KB, Pulte, McMillin, Centex, SP, Lennar….best? worst? thoughts?

[temeculaguy]

I don’t doubt your friend had a bad experience but that is not the national reputation for that company. KB probably builds the lowest quality in this region, but they are the cheapest so you get what you pay for. I’d lump Centex, Standard Pacific, D.R. horton and ,most of the rest of the Nationals together, they have high end projects and low end projects. Around here, Pulte has only built the higher end stuff and from the few times I’ve looked at their models, it was very well built. They along with Lennar went with a no options policy (Pulte built half of Morgan Valley) where everything is included, granite, stainless, ceiling fans in every room (not just the outlet but the fan), higher end flooring, even the little things like christmas tree outlets on the second floor, phone and cable in every room, etc. It’s just a strategy but I like it. Mcmillan is not a national builder, sometimes the regional or local builders are better, sometimes they are not. It varies too much for any one builder to the BMW and another to be the Yugo of the industry. If I had to pick a BMW, funny thing is that I would have said Pulte, so that really will confuse you since your friend hates them. You really want a perfect house, find a local builder with a sterling reputation amongst other builders.

BTW, the top three builders in 2006 according to J.D.Power consumer satisfaction polls, covering 12 large metro areas was 1. Del Webb (owned by Pulte) 2. Pulte and 3. Shea Triliogy

[golfproz]

I have a friend that is a supervisor with a large construction company. His company has built for all the major builders. He told me consistently KB is the worst. They focus on 90 days, don’t care how you get there but it better not take longer than 90 days. As far as the other ones he seems to think it depends on the development. Since most all of the actual construction work is sub’d out it really depends on how good the guys were that did the work on that particular tract. His advise is to ALWAYS get a inspection on new homes.

[golfproz]

I have a friend that is a supervisor with a large construction company. His company has built for all the major builders. He told me consistently KB is the worst. They focus on 90 days, don’t care how you get there but it better not take longer than 90 days. As far as the other ones he seems to think it depends on the development. Since most all of the actual construction work is sub’d out it really depends on how good the guys were that did the work on that particular tract. His advise is to ALWAYS get a inspection on new homes.

[golfproz]

I have a friend that is a supervisor with a large construction company. His company has built for all the major builders. He told me consistently KB is the worst. They focus on 90 days, don’t care how you get there but it better not take longer than 90 days. As far as the other ones he seems to think it depends on the development. Since most all of the actual construction work is sub’d out it really depends on how good the guys were that did the work on that particular tract. His advise is to ALWAYS get a inspection on new homes.

[golfproz]

I have a friend that is a supervisor with a large construction company. His company has built for all the major builders. He told me consistently KB is the worst. They focus on 90 days, don’t care how you get there but it better not take longer than 90 days. As far as the other ones he seems to think it depends on the development. Since most all of the actual construction work is sub’d out it really depends on how good the guys were that did the work on that particular tract. His advise is to ALWAYS get a inspection on new homes.

[golfproz]

I have a friend that is a supervisor with a large construction company. His company has built for all the major builders. He told me consistently KB is the worst. They focus on 90 days, don’t care how you get there but it better not take longer than 90 days. As far as the other ones he seems to think it depends on the development. Since most all of the actual construction work is sub’d out it really depends on how good the guys were that did the work on that particular tract. His advise is to ALWAYS get a inspection on new homes.

[svelte]

Word on the streets in the 90s was the McMillan and Fieldstone were pretty good, not sure how they are now.

We have a larger ’95 Ryland home and I’ve been pretty impressed with it. Where I’ve chopped into walls,etc for our remodel, I’ve found nice stuff where I would have expected a mass builder to scrimp.

One example of many: virtually every interior wall is stuffed chock full of insulation. I’m not even sure why a builder would do that, except perhaps for noise dampening?

[svelte]

Word on the streets in the 90s was the McMillan and Fieldstone were pretty good, not sure how they are now.

We have a larger ’95 Ryland home and I’ve been pretty impressed with it. Where I’ve chopped into walls,etc for our remodel, I’ve found nice stuff where I would have expected a mass builder to scrimp.

One example of many: virtually every interior wall is stuffed chock full of insulation. I’m not even sure why a builder would do that, except perhaps for noise dampening?

[svelte]

Word on the streets in the 90s was the McMillan and Fieldstone were pretty good, not sure how they are now.

We have a larger ’95 Ryland home and I’ve been pretty impressed with it. Where I’ve chopped into walls,etc for our remodel, I’ve found nice stuff where I would have expected a mass builder to scrimp.

One example of many: virtually every interior wall is stuffed chock full of insulation. I’m not even sure why a builder would do that, except perhaps for noise dampening?

