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I'm looking for a new home in a subdivision that's wooded with larger lots than a KB community might offer, for example. Comfort Homes, Inc. has a couple of communities (Barrington Hills in Garner) (Forest Trails in Fuquay-Varina) & I was wondering if anyone has had any experience dealing with Comfort Homes. There's not much about them on-line. They don't even have a web site. I saw that there were a couple of complaints against them at BBB, but they were resolved.
We did a pre-sale. Before building, we did our homework and viewed several models of the model we wanted to build. What you see in these homes you may not get in your home. They do not tell you if something is an extra - they expect you to ask and then when the home is under construction and you wonder why you don't have something, you are told that they are not putting it in, but they can quote you a price. Not a very satisfying experience. Also, there have been others we know who were told something would be done per plan and they do it differently - they tell you if you do not want the house, that's fine ... They know that you are anxious to close and make you feel forced to accept what they have done. I do not believe that makes a customer feel very satisfied.
I live in an Anderson home in Clayton (Anderson @ Cobblestone). I did alot of research on home builders in the area, and Anderson homes was a perfect fit for me. They use tighter construction on their homes so it reduces the amount of allergans which in turn, gives you fresher air in your home environment. As a major suffer of allergies, I noticed a HUGE difference in my allergies since moving in at the end of March. Even my doctor was surprised that I didnt come in for my yearly refill, lol.
There are also energy saver homes too! I lived in an 1200 sq ft home in Raleigh with an electric bill that averaged around $150 a month. My current house, almost 3000 sq feet averages about $120 a month. No seriously, I am not joking. I keep thinking my bill is wrong everytime I get it! Also, what most builders consider an "upgrade" comes standard in an Anderson home. I got beautiful hardwood floors, huge master suite, garden tub, the most amazing closet (divided into a "his & hers"), dual vanities, landry room, two car garage, stainless steel appliances and more for my home.
I have been nothing but 100% satisfied with my Anderson home. The warranties, the lawn care service, the excellent customer service you get...I'm happy that I did my research with builders I was familiar with (KB, Centex, etc) because it help with my final decision.
I would suggest doing your research on all builders. Pick their brains, ask the neighbors (or this board) and get feedback on all the homes. It helps.
I'm looking for a new home in a subdivision that's wooded with larger lots than a KB community might offer, for example. Comfort Homes, Inc. has a couple of communities (Barrington Hills in Garner) (Forest Trails in Fuquay-Varina) & I was wondering if anyone has had any experience dealing with Comfort Homes. There's not much about them on-line. They don't even have a web site. I saw that there were a couple of complaints against them at BBB, but they were resolved.
First the bad:
quality:
my floors have some high and low spots in some rooms. This is because they use OSB floors and the seams can swell since no one covers a house in the rain anymore while it is built. Also joists can bend a little since the wood is too "green" This is not just them though, just the "way" new construction is and it is not every house. I have heard this happen in all price ranges but something to look for when doing a walk through (have an insepector)
The paint selection:
I dont care what the price range is, you should have more of a choice between white or barely off white. Thats it! they didnt tell us that until we went to pick out our options. Even after I offered to pay extra or even hand deliver the paint they said no. This is because the lighter the color the better nail pops can be hidden.
Upgrades:
You have to ask for anything as they dont offer upgrades. But after asking most upgrades were available like stainless steel appliances, better carpet or hardwood, windows, brushed nickle hardware (instead of ugly gold), lights (small choice though so just do yourself). Stainless steel sink.
Service:
The subs are fine but the smaller things like a door rubbing is harder to get fixed right since they have their own handyman. Thats only for the small stuff. Something like hvac, a sub would fix and no problems.
Ok the good.
Cant beat the lot size, floor plans and sq ft combo for their price. Hugh driveways. Can buy their basic interiors and then upgrade them to what you want later while still getting that great floorplan which some builders dont offer. Their realtors are very nice and not pressuring and helped whereever they could.
We clooked at a few subdivision in clayton and was surprised at some of the information. We to had looked at Anderson homes having heard great things about energy efficiency, etc. But we went to Flowers plantation, and although we decided against that subdivision as well, they have a whole set-up in the sales office where they show you what kind of boards and material differnt builders use, and they showed Anderson and explained that they dont use wood, but rather some sort of insulation board? He even when on to tell a story about how you can pull of the siding, and cut a hole in the house. Not sure about all of this, but I guess case in point is do your homework, because each builder will have something to say about another. (If you look there is a thread on this site about this subject with Anderson, and what the board is called, and I had emailed them asking them about it after reading it, and before we went there, and never got a response.)
It would not pass inspection if it was just an insulation board....
Between the siding and the wood,there is an insulation board which is what make the house energy efficent. (Anderson won the Energy Star Award for 2006 & 2007)
I had several people email me privately about this, one person said he came across a few builders who used particle board. I thought that was pretty interesting. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe pressure board swells in certain weather conditions.
Again, another educational post.
Do your research, find out what kind of materials the builders use and then, so some more research, lol.
I checked out several area builders in Clayton/Raleigh, all of them had something to say about the other builders. That's pretty common. I had one that said that Anderson charged an arm & a leg for upgrades, more than KB homes. That was pretty funny.
But anyway, the one thing I really liked about Clayton, there are so many subdivisions to choose from. Different locations, different landscaping, different communities, etc. Location is great too!
If you have any questions, feel free to PM me! (that goes for everyone, lol)
But we went to Flowers plantation, and although we decided against that subdivision as well, they have a whole set-up in the sales office where they show you what kind of boards and material differnt builders use, and they showed Anderson and explained that they dont use wood, but rather some sort of insulation board? He even when on to tell a story about how you can pull of the siding, and cut a hole in the house.
That is absolutely ridiculous, do you really think they would make a house that you could drill a hole into like that??? Maybe flowers should have skipped the drill demostration and just blew on the wood instead. Anything you can drill into like they say you can would surely not hold up a structure of a house. In my humble opinion, Centex, Lennar and Anderson homes are on my top five list of impressive builders. Comfort homes rated fair on the JD Powers list found here Home Builder Ratings | J.D. Power (http://www.jdpower.com/util/ratings/results.aspx?study_id=410&vertical=Homes&v2=Raleig h/Durham - broken link)
It would not pass inspection if it was just an insulation board....
Between the siding and the wood,there is an insulation board which is what make the house energy efficent. (Anderson won the Energy Star Award for 2006 & 2007)
I had several people email me privately about this, one person said he came across a few builders who used particle board. I thought that was pretty interesting. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe pressure board swells in certain weather conditions.
Again, another educational post.
Do your research, find out what kind of materials the builders use and then, so some more research, lol.
I checked out several area builders in Clayton/Raleigh, all of them had something to say about the other builders. That's pretty common. I had one that said that Anderson charged an arm & a leg for upgrades, more than KB homes. That was pretty funny.
But anyway, the one thing I really liked about Clayton, there are so many subdivisions to choose from. Different locations, different landscaping, different communities, etc. Location is great too!
If you have any questions, feel free to PM me! (that goes for everyone, lol)
No, it would not pass inspection if it was just insulation board. You cannot even build a house using that material alone under siding. Anderson homes put alot of thought and design into their homes which is throughly explained on their website all the details of why they are an energy star awarded builder. I'm not familar with any builder who uses particle board for material supply and it would not make much sense to use it.
I am not sure why people are saying they cant put insulation board as sheething.
THere is one product that is called fiberbrace that KB and other builders use to sheeth their homes. You can puch a hole through it with your hand.
Anderson builds with a product like this. It is a wraped insulation board. Again can punch through it. I have seen this first hand.
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