Building Ryan home in Baldwin - Thoughts

[gretchen25]

We went heartland--much better value for the money... and they gave us 10% off while Ryan wouldn't budge... Also, there are more features-- like better plumbing, taller vanities, better cabinets, etc. that made it the obvious decision for us. Also, Heartland is truly a custom home where they build the whole thing from start to finish on the lot--not pre-framed like Ryan. To say that Ryan is a better product is ridiculous--I certainly did my homework! Good luck!

[contractor101]

Originally Posted by Betdot

We are building a Ryan Home in Baldwin and I am look for good or bad experiences from other that have built with Ryan in the Pittsburgh area. Let me know your thoughts.

I work for both companies, let me asure you Ryan and Maronda build the same homes. In my opinion, Maronda is NOW building the better of the two homes.

[jjsum]

Looking into Ryan developments in Plum and one in Murrysville ( westmoreland Farms) Has anyone built in either area?

[Velvet Jones]

Originally Posted by contractor101

I work for both companies, let me asure you Ryan and Maronda build the same homes. In my opinion, Maronda is NOW building the better of the two homes.

I don't think Maronda uses bad materials, as you said they may now be better than Ryan. The problem I had with Maronda is they use to use day laborers for a lot of work, so quality was hit or miss depending on who built your house. Ryan isn't much better, as a lot is done with subs, but they were at least a little more consistent with their staff. Still, I know people who have built in both and some were perfect and others were nightmares. My Ryan home isn't bad, but we did have problems water in the basement. If your getting your basement finished by them then go over it with a fine tooth comb before they start drywalling. Don't count on the local inspector. Based on the things I've found in my house I doubt the building inspector ever even came in to the house. The other thing I didn't like about Ryan is they don't let you touch the house while they're building it. Maronda use to let you do some of your own low voltage wire yourself to save money(Ryan makes you use the unbelievably over priced Guardian for all LV work). One big plus to Ryan is their floor plans and neighborhoods are usually much more high end than Maronda, though Maronda seems to be moving to a more high end product as well. Their new plan in Cranberry has some really nice floor plans.

BTW, it's usually not the builder that decides to put in the pool or sidewalks. That is the local developer. Ryan and Maronda only build the houses. All of the lot work, roads, sidewalks, etc is the builder's responsibility. This is something you need to be aware of and careful of if buying from any of the tract builders. I know Ryan liked to blame any lot related problems on the developer. They sell you the house as "Oh, you're buying from us", but when you complain about your back yard filling with water they turn around and say "Don't blame us, that's the developers responsibility".

[Honest Bob]

If you have already committed yourself to having the home built, then what the heck are you doing here asking people to bad mouth Ryan Homes.

All manufactured home builders are pi$$ poor at what they do. Their goal is to get in, do the work, get out as soon as possible and keep as much money in their pockets as possible. Even when you do get good contractors, the sub contractor could change from one home to the next and you never know what you are going to get until it is built, then it is too late.

I would suggest that you put off building a new home until you better educate yourself as to common building practices and minimum code requirements. Minimum code sucks!

Buy yourself a couple of Mike Holmes books and tapes and educate yourself.

Make sure that they use the best building materials and practices and do a good job or guess what - you will be paying to do it a second time.

I would also look into new home warranties and see what they do and don't cover and how many complaints the builder has on record with the better business bureau and other local agencies before I signed anything or put any of my hard earned money down on a new house.

[Honest Bob]

Just for the record, I have 8 years of heavy construction experience and some of the companies that I worked for has never had a complaint in the 30 - 40 years that they were in business, while others had angry customers calling all the time wanting to know when the builder was going to come back and fix what they did wrong the first time.

The longest I worked for any one construction company was a year and the shortest I worked was 3 weeks. Usually by the time I got my first paycheck, I knew if I wanted to stay working for that company or not!

Many times I was told not to do a good job and just hurry up and do it their way. Sign my name to the work and keep my mouth shut. When I refused, I was fired or moved to a job that was so bad that I didn't stay very long.
Ask anyone that has done fiberglass insulation in a steel building on during the middle of August when it is 90* outside and 100 inside the building with no personal protection equipment. I hacked yellow insulation for a week!

[DurangoJoe]

I owned a franchised home repair business for several years and I made a lot of money in Ryan homes developments. Rotted exterior trim replacement, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, etc. The exterior trim hadn't been primed at all hence the rotted wood, roof flashing improperly installed, etc. I've even seen rotted sub flooring inside around exterior doors. Nasty stuff.

I could make your hair stand up with some of the things I've seen in Ryan homes.

Suffice to say, I'll never own one.

Their designs look nice but the problem is that they slap them up as fast as they can. They use bad subs in many cases because they can get them cheap.

just my .02