Homebuilder Recommendations

14,186 Views | 65 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by KaneIsAble
Dillotat
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AG
Will be interviewing homebuilders in 2020. Any recommendations of why one is better than another? Looking at 2800-3500 square foot house.
dallasiteinsa02
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Price range would help.
gus1390
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AG
for that size home, I would recommend any of Hall Homes, Magruder Homes, Pitman Custom Homes or Reece Homes.
SPI-FlatsCatter 84
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AG
dallasiteinsa02 said:

Price range would help.
ALSO, on your lot in BFE or in a tight development?
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Nothing is getting fixed in D.C. until we get term limits for both the House and the Senate
waltonag05
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AG
We are currently building in Oakmont with Hall Homes. We are very pleased with the process and transparency. We talked with several others before deciding on Hall.
Ajollyag
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Gerard Construction
https://www.gerard-construction.com/
tel:9798234590

Mike Patranella is a local, graduated from a&m in 1977. Good man and is currently building my house. Doing a good job so far.
selk
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AG
Willis Custom Homes
or Ridgewood Custom Homes
mwm
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We have had Marriott build two homes for us. Very, very pleased both times.
rsa
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AG
Most of the builders listed above are building in Oakmont, Brewster Pointe, and Greenbrier. Swing through these areas, check out the model homes, and meet with the builders. You won't go wrong with any of the suggestions above.
75AG
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AG
selk said:

Willis Custom Homes
or Ridgewood Custom Homes
Ridgewood built ours. One word of caution, while we're mostly pleased with the construction process and home, concrete work is substandard.
waltonag05
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AG
I would also add do you research on post-tension vs rebar slab.
JohnD`05
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Make sure you interview Reece. They are the fastest growing local custom home builder for a reason. Their homes are amazing.
SPI-FlatsCatter 84
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AG
another famous OP on this board where the OP asks for help and then disappears

Cracks me up for some odd reason
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Nothing is getting fixed in D.C. until we get term limits for both the House and the Senate
TAMC11
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AG
We'd highly recommend Reece. My wife and I were scoping out their homes for years knowing we'd want to use them when we were ready. We've now been in our Reece home for a little over a year and we love it.
woodiewood1
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Everyone here will have their own opinion as to the "best" homebuilder. The best thing to do is to visit the various subdivisions that you are considering and/or homes ofthe price point you are spending and tour some of the builder's new homes. You appear to have a few months to consider builders. There are many great builder's homes in our area.
Vinewood_03
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In no particular order:

Ridgewood Custom Homes
Reece Homes
Pitman Custom Homes
aggiepaintrain
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AG
some builders are much better salesmen then others

one of the "best" ones built a house I bought that was only 6 months old and I wore them out fixing issues that were quality control problems that they should have fixed before the first owner even took possession. This was a $500k home
Ajollyag
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Make sure you get a soil test done wherever you build in BCS. My builder, Gerard Construction, highly recommended me to get one. Come to find out there was 13 feet of sand below my property. Unfortunately, for a lot of my neighbors, their builder didnt have a soil test done and their foundations are already shifting in their new homes. Dont be cheap when building.

A good builder will lead you to take the most precautions so that you do not waste your money on a house that won't last.
Rex Racer
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AG
ajolly said:

Make sure you get a soil test done wherever you build in BCS. My builder, Gerard Construction, highly recommended me to get one. Come to find out there was 13 feet of sand below my property. Unfortunately, for a lot of my neighbors, their builder didnt have a soil test done and their foundations are already shifting in their new homes. Dont be cheap when building.

A good builder will lead you to take the most precautions so that you do not waste your money on a house that won't last.
You can also get an idea of your soil based on the USDA's soil survey. It's not a replacement for getting a soil test done, but it would be good to look at this BEFORE you buy a lot.

https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/WebSoilSurvey.aspx
aggiemommy
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We also are looking to start building next year - on our land a bit outside the city limits. We met with a few builders when we bought our land and have had a builder in mind for several years. Now that we are ready to build, we have been very disappointed with the level of service we have gotten with this particular builder after meeting with them to discuss our plans.
So, while we thought we were past this hurdle, we're back to square one. Several that we have talked to recently are too busy building in all of the new subdivisions that they won't take on building on land elsewhere.
We are looking at 2700-3000 sq ft in the $125-$150/sq ft price range.
Ajollyag
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aggiemommy said:

We also are looking to start building next year - on our land a bit outside the city limits. We met with a few builders when we bought our land and have had a builder in mind for several years. Now that we are ready to build, we have been very disappointed with the level of service we have gotten with this particular builder after meeting with them to discuss our plans.
So, while we thought we were past this hurdle, we're back to square one. Several that we have talked to recently are too busy building in all of the new subdivisions that they won't take on building on land elsewhere.
We are looking at 2700-3000 sq ft in the $125-$150/sq ft price range.


