DR HORTON builders - Brambleton area (Richmond: real estate, apartment, HOA)

[allen25ham]

Anyone have any idea about these builders? Any input on how good/bad they are? Do they deliver homes on promised time? How are the home quality? Any thing?

Thanks!

[NC211]

You've got a private message waiting....

They're just as good as all the rest out there. It's really more like "kit building" these days than home construction, for all of them (Toll Brothers, Miller & Smith, Lennar, Horton, etc...) The materials are all the same, floor joists, sub flooring, etc... The differences are in the cosmetics of the front, floor plans, and what you want for upgrades (spa shower, crown molding, etc..). All have their singular "signature" component. Toll Brothers sells the "community" aspect. Miller & Smith has what I like to refer to as the "midwest" look, Horton has the open floor plans and in some models, 10+ ceilings throughout the main floor, etc... The neighborhood you're looking at however, in my opinion, is a very good one for value. It's small, not massive like Loudoun Valley Estates. What you see today, is it. No worries of another 300 townhomes or condos going up behind you. That neighborhood also has great views of the mountains, and they're not "priced" into the homes either. It's like a free and unique amenity. No pool though (but no HOA dues for one either). Also, look at the immediate neighborhoods around it. Much bigger, and a lot more expensive!

Unless an act of god occurs, I don't think you would have to worry about them blowing a deadline to complete. They're nearly done with everything anyway. As a lesson learned from experience here.... get the inspector to do the inspections at the crucial stages of construction. Might be the best $1,500 you ever spend to catch a potential issue before it becomes a problem. Also.... don't skimp on the wiring that you want (ceiling fans, speaker wire, security system, etc) during construction, not after. Makes life a lot easier to know you can install the ceiling fan at your convenience, or install the surround sound into the walls w/o having wire a house that has already been wired...

[VRE332]

if you push on the windows and they budge or make noises, don't buy that house. Ryan among others were using the worst windows in the house, in the winter you feel a draft.

[allen25ham]

Thanks NC211 & VRE332~

[PariNeeta]

D.R Horton builds very basic homes. I can not say much about the construction quality but their homes are definitely cheaper than the others around here. They don't offer much choice in terms of options. As far as delivery of homes is concerned ,they do deliver on time. If you are looking for homes comparable to DRHorton, I will strongly suggest checking out lennar,Brookfield homes and van metre too.

[allen25ham]

Parineeta,
Thanks for the reply! you're correct! DR Horton does not give you loads of options to choose from! I agree! But that def is not a deal breaker for me! The location of the other builders you mentioned fail to impress me! Lennar & Brookfields - They are in the middle of the Belmont ridge road...no trees or nothing! always construction going on!
Van Metre - They are done with SFH in the brambleton area, the only 1 available is the model home just right opposite to creightons' corner elementary school

Nothing can beat the DR horton location and when it comes to real estate, we all know that it is all about Location, Location and Location

[newnewsmama]

DR Horton was consistently on the bottom of the customer satisfaction survey done by JD Power. I suggest you do more research.

All the builders are not the same. Having dealt with Richmond American, Toll Brothers, NV, Lennar, and Pulte, I have to say a good and responsible builder does save you a lot of headaches.

Of course, if D R Horton is the only builder with your ideal location, you don't have a lot of choices. Hopefully their quality and customer service have improved since the boom time.

[NC211]

Not to defend DR Horton, because I've seen those JD Power reviews as well. And I won't say that, in general, their historical portfolio on a national basis is what someone like a Toll Brothers would offer. You have to remember though that DR Horton is the largest builder in the country, so when you're the largest in any industry, you attract negative comments. Just like GM did, and even Toyota once they claimed the top spot in the automotive world. Just comes with the territory. You also have to remember that it isn't a DR Horton crew swinging the hammers. They're the same local folks who have built the Van Meter homes over the years, the Toll Brothers, Miller and Smiths, etc.. Horton / Toll Brothers / Lennar, etc.... they're just the "flag" and the deep pockets to finance the project. On the ground level, it's Johnny Virginia who's worked on all of these neighborhoods over the years, and will go to work on others after this one is done. When you walk all of these offerings out there from Lennar to Toll Brothers to Miller and Smith to yada yada yada....it's all the same materials being used per county requirements. Toll Brothers isn't using some elevated super nail or ultra secret floor joist or hanger... it's all the same. Even much of the tile used in the master bathrooms is the exact same across the builders. What it does boil down to is, as elluded to earlier, the option packages and the location. Horton is thin on the upgrade packages. But, the small size of the neighborhood, the hill setting, and the fact that it's boardered by much more expesnsive housing on 2 of it's sides, Belmont Ridge on another side to prevent development immediatly on the neighborhood boarder, and Croson Road on another, allows a potential buyer to see the final setting. One parcel does exist on the corner of Croson and Belmont Ridge that is slowing becoming smaller and smaller with new develpment. I think Ryan Homes is developing some of it. No doubt it'll eventually be developed as well. The Horton site basically gives comfort to a potential buyer that they aren't going to be looking out at a sea of townhomes and apartment buildings from their back yards in 3 years. What you see now, is pretty much what you'll see for decades to come. The other thing I personally like about the Horton site (which some might not) is the fact that it does NOT have a swimming pool. Therefore the HOA dues are the cheapest in the area at like $50 a month. Pools are nice 1/2 the year, and useless the other 1/2, yet you pay for them all year. When they start to have problems.... it gets expensive to the neighborhood. There are other options in the area for pool access that are a lot cheaper w/o the financial liability to the neighborhood (like season passes to the 3 Broadland pools for $400).

Honestly, it's a LOT cheaper to have your upgrades done by a third party away from the developer in general. For instance, paver patios at 15 x 15 in size. To buy it from the builder, we were seeing quotes of anywhere from $15k and beyond. For a basic paver patio. Third party....$5k. Crown molding, appliances, etc... all cheaper if you do it away from the developer. Now, wiring options, that's a different story. If you want ceiling fans in all the rooms, and surround sound ability - it's a heck of a lot easier to do during construction than after the fact. If you look at the Loudoun County r/e records, you'll see that many of those homes in Toll Brother's / Miller and Smith and others, actually sold in the high $600's on up past $1m. It's the "upgrades" that are pushing much of those prices. We walked a Miller & Smith model a few weeks ago that wasn't all dressed up. It was a lot more money than what Horton was offering, and it wasn't really any different in terms of upgrades and such. Infact, I think the finished SF was quite a bit smaller than Horton's.

The views that Goose Creek offers with Lennar and Brookfield's site are pretty nice, especially towards the back of the development (probably the nicest I've seen out there in general, and one of the prettiest views I've ever seen in my life in general). But having to deal with Belmont Ridge road as your only source in/out of the neighborhood, is a real drawback to that neighborhood in my opinion. Rumor has it Belmont Ridge is tee'd up to become 4 lane all the way down to Brambleton and beyond. Even 6 lanes possibly. The DR Horton site offers Croson Rd as an alternative to get out of the neighborhood and avoid Belmont Ridge all together. There are several great sites along Belmont Ridge along the lake side, but dealing with Belmont Ridge, especially if you have to turn left without the assistance of a stop light, is like that video game where the frog has to cross the road...

Customer service however with Horton.... I hear isn't all that great. But, it's to be expected with your customer service platform after the house is built is located in Texas. Just a fact in today's home building world. National guys swooped in to pick off the development options of the local guys who couldn't hang on during the recession. No doubt in my mind the Horton site was probably owned by a local outfit that had to let it go..