Texanick said:
We are making the move to Austin soon and wanted to get some feedback on Dripping Springs/Driftwood. What is the consensus (if any) on Highpointe, Belterra, Rim Rock or other neighborhoods in the area? I am in sales so will be all over Austin metro so I'm not concerned about commuting because every day could be different.
Also, who are the good builders in Austin or more importantly who's should be avoided?
It's a nice area with a lot of development going on, commercial and residential. Commuting during peak times is not fun, so it's good if you have flexibility. I also drive all over the metro and I live practically in Georgetown, which is the extreme other end of that area.
I'm not familiar with all of the neighborhoods on that side of town, but I know Belterra is nice with good builder's and I was in Driftwood last week looking at a home on a bit of acreage (Rutherford West, which is right next to Rim Rock). There are other neighborhoods off 71 near the Lakeway area that are similar to Belterra (Sweetwater).
As for good builders, and assuming we are not talking about full custom homes, I like Wilshire/Coventry (both build in these neighborhoods), Gehan, Perry, M/I, and there are others. Personally, I'm partial to Gehan and Wilshire/Coventry (both owned by MHI) and you can't go wrong with them. Coventry has some nice spec homes in Rim Rock, Rutherford West, and Belterra right now if you look on their website. However, there are a ton of builders in Austin right now and many of them have different tiers of quality and branding.
Others can probably chime with more specifics about the neighborhoods and amenities. Let me know if you have any other questions.