Who was your home builder?

[dubc80]

Going to bump this thread as we're currently looking at Cedarglen, Excel, Shane and Cardel in Panorama.

Anyone going through the process with any of these builders at the moment? How has it been?

[NSFL]

When we had our house built about 13 years ago, Shane did a crappy job. But looking at some of their show homes now, the quality appears to be much better.

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by dubc80

Going to bump this thread as we're currently looking at Cedarglen, Excel, Shane and Cardel in Panorama.

Anyone going through the process with any of these builders at the moment? How has it been?

FYI on Cedarglen...yes its been a few years but I'd still avoid them at all costs.

http://www.performance-shop.com/yabb...c=32353.0;wap2

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by 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.

I'm having a Sabal house built right now. The lot is excavated and they start pouring the basement next week.

[Rathji]

My sister in law had a murderously bad experience with Cardel.

They put her house over a meter out of place, didn't have all the cabinet doors for months after moving in, she had plumbing problems which caused mold and Cardel did the ensuing reno's with mismatched materials (like hardwood and cabinets).

They also started the build right before the bottom fell out of the market, so they tried to get the price reduced on the final product, but Cardel wouldn't budge. Most builders did renegotiate price at that time. Personally I don't think Cardel should be forced to drop price, but the entire process seemed like a giant fight.

[Hevishot]

Bohl Construction! Fixed the mess another " Custom home builder" caused with Iginlas house.

[stang]

I know this is Calgary.. so not alot of people will really care, but I have a good RTM recommendation in Saskatchewan. Swanson Builders, small guy only does a handful a year, but really good quality rtms. We bought ours from him a couple years ago now, and just love it. A friend got one from him and recommended him to us, and since then my mother has got one. All very happy.

Place to stay away from McDiarmid Homes
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8330922799

[Bean]

Originally Posted by dubc80

Going to bump this thread as we're currently looking at Cedarglen, Excel, Shane and Cardel in Panorama.

Anyone going through the process with any of these builders at the moment? How has it been?

We built with Cedarglen in Panorama and took posession two years ago. I'd say that overall the best part of dealing with Cedarglen was our experience with the company's customer liason. I won't list his name publicly but he was awesome to deal with. (And he lives in our area!)

The salesperson in the showhome (presuming that it is the same one) is a shark. He is just a salesperson and offers nothing of value other than being a recipient of your money. There were many things we've asked the salesperson that he misinformed us with however the lisason was able to set us straight. - Major decisions should be made through the liason anyway however I'd take much of what the salesperson says with caution.

We tried to visit the house without being overbearing to the trades, fortunately there were only a small number of trades that did a shabby job. I found that overall they were very good however we had to keep an eye on some things that were rushed to be completed. Both the liason and the area supervisor helped immensley.

I don't really have many nice things to say about some of their suppliers, unlike Cardel that has everything in house for customization, you have to go to each individual supplier to pick out certain things. I think that this provides you with a greater variety of selection however gives you the inconvenience of making numerous trips around the city.

I hope for your benefit, that Wolesely is not a plumbing supplier any more. They were terrible to deal with and I believe are the sole reason why you sign an agreement that disallows you to have any outside party supply anything to your home other than those specifically contracted to do so.

I noticed that Cedarglen is not in the JD Power list but feel free to send a PM with any questions!

[Jonrox]

I think any time you choose to build with one of the large builders, you're rolling the dice. To you, it's likely the biggest purchase of your life and you expect to be treated like gold. But to them, you're just one of hundreds of other customers. It doesn't mean as much to them that it's hundreds of thousands of dollars at play as it does to you... remember that.

If at all possible, go with a smaller builder (ideally one that does around 12 homes per year). With them, your build is much more important and the service and attention to detail shows. You will have a smoother, more fun building process.

And of the 4 your mentioned, I've heard some pretty bad stories about Cardel.

[The Yen Man]

I take possession of my house in a little over a month. I'm building with Shane Homes. I would say the overall experience has been pretty good so far. My area rep is a pretty nice fellow, and offers a lot of info. We're at the house every week, and it hasn't been a problem at all getting access to the house. They have also been pretty quick to contact me whenever they need my approval for anything.

The only thing a bit surprising was how many places we had to go to for our selections. Exterior / Interior, lights, plumbing, fireplace, shelving, and wiring were all at different places in the city. The experience itself I didn't mind, since I am picking stuff for my own house. But I guess it could be daunting if you just want to go to one location. I know my cousin who built with Homes By AVi were able to do all their selections in one location.

[3thirty]

Were building with Baywest in Cranston and everything seems top notch so far!

[Acid Rush]

We are building with Morrison homes. So far so good. They started building the house in January so nothing major yet.

[FlamesKickAss]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

City Core Developments.

Top shelf.

thats my girlfriends Uncle's company. I've seen his house so I can only imagine/

[Jayems]

We're with Sabal down south. So far, no issues except for the piss poor job they did cleaning up our lot from (ie: they left probably 300,000 nails and screws around the house) and there's just construction debris everywhere. Just when I think i've got it all... another 5,000 things are found scattered around.

[Komskies]

Are you in Copperfield Jayems?

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Jayems

We're with Sabal down south. So far, no issues except for the piss poor job they did cleaning up our lot from (ie: they left probably 300,000 nails and screws around the house) and there's just construction debris everywhere. Just when I think i've got it all... another 5,000 things are found scattered around.

Keep the nails and screws, that's at least $500 worth of them.

[1stLand]

Hire a good Realtor to represent you when purchasing a new build.
They can help you go over details in the purchase contract and negotiate terms that are favourable to you. They can also provide you with sales statistics of recently sold new built property and can present a fairly convincing case when negotiating a favourable price on your behalf.

I worked for a land developer / new home builder for a couple years, even bought a new home off them. New Home builders have no agency relationship towards you as a consumer and do NOT represent your best interests.

I have my real estate license, but I would recommend doing some research on some experienced Realtors out there that have done MANY transactions with clients buying new homes. You dont have to pay them a commission (the builder will) and you end up feeling better about your purchase decision.

In fact, the brokerage I work for pays 25% cashback on our commission earned when representing buyers to our buyers, so they end up recieving money!

But like I said before, do a little bit of research!

[The Yen Man]

This is my first house so I'm really new to the whole real estate game, but do you really need a realtor when building a house? This is meant as a serious question, and not a rhetorical cocky question at all. I'd honestly like to know in case I missed out on something since I didn't even think about go through a realtor. I just went to a showhome, liked what I saw, and then proceeded to haggle with the sales guy.

[Shazam]

I would think a lawyer would help more. A real estate agent making changes to purchase agreements is a big bag of fail.

[1stLand]

A Realtor can negotiate terms and offer their expertise on what current market prices are (recent solds) in that area on new builts or newer homes, but yes Shazam I would also recommend a lawyer review the contract and go over details as well.

The builder will recommend you use their lawyer and that way you will not have to pay legal fees. For the extra $400 it might cost to use a lawyer of your own, I would recommend doing so, it might turn out to be the best $400 you ever spent.