Who was your home builder?

[stampsx2]

So apparently not a whole lot of people are building or buying homes right now but I hear the times they are a sortof changing. Anyways for those of you that have taken the risk (as I think I may) into the housing market, who was your home builder? I hear Excel and Shane Homes is pretty good although I have never come across a person who was 100% satisfied with their builder expierience.

[Andrew]

cedarglen is pretty good. followup is good afterwards.

[Jedi Ninja]

2009 JD Powers Survey:

http://mobile.jdpower.com/homes/rati...atings/calgary

And, lots and lots of people have been building homes this year, it's actually been a record year for some builders, though almost all the action is in the starter home market.

EDIT: Wow, Albi as slipped quite a bit. And also, I'd avoid any of the builders with just 2 stars in overall satisfaction.

[Art Vandelay]

We built a home with Excel last year. Moved in December.

Overall we are happy with the house, but pretty disappointed in a few things.

Construction process - not once did they offer any information on the progress. We had to call to find out what was going on. We went through the house at least once a week by ourselves (you are supposed to get them to go with you, but the first time we asked, they said they couldn't do it that day, so we just went in by ourselves.) A friend who was building with Shane at the same time had access to their website that provided an update on the construction process (what was going to happen when).

Move in readiness - The day we took possession, they were still finishing the house, and they did not clean up. The house was a mess when we moved in. My wife was less than pleased. Nothing like spending 360K on a house that we have to clean ourselves. All our appliances had dings and required new parts. 10 hardwood boards needed replacement due to scratches or dents, 2 tiles needed to be replaced, the laundry room door was put on incorrectly..... I could go on. Didn't seem to be any quality checks before move in.

Service after moving in - For the first 3 months they were over every week fixing something or coming back to fix something that they said they fixed. There are still things that they haven't totally finished.

Although we are (now) happy with our house, I wouldn't say that the process was enjoyable. I would not recommend buying from Excel.

[bradster57]

We built with Morrison this year and overall it was a good experience. We had access to the site almost anytime we came over which helped we got to know a lot of them during the process as well as various contractors. Helped with a lot of the questions we had.

Again, it wasn't 100% great experience. They effed up our mortgage by not sending our bank all of the information they needed. We complained and they reduced our house by 5K.

I think everyone has different experiences, our neighbors our Morrison as well and they had a terrible time.

[The Yen Man]

I actually just bought with Shane Homes, so I'm hoping for a smooth experience. I guess I'm bracing myself for the normal stuff that people seem to go through, but I'm gonna hope for the best. Does anyone have any good / bad stories about them?

[Shazam]

Just keep on top of everything. Go every other day at least and inspect things yourself.

Never let up. And don't trust the city inspectors.

[stampsx2]

I had a friend that built with Excel too and said the feedback was very poor, kind of like once you drive the car off the lot we don't know you. Although the house design looked real good.
Three more off this forum to add to my list of people unhappy with their home builders. Maybe an old house is the way to go although I have heard that can be a nightmare too with surprise mold, leaks and cracks. I think owners and builders should be held accountable for a period after purchase.

[Rerun]

Dreamwest Homes built my house here in Okotoks. I'm the second owner. It was built in 2004. There are a couple of very, very minor deficiencies but thats all I have seen so far.... just moved in a month and a half ago. There could have been more that have been fixed but maybe not.

[hmmhmmcamo]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Just keep on top of everything. Go every other day at least and inspect things yourself.

Never let up. And don't trust the city inspectors.

and take LOTS of photos of everything each time you are there. You'd be surprised how often some random photo you took of nothing in particular will come in handy after everything is covered up. It's also a good way to keep track of the progress yourself.

[Jayems]

Currently in the process of building with Sabal. In the final stage of planning, however. No ground has been broke. They're fairly decent with returning my calls right now, we'll see how that all fares once all the paperwork is done and the sales teams move on.

[Eddie Bronze]

I have to be careful what I say here...

I did not buy from a builder, but work for one as a framer. And even though I know we do a good job as a framing crew, based on the extremely poor quality of lumber they are supplying us with, I wouldn't suggest buying from them. Their priorities appear to be more on hammering their trades with safety issues than focusing on the quality of their homes. At least from where I stand, anyway. I'm hesitant to name them if the wrong person were to ever read this...

[DrJ]

Lupi Homes.

Amazing job.

[zarrell]

Built my own house. Almost 100% satisfied.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

I hear Excel and Shane Homes is pretty good although I have never come across a person who was 100% satisfied with their builder expierience.

I bought my house as the 2nd owner; house was a year old and built by Excel.

With all of the corners they cut, I would not want to build from them. And a lot of the cut corners have been found after living in the house for a while and/or doing renovations.

Classic example- bare minimum cose requires insulation in the basement to the frost line. So my basement walls came with R8 insulation going 1/2 way down the wall.

[You Need a Thneed]

My house is an excel - We bought it when it was 8 or 9 years old - but one outside wall is about 1/2 inch out of level from top to bottom. Trying to get the new closet door I installed right beside this non-plumb wall when I reno'd to look proper was a little bit interesting.

[Jedi Ninja]

Things change so much with individual builders from year to year, I really don't think you can rely on the reputation of a builder from a couple of years ago or even from last year. (And as mentioned by EB, a lot of builders are currently putting cost pressure on suppliers which may result in corner cutting down the supply chain.) Also, I don't think you can rely on anecdotes from just one or two people as every builder has its screw ups and its victories. And also, there is always a bit of stress involved in building a home, and different peoples perceptions and ability to cope with this kind of stress varies widely.

What I would suggest, however, is that you make sure that you have the right to visit the site regularly (a lot of buliders don't allow this any longer) and maybe even the right to bring your own inspector in at various stages of the project. And more importantly, read your contract documents and specifications very carefully so you understand what your are getting. Minimum building code often falls far below what people expect.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Jedi Ninja

What I would suggest, however, is that you make sure that you have the right to visit the site regularly (a lot of buliders don't allow this any longer) and maybe even the right to bring your own inspector in at various stages of the project. And more importantly, read your contract documents and specifications very carefully so you understand what your are getting. Minimum building code often falls far below what people expect.

If the builder didn't allow you to inspect your own house, and/or bring your own inspector, I would run FAR, FAAAR away from that builder.

[Eddie Bronze]

Originally Posted by Jedi Ninja

What I would suggest, however, is that you make sure that you have the right to visit the site regularly (a lot of buliders don't allow this any longer

I did not know that builders don't allow it. That may explain why we see home owners when we work with one builder and never see them when we work with others. If I were buying a house and they told me I couldn't go on site I'd tell them I'd find another builder. I don't care what insurance reasons they trot out to you, common sense on a job site always prevails as the number one safety measure. Tell them you'll wear a hardhat, safety glasses and boots and if they still say no then they are hiding something.

We look forward to seeing the homeowners and rarely ever do. Unfortunate, really.

[Flames in 07]

City Core Developments.

Top shelf.