Good Builders (Phoenix, Tucson, Scottsdale: 2013, appliances, home builders)

[HACESOL]

Does anyone know of specific house builders that one should watch out for OR those that are very good in terms of having built houses good structurally?

[Pink Jazz]

Pulte is probably the best in the Tucson area. If Fulton Homes or Shea Homes were to build in the Tucson area I would recommend them over Pulte, however, they are only building in the Phoenix area. Maracay is also a decent option.

[jksn75]

I'd stay away from DR Horton. I have not been impressed with the process or workmanship on my current home. I previously built with Richmond American and was very pleased.

[azdr0710]

a January, 2013, article in the Arizona Republic (Phoenix) listed the best builders in 27 markets, including Phoenix, in order, as Ashton Woods, David Weekley, Trilogy by Shea, Perry, Drees, Meritage, Highland Homes of Texas, Taylor Morrison, M/I, and Woodside.....Meritage and Taylor-Morrison are based in Scottsdale, but not all of these builders may be building in Arizona or Tucson.....the research was done by Lifestyle Research of Newport Beach, CA.....

[Jukesgrrl]

I'm in a Pulte home right now that was five years old when I purchased eight years ago. The newlyweds who had it built got very few upgrades. All the interior fixtures are very cheap and I've been replacing things like kitchen appliances, faucets, light fixtures, fans, etc., the whole time I've lived here. The house as a structure, however, has caused me no issues to date and my neighbors seem to be doing OK in that regard, too. I hear no complaints in the subdivision about roofs, stucco, sidewalks, grading, plumbing, or electrical issues. The entire neighborhood has become less than happy with the landscaping put in when the area was developed, but if Pulte had anything to do with that it was only to hire a subcontractor who did work that has not aged well.

KB Homes built a couple of streets in this subdivision (their area has a separate entrance) and those homes have a very poor reputation. I've heard bad things about KB Homes the entire time I've lived in Tucson. The Realtor I used told me she wouldn't even show me any houses built by that company because she thought they were too problematic.

Some niggling things (the smoke detectors are all tied together in an annoying way, the furnace is weirdly placed in a hard-to-reach crawl space) have proved to be standard building practice for the area, so I can't really blame Pulte. I've had the furnace checked a couple of times by a professional and he says it's a very good quality product. He was surprised to know it came standard in a tract house. I had to replace the A/C compressor at the 10-year mark, but most of my neighbors did, too. The upgrades the newlyweds DID buy (I think three choices were an incentive they got) — better quality carpet and pad, ceramic tile in some areas, and an outdoor electrical package — have all turned out to be excellent quality, so the stuff you pay extra for holds up. The last guy who cleaned my carpet didn't believe it was 13 years old.

When I was house hunting all that was available in my target neighborhood and price range were either 1970s-era houses that needed a lot of work or subdivision homes. so that's what I looked at. The only newer builder homes I saw that seemed better than the Pulte homes were built by Richmond American. I like their work a lot but for a number of reasons I wasn't able to get one of those.

I have a niece who used to do customer service work for several home builders in the Austin, Texas, suburbs and she said of the builders she worked with Pulte homes were in the "better" category. Personally, I couldn't afford "best" but, in the meantime, Pulte worked out fine for me.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

I'm in a Pulte home right now that was five years old when I purchased eight years ago. The newlyweds who had it built got very few upgrades. All the interior fixtures are very cheap and I've been replacing things like kitchen appliances, faucets, light fixtures, fans, etc., the whole time I've lived here. The house as a structure, however, has caused me no issues to date and my neighbors seem to be doing OK in that regard, too. I hear no complaints in the subdivision about roofs, stucco, sidewalks, grading, plumbing, or electrical issues. The entire neighborhood has become less than happy with the landscaping put in when the area was developed, but if Pulte had anything to do with that it was only to hire a subcontractor who did work that has not aged well.

KB Homes built a couple of streets in this subdivision (their area has a separate entrance) and those homes have a very poor reputation. I've heard bad things about KB Homes the entire time I've lived in Tucson. The Realtor I used told me she wouldn't even show me any houses built by that company because she thought they were too problematic.

Some niggling things (the smoke detectors are all tied together in an annoying way, the furnace is weirdly placed in a hard-to-reach crawl space) have proved to be standard building practice for the area, so I can't really blame Pulte. I've had the furnace checked a couple of times by a professional and he says it's a very good quality product. He was surprised to know it came standard in a tract house. I had to replace the A/C compressor at the 10-year mark, but most of my neighbors did, too. The upgrades the newlyweds DID buy (I think three choices were an incentive they got) — better quality carpet and pad, ceramic tile in some areas, and an outdoor electrical package — have all turned out to be excellent quality, so the stuff you pay extra for holds up. The last guy who cleaned my carpet didn't believe it was 13 years old.

When I was house hunting all that was available in my target neighborhood and price range were either 1970s-era houses that needed a lot of work or subdivision homes. so that's what I looked at. The only newer builder homes I saw that seemed better than the Pulte homes were built by Richmond American. I like their work a lot but for a number of reasons I wasn't able to get one of those.

I have a niece who used to do customer service work for several home builders in the Austin, Texas, suburbs and she said of the builders she worked with Pulte homes were in the "better" category. Personally, I couldn't afford "best" but, in the meantime, Pulte worked out fine for me.

KB isn't really all that bad; it is just that they generally cater to the low-end starter home market, rather than the mid-range or high-end markets like Fulton, Shea, or Pulte (at least here in Arizona), which leads to the perception that they are a low quality builder.

FYI, about the smoke detectors, it is now a code requirement for them to be interconnected in all new construction.