who is the "acura" of home builders? (Mercedes: appointed, for sale)

[needsomeinfo]

I drive an acura, which I love, and was thinking what I really want in a house is an "acura" house. Dependable, low-maitenance/repairs, good reputation, luxury and extras without a huge price tag, and good resale value.

so, any suggestions as to which builders I should consider?

thanks!

[chisco34]

Are you going production or custom? With production, Wall Homes makes beautiful production homes that are actually semi-custom. They are probably my favorite production builder, probably because they also do custom homes in some areas. I have a Centex home, which I am trying to sell, and they are very basic with few upgrades available. Builders that are comparable to Centex, but who offer more upgrades are Imagine, D.R. Horton, KB, Standard Pacific and New Leaf. Lennar bought out Connel-Barron (sp?), and they are also a basic builder, but everything is included, even the refrigerator!

For a custom only home, I would consider Tilson, because of the price. You can get soooooo many upgrades for at least $5 or more under per square foot what other builders would charge. When you look at their houses they are very basic, but the prices are very low so you can afford to upgrade a lot!

Good luck, there is so much going on right now that it can be very overwhelming. One of my favorite custom builders who is a bit more expensive is Stone Creek Custom Homes. They make a beautiful house, but not for less than $105 a square foot.

[needsomeinfo]

we will be looking for an inventory or pre-owned home (but newer) home. I have looked up some of the custom builders mentioned in other threads, but they are way out of our price range ($100-$110/sq. ft). I will look up tilson and wall.

sometimes I think my best chance will be fo find someone who got in over their heads on a mortgage. hate to be oppotunistic, but someone needs to buy their homes. but that might not be a big issue in SA.

in any case, whichever way we go, I want to know we have a "good" house/builder, and nothing something prone to breaking or just the basic model, when you can get something much nicer for just a few $$ more.

[scuba steve]

You may be surprised... I found a place built by a custom builder that'd been on the market for over a year. Originally way overpriced, and the owners had moved out of state. Turns out they 100% financed when they bought 4 years earlier, took out a loan on the place and used it to buy a house in the state they moved to.

My advice - look for houses that are empty and / or have been on the market for a long time.

[42JetSet]

Don't know if this is in the ballpark or not, but we've all-but finished building with Mercedes Homes (Renaissance at The Vineyard) and have been enormously pleased. Fantastic finish, standard features are awesome and we can't say enough about the customer service and personal relationship we've developed with them.

[bg2ntst]

Check out Medallion Homes. We live in Trophy Ridge (Potranco and 1604). Very nice, quiet neighborhood with HEB Plus at the entrance and a new elementary school inside the subdivision. Lots of military folks live in here, so although the subdivision is only a couple of years old, there is a nice selection of pre-owned homes for sale, also brand new ones as Medallion is still building here. They also have some inventory that's been built for while, but hasn't sold for whatever reason. My guess is they're ready to work some deals on those.

[fontana]

Don't buy Standard Pacific. Though they're pulling out, so finding one would be difficult. I really loved our DR Horton home, but Plantation and McMillin homes are good. Wall homes are WONDERFUL! We're currently looking into purchasing one. You will NOT be disappointed.

[Turtle_Mom]

I guess first you will need to pick the area you want to live in. I do think that sometimes the builder is different in different areas.

I have always liked Wilshire homes, although they were just slightly out of my price range when I was looking for a home 5 years ago. I also liked Medallion homes, but again this was 5 years ago. I haven't been looking at new homes in a few years, we are looking for custom or older pre-owned homes now - probably won't actually move but just window shopping!

I have heard people have problems with Centex and some KB neighborhoods. I know that my BIL is really happy at Wortham Oaks, which I believe are Wall Homes.

[yodi711]

Sitterle is a good builder. They may be a little pricey though.

[svg210]

Originally Posted by needsomeinfo

we will be looking for an inventory or pre-owned home (but newer) home. I have looked up some of the custom builders mentioned in other threads, but they are way out of our price range ($100-$110/sq. ft). I will look up tilson and wall.

sometimes I think my best chance will be fo find someone who got in over their heads on a mortgage. hate to be oppotunistic, but someone needs to buy their homes. but that might not be a big issue in SA.

in any case, whichever way we go, I want to know we have a "good" house/builder, and nothing something prone to breaking or just the basic model, when you can get something much nicer for just a few $$ more.

IF youre looking for a new home then now its the time to buy. Take advantage of this weak economy. Semi-new houses are being sold around 1000-5000 under its value. Especially Repo's! Try going to the open houses, or auctions I guarantee you'll find a good raw deal.