Thoughts of New Construction homes by K. Hovnanian Homes in Naperville (Chicago: get credit, lawyer)

[qfeverq]

Hello guys,

My wife are looking to make the transition to a SFH. We looked at a few houses in the 203 district with a max budget of $750,000. We found homes that didn't meet our non-negotiables. We like the style of these homes by K. Hovnanian and wanted to stay away initially, but there have a style that starts in the mid 650s. I was wondering what everyone thought of the location as well as the reputation of the builder.

Thank you.

[bellhead]

K. Hovnanian... Production builder, for a 750k budget you should be able to find a house built by a custom builder.

Are you looking for new or resale?

[qfeverq]

Looking at new. We were looking at used but didn't find a house we liked much. One house we liked but had no backyard. Another had small BRs and living room.

Isn't land in 203 very expensive? It didn't occur to me to do a custom builder.

[whakru]

If you have that budget I would look at the West Highlands area. There is a lot of tear down/new construction going on in that neighborhood and is in the 203 district (Elmwood, Lincoln and Naperville Central). There are also some other areas like that with new custom construction.


I personally would stay away from the K Hov project. They are a churn and turn type of builder. Those houses have gone up so fast.....I drive past there many times a day and I am always surprised how many new homes pop up. The location is kind of crappy.....lots of traffic on 75th and Naper, noisy, and small lots.


I live in the area and I am currently looking to move so I am on line every day looking at what is out there....you can definitely do better.

[bellhead]

Is there a specific reason for that particular school district? If you are looking for newer floor plans in 203 you are going to be hard pressed to find what you want as the majority of the housing stock is older. If you move to 204 then the housing stock is much newer? I wouldn't put all my eggs into one school as districts change school boundries, schools change over time, and teachers move schools. All of this effects the ratings, the school district itself overall is what matters most as they set the guidelines, policies, and the money going into the schools. Also just being in a certain school boundry means your kids are going to a ivy league school.

[qfeverq]

We have been looking into the West Highlands region since May 2016. A lot of the new construction homes are in the 700s with a lot being listed at $799,000. I only know cause the budget was $700,000 and expanded to $750,000. I do not want to spend in the 800s. Ideally, 600s would be great. The reason K Hov is appealing is the style fits our style and starting at $626,289. They have different promotions and I'm not sure what their rates are, but they give you a 3% discount when you use their lending company. This is more affordable to me. If only property tax wasn't so ridiculous in the Chicagoland area...

We want to live in 203 because wife used to teach there and know a lot of people. We also have friends and family in the area and while 204 would be okay, which my wife also thought in, we didn't want to live west of 59. As you mentioned, 75th street is very busy and don't want to live even further west than Washington. We did look into a few homes in Lisle since some homes feed into Naperville schools, but didn't like the ones we saw.

We also looked into Downer's Grove since they have good schools as well and we would still be pretty close to our friends and family. Still open to the DG area.

Being someone who grew up in the south with terrible schools and currently with a good occupation, I don't really care about school districts and fully aware that all the kids in 203 do not get into ivy league schools.

[whakru]

Originally Posted by qfeverq

We have been looking into the West Highlands region since May 2016. A lot of the new construction homes are in the 700s with a lot being listed at $799,000. I only know cause the budget was $700,000 and expanded to $750,000. I do not want to spend in the 800s. Ideally, 600s would be great. The reason K Hov is appealing is the style fits our style and starting at $626,289. They have different promotions and I'm not sure what their rates are, but they give you a 3% discount when you use their lending company. This is more affordable to me. If only property tax wasn't so ridiculous in the Chicagoland area...

We want to live in 203 because wife used to teach there and know a lot of people. We also have friends and family in the area and while 204 would be okay, which my wife also thought in, we didn't want to live west of 59. As you mentioned, 75th street is very busy and don't want to live even further west than Washington. We did look into a few homes in Lisle since some homes feed into Naperville schools, but didn't like the ones we saw.

We also looked into Downer's Grove since they have good schools as well and we would still be pretty close to our friends and family. Still open to the DG area.

Being someone who grew up in the south with terrible schools and currently with a good occupation, I don't really care about school districts and fully aware that all the kids in 203 do not get into ivy league schools.

Just a quick clarification......the 204 school district doesn't start at Rt 59. In fact, one of the borders is Modaff Road and 75th. It gets a little quirky once you are south of 87th St, but overall that is about the eastern edge. But you are saying that you don't even want to be west of Washington....that is narrowing your search for new construction quite a bit.


If you are happy with what you see in the K Hov then go for it. I just know that dealing with these types of projects where they offer discounts for using their lending company usually doesn't mean you are going to save in the long run. Too much conflict of interest there for my taste. Not to mention, I don't think that the quality of the home is up to par for the price. My opinion only and you are free to differ. Then there are the upgrades....by the time you get done with it all you are probably right back at that high end off your budget.


