"Custom" vs. "Tract" or "Production" (Earl: appliances, custom home)

[coltank]

I'm curious to hear what people see as the differences in these monikers given to builders. Is one better than the other, and if so why?

[jln69]

I have seen fewer problems with the custom builders. The thing I like about the custom builders is the give you alot more in the home. More detailed trimwork, nicer appliances, more hardwoods, screened porches etc. Not that all custom builders include all of these but I do see alot more of these features. I think the noticeable difference in my opinion is the trimwork. And, they don't all look the same when there is a neighborhood with several different custom builders.

Some production builders have good reputations. I feel with the production builders it all has to do with the contractors they are using and their customer service. They can use all the right materials but it is only as good as the contractors performing the work. If there are issues to be worked out also it is so much more beneficial when there is true costomer service. I personally like the layouts/floorplans of the production builders better than the custom. That is just my taste. I think there is more upgrading to do in a production home. They make the model look like a million buck and then you walk in to one of their inventory homes and you have four walls of sheetrock. When you get into some of the names like Toll Brothers, John Wieland, Orleans, Centex etc. I don't see much of a price differene either.

I guess in the end it all comes down to personal preference. Some people prefer to choose by the home and some people prefer to choose by the neighborhood. Do what makes you comfortable because in the end, you will be living there and not anybody else.

[DanielChang]

For a home itself, a lot depends on the individual builder rather than whether it is custom or production. I've heard horror stories from friends who bought from custom builder, and just as many who had problems with their tract house. It probably has a lot to do with price point (you get better finish work when you pay more). I think it's most important to go with a builder with good reputation for customer service.

As far as neighborhoods go, some people prefer living in a neighborhood where the houses don't all look the same. Some don't mind. You decide.

[ducter]

At first I thought the difference also included better quality and a better built home. THats not true as I have looked at some custom homes being built including ones around 500k.

The bones are almost always the same. Just the finish work is better or really just more eloborate.

I have seen entire many 350k+ custom homes built with open dirt crawlspace without even a plastic vapor barrier with OSB flloors and mostly nailed sheetrock that arent covered when raining. Others are usually the same.

to me they are all the same as many times the framing, foundation and the like crews are the same and tract, production and custom home...just more expensive things that will be "seen".

For proof just go look at the ones being built. 400k and the house cant get real plywood, a properly built crawlspace or a blue tarp when it rains......yo can keep that house!

[DanielChang]

Originally Posted by ducter

At first I thought the difference also included better quality and a better built home. THats not true as I have looked at some custom homes being built including ones around 500k.

The bones are almost always the same. Just the finish work is better or really just more eloborate.

Amen! I'm not terribly impressed with some of the custom builders either. It's a generality to say that a custom house will have better finish work (more attention to details, mouldings, how a door is hung, etc.) but that's not necessarily true. At least with tract houses it's uniform ugliness. I've seen some custom homes in the $500k-$600k range that are downright ugly!

[johnrex62]

The only difference between a tract and a custom builder is usually the number of homes they build at a time. Once you go over 4-5 homes at a time it is very difficult for a builder to devote the time to oversee the details and unless you can standardize all those details to a small set that is replicated identically to sets of homes it is impossible to make the necessary decisions in a timeframe required to complete the building process.

The infrastructure and quality could be identical, depending upon the skill and communications between the builder and the subs. If either are poor the home will be of lower quality due to miscommunication or error.

OSB vs Plywood should be a thread all of it's own based on how many derogatory comments I see on it and how only low houses use it. Technically speaking, OSB is a much superior product than "real plywood". Early versions had problems with water deterioration, but in the last 15 years it is made with waterproof glue and hold up better than the "real plywood" when wetted. Neither does especially well when soaked, but OSB has a slight edge there too. Both products are just wood chips glued together. OSB just mixes the grains around to provide more stregnth in more directions. It supports much more weight than "real plywood" due to the stranding. Try breaking a similar sized piece of each and you will see the difference.

My dad was a custom builder and in his earlier years subcontracted for a number of tract builders. I grew up helping him and saw the quality of work that his crews and others did. Some were great and others needed a lot of hands on supervision. A few never got to finish the job before he ran them off and got someone else to fix what the first crew screwed up.

There is another classification not mentioned by the OP, that is the Semi-Custom. This category is closer to the custom built in that you can make all the decorating decisions, change rooms and sizes and layout, etc....only the builder has a set of plans that you start with and modify rather than drawing something from scratch each time. This is often much cheaper than a true custom because the architect charges much less for this type of plan than for a full design. Also there have been lessons learned from prior incarnations of these plans to discover flaws that are only found when the thing is actually built.

Price and rapid availability is usually the benefit of a tract home, with cookie cutter and limited choices being the drawback.

Full customization, right down to where the electric plugs go is the big benefit of the custom. Substantial customization, almost as much as the full custom, is the benefit of the Semi-custom. Curb differentiation is the second big advantage of both types of custom. Higher cost and longer construction time is the drawback on this choice.

[DanielChang]

Thanks for the explanation, JohnRex62.

So tract communities like KB Homes/Martha Stewart/Twin Lakes, these are considered semi-custom? You choose the lot, the floorplan, the height of the ceilings, whether to include a covered porch, etc.

[Southerncurlygirl]

Toll is more "semi-custom" than KB or other production builders - especially in this economy when some of the non-Luxury builders (think under $500k) are cutting corners.

[shoes4birds]

Originally Posted by Southerncurlygirl

Toll is more "semi-custom" than KB or other production builders - especially in this economy when some of the non-Luxury builders (think under $500k) are cutting corners.

I don't think you have to pay more than $500K to get into a home where corners have not been cut. Is that what you're saying?

[coltank]

Originally Posted by shoes4birds

I don't think you have to pay more than $500K to get into a home where corners have not been cut. Is that what you're saying?

Even a better question...What does it mean when corners are being cut? I think everyone probably has a different idea of the way a home should be built, and accepted practices are constantly changing.