Did you like your home builder?
- Thread starter ?JMAMA
- Start date
Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
Avoid Stonebrook/Red Rock Builders. They can kiss my ass for time immemorial. They aggravated me so much that I actually asked, at closing, for a one round boxing match with the builder and the broker. Lots of delays, ridiculous attempts at substituting designs and materials, etc etc. And that's on a plain-Jane house, nothing special. I wouldn't hesitate to tell you that they suck ass and should probably be beaten. I have had to fix a lot more problems than the builders I've worked for would have tolerated.
We used Arbor Homes, they are a custom home builder. While they were building our house they were good to work with, but once they were done they were a PITA. A few years ago we tried to sell our house and their model home was accross the street from us so people that came to look at our house also looked at the model home and just about every person that walked through their door the sales people would talk crap about us to the customers. It screwed us big time, we had our house sold till they got a hold of the couple that wanted it and then they started telling them we were lying to them and we were dishonest (all of which is not true) and then when that wasn't working they undercut us big time (they were going to be loosing money on the deal just so we wouldn't sell our house). Well, the couple got sick and tired of them so they decided not to even buy our house or anything from them. 
I'll never deal wtih Arbor Homes again and will tell everyone I know to avoid them.
Also avoid celebrity homes, they use very cheap materials ad cut corners all over the place to make it look like they can offer you a less expensive home. Really its a piece of crap is what it is. I have a good friend that works for them building homes and he told me this, then when I was tlaking to my realtor he confirmed that celebrity homes really hurt an areas market value because they are so cheaply made.
I'll never deal wtih Arbor Homes again and will tell everyone I know to avoid them.Also avoid celebrity homes, they use very cheap materials ad cut corners all over the place to make it look like they can offer you a less expensive home. Really its a piece of crap is what it is. I have a good friend that works for them building homes and he told me this, then when I was tlaking to my realtor he confirmed that celebrity homes really hurt an areas market value because they are so cheaply made.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
My advice would be to find the area you want to build in, then talk to the homeowners who have moved in already. Reliance built my house. We had a few problems which I could have pushed, but I was pretty young and this was my first house.
wildkid
...Jeepless...
- Location
- By Cabela's
If you'd like a couple of custom home builders' names and numbers, send me a PM.
Avoid Ironwood Developement and Copper Hills Contruction.
Ironwood built my home that I just moved into on 2005.01.21 home construction started on 2004.05.28 you do the math. Excuse after excuse after excuse for the delays, was not paying the subs on time at one point I had 100k in leans on the home, the super intendant (The now owner of Copper Hills Construction) on my build site was about as worthless as a D35.
The kept trying to up charge me for changes that were suppose to be part of the standard package, and up charges for all the custom changes that were made at the time of purchase agreement (in other words the changes were made then the sale price was agreed upon before construction even began.).
So I would visit the site literally twice daily (my kids started school out there so it was once in the morning to drop kids off and once in the afternoon to pick the kids up). and when I noticed that something was not being done according to the agreed upon set of plans they would tell me that they would do up a change order and have me sign it. I would tell them get your act together and build it right and read the plans this is not a change you can't read and have screwed up now fix it.
Any in short avoid these two. I can however reccomend thru the neighbors and from watching them first hand build three of my neighbors homes without but the minimal building delays or problems in the time it took to build mine that company is Legacy Homes.
Also Sage Builders has gone to a custom only home construction and I have seen their homes in my neighbor hood and they seem to be doing very well.
Contact Rex Christensen @ 209-9631 he is a great agent and is now working with HT Homes which I have heard a lot of good things about and they have some really nice homes out there as well.
Rex was my agent and he went to bat for me with the builder long after the commission checks were cut when the builders agent got her check that was the last time we seen her let alone heard from her and I am not Exagerating one little bit.