I know that there are also some new construction homes off Royce Road and also Ford/Washington. Don't know the price ranges on all of those though. You say really don't care about schools and but you have mentioned being in a good school district a couple of times. I find that confusing.


Are you working with a Realtor to help you find what you want?

[qfeverq]

Yes, we are working with one. She suggested a few homes but I also found homes using Redfin. We stopped by and looked at the model home on our own at K Hov.

We definitely looked west of Washington, it was just a personal preference to be in that area. I have lots of friends and family in the west and east Highland area. Definitely do not want to be house poor and live in east Highlands...

I personally do not care much for school districts. It is the wife who majored in education and taught for 10 years that really cares :P The district just happens to have a lot of friends and family, which is a plus. I just wanted to be clear that I do not believe every kid in 203 goes to an Ivy league school.

I do agree there is some conflict of interest. It's something I am hoping to get more opinions on and would have to do more research on as well as have a lawyer look into it. It is enticing to help with some of those upgrade costs. They also have a $50,000 upgrade credit promotion for this month only, but we aren't buying this month. I'm hoping they have another promotion next summer when we are more ready to buy.

I do have a hesitation in buying new construction period. I know K Hov and MI seem like large companies that are very active in the Chicagoland area. MI built a subdivision of homes near our townhouse very quickly and sold out all the homes in what it feels like was less than one year. My parents home was built in 1996 by a small builder and there were definitely short cuts taken. Our townhome was built by a small builder and the overall work seems good except for improper window installation. I wish our inspector would have caught the windows.... I say all this only because I'm not sure how you know one builder is better than the other. I assumed K Hov is quick because it's like a factory production and mass producing. I assume K Hov build to code and I would get an inspector to come out to check out major milestones of the build. If K Hov is not open with me and inspector looking at the home during major milestones (foundation, framework, etc), then that would be a huge red flag for myself.

I will definitely keep looking and set filters with notifications on Redfin. I'll look into homes off Royce Road and Ford/Washington.

I am glad we have time and don't have to rush into a purchase. I appreciate all the feedback so far!

[bellhead]

The main difference between K Hov and MI and a custom builder are..

1.) Ability to make little changes on the design aspects of the house, a production builder may have some options on floor layout and a features but they are not going to have very many.

2.) Upgrades cost an arm and leg, you would think a builder would credit when you upgrade, but you are paying their cost plus markup and not getting a rebate. For example you want hardwoods throughout the house, first most builders charge between $12 to 18 a square foot depending on you hardwood level. Now most of their hardwood is bought in a bulk markdown with a vendor. Also the carpet in that room doesn't get credited back which is around $4 a square foot, for 2,000 square feet of carpet in a house that's a $8k profit. 90% of all builder upgrades in a production builder work like this.

3.) Materials. This is the biggest difference, there is a term called builder grade. It's the cheapest option at any hardware store.

4.) Construction, most custom builders for framing are framed onsite and to measurement, production builders are done offsite in a factory and shipped onsite. The tolerance is lower on a custom builder. Another example are whether they are 16' on center framing or 18? Wood materials, no osb.
5.) A lot more upgrades..

Check out this link to a custom builder in Naperville.

Site Plan for Ashwood Park North | Naperville New Homes

http://www.djkhomes.com/images/uploa...%20%20copy.pdf

Also know your pain about Southern schools, I've lived in Chicago and Cincinnati before moving to Savannah Ga. The school system down here is a eye opener, my oldest is off to college at Emory and I literally spent about 1,000 hours making that happen between worrying over schools, to studying with her and tutorials for Tests. I am going to be moving back to the Chicagoland area hopefully within a year and want have to worry about schools with my 2 year old. Buy something in Naperville and relax.

[qfeverq]

I have not heard of DJK Homes, but one of the homes in downtown Naperville caught my eye based off its location back in April/May. I do not see it listed any more on Redfin and it was over our budget. I will have to say that PDF provides a lot of reassurance in quality and energy efficiency. Perhaps the price is flexible by downgrading a few things in the home. I'll definitely contact them. I know solar doesn't make much sense up here, but Tesla/Solar City will be announcing a new solar roof/shingle that I wonder would be able to be installed.

What is the downside doing the framing off site? I was not aware of this.

We will likely buy in Naperville. It's just housing just seems expensive in Chicago which includes Naperville. As you know, the homes down south are super affordable and property taxes are great. We can afford a more expensive home, but it's a home and I do not want to be house poor and hope to cut my hours worked as I approach retirement age. Homes seem more affordably as you go south Naperville. It's not a dealbreaker but would like to live as close to downtown Naperville as possible.