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We are considering building with them and I'm wondering what to expect. We built with another builder before and had some real headaches that I'm trying to avoid.
The build out here in Travisso. I have not heard of any major issues. Really comes down to the superintendent.
This!! Any production builder is likely fine, the quality of a specific house and what kind of problems you have really end up on the superintendent and how well he manages the subs.
Have been looking to move to Austin for 2 years. We lost our home in Chicago in 2009 because the value went in the toilet. So needless to say, we are super careful with this next move.
Went to Dress in Rough Hollow. Liked the Brady plan. In budget, great. Signed contract. Waited for design center appointment.
Got to design center and nothing quoted was remotely anything like what was told. Ok fine, whatever. Little over what was quoted but I will play the game.
Til we got to the stairs.
Quoted $1500 for the wood on the stairs. Didn't want carpet anywhere in the house. Got to design center.....$6600! WTF?
Then I had to pull all the managers in and have a conversation with them. I took all the emotion out of it and clearly stated that the communication process was poor and I expected better from them as a builder. We seemed to have got it all sorted out, (and the woman at the community kept calling me "Sweetie" and while that isn't what pissed me off, I felt it was a bit unprofessional) I did ask that she not call me that because we were in a business transaction and it made me feel uncomfortable. (I'm sure she thought I was a huge *****, but whatever.)
Came home to Chicago from Austin and still had a few things I needed clarification on. One was $845 for a water softener.
Told community manager that I wanted to research before I signed off yes or no but that I would let her know in a day or two.
Do my research, ask questions on what kind of water softener I was getting. She THEN proceeds to tell me I am not getting an actual water SOFTNER but a hook up for one.
WTF?
So again, I write a nice but firm letter stating that "this is an exact instance of why I am frustrated" because of the communication with this community. I need facts, information. It felt shady and like they were not being forthcoming with SIMPLE information. I was never rude, but I did tell them we have to do better.
Then I got this email:
"I appreciate your comments below; there seems to be a continuing miscommunication happening which is not good for you as a customer or for us as your builder. It’s very disturbing to me that you are having such a loss of confidence this early on in the process, given Doris’ exceptional record of referrals and customer satisfaction over the last 25 years; consistently and over the entire company. We appreciate you giving us the consideration of building your home but it doesn’t seem to be a match in terms of our delivery or your expectations.
Forthwith, we will be sending you a termination of contract to sign at which time your earnest monies will be returned in full.
Best wishes,
Connie Hentosh
So yea. THEY FIRED ME. For asking too many questions, expecting better communication and asking someone NOT to call me sweetie.
I also wrote a letter about this experience to the CEO of the company. Not only did he not take the time to resopond, it was the biggest F-you I have ever experienced in all my life.
I guess they are doing so much business they don't care about an additional $600k.
I showed my contract to an attorney and he laughed. The contract is written for them, not you. So I would let an attorney see it. My realtor told me I didn't need one but now that we have gone through that, I will let this attorney read all of them before we build.
In all fairness, they did refund our earnest money but the money we paid to travel and be there for a week was close to 4k and so we lost that money. We are having to spend another 3k or more to come back and look.
With that said, they do have nice floor plans. I have heard horror stories on all the builders, but I was naive to the fact that I could handle it. I work in manufacturing with Japan and Korea and I thought I could handle it. Boy was I wrong. Hell, the non native English speakers communicate better than these people. But I will be damned if I won't ask my questions and do my due diligence and protecting my investment. I won't just write you a check because you say so. You better tell me how we are spending MY money.
In my opinion, I found them to be incompetent, not very forthcoming with information and if you like to know where your money is spent, you will have to bleed them dry to get the answers. If you do get the answers, dig more. Cause they are leaving out critical information to make informed decisions. They also are so behind the times with technology as well. I got a quote on a scratch it pad. Really?
Oh and if you have any style or taste, don't be wow'd at the design center. 1997 interior finishes called and they want their designs back. Even their upgrades were pretty awful, in my opinion nothing worth upgrading. So if you did it later, it would be a headache and an expense.
I will say Casey the one overseeing construction at Rough Hollow was the only professional one out of the whole bunch. He was thorough and detailed with requests.
My perception is that they don't need our money because someone will pay it and write a check with no problem and without a lot of hassle. After 2008, I like to know where every penny is going. I was willing to spend some money but they were not easy to do biz with.
Hope that helps!
Last edited by kittenhead; 06-26-2018 at 06:34 PM..
We are considering building with them and I'm wondering what to expect. We built with another builder before and had some real headaches that I'm trying to avoid.
It's like asking, "I'm adopting a puppy, how well behaved will it be?" That 100% depends on you and how you interact with it
How will your builder experience be? 100% depends on you and how you bring yourself into the process.
If you approach the effort well informed, well represented by an agent who is experienced in new home construction, and you have proper expectations, you should have a good to better than average experience, even if there are some hiccups along the way.
Building a home is hard. Labor is short, regulations are burdensome, and materials costs are rising. Mistakes will happen. If you go into to it not understanding that, and drive the builder crazy with never-ending questions based in your own incompetence and unpreparedness to be a good buyer, then you will not enjoy the experience and it will become frustrating. On top of that, you will have probably paid way more than you had to because you didn't understand the process from the outset.
The vast majority of buyers do in fact get through it and end up happy in a new home though. If you end up in the minority that doesn't, it's more a reflection of you than the builder. Drees is as good or better than any of the large production builders in Austin.
It's like asking, "I'm adopting a puppy, how well behaved will it be?" That 100% depends on you and how you interact with it
How will your builder experience be? 100% depends on you and how you bring yourself into the process.
If you approach the effort well informed, well represented by an agent who is experienced in new home construction, and you have proper expectations, you should have a good to better than average experience, even if there are some hiccups along the way.
