I'm sure 550 rules out Ellis too then.

I'm actually surprised that 600 is the minimum for Crowley. A few months ago, I was in a custom build that they were finishing up and I'd be shocked if the house cost more than 450 not including land. Not because I thought it was cheaply built but because it was smallish for the neighborhood and very minimalistic (as requested by the home owners). The house definitely stands out among all the others in the neighborhood and not in a bad way.

It's been a few years since I built so I'm sure everything went up but I'd never guess by that much. It probably doesn't hurt to call them anyway.

Borski is simply the best. Great people and great construction

keo1 said:

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Borski is simply the best. Great people and great construction

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Danny and Donald are great guys to work for and to have work for you.

toolshed said:

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I go through Aggielandrealestate.com, click on "search the mls". Beware of some realtor sites will ask for your info once you get on their site or a few clicks in. I haven't noticed that with Bienski's webpage. Zillow is decent as well.

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thanks!

question along the lines of this.. what if the avg % property tax for college station? 1.50%?

Sign a fixed price contract and the over budget items are his concern.

Was visiting friends in Castlegate II last weekend and stopped by the new Blackstone model home. It's pretty spectacular. Definitely worth a look too.

I don't think you understand fixed price versus cost plus.

jja79 said:

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I don't think you understand fixed price versus cost plus.

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He understands the concept fine. Builders fix price homes but use and give allowances to clients based on what they priced into the home. If the client is over the allowance, they pay the difference. The builder controls cost this way.

I'm in a business that deals with this every day and I disagree.

jja79 said:

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Sign a fixed price contract and the over budget items are his concern.

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thanks for the advice jja79.. we chatted briefly on our first home loan and you gave me excellent advice

since our top end budget is 550 (since we're not taking out a loan) then that eliminates Ellis homes.

looks like this is list based on my budget that has come out of this thread (in no particular order)

Grant Designs
CGM homes
Raven Homes
Mariott Homes
Topline Custom Homes
Crowley Custom Homes
Fossil Builders
Gregg Custom Homes
Borski Custom homes

I've recently modified 3 construction loans to permanent with Bluestone and Chad Wooten Homes in this price range. All 3 went very smoothly and the clients are very happy.

I'd love to have the chance to visit with you when the time comes. We've got a very good one-time close product that combines the lot purchase, construction loan and permanent mortgage into one transaction.

jja79 said:

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I'm in a business that deals with this every day and I disagree.

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That's fine, I've been building for 17 years and know what I'm talking about.

Jules_Winnfield said:

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looks like this is list based on my budget that has come out of this thread (in no particular order)

Grant Designs
CGM homes
Raven Homes
Mariott Homes
Topline Custom Homes
Crowley Custom Homes
Fossil Builders
Gregg Custom Homes
Borski Custom homes

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I would add Bluestone to your list.

I'm kind of surprised by this talk about going over budget. I can only speak from my experience with Mariott Homes and things may have changed greatly in the years since I'd built. I also had a prior relationship with them so that might've been a factor too, I don't know.

I did not have to get a construction loan, Mariott took care of that. I picked out the lot and floor plan and he (Larry Mariott) told me the base cost with standard features. We tweaked an existing floor plan but you can always bring in an architect. If I would've picked out all the things that they considered standard, then that's exactly what the house would've cost me.

I was then given a budget for things like kitchen appliances, HVAC, lighting, etc. I was presented with options that were standard but I could always upgrade and pay the difference (a running joke between me and my friends who used them as builders too was saying "that'll cost you extra"). So the only way to go way over budget is if you start going crazy with upgrades. You'll want to make sure ahead of time what's standard and what's an upgrade so that there are no surprises.

He did not do costs plus with me and I've never heard of him doing that. He would always tell me whatever the upgrade costs is what I'd pay, he doesn't mark anything up. I think we went 10% over the base cost with upgrades but it was still within what my wife and I had budgeted.

I think you and I are talking about different things. Of course some items in the budget may move from cabinets to flooring or some other component, but if a builder contracts to build a house for $500K to certain specs that's what he has to do, assuming it's a fixed price contract. If the buyer chooses to make changes after the fact of course he's going to have to absorb those costs.

Magruder Homes

CN said:

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I'm kind of surprised by this talk about going over budget. I can only speak from my experience with Mariott Homes and things may have changed greatly in the years since I'd built. I also had a prior relationship with them so that might've been a factor too, I don't know.

I did not have to get a construction loan, Mariott took care of that. I picked out the lot and floor plan and he (Larry Mariott) told me the base cost with standard features. We tweaked an existing floor plan but you can always bring in an architect. If I would've picked out all the things that they considered standard, then that's exactly what the house would've cost me.

I was then given a budget for things like kitchen appliances, HVAC, lighting, etc. I was presented with options that were standard but I could always upgrade and pay the difference (a running joke between me and my friends who used them as builders too was saying "that'll cost you extra"). So the only way to go way over budget is if you start going crazy with upgrades. You'll want to make sure ahead of time what's standard and what's an upgrade so that there are no surprises.

He did not do costs plus with me and I've never heard of him doing that. He would always tell me whatever the upgrade costs is what I'd pay, he doesn't mark anything up. I think we went 10% over the base cost with upgrades but it was still within what my wife and I had budgeted.

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Oh, you mean allowances. Yes most builders do it that way. If they don't they are either losing money on those items or they have those items marked up so high that it's costing the client more to build the house. Most builders I know use allowances and Mariott is one of them.

Their are many great home builders in B/CS. We all have our different strengths. As past president of the homebuilders association I have had the privilege to work with many of these great builders. As far as budgets and schedules go, every house is a partnership between the builder and owner. As the scope of the house changes so will the budget and schedule.