Man, sorry to hear that. I know that $/sq ft really depends on your specific floorplan and the fixtures you put in it. A 2700 sq ft 1 story home is probably going to cost more than a 2700 sq ft 2 story(more dirtwork, and concrete). I know that Gerard Construction usually just builds houses for clients and are not usually tied up with building spec houses or custom homes for specific developments. I would definitely recommend them and maybe get a consultation from them..

Probably wouldnt hurt.
MB19
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AG
waltonag05 said:

I would also add do you research on post-tension vs rebar slab.
Given the soil here, this is an absolute must IMO.
golf05
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Jeff Jones Custom Homes
I have known Jeff for quite a few years, and he is a man of integrity. He doesn't build 100s of homes every year, so he has the time to help you make good decisions during the home building process. Also, I think the majority of the homes he builds are out of the city limits.
musicforall
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I have been househunting all year. The new build houses all look the same. Am I the only one not thrilled with shiplap everywhere? All-white kitchen and living room all one big room split by an enormous island? Five years from now this will look as dated as avocado green and harvest gold.They will probably call it Waco white. I currently live with an open concept kitchen/living room but not as open as the ones now being built. So my living room furniture smells like whatever we had for dinner last night and no one can watch tv while I am cooking or washing dishes because it is too noisy. Plus everyone who walks in the house can see whatever meal is in progress. I guess I need an old house.
techno-ag
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AG
It's always more than you expect. It's critical to roll as many things as you can into the mortgage before construction starts. Change orders will cause grief. Unfortunately some builders take full advantage of this and make suggestions throughout the build process hoping you'll bite.

Get one of the local engineering firms to look at the soil and develop an engineered foundation. Typically they will offer three ranging in price. The builder always seems to gravitate towards the cheapest one. You should insist on the middle one or the most expensive one even though it will add 20K or more to the cost of your house.

Finally, pay for a home inspector to go through the house with a fine-toothed comb before you sign the final documents.
skipster
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I don't log on to Tex Ans except on holidays. Boy there are many people that chime in here that don't know their facts. There are not many of these builders listed that build quality homes. I think quality should be mentioned. Most if not all are tract builders no custom.
skipster
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aggiepaintrain said:

some builders are much better salesmen then others

one of the "best" ones built a house I bought that was only 6 months old and I wore them out fixing issues that were quality control problems that they should have fixed before the first owner even took possession. This was a $500k home
cavscout96
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AG
aggiemommy said:

We also are looking to start building next year - on our land a bit outside the city limits. We met with a few builders when we bought our land and have had a builder in mind for several years. Now that we are ready to build, we have been very disappointed with the level of service we have gotten with this particular builder after meeting with them to discuss our plans.
So, while we thought we were past this hurdle, we're back to square one. Several that we have talked to recently are too busy building in all of the new subdivisions that they won't take on building on land elsewhere.
We are looking at 2700-3000 sq ft in the $125-$150/sq ft price range.
ran into the same. met with several local, "reputable" builders who weren't interested in building outside on of the south CS/Millican developments. Really disappointing, but I guess they are making their money....
cavscout96
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AG
skipster said:

I don't log on to Tex Ans except on holidays. Boy there are many people that chime in here that don't know their facts. There are not many of these builders listed that build quality homes. I think quality should be mentioned. Most if not all are tract builders no custom.
or my favorite... "semi-custom...." whatever that really means.
thann07
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AG
Soil test. And architect (and I say that as an engineer).

I'm building with one builder mentioned right now, and I'm wishing I had done both given the overall cost. I'm enjoying working with them, but drafting took a long time, and I still didn't get everything in the contract the way I would've liked. Then, we finally got costs in and it wound up way higher than the originally discussed budgetand no warning was given during the drafting development.
cavscout96
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AG
thann07 said:

Soil test. And architect (and I say that as an engineer).

I'm building with one builder mentioned right now, and I'm wishing I had done both given the overall cost. I'm enjoying working with them, but drafting took a long time, and I still didn't get everything in the contract the way I would've liked. Then, we finally got costs in and it wound up way higher than the originally discussed budgetand no warning was given during the drafting development.
did you get a firm fixed price when bid, or did the project get started and then... "oh, by the way, all that stuff you wanted added/changed from the spec house, it's $$$ extra." ?
vaaggie86
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AG
ridgewood custom homes built mine, it is great.
H2SAag
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AG
Any specific builders you recommend?
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jac4
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AG
So I've got a question about the soil sample -> engineered foundation.

Is it possible to get a soil sample and not need an engineered foundation? Or is it like going to the orthodontist and everyone who shows up there gets braces?
thann07
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AG
The engineer can't do the slab design effectively without the soil sample. Any structural minded engineer is going to want samples taken at the specific building location.

If it's not engineered for the specific location, you have to hope it's over designed for worse conditions than you actually have. If that's so, the engineering design could actually be streamlined and improved.

If it wasn't originally over designed, then you've saved yourself from future problems.

To answer your question, the soil sample could indicate that the soil is in "better" shape than the assumed design conditions that were used for whatever the "typical" foundation design that the builder would've used. In that case, it could point towards whatever the original foundation design being "ok." Then again, maybe not...it's really the structural slab engineer that should make that call.
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