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Default Inside dealing?

I'm considering buying a new home in Texas. There are certain
incentives on the house, but even then the house is kind of expensive.
So, we want to negotiate some more off. The salesman said his company
wouldn't be able to take any more off the price (for legal reasons)?
unless we used a Realtor. (I thought the idea of using a Realtor for a
NEW house was kind of odd.) He then suggested a friend of his who could
kick back 1% of the normal 3% commission.

Does this seem strange, or sleazy to anyone? I hope someone can answer
soon, because I've just laid down $3000 in escrow and it's soon to be
irrevocable. (You can E-mail me if you want.)

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Thanks, Keith, for your advice. I really appreciate your answering so
promptly. However, I didn't make clear that the salesperson has NOT
deposited the escrow check. It will be deposited after we sign the
escrow contract, approximately this weekend.

Meanwhile, the house is under construction (sheetrock state or later),
and they seem to keep throwing in the cheapest possible materials.
They've said they'll price according to the actual materials used (the
salesman's boss verified this), but we're concerned that they'll sneak
in a higher price on us, while at the same time using the cheaper
materials. Is this common practice with homebuilders generally, and,
in any event, how can we prevent this? We feel we're being pressured,
even though there aren't many customers (even though this is Houston,
Texas, and not one of the recession-plagued areas of the country), and
that we have to watch them every step of the way.

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wrote:
Thanks, Keith, for your advice. I really appreciate your answering so
promptly. However, I didn't make clear that the salesperson has NOT
deposited the escrow check. It will be deposited after we sign the
escrow contract, approximately this weekend.

Meanwhile, the house is under construction (sheetrock state or later),
and they seem to keep throwing in the cheapest possible materials.
They've said they'll price according to the actual materials used (the
salesman's boss verified this), but we're concerned that they'll sneak
in a higher price on us, while at the same time using the cheaper
materials. Is this common practice with homebuilders generally, and,
in any event, how can we prevent this? We feel we're being pressured,
even though there aren't many customers (even though this is Houston,
Texas, and not one of the recession-plagued areas of the country), and
that we have to watch them every step of the way.


These guys sound shady. Are you sure you want to be trusting them with
hundreds of thousands of dollars of your money, and years of your life
(as you live in the home that you may not be happy with)?

Have you checked them out with the BBB? Have you spoken with any people
who have owned for five or ten years similar homes they have built?

And really... once you've given somebody an earnest money check, your
negotiating power is just about dead. They know you want what they've
got too bad to walk away.

Heck, I live in NW Harris county, might know of the builder. Who is it?
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Thanks, Thomas, for your prompt reply. This is in response
particularly to Thomas, since he said he lives in NW Harris Co.
(Anyone else is, of course, welcome to reply, and you can either
reply on the board or E-mail me.) The builder is Pulte, and it's in
Seven Meadows in South Katy. It's in Cinco Ranch, and it seems to be
an in-demand neighborhood.

We were told that we'd receive a limestone elevation (everyone on that
street receives one, as it faces Fry Road). (That elevation has now
been put on the house.) We were told that elevation would be free
(value of $10,000), and that we'd receive an additional $5000 off for
going through Pulte's mortgage company or paying cash (which we intend
to do, if we purchase the home).

We were then led to a model home, and my wife asked the salesman if
they're going to use the same materials that are in the model in the
home we are considering. He said they'd use materials of equal quality.
In the model, they showed us a nice dark granite countertop. We asked
if we'd be getting that. They said that no, the model we'd be getting
(the Thoreau) had a "tan" granite countertop. We were shown nice cherry
cabinets, but alas, they were out of the cherry; we'd be getting
maple. (He said that maple held up better than cherry anyway.) And the
closet shelves they had were wire shelves, just like we have in our
apartment. The salesman tried to hang from them, and show us how
sturdy they are, but they bent under his weight, and he's not a very
big guy at all And last time we went, we saw that they'd already put a
cheap-looking front door on the house, even though he'd said nothing
previously about a door having even been ordered. Also, the carpet in
the model home was nice and thick and plush, but the carpet sample that
he showed us was this rough-feeling thin carpet made of recycled Coke
bottles. It doesn't take an expert to evaluate the quality of the
samples vs the quality in the model home. It's plain common sense;
people can tell from looking at and feeling these materials. We said
that since, if we took the home they're building (since we like the
direction it faces and everything), we'd have to rip some of THEIR
stuff up and put in our own stuff (and the salesman said that it'd be
cheaper to do that anyway), we'd need a discount off the price of the
house. The salesman said ("I think we can take a few thousand dollars
off").

