12 Oaks - Saussey Burbank homes? (how much, new home, landscaping)

[twoisbetter]

Has anyone seen these? How about the builder? Only a few are built. It's called the Redwood collection, cottage style homes.

[VeraVega]

We live in a Saussy Burbank home in a different neighborhood and are very happy with it. We didn't build from scratch but rather purchased a spec house they built in our neighborhood, so can't really comment on what it was like to work with the builder through the process. But, they were more than willing to negotiate a few after-the-fact upgrades (fence, fans, built-ins, etc) and were very good to work with throughout the buying and warranty process. They even fixed more labor-intensive stuff like installing extra yard drainage that some builders would've tried to avoid doing. Not sure if customer service varies depending on neighborhood, but we only had minor warranty issues and they were very fast & accommodating in getting them fixed. Love our house, had only minor, typical issues.

However, I will say that it's a good idea to be realistic about how much you're paying & what you'll get. Saussy is one of the less expensive builders in our neighborhood, and there are definitely some corners that they cut to keep prices lower. At least where I live, none of their homes come with gutters. Landscaping is very generic. Our hardwoods probably could've used another coat of poly (this is one thing I wish I had realized & made them do). Some of the exterior trim (back porch, stairs), is somewhat cheap. There is a difference in quality in our Saussy home that cost $300K versus the Dickersons & David Weekleys that cost $400K+. My husband and I didn't mind this at all, but it's just something to be aware of..... we are very happy in that we have a house we love, in a neighborhood we love, and as we can afford to we can always do stuff like add gutters, upgrade landscaping. I only mention it because I see a trend of people expecting "craftsman" quality trim & features on new homes that are really not in that price range. Our house is solid though, we had a great inspector we hired on our own & they found only a couple very minor issues before we closed.

[twoisbetter]

Great info, thanks! We found that the homes feel very solid and had some beautiful standard items that made it seem more expensive...although I still feel pricing is a little high. I think it's because of the neighborhood and amenities. And I like that they are very efficient green homes. Ours would not have gutters but we could add those for $600 later so I agree it's no biggie. The floor plans may not be typical for the area...but we liked them.