Houston Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Anyone build with KB Home?
Tell me the good, the bad & the ugly.
I'm really hesitant to build with them because of the price...but they are about the only new home builder we can afford. TIA.
Re: Anyone build with KB Home?
This. My husbands dad is a builder in Round Rock/Lake Travis area and said the quality has gone down quickly - I would definitely research before committing to them
Is an inventory home a resale? Or a vacant home in a new community.
I wish I didn't like shiny new things. lol.
I've been searching for a resale home, nothing has really caught my eye...except the $200,000 homes in Cinco Ranch. Which I cannot afford.
I'm still unfamiliar with Houston, I like the area we are in now, and this new KB Home community is 2 miles away. So we decided to look.
I also do not want a home that I have to put major repairs into, yeah down the line its fine...but not before I move in.
If you own a home, you know a lot more than me!
Inventory home is new and never lived in, still owned by the builder. YES you can negotiate, yes they work with Realtors, and no they won't tell you that. They also write their own contracts that try to force you into using their mortgage people and title company and take total control of the situation. You have to be very careful with them...
BFP #3 -mm/c @ 7wks, discovered at 9wks, D&C 9/28
Current Status: TTA
~~PGAL/PAL Always Welcome!~~
We built a KB home in 2004 in Cypress... We had no problems with them during that build...HOWEVER, they nickel and dime you to death over EVERYTHING! I'm seriously surprised they don't charge you extra for wanting electricity and running water in your house!
The base price might sound good but expect to add at LEAST $15-20k in upgrades to get a decent house, otherwise you will have a cheap piece of junk.
We are renting now and actually in a KB home (built in 2009, we did not build this, landlord did) and this one doesn't have a lot of the upgrades we had chosen for the one we had built and the quality is definitely not great because of the lack of certain upgrades (for instance round corners on the walls or the freaking cheap carpet) and we actually moved into this home right after they built it, so no one else has lived here but us.
We are currently looking to buy right now and are looking at all options (new and resale) and we looked at a neighborhood this weekend with new homes and the amount of upgrades that are included are just ridiculous coming from someone that has dealt with KB.
Like Brandi said, new inventory homes are the way to go if you want to go new, price wise. I've already got one builder down $15k and I haven't even sent Brandi in there yet! That was just me saying that I was interested in an inventory home (currently being built) but since I didn't get to pick the options (and wouldn't have picked the amount $$ of upgrades that were picked), there was no way I'd pay the price they were asking.
So definitely look around and don't let the asking price scare you. Work with a realtor and I bet you will find something you love and get it at a price you can afford!
I would never ever walk into a place to build or buy without a realtor in tow! We went to build a home (not with the builder you are looking at currently) and we had an amazing realtor. When I walked into my house 30 days before closing I about died. We learned that they had poured the slab wrong and all they wanted to do was float it so the inside looked right but the outside would still be screwed up. My realtor handled all the paperwork on getting us out of the deal. And then her husband who was an attorney also had to get in on the mix. It wasn't pretty.
We are now in our current home - a foreclosure, that fits us to a "T" but we wouldn't be here without our realtor.
Find a realtor, they can help you out tremendously.
we live in a neighborhood that was finished out by KB (our home was built by Dover, but KB took over about halfway into the build of this neighborhood).
KB builds for a specific target market in each of their neighborhoods. i would use caution when buying in any of their "very affordable" neighborhoods where every house looks exactly the same. We aren't in a super fancy neighborhood, but probably the 120-250K range. the homes here are all pretty middle of the road-- no crazy custom things happening, but not crackerbox houses. Ours is about 13-14 years old and thus far we've had to get a new AC unit, and had one pipe burst outside when the ground got really dry earlier this summer. I don't know anyone in our neighborhood who has had any huge issues with their house.
i don't know anyone in our neighborhood who's all "omg KBhomes totally sucks waah waah waah". everyone seems relatively happy to be here. i've been in a lot of the houses and never felt like i was in a poorly built home.
my photography blog
I was going to say this. My friend was in a KB home - they built it in a new neighborhood. Now, 5 years later, the neighborhood has gone severely downhill - people don't take care of their yards, broken cars sitting in the driveways, houses are abandoned, etc. They moved and lost money on the house b/c the neighborhood was no longer desirable - mostly b/c the "affordable" housing sometimes brings in people that might not do the upkeep on the house. Make sure to drive through ALL of the neighborhood you would be in - take note of the neighbors and the upkeep of the houses. Ask if there is a HOA, and whether it is enforced. Although HOA fees are a PITA, they really help keep the neighborhoods looking respectable.
