Ever bought a house from a builder, in a neighborhood?

[Samiam]

Have you ever bought a new house, from the builder, in one of those planned neighbhorhoods?

 

How easy was the process? Did you use their financing or get your own? How long from start to finish was the whole process?

 

Overall, was it a good experience? Any issues with the house once you moved in?

[RayDad]

Hi Sam,

 

It all depends on the builder. If the neighborhood already has houses in it built by the builder go and talk to the home owners. They should give you honest opinions.

Contractors usually only offer several styles of homes with limited floor plans options you choose from these and then choose different thing like fixtures, carpet, 20 or 35 year shingles, 15# paper vs 30# tar paper, etc.

If you go down this road visit your home often while it is being built and look around and don't be shy about asking questions. Hope this helps.

 

Ray

[kathkath]

get an independent inspector as you would do buying an existing home. we didn't hire one but regret it. Also, builder grade (even the upgrades you pay more for) is usually lower than what you can find at Home Depot.

[kitten18]

My DH worked for many years for a VERY large builder. Overall, as a company, they built good houses but there is variation from area to area depending on project managers, superintendents, and the contractors/labor in the area. My DH's guys built high quality houses and took great pride in their customer service (won a few J.D. Powers customer service awards).

 

When we moved here, the company DH worked for didn't have any houses built so we bought from another builder. It has been fine, the quality and service were not as good but we have no major complaints.

 

HTH.

[....]

I'm doing this right now. We're having a house built in a subdivision in the city. The subdivision is mostly filled in and we would be in the handful of "last houses to be built".

 

You can get a great deal right now. We're paying $159,000 for the house and they are paying our closing costs. The house is 6 bedrooms and about 3000 square feet. It's in a nice area near a bunch of shopping. This is a great deal for us.

 

Make sure you bargain. There are not a lot of people buying right now and financing is very tough right now.

 

So, you give them Escrow money and you go through the mortgage preapproval. After you get preapproved, you pick the elevation, pick the lot, work out the price of the house... We had to go to a showroom and choose all the carpeting, tile, fireplace, stonework, brick, appliances, lighting, etc. Then, you have to meet the builder. After that, it's the groundbreaking. We are told that it takes 4 1/2 - 5 months to completely build the house. They told us that they can slow down or speed up, also - depending on your housing situation (we're not in a hurry because we rent).

 

Anyway, I think a lot of people don't build because - where are you going to live for 5 months while they build it? :tongue_smilie:

 

Like I said, you can get a good deal, though. I think our builder was a little desperate. It's tough times right now.

[....]

get an independent inspector as you would do buying an existing home. we didn't hire one but regret it. Also, builder grade (even the upgrades you pay more for) is usually lower than what you can find at Home Depot.

 

:iagree: with the inspection! Our builder upgrades are massively over-priced. We're not upgrading too much through the builder. You don't want to add too much to your mortgage if you can upgrade on your own for cash later.

[Mejane]

Our first home was a builder home. Dh worked up the street and he was on-site everyday making sure things were done right. Really, he was a big pain to them, but he caught a lot of things that other folks had trouble with later. We did not do massive upgrades, and we went with a regular bank for financing. I think it took about three months start to finish. This was in FL twenty years ago, so YMMV.

[Tap]

We had already sold our first house and were living in an apt for a couple of months (we moved to a new state).

 

I saw a house I liked that was already completed. We made an appt to view it the next day. We revisited one more time, made and offer, dickered, settled on a price. Signed papers with the bank a few days later. For us, it was about a week, start to finish. LOL

[kitten18]

I agree about the upgrades, they are expensive. The only things we did for upgrades through the builder were electrical. We had all the bedroom and family room ceilings wired so they were ready for ceiling fans or lights. We closed on our house with bare floors, this is something that some builders allow, often times it's up to the mortgage company. The day after we closed, we the ceramic tile counters ripped out and granite put in, then the flooring put in. The reason many people do the upgrades through the builder is because it's built into the mortgage and they don't have the cash to do it themselves (putting all their cash into a down payment).

[Sherry in OH]

The process is easy. There are are limited number of models to choose from. If you want a particular lot, your choice of house type may be limited more.

 

The builder offers some upgrades. You can ask for other modifications, but in most cases the builder will tell you that that is something you have to have done after you buy. Builder upgrades may be things that you think should be standard. Be careful when looking at models. If you like one you see, ask what features are standard and what are upgrades. Ceiling lights are usually upgrades. Full basements are usually upgrades. Gas stoves are upgrades. Check wiring plans and loads.

