Toll Brothers Brier Creek homes (Raleigh: appointed, townhouses, landscaping)

[mjs25]

Anyone care to comment on the quality of the Toll Bros. homes in Brier Creek? How about the neighborhood, landscaping, lot sizes, etc? I will be visiting there to look at houses the week of July 4th, and I am very impressed with what I have seen online. I'm hoping it is as nice in-person!!!

Thanks for your specific responses, and thanks as well fto everyone for all of the great posts on a variety of topics. I feel very well-prepared for my move from Seattle in August.

[coltank]

Beautiful neighborhood, golf course, clubhouse, etc. The homes look great from the outside, and they have many different price points. I haven't had a chance to look at any of the homes under construction though.

[bta]

Originally Posted by mjs25

Anyone care to comment on the quality of the Toll Bros. homes in Brier Creek? How about the neighborhood, landscaping, lot sizes, etc? I will be visiting there to look at houses the week of July 4th, and I am very impressed with what I have seen online. I'm hoping it is as nice in-person!!!

Thanks for your specific responses, and thanks as well fto everyone for all of the great posts on a variety of topics. I feel very well-prepared for my move from Seattle in August.

We looked 3 or 4 months ago. The two homes we toured were in the 500s (can't remember exact range the houses were in).

Overall we were pretty disappointed. We'd heard Toll Brother's was a luxury builder - but we didn't even go upstairs in both the homes because we were so disappointed by the first levels.

From what I can remember, they used pretty cheap pre-finished floors with large micro bevels (...large mirco - not sure that even goes together). One house also had very cheap vinyl railing that shook when you touched it. The exteriors also used cheap looking vinyl siding. The kitchens seemed pretty low end for the price range - I remember thinking the kitchens were very builder grade.

The lots however were nice. One had a big beautiful backyard that was very well landscaped.

Maybe the houses closer to a million are nicer? We just felt for 500k to 600k the homes would be much higher quality. We also don't play golf - so living in a golf community wasn't a plus - maybe that contributes to the high price. For whatever reason, we quickly removed the neighborhood from our list.

[Big M]

A friend of mine is a member at the Brier Creek golf club; for that reason I get to play there a lot. The course is usually in fabulous shape, the staff are friendly and, for a country club, the members aren't too snooty.

..but you question is about the houses and community. I agree with a previous poster that one would expect a lot more for your 500-600K. This community is in a terrific locaton and appreciation has been better then most Raleigh neighborhoods.

Most of the lot sizes I have seen are tiny (less than 0.2acre) and there's absolutely no privacy. My friend spent 500K on his place, lives in a cul de sac, yet from his deck I can watch the TV in three of the houses opposite. Being so close to the neighbors has led more than a bit of tension between them.

Oh yes, and Toll Brothers after-sales service absolutely sucks. Just pray that you don't have to do any repairs to your new construction. Have an open mind and check out other neighborhoods in a similar price range.

[bunnyrider]

I don't have any knowledge about the Brier Creek community, but in Massachusetts Toll Brothers is considered a very poor builder. They have had numerous problems and a few years back lawsuits.

My husband does some part-time contract work and worked on a Toll Brothers home in our town - in installing french doors he uncovered the carpet in the room only to find over an inch of some kind of "filler" (I don't know the technical name) they used to make the floors level. He had to do quite a lot of work to install the doors because none of the walls were square.

[Mikeheel]

I was really interested in Brier Creek until I checked it out. Nice development. So-so homes (they don't have a "solid" feel until you cross 900k). Small lots. BTW, you have to add a MINIMUM of 40k to your purchase price for the "lot premium," and it goes up to well over 100k for the lot premiums. That's absurd in this area. And the Country Club membership is very pricey.

For 500k, you can get a much better home in a very good neighborhood.

Good luck,
Mike

[VickiR]

I've showed Toll Brothers homes in Brier Creek. I wasn't overly impressed and I thought they were overpriced but it seems you are paying alot to be in the Brier Creek country club area. I don't care to pay for "status".

I don't think they are any worse than any of the other tract builders. For $500,000, I'd rather have a custom built home.

When Toll Brothers first started building Brier Creek, they had some mold issues with a few of their townhouses. They actually had to buy a few back and had to completely re do a few. Issues came from wood getting rained on and mold grew between the walls. It was a "big deal" around here but Toll Brothers did the right thing.

Vicki

[urbywan]

I had a toll brothers house in NJ bought it for 217 in 1996 sold it for 513 in 2006, it was good for me. Sure there were some issues BUT they did everything to fix what I was not happy with, in addition they take care of the lots not being built on and clean the roads on a weekly basis from dirt and sand with street sweepers in the neighborhoods they build in. Who else does that down here? Not many! Yes their price points are HIGH and I would not spend 500K on ANY house these days unless I was making over 200K a year!

Who in the world wants a 3000 dollar a month house payment and then a 4000 dollar a year tax bill down in Raleigh???

[butterbeer]

Originally Posted by urbywan

Who in the world wants a 3000 dollar a month house payment and then a 4000 dollar a year tax bill down in Raleigh???

People who can easily afford it. That's who.

[HOltmans]

Originally Posted by butterbeer

People who can easily afford it. That's who.

LOVE it!!!!