re: D R Horton the builder

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I already had financing line up to buy a home and the only way Horton was going to cover the closing costs was if I dropped my financing and used theirs. I didn't care for the way they did business so I didn't purchase it.

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Yeah, those companies make their money on financing. Some wont let you buy unless you finance through them.

Cookie-cutter style homes that all look alike and are built on top of each other.

SUCKS.

Link to a DH Neighborhood

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I did an internship with Pulte Homes.

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What year was this? No reason......

You have to be really careful. You will have zero equity in this property. If you like the subdivision, look at foreclosed homes, or someone that just bought, and has to move. Also, these cookie cutter builders know very little about foundation prep. So if you do build, hiring a 3rd party to inspect your lot could save you thousands in repairs, and a ton of stress. Good luck.

ETA:

I'm a Civil Engineer, and worked as a foundation technical expert for insurance companies. D H Horton was terrible at grading their lots.

From 1989 to 1998 I worked for Pulte and from 1999-to 2001 I worked for DR Horton.

what would you like to know?

Both companies are neck and neck as the top ranked builder in the country based on # of closings.

You can't be #1 in sales and delivery if you are terrible...

From division to division (town to town), subdivision to subdivision, superintendent to superintendent, subcontractor to subcontractor you will have a variable in quality. That's home building in a nut shell.

But both builders are volume builders that try to provide more space for the money, in solid well planned locations...

I've met people that complained about Pulte's quality but everyone of them walked about with a minimum of 50 k in their pocket after 5-7 years. Pulte's bread and butter is a typical starter home.. these home don't have high end finishes.

It's all about the finishes and the talent /Experience of the person managing your house...

Both builders will stand behind their warranty but they will not make many exceptions.

We completed our "build" with them in July 2012. I watched the house go up every step of the way as I worked nights and would go by and check it out at least once a week. We have had very minor issues that have all been addressed in a timely manner. They will let you make some minor adjustments to the plan. We have our living room extended a few feet and added extra concrete for the patio area.

We went with the basic carpet and a slight upgrade on the tile. We added granite countertops. It isn't a custom home by far, but we got what we wanted for our family. Only time will tell how well some things hold up.

They are now building another filing in our neighborhood (about 50 more homes to bring the final total to ~99 which is all they can build around us). They are listing our basic floor plan about $30k more than we paid. That is a fairly significant jump in under 2 years. Whether people will pay at that price point remains to be seen.

We put a decent amount down but not quite 20% so hopefully the homes sell at the higher price to give me a chance to remove PMI later this year.

TL;DR: Been in 1.5 yrs and not too bad.

there arent many sold in the ditch at harveston for a reason either

Nope they are shite and owe my uncles company lots of $$$$

DR Horton is a cookie cuter entry level home, no more no less

if thats all that you can afford you will be fine, just get out within 5-7 years because they arent built to last more than that.