 

Exterior finishes and landscaping choices will be limited. You may be affected by choices existing homeowners have made. (We could not build the same model house as our adjoining neighbors. We also had to choose a different color of siding.) HOAs may restrict what you can do with the yard.

 

The overall quality is acceptable. There are some little things that would have been inexpensive to change while building that will be expensive to change later. (Additional windows in basement, additional outlets in garage.)

There are a lot of upgrades that we are planning to do over time. We will use the builder installed appliances until they break, for example, but really want better quality. The same with the flooring. We took the basic carpet and vinyl with plans to replace with hardwood and tile in a few years.

 

Be sure to ask about HOA fees and restrictions.

 

We used the builder financing because the builder offered incentives to do so. At the time the rates were comparable with our banks. The entire process took 6 or 7 months. That was from the time we began looking at models until our move-in date.

[Mejane]

A tip we used that I just remembered: if you are having carpeting installed, pay to have the pad upgraded if you don't want to pay for upgraded carpeting. It makes the cheaper carpeting feel nicer and last longer. :001_smile:

[Ali in OR]

We have done this twice now, and both times it was a positive experience. And both times it was with a very reputable builder. People selling homes in our neighborhood put the builder's name in their ads because of their reputation for well-built homes.

 

Both times we were able to make some changes to an existing floorplan. We made several changes to our current home to make it wheelchair accessible for our dd and none of them raised the cost of the house (36" doors, bigger bathroom, all entries "stepless". The front door has a very nice ramp--all no extra charge). We paid more for a few things that were important to us, like under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen and some built-in shelves. We were also able to opt out of a lot of things that we could do later ourselves (fencing, sprinkler system, AC, backyard landscaping.) In later phases of our neighborhood, the new builder included all of that in the house, and thus in the mortgage. Property taxes are high here. By keeping our base cost lower (probably $10-20k lower without this stuff), our base property tax amount was lower, and yearly increases are limited, so this continues to save us money every year.

 

If the home is being built for you (ie isn't already built), I do recommend sitting down with the floorplans and the builder in advance to discuss any changes. Then visit often to make sure everything is happening as it should.

[AllBoys]

We have done this three times and how well it works depends on the builder. We have not had a bad experience but the home we built from a small unknown builder was more problematic, the home by a very well recommended builder was a dream from start to finish. It has taken about 3-4 months I believe.

 

We have financed both ways, depending on how we could get the best deal.

 

My husband works a lot and is not handy, at all. :glare: The best part of building for me is everything is new and nothing needs repaired or replaced for a while. Newer homes and appliances, etc., generally have less maintenance, too, and since anything that needs to be done, repaired, replaced or maintained will be done by me, that is a huge incentive for me. After all, I need time on the WTM!:lol:

[Photo Ninja]

We have done it and it was a good experience. We walked the job site weekly on Sundays when they were not working, and we were able to watch the progress and ask questions.

 

Upgrades through the developer are expensive and you can usually get a better deal later. But as the others said, you can fold the cost into the mortgage if you do upgrades through the developer. Your choice. Some things are easier to do with the developer because of mess even though they cost more. Two examples are cabinet finishes and flooring. Counter tops can cost more to upgrade with a builder, but it can be messy to change them later so it may be worth it to you to pay extra to get what you want so you don't move in and immediately tear them out. It depends on your comfort level.

 

Under cabinet lighting is really nice to have. Because of wiring it can be easier to have the developer do it instead of adding it later.

 

It is easier to have the builder add any alarm system wiring, speaker system wiring, cat 5 wiring for phones and cable tv/internet, etc. because it can be inside the walls.

 

I think it is worth it to have the builder add outside electrical outlets on porches or outside where you think you will build a patio. Consider having outlets added where you will want to plug in Christmas lights. These electrical outlets are not very expensive to have added and it is easier to add them when they are doing the rest of the home wiring. If you want an outside security light on your driveway (the motion or heat sensor kind that comes on when you pull in or someone walks up the driveway or front walk) it is easier to have the builder add it.

 

If the master bathroom comes with carpet, I think it is worth it to upgrade to tile.

 

Upgrades that are often not worth having the builder put in:

 

Interior paint: It is usually better to take the builder's interior stock color paint and repaint the interior yourself later. You will get better paint quality that way.

 

Crown moulding: Most developers charge too much to add this. We had ours added later at 50% of the developer's quote.

 

Extra cabinets, built-in entertainment centers: We had the option of having the developer install both these things, but declined. We later found a carpenter who built and installed them. He matched the style and finish coloring of the existing cabinets and the entertainment center was what we designed instead of the developers stock design. It cost us about 70% less than what the developer would have charged us.