Ironwood built my home that I just moved into on 2005.01.21 home construction started on 2004.05.28 you do the math. Excuse after excuse after excuse for the delays, was not paying the subs on time at one point I had 100k in leans on the home, the super intendant (The now owner of Copper Hills Construction) on my build site was about as worthless as a D35.
The kept trying to up charge me for changes that were suppose to be part of the standard package, and up charges for all the custom changes that were made at the time of purchase agreement (in other words the changes were made then the sale price was agreed upon before construction even began.).
So I would visit the site literally twice daily (my kids started school out there so it was once in the morning to drop kids off and once in the afternoon to pick the kids up). and when I noticed that something was not being done according to the agreed upon set of plans they would tell me that they would do up a change order and have me sign it. I would tell them get your act together and build it right and read the plans this is not a change you can't read and have screwed up now fix it.
Any in short avoid these two. I can however reccomend thru the neighbors and from watching them first hand build three of my neighbors homes without but the minimal building delays or problems in the time it took to build mine that company is Legacy Homes.
Also Sage Builders has gone to a custom only home construction and I have seen their homes in my neighbor hood and they seem to be doing very well.
Contact Rex Christensen @ 209-9631 he is a great agent and is now working with HT Homes which I have heard a lot of good things about and they have some really nice homes out there as well.
Rex was my agent and he went to bat for me with the builder long after the commission checks were cut when the builders agent got her check that was the last time we seen her let alone heard from her and I am not Exagerating one little bit.
James K
NO, I'm always like this
- Location
- Taylorsville, Ut
I deal with contractors on a daily basis, and I can tell you one thing..............99.9% of people who build a home are not happy with their builder.there will always be something that you thought should be included or done that does not get included or done without additional money from you.
this runs the gambit from your 160,000 starter homes to your 1,000,000 homes.
also if your houses foundation is late getting put in your house will not be done on time. I tell people if your foundation is a day late add three weeks to your build time. weather is a factor, especially before your house gets dried in ie; roof on and windows installed.
expect delays...........some are caused by the builder and some will be caused by YOU........for example if the builder ask for your selection on paint, carpet, bathroom fixtures, railing, cabinets, rounded corners or square corners, tile or whatever. be on top of it and get it done.
and keep in mind this is in most cases a life altering experience that will keep you up at night and make you fight with your spouse over the stupidest shitt(not that some of us don't do that anyway
)thats all I got right now
I had my home custom built by one man. I looked into having a large company build my house, but the cost difference was stagering.....Also, name brand home builders really don't let you help in the building process. My general contractor worked for me and allowed me to do what ever I wanted. So people warned me about working with a small company because they can get in too deep and bail on you.
I hired my builder for a few good reasons, mostly because he worked for his money. This man was about 6'6" 250lbd and his hands were twice my size. He is a perfectionist.
I'm VERY happy with the way my house turned out and have had many comments on the quality that went into this house.
What I'm trying to say is, explore your options.
I hired my builder for a few good reasons, mostly because he worked for his money. This man was about 6'6" 250lbd and his hands were twice my size. He is a perfectionist.
I'm VERY happy with the way my house turned out and have had many comments on the quality that went into this house.
What I'm trying to say is, explore your options.
Yah you can always expect the usual delays, but on my house everything was going like clock work all the way up until the floor joist were set, then my house sat for and I kid you not 4.5 weeks and not a single person worked on it and out of that time there were only about 5 days of rain to cause a delay. I was not impressed at this point.
Do your home work, if a builder strikes your interest the best thing you can do is call the contractors board and find out if they have had complaints, contact some of the cities that they are building in and see how their inspections go on the house (if it is your normal stuff then don't sweat it), if something big is or appears to be normal then chances are the builder is cutting corners and trying to get away with stuff that will effect you down the road.
Also you can go around in the late after noon and find some homes in current projects that people are living in and ask them how the feel about the builder what was their experience, ask the wives they won't hold back.
