Howdy all, the boss and I are looking at a home in this development and are wondering if anyone has any input on Stylecraft in this particular development, or general knowledge that can help us. We found another home in Caldwell in a different development, however it would appear that the person representing the property and or the builders attempted, what we believe to be, less than honest actions.

We have heard good and bad, we are not sure what to believe. We are on a timeline and have to be moved by middle of next year due to company relocation funds. This is our first home purchase, we can be considered less than amateurs.

Overall - this is a generally well moving development for Stylecraft in Caldwell. Be happy it is in Caldwell because any closer to College Station and it would have maybe been a DR Horton or other type builder, which IMO would have been worse for it…but the development wasn't going to move nearly as fast as they (DRH) wanted.

One of my Highschool buddies was the contractor who did the scraping/dirt work for Phase 2 in that neighbor. He does pretty good dirt work and packs it right.

Generally speaking - Stylecraft is gonna be an entry level type home/builder. But for Caldwell - I'd say it's actually one of the higher ranked builds (no offense to anyone in Caldwell) unless you go construction or deep rehab.

It's really going to depend upon the type of build - is it already under contract and being built? Or do you get a chance to start from dirt and work there? Likely best to hire an 3rd party inspection before dry wall and then before closing.

You'll get a decent set of bones with some builder grade HVAC and appliances. They won't be top of the line but they will work and if you can take care of them with proper maintenance should hopefully get some life out of them. My best example is I had a client with a style craft home - their home would always get super hot in the summer and then in year 8-9 the HVAC went out. Well it turns out the HVAC unit was undersized for the home. Got it replaced with the proper size and all was well.

Best make sure you're ensuring good dirt and foundation pour. And then practicing good maintenance as a homeowner to keep the house in good condition.

Happy to help answer any questions you may have and work through anything. Going with style craft should likely give you a chance at a decent entry interest rate from the builder if rates are still high. I think offering 4.99% right now.

Don't know the hood but do know the company. Bought my first stylecraft in 2003. Do/ have owned seven of their houses and never had a complaint.

That's a decent mindset to work from, thank you. It's a new build that is completed and ready to move in. The unit has sat on the market for a bit, less than 200 days if our sources are reliable.

I have concerns about the AC unit, the roof and now that you mention it, the foundation. The bedrooms in it are great, plenty of storage and square footage, while the kitchen is different. Gas is installed, with a tankless eater heater, so it really seems like they put major thought into some areas and sacrificed on a couple others, which at this point for us is not a deal breaker.

We are thinking it is a major contender at this point, both from the physical layout and as you mentioned potential financing options. Some of this is first home jitters, while the other is our inability to fly into something without planning or consideration.

Thanks Luke, you've given me some confidence and more to look over.

This in and of itself is great, we are beginning to think it's kind of an information bias thing, you only see the extreme examples when you search online. If 1 out of 1000 are bad, that 1 will do its best to make the entirety look bad. We just need to dig in and weigh the entirety of the property with input from some professionals.

Sounds like you should hire an inspector, regardless of what you buy.

Ill tell you, it's not as bad these days but many years, people around here liked to look down their noses at stylecraft. Never for a valid reason. Simply for opinion and price point.

I wouldn't touch a stylecrap home with a 100 ft pole. They may have improved in the last 10 years, but prior to that, their attention to detail was non-existent. One example is that a co-worker bought a brand new home and the water supply was backwards. When we were looking, it seemed that the small stuff was overlooked in every home. Nail-pops on the roof, poor tape and float on drywall, etc, etc, etc.