 

Lighting fixtures: Some must be included by the developer because of building codes. We had two rooms that came with a ceiling fan, but the ceiling fan lights were an upgrade. We declined. I looked at the boxes and saw what company provided the ceiling fans. I called them, told them what fan it was, and ordered the same lighting kit from them for less than 50% of what the developer charged. It was very easy to install.

 

Vacuum: Our home came plumbed for a central vacuum, but the actual vacuum unit was considered an upgrade. We didn't want to pay what the developer charged for it. After we moved in I went to a local vacuum store and bought a better vacuum unit (more power and suction) with a lifetime guarantee and more vacuum attachments. Even with installation costs we only paid 50% of what the developer was charging.

[jennynd]

it took us about 5 months building the house, financial part was easy. Sometimes builder provides cheaper finacial than bank, U just have to shop around. It was the picking up everything that was hard. And just from paper it was hard to tell what was included and what was not especially on the detail stuff. My first builder had everything upscaled/good brand name and our second builder cheated on everything. Stuff that was not listed all cheap crap. So just have to be very detailed, very careful

[Photo Ninja]

Any issues with the house once you moved in?

 

This may vary by state and state laws, but after we moved in, for one year, we were able to submit a monthly list to the developer of things that needed to be fixed or addressed. They responded to us within a week and someone would come look at it and make arrangements for repair. Sometimes you find things as you live there that are not obvious with a quick pre-closing walk through. Also, some things change over the course of a year. Sometimes there are nail-pops or the the joints where window molding meet start to separate as the house settles, and the developer paid to repair these. Any leaks or cracks were also repaired.

 

We had a problem with our kitchen sink (cast iron double sink) because after a couple months it developed hairline cracks under the finish. They tore out the tile around the sink and replaced it and the tile. The second sink also developed the same cracks. They tore out the tile around it a second time and brought in a new sink. I inspected it before they installed it and found it already had some hairline cracks and told them I wanted a new kind of sink. The builder agreed because it was costing a lot of money to keep removing and replacing counter top tile. They installed the new one and installed new tile and all is well.

 

After about 10 months I noticed some hairline back-cracks on some shower tile. The builder paid to have all those tiles replaced. The tile guy said it usually takes 10 - 15 months for back cracks to become visible, so be sure to check if you have a 1 year warranty. You have to shine a flashlight at an angle on the tiles and you can see the fine crack. It is not all the way through the tile at that point, but later will be. I am glad a neighbor told me to check it. Tile is expensive, so I am glad it happened under the builder's one year time frame so they paid to tear it out and replace it.

 

We did not do a home inspection until we had lived there for about 10 months. We thought it would be better to wait in case things changed over that time. There was nothing major that the inspector found, but he did find a few things that we did not know about and the builder fixed those. It probably saved us a lot of money in the long run, so I am glad we waited to do the home inspection. But if you don't have one year to submit repair claims, then you should do a home inspection sooner so any repairs would fall into the right time frame.

 

It was a hassle having people in and out of the house making repairs the first year, but we didn't have to pay for them so it was worth it.

 

Any time you buy a brand new home there will be some things that will need to be repaired or replaced. It is unfortunate, but is just the way it is. The key is to submit the claims quickly so the builder will fix them.

[zusjames]

We just bought one (May 2010) but it was a brand new foreclosure. The builder went belly up so we got it for a steal from the bank! Love it!

 

You may want to look for foreclosures in the neighborhood. Not sure what state you are in, but it could save you 1000's.

[Barb_]

Have you ever bought a new house, from the builder, in one of those planned neighbhorhoods?

 

How easy was the process? Did you use their financing or get your own? How long from start to finish was the whole process?

 

Overall, was it a good experience? Any issues with the house once you moved in?

 

We've done it three times. Experience depends on the builder. Southdown in PA was the WORST. The only repair call they responded to (although they were required by the warranty to fix anything for the first year) was when my toddler pulled out a baluster they had sawed too short on the second floor. Suddenly my 2 yo was standing in a two foot wide gap over a 10 foot drop to a hardwood floor :scared: In contrast, Ashton Woods has been a pleasure to work with. We had some plumbing problems under the house 5 years after we moved in, and since it was related to construction, Ashton Woods dug it all up and fixed it for free.

 

We went with the builder financing two times out of three because they were offering better incentives that way. They got us better rates than we could have gotten on our own anyway.

 

Barb

[Barb_]

A tip we used that I just remembered: if you are having carpeting installed, pay to have the pad upgraded if you don't want to pay for upgraded carpeting. It makes the cheaper carpeting feel nicer and last longer. :001_smile:

 

:iagree: And if you don't, expensive carpeting looks like crap in just over a year.