anyone know about Hunter Homes?- Huntsville (Birmingham, Madison: real estate market, appliances) - Huntsville-Madison-Decatur area - Alabama (AL) - City-Data Forum

jwm64 · 04-16-2007, 07:04 AM

Does anyone have any insight on homes built by Hunter Homes? We recently moved to Huntsville, and are looking at buying a home soon. We saw these guys and they are much cheaper than everyone else. That sounds good at first, but I wonder about the quality of their work, since it's so much cheaper than other homes we've seen. Does anyone know anything about this builder? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

dbkeel1 · 04-16-2007, 10:08 AM

They build a good product in that price range but wth small lots and no amenities; you will, of course, pay extra for upgrades. Hunter advertises "From $50 or so/sf" but that is with basic specs on the way the home and yard is fitted. Once people upgrade the quality of appliances, lighting and bath fixtures, flooring, etc., the price rises quite a bit. Other builders in this market are building in those upgrades and typically charging from $89-130/sf for new construction.

jmt56TX · 09-28-2007, 11:16 AM

Hunter Homes is a very good builder. I know of them and their work quite well.
The difference between them and other builders in the area is that they give their buyers "choice" of what goes into their home instead of forcing buyers to take what other builders may "think" they should have. I kinda like this "out of the box" thinking. It allows more people to buy their home. It allows people who need the square footage and those who want the ammenities to both afford one of their homes. It is definitely radically different from what most builders do, but in the current market it sure makes a lot of sense to me. To offer an example, let's say Hunter has a nice basic home listed for $170k for 3500 sq.ft. That would be $49 per sq. ft. Even if a person added $20k in ammenities to the home (which would be a lot) the home would still only be $54 per sq.ft. From the shopping I've done that is still well below where most of the others builders are. Just my 2 cents on the question.

Bravo35223 · 09-28-2007, 11:57 AM

I live in Birmingham and am not familiar with Hunter Homes so I cannot fairly comment on them.

However, I do know of an extremely well respected home building company that has a development in Huntsville now...Signature Homes.

Signature Homes - Welcome

I know the owner/CEO of Signature homes personally. I play golf with him and he is an individual of impeccable character...

As we all know, the real estate market has softened considerably across the country and this is the case in Alabama as well.

When we last played together about a month ago, I asked him about how the slowdown had affected his company. He said he had buyers backed up on waiting lists trying to buy homes in some of his developments. (I honestly do not know if the Huntsville development is in this situation or not).

I suggest you visit the Signature Homes webpage and click on the Huntsville development and check it out. The build quality is excellent and you get input in what you want in your home if it has not already been finished....

dbkeel1 · 10-09-2007, 11:41 AM

A lot of the difference will be told in future resale values of new homes, whether Hunter of anyone else. Traditionally, full brick homes in neighborhood with amenities like swimming pools carry more value for the long term.

Huntsville_secede · 03-24-2008, 10:17 PM

A picture is worth a thousand words

Huntsville_secede · 03-24-2008, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmt56TX

Hunter Homes is a very good builder. I know of them and their work quite well.
The difference between them and other builders in the area is that they give their buyers "choice" of what goes into their home instead of forcing buyers to take what other builders may "think" they should have. I kinda like this "out of the box" thinking. It allows more people to buy their home. It allows people who need the square footage and those who want the ammenities to both afford one of their homes. It is definitely radically different from what most builders do, but in the current market it sure makes a lot of sense to me. To offer an example, let's say Hunter has a nice basic home listed for $170k for 3500 sq.ft. That would be $49 per sq. ft. Even if a person added $20k in ammenities to the home (which would be a lot) the home would still only be $54 per sq.ft. From the shopping I've done that is still well below where most of the others builders are. Just my 2 cents on the question.

Are you serious?

NicoleC · 03-25-2008, 07:04 AM

Hunter Homes is a "bargain" builder; their slogan says it all about their philosophy and target market: "Big House, Little Price."

They use an 8' panelized system that they build in their local factory. Not SIP or anything, just pre-built standard framing sections. Because of this system, it keeps costs down and makes the amount of time spent on site to a minimum, and that includes the amount of time during construction a house spends out in the rain and exposed to mold, etc. They are also Huntsville's only Energy Star production/tract builder.

Those are the pros of their system. Whether or not they implement them well, I can't say. The cons are that all of their home floor plans share the same width; they just get longer or taller. Because of their panelized system, you are very limited in any changes you can make to the home. Most builders in the area, even other budget tract builders like Adams, can add/remove doors and make small changes in wall placement, etc. for you.

And I think Hunter's homes are truly dreadful from a design standpoint. Panelized homes do not need to look like a boxy manufactured home, but theirs do. The floor plans are awkward, dark and don't flow well (a complaint I have about MOST of the production homes going up in HSV). None of their floor plans have a bedroom on the ground floor... the great room just gets bigger... although with one of the largest homes it was an option. This is poor design. People have toddlers, get old and sometimes just get injured, or have older relatives come visit or live with you. Having at least one bedroom, even a small one, on the ground floor is pretty much a no-brainer for architects... but an architect never went near these plans.

MadHaus · 03-25-2008, 02:03 PM

A young relative is having a one story, 3/2/2, all brick house built in Madison by Adams. From what I've seen, it's a nice starter home. Adams made some modifications to the interior, added a roofed patio to the rear plus an extension of the patio (unroofed) for grilling, and has made some things standard that used to be upgrades. The house has smooth, vaulted ceilings; brushed nickel lever door handles; and Whirlpool stainless appliances. It's certainly much nicer than the post-war 2/1/1 stucco bungalow that was our first home.

Nearly 20 years ago, we built a 3/2/2 all brick house in Florida that was about 15% larger than this new house in Madison. That house, without any updating in two decades, would now sell for at least $100K more than this house, and it's not in any better location relative to work/recreation/schools/shopping.

No matter who you choose to build your new home, be sure to hire a qualified inspector and don't just rely on the city/county building code inspections.

autobahn · 03-26-2008, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadHaus

No matter who you choose to build your new home, be sure to hire a qualified inspector and don't just rely on the city/county building code inspections.

I have used Bill Loden on 2 houses. This guy is top notch and the only one I found that was actually certified. Insight Home Inspection