Why is there so much hate for Stylecraft?

33,621 Views | 69 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by RockofAges
jmz768
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Outside of this forum, I can not find any negative reviews of Stylecraft homes. I understand that a $180,000 home is not going to have the same quality of materials as a $250,000 home, but that doesn't mean they're a bad product.

So what's the deal here, is the bad reputation earned, or is it something else? I could see people being tired of them building communities all over town and taking away green space. Or maybe it's just snobby people turning up their noses at anything that doesn't cost at least 300k.

I toured a Stylecraft home today and it and the surrounding community (all Stylecraft) were very nice.

birdman
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They don't hold up very well with time.
DeckMe80
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#3 studs, for starters. I could go on, but I need to get some sleep.
Dr Lane Trowlan
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We owned one. We had a couple minor issues, but I was pretty pleased. We sold it 3 years later, and got 98.5% of asking price. It was a lot nicer house than I exoected to have as a first time home owner. All in all, I'd give it a thumbs up.
Bucketrunner
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They have just about destroyed the pleasant atmosphere in the Cove of Nantucket. When they begin to build a house, they go scorched earth on the trees -don't even try to save any. Then they throw up a house very quickly, so close together it seems like apartments.
ro828
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We've been in our Stylecraft house for fifteen years now and are very happy with it.

Ours is a "cookie cutter" house in that it's identical to the house next door, to several houses in our neighborhood, and goodness knows how many neighborhoods around town. If it were in my nature to stand at the end of the driveway and stare at the house for hours on end that might prove upsetting but between work, family, and church I have better things to do.
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NativeTxn
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When my Mother was looking to move to the BCS area, we looked at a number of Stylecraft homes. It was mostly shoddy workmanship that turned us off the spec homes we looked at. Bowed sheetrock, light switches in odd places like across the room instead of next to an interior door, sloppy grouting both inside and out, sloppy calking, crooked light switches, etc.

I will freely admit to being quite picky about such things, whereas others may not mind so much. Then again, this was also ten years ago so they may have made some changes since then, but the things I saw left a lasting impression about the quality of their homes.
The Brazos Kid
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Water heater in the attic (what I've got).
TXTransplant
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I don't care for the "style" in Stylecraft at all. But, if a development is all, or nearly all, Stylecraft homes, it's not really a problem. The issue comes in when they buy up lots and build in a subdivision that has mostly nicer homes at a higher price point. They did this on a couple of lots in the subdivision I lived in. The Stylecraft homes stuck out like a sore thumb (although, they weren't the only ones in the neighborhood with a poor quality finish-out). And you don't want to be the homeowner with the $250k home who gets the appraiser that uses the Stylecraft home down the street as the "closest comp."
PLC guy
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there's alot of hate on this board for suddenlink too. basically when you're the top dog and you have tens of thousands of customers you're going to have some haters and the anonymous internet has become the haven for such people.

the free market is the ultimate judge. stylecraft and suddenlink provide services that thousands of people are wanting and purchasing. if you don't like suddenlink get directv. if you don't like stylecraft don't buy one (or sell the one you've got.) both companies are growing and thriving so they must be doing something right?

i do know that stylecraft donates literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities right here in this community. that counts for alot in my book, how about yours?

i got a real laugh from the poster complaining about how stylecraft "ruined" the cove of nantucket. that's hilarious. the developer (who went bankrupt BTW) designed and surveyed the lots so if the lots are too close together it has nothing to do with stylecraft.
dfphotos
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Referencing suddenlink and the free market in the same breath. Hahahahaa.
justalocal
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We have a personal relationship with someone that works with one of their suppliers and I've worked with an engineer they've hired in the past. Based on that, we are not interested in one of their homes but I'm not going to knock someone that lives in one or buys one.
CS78
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I own four of them. Never had a complaint.
TellMeMore
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BCSMom
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Our first home was a Stylecraft home. They are great starter homes. We were young when we bought our first home, 21 and 23.

However we did have major air conditioner issues. The evaporator coil went out yearly about July/August. The local company they used was AWFUL! We found another company who was awesome! We ended up having to replace the outside unit because it met the requirements for the size of the home....just barely!

We made a good return on it or I think so. We bought it in 2002 and sold it in 2008. We bought it for around $86K and sold it for $105k. We profited about $20k (after payoff and realtor fees)
wysiwyg
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AG
quote:
They have just about destroyed the pleasant atmosphere in the Cove of Nantucket. When they begin to build a house, they go scorched earth on the trees -don't even try to save any. Then they throw up a house very quickly, so close together it seems like apartments.
DESTROYED??? Really? Because they cut trees on patio-home size lots? Would it be better to leave the post oaks so they die a year later and you have to pay to have them removed? Post some photos of the Cove of Nantucket so everyone can see what you refer to as a "Destroyed" atmosphere. It is one of the best neighborhoods in town for what it is.
wysiwyg
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AG
quote:
there's alot of hate on this board for suddenlink too. basically when you're the top dog and you have tens of thousands of customers you're going to have some haters and the anonymous internet has become the haven for such people.