Do your home work, if a builder strikes your interest the best thing you can do is call the contractors board and find out if they have had complaints, contact some of the cities that they are building in and see how their inspections go on the house (if it is your normal stuff then don't sweat it), if something big is or appears to be normal then chances are the builder is cutting corners and trying to get away with stuff that will effect you down the road.
Also you can go around in the late after noon and find some homes in current projects that people are living in and ask them how the feel about the builder what was their experience, ask the wives they won't hold back.
James K
NO, I'm always like this
- Location
- Taylorsville, Ut
Bone Down said:
do you know why it sat for that long? were you making floor plan changes to a standard model? or was he getting delayed by his suppliers?
I ask because I have a builder I do work for who is waiting on cabinets for upwards of 1 month longer then normal, simply because the cabinet shop is so busy.
Clutch
Registered User
- Location
- Salt Lake City
Some fellow real estate agents say that Richmond is a good builder. I was showing some clients daybreak last night and Destination Homes is one of the biggest builders in Daybreak. I like their home styles and no nonsense approach to building.
James K
NO, I'm always like this
- Location
- Taylorsville, Ut
I have a builder that I would have build me a house. if you want his info I can PM you it.
honestly, my builder was great during the build...it was just afterwrds that they turned around a stabbed us in the back...slandering our name and character. The only thing they care about is your money, once they get it they could care less if you are happy (our exterior doors did go unpainted for several years despite MANY requests to get them painted). We have never heard from them since the day we closed (that was almost 5 years ago).
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
I'll keep this SHORT....(at least as I can). My house in West Jordan. Built by 'Tradewest'...(not sure they are around anymore? Probably by a different name)
Issue #1-New development-them: probably be a month or two before we can set footings and get started
Me: Cool, no worries. We'll just plan on 4-5 months instead of the quoted 2-3. (really planning for 6-7)
Actual: 13.5 months from earnest money deposit.
Issue #2-me: I'd like to cantilever 2', my whole master bedroom and bath to give it a bigger feel. (on the east side of the house (see issue 3)) I'd also like to widen my garage from 20x20 to 23x23.
them: Can't be done due to code violations of issue #3. I made it as long as I could and bitched the whole time I owned the house about 3 ft. narrower garage.
Issue #3-them: I need to put the house on the lot to east as far as it can go. Because of the sewer line.
Me: ???? Well, OK, I guess, but I need AT LEAST 10--12 ft. on that side for an RV pad. If it's less than that, I want to know why and I'll drop everything to come and see what's going on (worked 5 min away).
Actual: Bastids put it 8ft from the east property line, and said it was per my request. Also had to put a jog in the sewer line to hit the street because it was too far east? I noticed the spray paint for the 'structure' before they dug the hole and called leaving messages each time, telling them I needed clarification on why the plans/stakes were in the ground where they were. I conveniently had a family emergency/funeral the week that that happened and was out of town for 3 days. We returned to not just footings, but a whole actual foundation after about 7 months of NOTHING........I bet I left 10 messages over the 3 days trying to get a hold of someone to discuss any issues.
Resolution: Showed them the 'plot plan' from the builders meeting that supported my side of the story. Concession: They poured my 8ft wide RV pad (that was narrow enough I bumped my camper into eaves at least twice while backing into my 'RV pad').
Issue #4-me: Ummmmmmm.....my dining room feels kinda small....
them: Ummmm, well we screwed up and will have to make a compromise there.
'Resolution': Cantilever the dining room out to the north to make a 8 x 12 dining room. We bought a long/skinny dining set and it worked out. However, we HAD a nice round set that we planned on putting in. Sh!t happens--this just seemed like a normal type of issue.
That's kinda the tip of the iceberg (there's about 20-30 other 'issues' that were just kinda the normal junk, but when we screw up from the get go and it takes as long as it did, it was barely worth it.......my earnest money contract was for 12 months. This was in '96 when wood/building materials climbed DRAMATICALLY. They tried to back out of the contract when it was their fault it took 13+ months. Conveniently, I worked for a law firm at the time (I don't think they wanted to muck around after calling my office a few times) or I was out about $20K in equity.