I'm not saying they are all bad, but proceed with caution. :-)
(Ditto on foreclosures - we bought a foreclosure that was only 4 years old - no repairs/remodeling needed. We still got a very thorough inspection, just in case, but nothing major was noted. We got a very good deal.)
BINGO. we have a great HOA, people here take care of their yards (there are the black sheep here and there, but i think that's most neighborhoods). says me with the weedy flowerbed...lol.
it's a safe neighborhood, and i don't mind letting the kids ride their bikes to friends' houses. our HOA just re-did pool areas, so we have a nice new playground right down the street that's fenced.
like any home-search, drive around. a good thing to look at is cars and trees. does the builder plant a hardwood in each front yard, or are all the yards just grass? are there trees planted along the main streets in the neighborhood? are there sidewalks? are the cars parked in the driveways in good repair?
my photography blog
I'd also add drive around or park & get out and talk around at different times of day & on different days of the week to get an idea of whether there is a lot of overnight street parking, noise level in the neighborhood, whether families are outside in their yards or if people keep to themselves, etc. Just gives you a better idea of the culture/climate of the area when you go around at a variety of times. You will also probably see more/notice more than when you just drive by to ooh and ahh at your potential new house.
Lots of great advice. Thank you ladies.
I'm really loving the plan that we initially chose KB for..and they offer it in 3 different communities. I plan to continue researching, and will drive around the neighborhoods.
I thought of forclosures first, but was always under the impression they are really difficult to buy...and need a lot of repairs. I will continue to search HAR for a gem.
When is the right time to get a realtor? After you've been approved for a loan, or while you are working to get pre-approved? I plan on using Brandi, just didnt want to waste her time, when we arent 100% ready yet.
foreclosures really depend. we're in phoenix right now, and we've looked at a number of foreclosures. some are REALLY beat up, and the people take everything, including light bulbs, light fixtures, doorknobs, switchplates...
others have been in really good condition.
from what i've heard, they're not that difficult to buy, but short sales are apparently a royal PITA.
also, as far as KB homes goes...once upon a time there was a website called KBhomessucks.com. i went through and read every complaint about KB homes placed from houston homebuyers. not one of them was about the quality of the build, all were about the financial aspect...that they didn't realize their mortgage payment goes up considerably the second year if they escrow due to property tax increases. that's not specific to KB homes, all new construction is assessed on the unimproved lot the first year, and the improved lot the second year.
with any house, you'll want to have an inspection done during your option period, and that will give you an idea of the quality of the build.
putting in a bid will be much easier if you are already pre-approved.
Have you seen my monkey?
I was googling for KBhomesuck but I couldn't find it. I read some on citydata, and not much was mention on the actual quality of the home. Mostly the financing, and the many ways they try to screw you. Thankfully we will be going with a local company.
I went and drove around the community today, and the new section is very tore up. Only a handful of homes are up. But the remainder of the community is very nice. Lots of street parking, but I've noticed that everywhere.
eh. they all do that. any builder that says they don't is a lying liar. builder markup on upgrades is rediculous, and their contracts are written to cover their butts.
it's important to have a good build superviser. and even though they'll try to talk you out of it, get an independant inspector. we had a preconcealment inspection as well as a final inspection. i walked through with the inspector both times, and it was great because he also pointed out stuff to do to help maintain the house, and stuff to look out for.
the kbhomessucks website was taken down years ago.
arizona is f'ing hot. lots to do, i haven't had a problem keeping myself busy. i have learned though, i'm entirely too po' and too lazy to hang with scottsdale moms.
it also appears all the cool kids love to hike in phoenix. we're waiting until it cools down though. partially because we're lazy bums and we need to work up to hiking, and partially because we don't care to melt on the mountains.
Have you seen my monkey?