the free market is the ultimate judge. stylecraft and suddenlink provide services that thousands of people are wanting and purchasing. if you don't like suddenlink get directv. if you don't like stylecraft don't buy one (or sell the one you've got.) both companies are growing and thriving so they must be doing something right?

i do know that stylecraft donates literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities right here in this community. that counts for alot in my book, how about yours?

i got a real laugh from the poster complaining about how stylecraft "ruined" the cove of nantucket. that's hilarious. the developer (who went bankrupt BTW) designed and surveyed the lots so if the lots are too close together it has nothing to do with stylecraft.
The developer did not go bankrupt. Far from it. The remaining lots were sold to Stylecraft a couple of years ago and the homes they are building are specially designed for the community. The lots were also not developed too small. They were developed as PATIO HOME lots, which are supposed to be smaller and lower maintenance. People on this board claim to know much more than they really do and love to pile on when someone like Stylecraft is discussed.
JR Ewing
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AG
quote:
Would it be better to leave the post oaks so they die a year later and you have to pay to have them removed?
This part of your message is the truth! I bought a house 2 years ago, and I may have to tear down my 150 year old Post Oak. I am NOT happy about it...=( Hopefully, the root stimulation treatment on it works miracles next year, or it's a goner!
ksp
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Three years is the magic number for a post oak to survive. Make it three years there is a good chance it makes it. It might not still though.
Rockdoc
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AG
The stylcraft homes are meant to be affordable, or starter homes. In my case, a retirement home when I moved here. I bought mine (new build) in 2008, and yes I had to replace my entire AC/heat this summer and put in a Carrier system that will last. I knew this would be the case when I bought the house. But it's a cheap house (relatively speaking) and just fine for an old man and his dog. When something breaks, I fix it or replace it. It's very comfortable and I like it. If you want an expensive home, buy one.
ksp
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They are on pr to a froehling home.

Our 2nd froehling home, we did some upgrades and learned from the first one.

They are great what they are made for, a good starter home
FlyRod
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I could be a tad biased here since Randy is a friend of mine...though I totally believe the negative comments about quality, having been in some of those houses, and having listened to friends who bought them.

But as others have noted, they are cheap, and someone has to build cheap houses, whether folks who entertain the fantasy that BCS is a $500,000 house and up community want to believe that or not. A lot of the people moving here to work at TAMU or at some of the new and coming businesses here will not be making the kind of money to afford Pebble Creek housing. Its short-sighted not to have something for that segment of the market, and at least French is addressing that, however imperfectly.
Hut Yo
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[]
W
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AG
water heater in the attic?
SARATOGA
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2 words....

Minimum Standards


They abide by the minimum standards allowable by law. They shine it up for the gullible with granite counters and stainless appliances.

The homes they build actually cost 60-80k. They sell them for 150-220k.

Good for Randy for donating some of his massive profits back to the community.

They serve the student/first-timers niche. Those that know better wait a bit till they can afford a better home. And all builders do NOT use the same subs. There are a lot of different levels of subs in town.
PLC guy
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I do not claim to speak on Stylecraft's behalf but nearly everything SARATOGA said in his post is incorrect. The builder profit margin on these houses is more like 6-12% not the 100+ percent he is claiming. That is simply absurd.

It appears SARATOGA and others have in their mind that all Stylecraft builds are the most inexpensive homes you can buy and that is just not true. Go into Castlegate II and you will see their higher-end homes next to every other builder in that neighborhood. These are $300,000+ homes that are comparable in quality and price to every other builder. Additionally, they absolutely do use many of the same subcontractors that the other homebuilders use.
ksp
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I have always HEARD, no inside knowledge, that they make about 20%. I don't agree with Toga's thoughts on that
Orlando Ayala Cant Read
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AG
100%? Um no.

At most 15-20%.
gopitt
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100% is TOTALLY ridiculous.
ksp
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Are we sure it was saratogas neighbor manufacturing meth??
Mr. Griswold
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3 words: No Grade Lumber
rcannaday
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AG
Your allowed to build homes in CS without graded lumber? Even load bearing? Is the code here just 10 yrs behind the curve compared to Austin/DFW/Houston ... ?
gopitt
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Perhaps Mr. Griswold can back up his statement with some factual information. People try to besmirch or trash a business without providing any ACTUAL proof. I'd like to see Stylecraft go after that kind of wild statement. Some people tread a very thin legal line here.
Rockdoc
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AG
The lumber comes from the same local suppliers that the expensive builders use. I'm not saying it's the same grade, but I am saying those suppliers are not going to sell ungraded lumber to house builders. Period. Some of you people DO seem to have a dislike for stylcraft houses, to the point of putting out blatantly false information. If you don't like stylecraft, don't buy one, or move out of the one you currently own, but there are many stylcraft owners that are perfectly happy with their homes.
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