Twin Creeks Fairway View Homes (Austin, Jacksonville: sales, real estate, HOA)

[kbenson]

My husband and I are moving to Austin in 2008. We spent the past few days looking at Twin Creeks. Does anyone on have an option about the Fairway View Homes that are being built in the Twin Creek Reserve? They are a little different, but had a neat feel to them.

My concern is that the entire neighborhood is based on a Craftsman Theme. Also, I have never heard of this home builder.

Any insight would help.

[texasgirl1]

I live in Twin Creeks, not that particular section. I know that builder has had a hard time selling those homes. For one, they started out way too high last year with prices starting in the 350's for a 2400 sq ft home. The second problem is that the Craftsman style is a very stylized architecture and doesn't appeal to everyone. I myself love Craftsman homes. I think if you plan to stay in the home for a long time, go for it. Otherwise down the road if you try to sell, you will be limited to the amount of buyers who like that style. Some of them have beautiful views and the builder spent alot of money on marketing them.

The only thing we did notice when we attended one of their open house events, the exterior trim out looked very cheaply done on the porch support posts...and this was on the models. It almost looked like paperboard was used. You could see all the nails and seams.

Good luck!

[DarleneMontgomery]

Texasgirl is right. Down the road, when you decide to sell, you will be limiting your buyer market to those who prefer craftsman style, but one thing you would have going for you is location. Twin Creeks is a very desirable neighborhood due to the amenities, location, and proximity to schools. I don't think you'll have a problem selling at all. Just don't try to do it within the next few years.

[martyvanpelt]

Hi, we recently moved into a Fairway View Home last September and have been really pleased. We sized up a lot of the other builders in that immediate area and liked the value for the money, mostly the use of stone around the whole home, the interior features like 8ft int doors, granite in the bathroom counters, finished storage areas, landscaping already completed, window coverings included, etc.

I think the builder has come down some in price. We thought we were priced out of the area but Fairway View, I think like a lot of other builders, have become a lot more "flexible with pricing" as I think Al Coffey said.

We were a little leary at first not buying from a national builder, or even a large local builder. Plus, there were more than a few vacant homes. We didn't want to be one of what seemed like 3 or 4 people actually living in these homes. But since we signed the contract in Aug, the neighborhood has really filled in. I think there were 7 or 8 closings the same week in September as ours. They have 6 more starts where they were pouring foundations or framing as of last weekend.

As far as the trepidation with using a smaller company, we have no regrets. They seem more eager to please, plus the sales guy and the superintendent are always in the area because it is the only community they are building in. I think they realize that word of mouth can go a long ways. Plus, I think the residents feel like a little community within the community. We've had a couple of get togethers with just the Grand Oaks Lp / Millstream / Rolling Plains crew for New Year's and Halloween. Really a lot of fun and a ton of young kids.

Of course we love the craftsman style so we knew going in that if we ever sold, we would be limiting ourselves to the same kind of buyers.

Hope I don't sound like too much of a cheerleader for the homes, but as far as value / proximity to the lake / proximity to good schools, we really feel like we lucked out getting in on one of these homes.

[biggerhammertexas]

Fairway view has been in trouble with the Twin Creeks HOA for not paying a LARGE (think 5 digits or more in property assestments due.) Never a good sign when a builder is behind in it's community responsibilities. Also the homes are preformed truss construction (cheap-0) typical in a $120 KB or CenTex starter home) For the money, I'd look for something better built with more resale opportunities.

BIGGERHAMMERTEXAS

[tccc07]

I think you're wrong about the preformed construction - haven't seen that on the ones being built right now. Drive by it everyday. Definitely was preformed on the Bowen home I live in now.

Are you talking about property assessments or HOA dues? Property assessments would imply that TC taxes on value. I think the only thing TC can do is assess a monthly HOA.

Do you have documentation or a link to show evidence of assessment arrears? If this is the case, I'm going to call the new HOA administrator to get on them. It's not fair that the rest of the community floats the builder's deliquencies if this is indeed the case.

