Hunter Designer Homes (new home, neighborhoods, to buy)

[FatTails]

Oh no, not another Hunter thread!

So I know that Hunter doesn't have the best reputation in the community, but does anyone have some insight into their "new" Designer style homes? We drove through a couple of their newer neighborhoods with these styles and nothing unusual stood out. Maybe the neighborhoods are too new to start falling apart, but they seemed alright to me. Are these new homes an attempt to reinvent themselves, or are these destined to meet the same fate as many of their other communities? Specifically we were looking at their Bell Grove Manor community in SE HSV. Iredell and the Grove at Savannah are two of their other communities with these styles. Thanks for any knowledge or insight that can be provided. Much appreciated.

[Seth Parker]

They're "better", no doubt. Build quality is a little better, designs are a little better, etc. I haven't had anyone to buy one of the more recent ones, so I can't really attest to how they're handling warranty issues and such as of late.

One has to keep in mind as well, Breland Homes used to have a product and reputation similar to Hunter Homes (around 20 years ago). So, it is possible to reinvent the company. Just too early in the process to see if they're on their way to doing so.

[RatSnake]

OK - I did not buy a Hunter Home. I am NOT a realtor.
But - being objective, here are some good things that I saw when I was house hunting last year --- and from looking at their new designs this year.

1. A very good HERS index (measure of energy efficiency)
2. The new designs incorporate many of the design elements found in Pearson Homes, Savvy Homes and Valor.
3. They now use some pretty good materials just like the rest of them (shingles, insulation, bricks ac etc.)
4. They are not using glorified cardboard as sheathing (unlike B... ).

I still did not go with them as I did not like their location and community amenities.

[FatTails]

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like a coin flip right now.

[RatSnake]

Depending on the location and community, you should look at Valor and Pearson as well.
Their finishes and workmanship are very good - you'll get more for your money too.
They won't nickel and dime you for every small thing ... that turns out to be an upgrade.

[Becky2517]

We bought a 'standard' Stoneridge home & have been nothing but happy with it, the regular features would be considered an upgrade with anyone else & thanks to a tenacious realtor we got many upgrades for much less than expected! Only minus with living where we live is the constant construction, but once the 4 lots surrounding us are done it'll be nice & quiet...we wanted quality over quantity & watching how fast the B homes are being put up, I'm wondering about their quality - I've got the perfect view from my patio (where we spend the majority of our time) of the 2 homes being built now, from pouring concrete to framing...

[BrittanySav]

We moved here from St. Louis and bought a Hunter Designer home last year. Our realtor gave us a rundown of some of their history, but we saw that their newer communities were nice, full brick homes. My husband is an engineer and walked through several of their houses that were under construction and he was satisfied with their construction (which is saying a lot). Our realtor told us about other builders that you had to avoid in the past, but some of those builders improved and have good reputations now (I think Breeland was one of those). The floor plan we chose was great for our needs and had a lot of flexibility in the design which was one of the reasons we went with Hunter.

We had one minor issue while the house was under construction (we caught it while it was under framing). The project manager was great (husband still stops to talk to him when he sees him in the community). We've been in the house for about 7 months and have had one warranty issue. I called their office in the morning and by the afternoon the HVAC contractor was out and it was fixed by the evening. We owned a Pulte home in St. Louis and warranty was always a nightmare, so we were extremely happy with the service.

[KCoit]

We live in the Iredell community...we love our home and the location and don't have any complaints about it. Our realtor showed us used homes and we also looked at Pearson, Stoneridge, Hunter, and Breland. Other builders couldn't beat the price/amenities compared to Hunter, which is why we chose them. We also liked Pearson and Stoneridge, but the houses were $70K more than the one we chose with Hunter.

The only complaint I've heard is from a neighbor that had to have some hardwood replaced. I think the manufacturer ended up paying for the replaced boards.

Also, one of our neighbors is living in their second Hunter home, which says a lot.

btw - If you're in the military, they will give you $1,000 of free upgrades. We used this to upgrade our lighting package.

[FatTails]

Good information. We actually went through Iredell a couple of weeks ago and liked it.

How do you find the traffic to be? That's my primary concern with living there. I work on RSA and currently live off Zierdt so my commute now is < 15 minutes. I know I'm spoiled but I'm not a fan of any of the new communities on Zierdt. Lake Forest is nice but out of my price range, so I'm currently looking at Iredell and Bell Grove.

[RatSnake]

Originally Posted by nerdtron

Good information. We actually went through Iredell a couple of weeks ago and liked it.

How do you find the traffic to be? That's my primary concern with living there. I work on RSA and currently live off Zierdt so my commute now is < 15 minutes. I know I'm spoiled but I'm not a fan of any of the new communities on Zierdt. Lake Forest is nice but out of my price range, so I'm currently looking at Iredell and Bell Grove.

I used to live off Zierdt Road too ... we were spoiled by the location. Wife did not want to change the routine.
So we bought a house at The Reserve ... still off Zierdt Road. You should check the builders there ... you will be surprised at the prices (check with Valor).


PM me so I can give you more details (I am not a realtor nor a builder).