Building a home is hard. Labor is short, regulations are burdensome, and materials costs are rising. Mistakes will happen. If you go into to it not understanding that, and drive the builder crazy with never-ending questions based in your own incompetence and unpreparedness to be a good buyer, then you will not enjoy the experience and it will become frustrating. On top of that, you will have probably paid way more than you had to because you didn't understand the process from the outset.
The vast majority of buyers do in fact get through it and end up happy in a new home though. If you end up in the minority that doesn't, it's more a reflection of you than the builder. Drees is as good or better than any of the large production builders in Austin.
Steev
"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to austin-steve again."
Have been looking to move to Austin for 2 years. We lost our home in Chicago in 2009 because the value went in the toilet. So needless to say, we are super careful with this next move.
Went to Dress in Rough Hollow. Liked the Brady plan. In budget, great. Signed contract. Waited for design center appointment.
Got to design center and nothing quoted was remotely anything like what was told. Ok fine, whatever. Little over what was quoted but I will play the game.
Til we got to the stairs.
Quoted $1500 for the wood on the stairs. Didn't want carpet anywhere in the house. Got to design center.....$6600! WTF?
Then I had to pull all the managers in and have a conversation with them. I took all the emotion out of it and clearly stated that the communication process was poor and I expected better from them as a builder. We seemed to have got it all sorted out, (and the woman at the community kept calling me "Sweetie" and while that isn't what pissed me off, I felt it was a bit unprofessional) I did ask that she not call me that because we were in a business transaction and it made me feel uncomfortable. (I'm sure she thought I was a huge *****, but whatever.)
Came home to Chicago from Austin and still had a few things I needed clarification on. One was $845 for a water softener.
Told community manager that I wanted to research before I signed off yes or no but that I would let her know in a day or two.
Do my research, ask questions on what kind of water softener I was getting. She THEN proceeds to tell me I am not getting an actual water SOFTNER but a hook up for one.
WTF?
So again, I write a nice but firm letter stating that "this is an exact instance of why I am frustrated" because of the communication with this community. I need facts, information. It felt shady and like they were not being forthcoming with SIMPLE information. I was never rude, but I did tell them we have to do better.
Then I got this email:
"I appreciate your comments below; there seems to be a continuing miscommunication happening which is not good for you as a customer or for us as your builder. It’s very disturbing to me that you are having such a loss of confidence this early on in the process, given Doris’ exceptional record of referrals and customer satisfaction over the last 25 years; consistently and over the entire company. We appreciate you giving us the consideration of building your home but it doesn’t seem to be a match in terms of our delivery or your expectations.
Forthwith, we will be sending you a termination of contract to sign at which time your earnest monies will be returned in full.
Best wishes,
Connie Hentosh
So yea. THEY FIRED ME. For asking too many questions, expecting better communication and asking someone NOT to call me sweetie.
I also wrote a letter about this experience to the CEO of the company. Not only did he not take the time to resopond, it was the biggest F-you I have ever experienced in all my life.
I guess they are doing so much business they don't care about an additional $600k.
I showed my contract to an attorney and he laughed. The contract is written for them, not you. So I would let an attorney see it. My realtor told me I didn't need one but now that we have gone through that, I will let this attorney read all of them before we build.
In all fairness, they did refund our earnest money but the money we paid to travel and be there for a week was close to 4k and so we lost that money. We are having to spend another 3k or more to come back and look.
With that said, they do have nice floor plans. I have heard horror stories on all the builders, but I was naive to the fact that I could handle it. I work in manufacturing with Japan and Korea and I thought I could handle it. Boy was I wrong. Hell, the non native English speakers communicate better than these people. But I will be damned if I won't ask my questions and do my due diligence and protecting my investment. I won't just write you a check because you say so. You better tell me how we are spending MY money.
In my opinion, I found them to be incompetent, not very forthcoming with information and if you like to know where your money is spent, you will have to bleed them dry to get the answers. If you do get the answers, dig more. Cause they are leaving out critical information to make informed decisions. They also are so behind the times with technology as well. I got a quote on a scratch it pad. Really?
Oh and if you have any style or taste, don't be wow'd at the design center. 1997 interior finishes called and they want their designs back. Even their upgrades were pretty awful, in my opinion nothing worth upgrading. So if you did it later, it would be a headache and an expense.
I will say Casey the one overseeing construction at Rough Hollow was the only professional one out of the whole bunch. He was thorough and detailed with requests.
My perception is that they don't need our money because someone will pay it and write a check with no problem and without a lot of hassle. After 2008, I like to know where every penny is going. I was willing to spend some money but they were not easy to do biz with.
Hope that helps!
Uh. Yeah.
Went to an attorney after signing the contract. Check.
Only person I’ve seen a builder move to terminate. Check.
Too good for all of it. Check.
I had a bad experience with Drees but got out once I noticed how incompetent the area representative was. It was in Belterra a couple years ago. I did meet Doris as a Rough Hollow / Sweetwater was a place we were considering. I think the "sweetie" stuff was really a cultural thing. She did the same with my wife and I. We both grew up in Texas so we are just used to it.
I had a bad experience with Drees but got out once I noticed how incompetent the area representative was. It was in Belterra a couple years ago. I did meet Doris as a Rough Hollow / Sweetwater was a place we were considering. I think the "sweetie" stuff was really a cultural thing. She did the same with my wife and I. We both grew up in Texas so we are just used to it.
Yea I am meeting more and more people telling me how antiquated the process is for them.
I get that, I really do. But it was way too soon in the relationship to be throwing the sweetie around. But that was just a minor annoyance.
Incompetent is the perfect word.
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But that was just a minor annoyance.