Brent Orton built with the same builder and felt similarly. They only took 15 months to do his house next door to mine............ We also had Reliance in the neighborhood and they were a little sketchy, but compared to my builder, they were the customer service KINGS.
MORAL: If I EVER build again. I will take my shotgun to the builders meeting. Not trying to threaten anyone, but just so they know I have one.
We almost built with Ron Thorne about 3 years ago (out by Bob). Nice houses, kinda expensive, seemed like much better work than average, but seemed to be worth the $$$.
Issue #1-New development-them: probably be a month or two before we can set footings and get started
Me: Cool, no worries. We'll just plan on 4-5 months instead of the quoted 2-3. (really planning for 6-7)
Actual: 13.5 months from earnest money deposit.
Issue #2-me: I'd like to cantilever 2', my whole master bedroom and bath to give it a bigger feel. (on the east side of the house (see issue 3)) I'd also like to widen my garage from 20x20 to 23x23.
them: Can't be done due to code violations of issue #3. I made it as long as I could and bitched the whole time I owned the house about 3 ft. narrower garage.
Issue #3-them: I need to put the house on the lot to east as far as it can go. Because of the sewer line.
Me: ???? Well, OK, I guess, but I need AT LEAST 10--12 ft. on that side for an RV pad. If it's less than that, I want to know why and I'll drop everything to come and see what's going on (worked 5 min away).
Actual: Bastids put it 8ft from the east property line, and said it was per my request. Also had to put a jog in the sewer line to hit the street because it was too far east? I noticed the spray paint for the 'structure' before they dug the hole and called leaving messages each time, telling them I needed clarification on why the plans/stakes were in the ground where they were. I conveniently had a family emergency/funeral the week that that happened and was out of town for 3 days. We returned to not just footings, but a whole actual foundation after about 7 months of NOTHING........I bet I left 10 messages over the 3 days trying to get a hold of someone to discuss any issues.
Resolution: Showed them the 'plot plan' from the builders meeting that supported my side of the story. Concession: They poured my 8ft wide RV pad (that was narrow enough I bumped my camper into eaves at least twice while backing into my 'RV pad').
Issue #4-me: Ummmmmmm.....my dining room feels kinda small....
them: Ummmm, well we screwed up and will have to make a compromise there.
'Resolution': Cantilever the dining room out to the north to make a 8 x 12 dining room. We bought a long/skinny dining set and it worked out. However, we HAD a nice round set that we planned on putting in. Sh!t happens--this just seemed like a normal type of issue.
That's kinda the tip of the iceberg (there's about 20-30 other 'issues' that were just kinda the normal junk, but when we screw up from the get go and it takes as long as it did, it was barely worth it.......my earnest money contract was for 12 months. This was in '96 when wood/building materials climbed DRAMATICALLY. They tried to back out of the contract when it was their fault it took 13+ months. Conveniently, I worked for a law firm at the time (I don't think they wanted to muck around after calling my office a few times) or I was out about $20K in equity.
Brent Orton built with the same builder and felt similarly. They only took 15 months to do his house next door to mine............ We also had Reliance in the neighborhood and they were a little sketchy, but compared to my builder, they were the customer service KINGS.
MORAL: If I EVER build again. I will take my shotgun to the builders meeting. Not trying to threaten anyone, but just so they know I have one.
We almost built with Ron Thorne about 3 years ago (out by Bob). Nice houses, kinda expensive, seemed like much better work than average, but seemed to be worth the $$$.
R
rockdog
Guest
Been in our house for 4 plus years now. It turned out just how we wanted it. The builder was great to work with on changes. Did'nt charge anything to change stuff. Thats cause I built it myself.
James K
NO, I'm always like this
- Location
- Taylorsville, Ut
mbryson, I have got to say I have never heard a good word about tradewest.
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
James K said:
I've got more.....believe it or not, I held back.