[svelte]

Word on the streets in the 90s was the McMillan and Fieldstone were pretty good, not sure how they are now.

We have a larger ’95 Ryland home and I’ve been pretty impressed with it. Where I’ve chopped into walls,etc for our remodel, I’ve found nice stuff where I would have expected a mass builder to scrimp.

One example of many: virtually every interior wall is stuffed chock full of insulation. I’m not even sure why a builder would do that, except perhaps for noise dampening?

[svelte]

Word on the streets in the 90s was the McMillan and Fieldstone were pretty good, not sure how they are now.

We have a larger ’95 Ryland home and I’ve been pretty impressed with it. Where I’ve chopped into walls,etc for our remodel, I’ve found nice stuff where I would have expected a mass builder to scrimp.

One example of many: virtually every interior wall is stuffed chock full of insulation. I’m not even sure why a builder would do that, except perhaps for noise dampening?

[mydogsarelazy]

We have a KB home in Murrieta, purchased in 2003, escrow closed in 2004.

Here are some pluses and minuses:

On the negative side…

– Sales staff mis-informed us on some details, and pushed the use of KB Home Mortgage company which we avoided.

– You have to purchase a number of upgrades to get a decent house. For example, their standard carpeting is a nightmare.

On the plus side…

– We love the house. Great design, excellent low energy consumption as we paid for vinyl double-paned window and extra roof insulation. I would buy it again.

– KB has been fantastic in terms of responding to minor fixes needed during early warranty period. All issues were taken care of promptly, including one item we reported after our initial one year period on some items had expired. The company is very anxious to clean up their image, which they know has been soiled, particularly by problems and lawsuits in Texas.

– The house closed on time, and all upgrades and mods were exactly as we wanted.

– We had it privately inspected after escrow close and it came through very nicely, with only one small wiring issue needing attention.

JS

[mydogsarelazy]

We have a KB home in Murrieta, purchased in 2003, escrow closed in 2004.

Here are some pluses and minuses:

On the negative side…

– Sales staff mis-informed us on some details, and pushed the use of KB Home Mortgage company which we avoided.

– You have to purchase a number of upgrades to get a decent house. For example, their standard carpeting is a nightmare.

On the plus side…

– We love the house. Great design, excellent low energy consumption as we paid for vinyl double-paned window and extra roof insulation. I would buy it again.

– KB has been fantastic in terms of responding to minor fixes needed during early warranty period. All issues were taken care of promptly, including one item we reported after our initial one year period on some items had expired. The company is very anxious to clean up their image, which they know has been soiled, particularly by problems and lawsuits in Texas.

– The house closed on time, and all upgrades and mods were exactly as we wanted.

– We had it privately inspected after escrow close and it came through very nicely, with only one small wiring issue needing attention.

JS

[mydogsarelazy]

We have a KB home in Murrieta, purchased in 2003, escrow closed in 2004.

Here are some pluses and minuses:

On the negative side…

– Sales staff mis-informed us on some details, and pushed the use of KB Home Mortgage company which we avoided.

– You have to purchase a number of upgrades to get a decent house. For example, their standard carpeting is a nightmare.

On the plus side…

– We love the house. Great design, excellent low energy consumption as we paid for vinyl double-paned window and extra roof insulation. I would buy it again.

– KB has been fantastic in terms of responding to minor fixes needed during early warranty period. All issues were taken care of promptly, including one item we reported after our initial one year period on some items had expired. The company is very anxious to clean up their image, which they know has been soiled, particularly by problems and lawsuits in Texas.

– The house closed on time, and all upgrades and mods were exactly as we wanted.

– We had it privately inspected after escrow close and it came through very nicely, with only one small wiring issue needing attention.

JS

[mydogsarelazy]

We have a KB home in Murrieta, purchased in 2003, escrow closed in 2004.

Here are some pluses and minuses:

On the negative side…

– Sales staff mis-informed us on some details, and pushed the use of KB Home Mortgage company which we avoided.

– You have to purchase a number of upgrades to get a decent house. For example, their standard carpeting is a nightmare.

On the plus side…

– We love the house. Great design, excellent low energy consumption as we paid for vinyl double-paned window and extra roof insulation. I would buy it again.

– KB has been fantastic in terms of responding to minor fixes needed during early warranty period. All issues were taken care of promptly, including one item we reported after our initial one year period on some items had expired. The company is very anxious to clean up their image, which they know has been soiled, particularly by problems and lawsuits in Texas.

– The house closed on time, and all upgrades and mods were exactly as we wanted.

– We had it privately inspected after escrow close and it came through very nicely, with only one small wiring issue needing attention.

JS

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