Home Builders in Dyer, St John (Anderson, Merrillville: buying, construction, school district)

[Maxwe11]

Hi, after reading the forum for a few hours and talking to coworkers, I am looking to buy a newly constructed home in Dyer or St John. I am single with no children and I work in nearby Chicago Heights. I do not want to spend more than $275,000. The most important thing to me will be the quality of construction and appeal for resale in case I lose my job and choose to relocate. Will I be able to find a high quality home for this price?

Which builders do you suggest I look into?

Who do you suggest I avoid?

[Northwest Indiana]

To start, I would avoid Olthof Homes. They homes may "look" appealing but the construction quality is not very good.

The good news is that in Dyer & Saint John, you can have a new home built for that price. The bad news is that there is about a 90% chance it will be an Olthof Home due to the price range.

If you are looking for a new, but small ranch or 1.5 story home, then another builder is Accent Homes or Barrick. Accent homes don't look as nice as Olthof but they are priced very appropriately. They build mostly in Merrillville and Crown Point, but they can build on your lot. Barrick builds in Saint John and Dyer and they build the kind of homes that Olthof does but with much better quality of materials and workmanship as well as more amenities included. The price is a bit more though.

While overall, Saint John may cost a bit more than Dyer, it is not by that much. If you decide to get an Olthof home, it would probably cost more in Dyer than in Saint John.

The further south in Dyer and Saint John you live, the less expensive it will be. In Saint John & Dyer, if you live south of 101st St, you will be in the Hanover School District as opposed to the Lake Central School District. The Hanover School district is actually based in Cedar Lake, Indiana. While you do not have kids, keep in mind that the resale will be more difficult because this district isn't really "sought after" (not bad school but not impressive either) and from those areas of Dyer and Saint John, schools can be anywhere from 15 to 25 mins away driving.

Good luck!

[Maxwe11]

Thank you for the reply. I won't be getting an olthof home. I will look into accent homes or barrick. A smaller home is perfectly fine for me and much more what I am interested in than a larger, lower quality home. I really like ranch style homes.

I'd also like to hear opinions on Phillipe and Cook.

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by Maxwe11

Thank you for the reply. I won't be getting an olthof home. I will look into accent homes or barrick. A smaller home is perfectly fine for me and much more what I am interested in than a larger, lower quality home. I really like ranch style homes.

I'd also like to hear opinions on Phillipe and Cook.

Phillipe and Cook are both well respected builders. Cook has been building more of the modern style and "mid-century modern-like" style home as of the past few years compared to other builders. Their homes cost a little more than Phillipe I believe.

There are about 5 empty lots near the "Downtown Dyer" area (on Indiana st just east of Hart St and north of Rt. 30). It is a dead end too! They are priced around $15,000 for 0.13 and they are offering a deal if all are purchased per the listing. If you choose to buy one or so of these lots, then you may be able to build a good quality ranch home within your price range AND it would be extremely convenient to work in Chicago Heights as you would be only about 15 mins away! The main downside is the railroad tracks are right by the property which could affect resale as well as the fact that your home would probably be the most expensive in that immediate area. But you would be zoned to the Lake Central School District.

[richb]

If you don't mind a duplex, McFarland Homes are building some really nice all brick townhouses in Peninsula Point in St. John. They start in the $220k range (some have walkout basements). They also have some in The Gates of St. John as well, though those aren't all brick (and start in the $180's). They all have Anderson windows and other higher quality materials.

If you look at Cook Builders website, they have a section of homes labeled houses under 200k. Due to the generally higher lot prices in Dyer and St. John, those homes would be a good representation of what you can get for under $275 in those two towns if you want better quality. They are pretty nice houses IMO.

Cook has a good reputation and they would build in your price range with no problems as they are a semi custom and custom builder. Phillipe had a good reputation until recently. They took a hit when they had big problems with windows (some really lousy vinyl windows) in the Gates. The homeowners were not happy with Phillipe and the window makers response.

Barrick Builders was noted by another poster. They will build in your price range too with nicer materials. I haven't heard anything bad about them. Henderlong Homes would be another good choice too. Steiner Homes is yet another.

Accent is not much better then Olthof when it comes to building materials. The are both track home production builders. They both build with less expensive materials. They both build just fine, but if you are picker about what materials you want in your new house they don't offer much choice in that way.

You may want to find a lot to build on. Most builders have no problem building on your land (sometimes they will buy the lot if you haven't bought it yet to make it easier for you, one closing etc.....) Lots under $50k are hard to come by in Dyer and St. John though there are a few. Be careful about buying lots though, some are harder to build on (swampy) then others. That cheap lot may need thousands of dollars of fill and a year or so to compact it all to make it build-able. There is a newly opened subdivision that has some lots in the 40k range that may work in the unicorp area between Dyer and St. John. I don't remember the name off hand, I will have to post the name later.

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by richb

If you don't mind a duplex, McFarland Homes are building some really nice all brick townhouses in Peninsula Point in St. John. They start in the $220k range (some have walkout basements). They also have some in The Gates of St. John as well, though those aren't all brick (and start in the $180's). They all have Anderson windows and other higher quality materials.

If you look at Cook Builders website, they have a section of homes labeled houses under 200k. Due to the generally higher lot prices in Dyer and St. John, those homes would be a good representation of what you can get for under $275 in those two towns if you want better quality. They are pretty nice houses IMO.

Cook has a good reputation and they would build in your price range with no problems as they are a semi custom and custom builder. Phillipe had a good reputation until recently. They took a hit when they had big problems with windows (some really lousy vinyl windows) in the Gates. The homeowners were not happy with Phillipe and the window makers response.

Barrick Builders was noted by another poster. They will build in your price range too with nicer materials. I haven't heard anything bad about them. Henderlong Homes would be another good choice too. Steiner Homes is yet another.

Accent is not much better then Olthof when it comes to building materials. The are both track home production builders. They both build with less expensive materials. They both build just fine, but if you are picker about what materials you want in your new house they don't offer much choice in that way.

You may want to find a lot to build on. Most builders have no problem building on your land (sometimes they will buy the lot if you haven't bought it yet to make it easier for you, one closing etc.....) Lots under $50k are hard to come by in Dyer and St. John though there are a few. Be careful about buying lots though, some are harder to build on (swampy) then others. That cheap lot may need thousands of dollars of fill and a year or so to compact it all to make it build-able. There is a newly opened subdivision that has some lots in the 40k range that may work in the unicorp area between Dyer and St. John. I don't remember the name off hand, I will have to post the name later.

I didn't know that about Philippe! Good to know!

Also, I believe the subdivision you are talking about is Emerald Crossing? That is pretty much on the state line and would still be pretty convenient to Illinois.

[richb]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

I didn't know that about Philippe! Good to know!

Also, I believe the subdivision you are talking about is Emerald Crossing? That is pretty much on the state line and would still be pretty convenient to Illinois.

That's it! Emerald Crossing, I knew it was named after a jewel or something like that, I just couldn't remember what. Yes, its perfect for Illinois commuting, the entrance is on State Line Road.

Philippe had a really good rep until that problem with the windows in the Gates (and to some extent Prairie Trails in Dyer). They had difficulties with condensation, which most homeowners seem to be blaming on the windows (including a buddy and his family,,,,,ick). I don't know if it really been solved, but a bunch of homeowners made a stink about it at a St John town council meeting (like they could do anything about it). I think they were hoping to prevent Philippe from building any more houses until they fixed their problems.

Other then that, Philippe does build pretty good houses.

[Maxwe11]

Lots of good ideas here. Thank you. I am leaning toward emerald crossing.