Fieldstone anyone? (San Antonio, Spring, Schertz: sales, apartment, to rent)

[mrsb057]

I know ive only seen tidbits about fieldstone but no comments from actual owners of the homes. Just curious what the subdivisions are like, home quality, and utilities monthly. I can ask the sales people but we all know with sales people they will say anything to get you to buy a home.

I went to look at Ambercreek and a lot of the homes are placed very closed together. I used to rent a KB home and parking was a horrible issue and i am concerned about this as well in the Fieldstone neighborhoods. I do like the floor plans and the low cost. Thought about DR horton but seems so expensive when i can get a much larger home through fieldstone that i wont outgrow in 10 years.

Any reviews anyone can provide is definetely appreciated.

[kevcrawford]

Most production home neighborhoods have small lots, so unless there's a HOA limiting the places you can park, you're going to find that anywhere. Just find your budget and interview builders.

[mrsb057]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

Most production home neighborhoods have small lots, so unless there's a HOA limiting the places you can park, you're going to find that anywhere. Just find your budget and interview builders.

I am thinking about paying more for the corner lot or a cul de sac to avoid a little of this problem. I dont even think fieldstone has an HOA...can be a bad thing

[banker]

Many production builders also save development costs in new communities by making narrow streets. So - when you combine the tiny lots (houses close together), very shallow set back (close to the street - so minimal driveway space) and some homes have one car garages in these cheap communities - and you get horrible parking situation. All of the production builders do this in the under $130K price range. Just being on a corner lot may not solve your problem.

Do you know the width of the product offering in the Fieldstone neighborhood you are looking at? If you want to know the width of the lot just ad 10' to the width of the house (five feet on each side is the typical set back for these cheaper neighborhoods). for example - many cheaper communities have 30-40' wide homes. That means the lots are just 40-50' wide. Again - this describes the typical entry level community but not everyone. Do your research before building/buying.

[mrsb057]

Thanks will definitely ask. I just dont know why people settle for a one car garage when they have 30 people living under one roof.

I would love to build on a nice huge piece of land but right now its not an option..Really need to get out of this crappy apartment.

I want something thats affordable, spacious, and built to last.

KB has beautiful subdivisions at a great price but i just dont trust them. Living in the KB neighborhood showed me a lot and i just dont think i could do it permanently. DR Horton is great but the home prices arent really all that affordable. My best friend bought a 136k house 1400 sqft and all she does is talk about how small it is and how she is going to sell in 5 yrs cause it will be too cramped. I dont want a starter home. Makes no sense.

[eger]

What I've noticed in SA, unless you spend in upwards of $200,000 on a home you’re going to find all new home builders, building in not so nice areas. Areas with dirt roads, abandoned shopping centers, cemeteries, mobile home parks, older areas that appear run down or in the middle of a "facelift" which realtors call "up and coming neighborhoods."Sure it's nice to have a new house, and your neighborhood is beautiful but as soon as you leave the front entrance it's depressing IMHO.We looked at Fieldstone homes, we thought they were nice and affordable, the just weren't in an area that I would either feel safe in or nice to look at. Moreso around the Potranco/Marbach areas around 1604.

[joe123456]

Originally Posted by banker

Many production builders also save development costs in new communities by making narrow streets. So - when you combine the tiny lots (houses close together), very shallow set back (close to the street - so minimal driveway space) and some homes have one car garages in these cheap communities - and you get horrible parking situation. All of the production builders do this in the under $130K price range. Just being on a corner lot may not solve your problem.

I believe the city also dictates home setback requirements, width of streets etc. In Cibolo I noticed that all of the streets in the new subdivisions are very wide. Streets can accomodate cars parked on both sides of the road. I know the builders don't do this because they want to, but the city is probably dictating it to them. There is even a Fieldstone community in Cibolo. You should take a look at it and compare it to other neighbors in San Antonio.

I would recommend buying in a small city like Schertz, Cibolo, Boerne, etc. as compared to property in San Antonio or the extra terrritorial jurisdiction of of San Antonio. Those subdivisions outside the city limits today won't be outside the city limits in the future. San Antonio will gobble up it up and tax you to death. In a small town you can still get the Mayor to respond to you personally.

[joe123456]

Originally Posted by mrsb057

KB has beautiful subdivisions at a great price but i just dont trust them. Living in the KB neighborhood showed me a lot and i just dont think i could do it permanently.

I live in a KB subdivision, Springtree in Cibolo, take a look at it. There are only a few lots left...that way you won't have to worry about them changing product lines like KB has done with almost all of their San Antonio communities. Everyone I know likes the area and have had no major issues with their homes.

Fieldstone also has a development in Cibolo.

[merc11ty]

Originally Posted by joe123456

I live in a KB subdivision, Springtree in Cibolo, take a look at it. There are only a few lots left...that way you won't have to worry about them changing product lines like KB has done with almost all of their San Antonio communities. Everyone I know likes the area and have had no major issues with their homes.

Fieldstone also has a development in Cibolo.

There is absolutely no way I would ever buy a KB home. No matter what anyone says about them, I've seen way too much to turn me off.

[banker]

Originally Posted by merc11ty

There is absolutely no way I would ever buy a KB home. No matter what anyone says about them, I've seen way too much to turn me off.

Ok. That is your choice. Remember, KB like every production builder has some communities that are entry level and not desireable with cheap touches and it has other nice mid and upper level communities that are very nice - with excellent features and build quality. I would guess that the "seen way too much" does not include seeing their high end product - from a build quality perspective, architectural detail and the interior finish out. I know first hand that when I mention where I live - most people have never seen the community first hand (either the finished product or the homes under construction) but they still decide that because it is KB it 100% has to be junk.

There are some KB communities that I would never want to live in. And unfortunately for KB and many people that refuse to look beyond the past...those communities outnumber the nicer ones they offer. But that is changing....slowly.