Do DMV area home builders suck?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waste of money

Why?

It’s the biggest expense of your life. Why not get what you want.

We are building a custom home because we have 1 kid but still want entertaining space. Most of the houses that fit our sf criteria have 6-7 bedrooms and 4 full baths We only need four bedrooms and would prefer 3 full baths upstairs. Also a lot of first floor master and we hat first floor master. The finishes we want aren’t going to come in an off the shelf house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waste of money

+1

[Anonymous]

I think many homes here are quite beautiful and DH agrees. I am from Europe and he is from CO, and we lived there first. Honestly housing there is so generic, even if relaxed life style makes it worth it. Here you have Colonials and Victorians and farm houses combination of these style being built even in new builds, as we are discussing in Real-estate forum. Ryan homes are so cute and Christmasy looking(have no idea about their quality) with nice wide porches. New construction in Denver suburbs looks like somebody wants to live in some futuristic style. The problem, imo, with that style, is that you never know how crappy it will look a decade or two from now. While Colonials are kind of boring, they do have longevity. All this is my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are beautiful homes being built, but they aren’t going up en masse.

OP here - Where and by which builder? The ones I see are custom so not mass produced at all

Where?

There are plenty of high end quality builders in the DC area. You don’t see the quality of a build by driving by a house. And most you can’t see from the street to begin with. A lot of them don’t have flashy websites and don’t profile their projects heavily. They get business from word of mouth and their clients want to maintain some privacy/safety. Also search architects sites more than builders.

There is a whole level of construction beyond what you see on most sites or “luxury” designated HGTV/Bravo shows.

Ilex
Rembrandt
Horizon
Miller McIntyre
Bowers
BOWA
SandySpring

Plus about 50 others

Thanks will take a look at these. I usually find homes I like from Instagram these days and never see any dC area homes

Are you looking to have a home built?

Sandy Spring is not a “great” home builder. They’ve done many cookie cutter mid-priced craftsman new builds in my neighborhood.

Yes in a few years. Doing my research now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are beautiful homes being built, but they aren’t going up en masse.

OP here - Where and by which builder? The ones I see are custom so not mass produced at all

Where?

There are plenty of high end quality builders in the DC area. You don’t see the quality of a build by driving by a house. And most you can’t see from the street to begin with. A lot of them don’t have flashy websites and don’t profile their projects heavily. They get business from word of mouth and their clients want to maintain some privacy/safety. Also search architects sites more than builders.

There is a whole level of construction beyond what you see on most sites or “luxury” designated HGTV/Bravo shows.

Ilex
Rembrandt
Horizon
Miller McIntyre
Bowers
BOWA
SandySpring

Plus about 50 others

Thanks will take a look at these. I usually find homes I like from Instagram these days and never see any dC area homes

Are you looking to have a home built?

Sandy Spring is not a “great” home builder. They’ve done many cookie cutter mid-priced craftsman new builds in my neighborhood.

Yes in a few years. Doing my research now

Sandy Spring has done a lot more than cookie cutter mid priced craftsman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are beautiful homes being built, but they aren’t going up en masse.

OP here - Where and by which builder? The ones I see are custom so not mass produced at all

Where?

There are plenty of high end quality builders in the DC area. You don’t see the quality of a build by driving by a house. And most you can’t see from the street to begin with. A lot of them don’t have flashy websites and don’t profile their projects heavily. They get business from word of mouth and their clients want to maintain some privacy/safety. Also search architects sites more than builders.

There is a whole level of construction beyond what you see on most sites or “luxury” designated HGTV/Bravo shows.

Ilex
Rembrandt
Horizon
Miller McIntyre
Bowers
BOWA
SandySpring

Plus about 50 others

Thanks will take a look at these. I usually find homes I like from Instagram these days and never see any dC area homes

Are you looking to have a home built?

Yes in a few years. Doing my research now

You need to talk to an architect first. You do realize that for a truly custom home with high end finishes you will be somewhere between $500 and $2000+ per sf ?

[Anonymous]

builders are in business to make a profit so one eye is always on how to cut. If you truly seek high quality construction, then you must spend $$ hiring an architect who will prepare details plans to include everything from window specs, hvac, shingles, exhaust fans, etc, etc. You will then need to hire a reputable builder who will build your project per spec AND ALSO ensure there is a quality control process for installation. Quality is a component of the building materials (many of which you will never see) AND the workmanship. If you have the time and $$, then yes, there are many architects and builders to choose from. However, you should never expect such a product from the so called specs homes being built by the larger, national builders, both the large production type operations (think NV, Toll, KV, etc) or smaller, local boutique operations, although the quality will be higher with the smaller, local mom and pop builders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are beautiful homes being built, but they aren’t going up en masse.

OP here - Where and by which builder? The ones I see are custom so not mass produced at all

Where?

There are plenty of high end quality builders in the DC area. You don’t see the quality of a build by driving by a house. And most you can’t see from the street to begin with. A lot of them don’t have flashy websites and don’t profile their projects heavily. They get business from word of mouth and their clients want to maintain some privacy/safety. Also search architects sites more than builders.

There is a whole level of construction beyond what you see on most sites or “luxury” designated HGTV/Bravo shows.

Ilex
Rembrandt
Horizon
Miller McIntyre
Bowers
BOWA
SandySpring

Plus about 50 others

Thanks will take a look at these. I usually find homes I like from Instagram these days and never see any dC area homes

Are you looking to have a home built?

Sandy Spring is not a “great” home builder. They’ve done many cookie cutter mid-priced craftsman new builds in my neighborhood.

Yes in a few years. Doing my research now

Sandy Spring has done a lot more than cookie cutter mid priced craftsman.

Which neighborhood are the craftsman homes by Sandy Spring in?

[Anonymous]

Craftsman is timeless, farm house and colonial are trendy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:builders are in business to make a profit so one eye is always on how to cut. If you truly seek high quality construction, then you must spend $$ hiring an architect who will prepare details plans to include everything from window specs, hvac, shingles, exhaust fans, etc, etc. You will then need to hire a reputable builder who will build your project per spec AND ALSO ensure there is a quality control process for installation. Quality is a component of the building materials (many of which you will never see) AND the workmanship. If you have the time and $$, then yes, there are many architects and builders to choose from. However, you should never expect such a product from the so called specs homes being built by the larger, national builders, both the large production type operations (think NV, Toll, KV, etc) or smaller, local boutique operations, although the quality will be higher with the smaller, local mom and pop builders.

That is why most custom builders are cost plus. Depending on scope it is typically 16-22%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Craftsman is timeless, farm house and colonial are trendy

All 3 are timeless in my opinion. I would actually vote that craftsman is more trendy.