RockInspector said:

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Agree. Keith Ellis builds a beautiful home.

It just comes in way over budget and way past the original time promised. Ask just about anybody.

The next house Ellis finishes on time and on budget (or even close) will be the first

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Ask me. Keith built our house about 10 years ago. Many pictures of it on TexAgs. Excellent on all levels of the experience. I've yet to talk to anyone that he has built a home for with similar remarks. In our case, it was not over budget and was finished on time and was architect designed with many very difficult details/specifications uncommon to this area. Our architects vetted the local builders and recommended Ellis exclusively.

If you want to see his work, our home will be included in this year's Master Gardener's tour on April 29th from 9 AM until 2 PM. Come check it out.

If you want a detailed price before you start once you get the plans pick your tile carpet especially electrical fixtures (because i jave seen alot of budgets with home depot fixtures) plumbing fixtures doors and trim. The kitchen cabinets will change because it is hard to see what you really want in there and plus most of the time the cabinet maker will meet with you and guide you the correct way

If this is your first home i can meet with you or you can text me and I could tell you what to look for I built my home if you would like to ask me questions. I also can give you suppliers to use if you decide to pick eerything out before hand

We used David Schuler with Spirit Design Build and he was excellent!

this wont be my first new build so i have an idea of how the general process goes but i wanted to get an idea of a few quality (subjective) home builders in the area.

I'm a developer here in town and I've had very good experience with Donnie Sprague, he does custom homes in your range and is anal about keeping costs on line with what the client asked, friendly guy as well!!

You are getting a shotgun pattern mix of good ol' boy networking referrals, some will profit from your hiring them. I see "A"s mixed in with "B"s and even maybe a "C" in all that in general.

May I suggest that instead of shoehorning your lifestyle into someone else's concept of "lifestyle",
you spend a little less time planning/designing it with an architect - residential specialist ... instead of modifying and regretting built-ins, even walls in "the wrong places"?

Residential Architects also marry well your expectations in builder services, as well as project demands to their talents, based upon past inspections to conform to CODE/plans. They then seek out street talk as to who's too busy to watchdog your project build. As far as design costs, you either pay either way, be it pre-built or post-built, as it's a bona vide build expense. A good architect will also work with your favorite builder during design to insure no harsh cost surprises when plans are finished and bids arrive to total.

tgivaughn@juno.com '76
May I ask what grad.class Aggie you were?

The last weekend in April and the first weekend in May is our local Parade of Homes. I suggest getting out there and looking at homes these builders have built. My wife and I have been attending these for 7 years, and we have talked to many of the builders and gotten to know which ones we like and don't like.

I was just wondering if anyone has used Southwest Homes? Or Reece Custom Homes? If so, could you please post what maybe you like and dislike?

We went around today at the Parade of Homes and talked with each of them and came away feeling positive about both. But would appreciate any actual knowledge of experiences with each

Thanks

We enjoyed Pittman Homes after we visited the Parade of Homes. We found a plan we loved. Anyone have any feedback on them? TIA

enchanted said:

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We enjoyed Pittman Homes after we visited the Parade of Homes. We found a plan we loved. Anyone have any feedback on them? TIA

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Very good experience with them... we built a little over 2 years ago, or rather bought a house that was being framed up. We heard from others about them and in our price range they're considered top notch. Jimmy and his wife (both aggies) started it and have put a ton of work into the business. His dad works with him now as well. Their business has grown quite a bit in just the 2 years since we built... our house also has some built in equity! Basically the phase we're in built very quick and we locked in a price early on.

true story: our warranty was a good 5 to 6 months past and we had a major A/C issue. It required ordering and installing a very pricey part, they fixed it and covered the whole thing.

with any new home build though there are some things I'd watch and insist on (we had no drainage problems with Pitman, and minor other problems, just things I see on new construction too often)...

• drainage on final grade - leave plenty of room from the brick ledge and draining water away from the foundation
• dirt used for grading - insist on white sand or an organic sandy topsoil (no red dirt, aka red death).
• Tankless water heater! they're worth it and I believe Pitman only installs tankless. Many builders go cheap here.
• Home entertainment/ethernet cable etc. - Get it all hooked up (room to room and where you want hook ups) before final inspection. For example we added a tv outside on the patio and it would've been smart of us to put a coaxial and ethernet connection there.
• have existing trees? protect their root zones! especially if they're post oaks, otherwise they will be goners in a few years. Fencing around the tree's root zones does the trick...not all builders will appreciate it though.
• Driveway - pour the driveway last! pour it early and inevitably a subcontractor will park there and leak oil all over it. Also insist on a gravel base underneath it. Gravel will help support the load and lengthen the life of the driveway (many local concrete guys do not use gravel or any kind of base unfortunately). Rebar (not wire mesh) is also standard.
• Patio - want it larger? now is the time to do it, or pour an extra one with a fire pit (what we did).

late night ramblings on construction, best of luck!

Have recently built a high-end fully custom home and after extensive research found these builders to be the most trusted and capable at the time.

1. Keith Ellis - No 2 homes will look a like
2. Crowley - No 2 homes will look a like
3. CGM - No 2 homes will look alike
4. Magruder, Mariott - Builds the same design with a few changes
5. Schaefer, Raven - Builds the same design with a few changes

We sent 3 months at the Architect and 8 months to build on a lot that we had purchased.

Doug Bryan
In my opinion you wont't find a homebuilder that takes more pride in his work and pays attention to detail

Chris Tredway

Cedar Bend Homes