C6400hp

We have just began the process of buying a new home. We are currently looking at Drees Homes and have been impressed. So far they are in the #1 slot on our list. Anyone have experience with them good or bad? Any info or comments on buying a house in general (Loan types, prop. tax rates,things to watch out for) or more specifically buying from Drees would be greatly appreciated as this is our first time.....

mic_crispy

no experiance here.. but good luck.. from what ive been hearing.. dfw is deff. a buyers market right now.. happy hunting.

Sondra S2K

I am buying a house under construction at the moment, and given my experience, I would advise strongly against buying new construction. My house is 6 months behind schedule if they finish when they say they will at this point (the finish date has been a moving target almost since the day I signed the contract). If you do it, don't put in notice on your current apartment/house until your house is actually signed, sealed and delivered, lest you find yourself homeless or in temporary housing as I will be in the next few weeks.

CC had a very similar experience too, if you want some local perspective.

Wildncrazy

I own a mortgage company, a For Sale By Owner service and have been a Real Estate Broker since 1974. There's lots I can tell you but it would take up too much space here.

Coincidentally I am also building at this time, and yes I will 2nd second what Sondra S2K said, the most problems that arise in a real estate transaction arises when building. But you will notice that I am building in spite of that.

I didnt' have a choice because of my special needs, but if you have a choice you'd be much better off buying from one of the people who bought new last year in that neighborhood and now is about to lose their home. That's one thing you will find out (the hard way) the builders have no concern for next year or even tomorrow, if they can find a way to get you in the house they are happy. They don't care if you lose the house next year so they can get very creative getting you in.

Oh, nobody associated with the builder is on your side. Not the sales rep, lender or title company. They all work for the builder and it is their job to put the builders needs in front of yours

Call or PM me.
(972) 644-8244

niugnip

OK let us not scare everyone off of new homes. Building a new home is all about a relationship with your builder. That relationship depends on many circumstances, and fortunately (or unfortunately) the higher cost and more custom the home the better the relationship. I have no experience with Drees, but with Highland (who also builds Huntington and Horizon homes) the builder was great. We did threaten to walk away due to a delay, but we gave them an extra week and the house was done with only a minor punchlist requirement.

On a side note I would recommend buying a pre-owned home as they are not moving at all. Up here by us - Frisco - there is a plethora of new homes going up so pre-owned homes are not selling at all.

Wildncrazy is correct about no-one technically being on your side during the home buying/building process. Just remember this is a major investment in your life and due the proper amount of due diligence before signing the bottom line.

C6400hp

All ideas thoughts and advice welcome>>>>>>

nivek2002

Move out to Breckenridge, build a nice house in the country and save tens of thousands of dollars. Then you can give me rides int he C6.

Kevin

Texas25RS

Talk to people in the subdivision you are looking to buy in. A builder for any particular company will not be building the houses in many areas...

jmaatsch

Definitely keep this in mind. You can get a lower interest rate/payment with an adjustable rate mortgage, but make sure that you can also handle the increase in interest when it does start to change (some are 3 years, 5 years, 7 years). And don't forget that your insurance will be rising as will your taxes. So keep all that in mind when you're looking at your final payment and what you can afford. A builder will try to get you into the biggest, most expensive house you can afford - at that time. Like Wild said - they don't care what happens next year - they've already gotten their money. Also plan for a lot of "unexpected" costs like deposits on utility hook ups, fees to move various services etc. there are a lot more than you would think.

Good luck with the process. It's definitely an exciting, stressful, and rewarding adventure!

Wildncrazy

With rates rising this is not the time to be getting an Adjustable Rate mortgage or an Interest Only loan as both have significant downsides. You get those when rates are falling. When rates are rising you can be guaranteed that it will be more costly to own your home next year.

jmaatsch is right, you need to budget for your taxes and insurance whether you pay them yourself or roll them into the loan. They don't go away and they have to be paid. PM me and I can give you some numbers for cheaper home insurance. We keep track of how much our customers are paying and we also keep a record of satisfaction. Right now the companies that are the most expensive and also have the lowest satisfaction rating is Allstate and State Farm with Farmers right behind.

As niupnip said it is about the relationship with the person actually building your home (not the sales rep), B U T keep in mind that the transaction is onesided. Yes, you can build a home, but under their terms and not yours. If you read the sales contract you won't sleep at night as it is totally one sided. None of the builders use the "fair" contract that has been promulgated by the state of Texas. It's kinda like when everyone was paying over MSRP for their S2000s, some were happy to do it.

YOU have to be very vigilant and have a very good knowledge of how the transaction should go down and NEVER, NEVER use their lender. In a real estate transaction the only person who is automatically on your side is the Lender, UNLESS THEY WORK FOR THE BUILDER..