[biggerhammertexas]

You have it backwards.

The Bowens were all Stick Built. The Fairways are all Pre-Fab. (You can see the shiney metal truss plates were the joints are all through the frames. Also when they bring the lumber out, they don't bring boards, they dump the premade trusses on the ground in big bundles.

I've been involved with new home construction for over 10 years and I would NEVER live in a Truss built home, (especially for the prices that they are asking).

However, just because something is stick built does not mean it is well built. Bowen took a LONG time to build homes and many changed superintendents and contractors multiple times during the build process.

You want Good Construction Technique with Good Construction Management.

BIGGERHAMMERTEXAS

[jrussell]

Personally, I have an opinion about Craftsman style. It harkens to a by-gone era when families sat on their front porch and shared with their neighbors and people knew each other and had wholesome values and morals, etc. etc. However, buying a house of this style does not guarantee that one will adopt these values or that their life will change in any way or fashion.

I feel that Craftsman style is a fad that will be associated with low end real estate.

Builders here in Austin are doing some kind of weird amalgamation of Norman French, English Cottage and Craftsman. It is conflicted and will "mark" each neighborhood in the future.

As far as resale, look at what style are the high end builders using. It seems that traditional mediterranean is "it" in Austin ... colonial Spanish, Andalusian, Tuscan. Look at similar markets in the same climate such as southern California and the low end is craftsman and modern american. In the south east it is the same facade and center hall colonial. In Jacksonville, building in a northern style is the kiss of death. It looks like a brick insane asylum.

Med. styles may not have angled walls, big foyers, stair cases that are positioned perfectly for visitors to go upstairs but not for family activities, and other inefficient but seemingly interesting and tradional ... i.e. conflictedly traditional facade with modern inards.

I feel that builders doing mediterranean in Austin are doing a cheap, gaudy version ... not traditional European in all ways; simple, efficient, timeless. That should evolve into more of an authentic med. version.

Interestingly if you find a neighborhood with this style and same features as other styles, the bldrs charge more per sq ft. Sounds like they are "branding" the styles. It is a way to charge more for the same amount of materials (except for tile roofs, of course). Traditional med. versions have even less materials in some cases ... no casing around windows, etc.

My advice is to look for mediterranean. Or build one. Start with a web site with "mediterranean designs" but change the kitchen to incorporate a "work triangle" with the island facing the family room as opposed to a perpendicular orientation". Do not have an island AND an outer counter/high bar. Instead have one lond island with a break in the middle ... (really two islands) a wet island and a dry island (the cooking surfaces are NOT on the island). Perhaps, do not have cabinets on the outside wall (die to your subconscious need for a sink looking outside) and have a 4 ft wide island with cabinets around it.

The trend that will continue and be associated with high end will be this kind of entertainment kitchen.

Just a thought!

[texastea]

This is interesting, jrussell. Do you have some pictures/examples of the right kind of meditaerranean? I'd also love to see some pictures of the kind of kitchen you're talking about.

[TexasHorseLady]

Both Craftsman and Mediterranean styles are limited in their appeal to the kind of person who likes that particular style - neither are particular mainstream (though there are mainstream examples of both, depending on where you happen to be living).

And many, if not most, of the homes of both styles that I see (and, being in the business I'm in, I see a LOT of homes - it's my job) have the failing of having an interior that is distinctly at odds with the exterior as far as style is concerned - you see a home that is one style on the outside and when you get inside, the insides are all the same, no matter what style the outside portrays. That occurs all across the price ranges in the marketplace, as well. It speaks to fad in exterior AND interior, it seems to me.

One of the appeals of the Craftsman style is that it harks to an era not only when people sat on their front porches and talked to their neighbors, but also when the houses weren't cookie cutter. Unfortunately, these days, once you get past the front door, that's not necessarily the case.

jrussell, are you currently living in Austin? I got the impression from your other post that you live in Virginia, but you speak here as if you live in Austin.