegals who put together a Perry home are the same ones who put together the million dollar homes, and probably the same ones who built YOUR home. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but it certainly isn't a Perry specific issue.

FWIW, our prior home was a Perry and it was a great home. I have to give most of the credit to our construction manager, who was great. Perry was also good about addressing our warranty issues. It was around 10 years old when Ike hit, and it held up without any problems whatsoever. In our old neighborhood, you could tell which ones were Perry and which were Newmark, because the Newmarks were the only ones with roof leaks.

Whatever makes you feel good. I didn't build a house, I bought a pre-existing one that has stood the test of time and weather. That was ten years ago; it has appreciated much more than the homes that were built 10 years ago. And, of course, since it withstood Alicia it withstood Ike.

[davidtk]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

... I didn't build a house, I bought a pre-existing one ...

And again I'll repeat - your home was built by illegals as well and you seem to be happy with it, so just because it was built by illegals doesn't mean it wasn't well built. People who live in "illegally built" houses should throw stones

[jimmyev]

Originally Posted by davidtk

And again I'll repeat - your home was built by illegals as well and you seem to be happy with it, so just because it was built by illegals doesn't mean it wasn't well built. People who live in "illegally built" houses should throw stones

Perhaps it was; I was only interested in getting a house that wasn't going to fall apart in 20 years. And you're right - just because it was built by illegals doesn't mean it wasn't built well. It's just an indicator. When a homebuilder is willing to break the law just to get cheaper labor, it should tell you something about the builder's attitude towards paying for skilled labor, and how they might buy the cheapest materials to go with the cheapest labor.

The bottom line is that if they're willing to cut corners that could send them to jail, what other corners are they cutting? If the house is new, you might not find out until five or ten years down the road.