Best New Home Builders??? (Lakeland, Kissimmee: buy, construction, contractors)

[manda1129]

Considering moving from Kissimmee to Winter Haven, FL and looking for a new home builder in the $150-$169 price range. I have found Highland Homes to be within the price range i am looking for and have seen some models, however, I found that DR Horton and other builders are out in Winter Haven with a similar price range. Looking for any suggestions on a quality builder, good or bad, all is helpful?

[d2mini]

Trendmaker makes a really good house.

[TrapperL]

FWIW, there is no such thing. Even in the same company there can be a major difference between the supers who actually run the jobs. The super is everything to a build. Some are very organized and have great relations with the subs. Some don't even know who their subs are and those are the guys you don't want building your home. Home Builders hire people, some are good, some aren't worth a bullet. You can't say one builder is better than another. Around here, D R Horton uses an independent home inspector that inspects at frame and at finish. If the super gets more than 4 corrections on each inspection report, he does not make his bonus money. Bonus money is more than his paycheck so it's a big deal. Those that don't make bonus money don't last long at D R Horton here. I have no clue if they do the same at other Horton Divisions but for tract houses here, Horton builds a decent home.

[EngGirl]

I totally agree - there is no such thing a good builder, especially if you are talking about nationwide companies. They hire subs who do good/bad job for them and it varies not only from city to city, but also from home to home.


So-called "independent" inspectors are a total scam. I guess they all work closely with super intendants and covering for them or simply not doing their job right. When we build a house not too long ago I found a lot of thing "independent" inspector missed, both pre-drywall and post-drywall. I actually think I got him fired. So I wouldn't really count of independent inspectors who are getting paid by the builder.


Any company you would google you will find complains about. And unfortunately the price of the house doesn't mean you are getting better quality home built. If you decide to build be prepared to be on top of things and check every little thing every phase of the construction. Subs LOOOOVE to cut corners and you need to call them for it. 7 months while our house was getting build were most stressful months of my life!


If your can increase your budget a little bit and can buy a lot prior to building, I can provide you an info about local Lakeland home builder who is doing a decent job. He is not nationwide and have limited number of homes getting built because of crew limitations. He work in Polk County only, so unfortunately I wasn't able to use him, but I have relatives who did and they were more than happy.

[givings]

I think many of these comments are spot on. Builders use sub-contractors for just about everything except quality control and warranty management. Does that mean there are no good builders? Not to me. Good builders have good quality control, hire better sub-contractors, and take care of consumers better after the sale.

I built my current home with David Weekley in Austin. They are really good, but it does depend on the local division to some extent due to field managers (builders) and their sub-contractors. In my case I can;t say enough good things. That said, the best builders inspect sub-contractor work all the time and correct things (and there are always things) before they become warranty and customer satisfaction issues.

I worked for Centex at one time and the Field Managers were expected to walk each home twice a day everyday inspecting work completed that day and customer satisfaction scores were direct inputs to quarterly bonuses.

I now work for newhomesource.com and work with builders across the U.S. Most are very accountable and care about their reputation. So, expect a lot and you will get a lot. Best of luck. Blair