When we got back to the office, he said, "The only way I can take any
off the price of the house is if you use a realtor. Now, do you have a
realtor?" We said. "No". He said, "I know a realtor who would take
the normal 3% of commission, and then return 1% of that to you. He'd
also return the $2000 bonus (from our marketing fund that we use for
realtors only) to you. That should be enough to compensate you for not
getting exactly what you want, and you should be able to make any
changes." However, they'd offer this deal to anyone who doesn't have
a realtor; therefore, this is not really compensation for inferior
materials. There is a huge gap in quality between the materials they
showed us in the model home and the samples they showed us, even though
the materials they're putting in the house we're considering are
supposed to be upgrades, and we feel they're charging us an "upgrade"
rate for standard features.

We wonder if they'll continue to cut corners, even after we've signed
the escrow contract (which we will this Friday)..

Does this sound honest? We chose Pulte because of their reputation;
we've never purchased a house before.



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wrote:
Thanks, Thomas, for your prompt reply. This is in response
particularly to Thomas, since he said he lives in NW Harris Co.
(Anyone else is, of course, welcome to reply, and you can either
reply on the board or E-mail me.) The builder is Pulte, and it's in
Seven Meadows in South Katy. It's in Cinco Ranch, and it seems to be
an in-demand neighborhood.

We were told that we'd receive a limestone elevation (everyone on that
street receives one, as it faces Fry Road). (That elevation has now
been put on the house.) We were told that elevation would be free
(value of $10,000), and that we'd receive an additional $5000 off for
going through Pulte's mortgage company or paying cash (which we intend
to do, if we purchase the home).

We were then led to a model home, and my wife asked the salesman if
they're going to use the same materials that are in the model in the
home we are considering. He said they'd use materials of equal quality.
In the model, they showed us a nice dark granite countertop. We asked
if we'd be getting that. They said that no, the model we'd be getting
(the Thoreau) had a "tan" granite countertop. We were shown nice cherry
cabinets, but alas, they were out of the cherry; we'd be getting
maple. (He said that maple held up better than cherry anyway.) And the
closet shelves they had were wire shelves, just like we have in our
apartment. The salesman tried to hang from them, and show us how
sturdy they are, but they bent under his weight, and he's not a very
big guy at all And last time we went, we saw that they'd already put a
cheap-looking front door on the house, even though he'd said nothing
previously about a door having even been ordered. Also, the carpet in
the model home was nice and thick and plush, but the carpet sample that
he showed us was this rough-feeling thin carpet made of recycled Coke
bottles. It doesn't take an expert to evaluate the quality of the
samples vs the quality in the model home. It's plain common sense;
people can tell from looking at and feeling these materials. We said
that since, if we took the home they're building (since we like the
direction it faces and everything), we'd have to rip some of THEIR
stuff up and put in our own stuff (and the salesman said that it'd be
cheaper to do that anyway), we'd need a discount off the price of the
house. The salesman said ("I think we can take a few thousand dollars
off").

When we got back to the office, he said, "The only way I can take any
off the price of the house is if you use a realtor. Now, do you have a
realtor?" We said. "No". He said, "I know a realtor who would take
the normal 3% of commission, and then return 1% of that to you. He'd
also return the $2000 bonus (from our marketing fund that we use for
realtors only) to you. That should be enough to compensate you for not
getting exactly what you want, and you should be able to make any
changes." However, they'd offer this deal to anyone who doesn't have
a realtor; therefore, this is not really compensation for inferior
materials. There is a huge gap in quality between the materials they
showed us in the model home and the samples they showed us, even though
the materials they're putting in the house we're considering are
supposed to be upgrades, and we feel they're charging us an "upgrade"
rate for standard features.

We wonder if they'll continue to cut corners, even after we've signed
the escrow contract (which we will this Friday)..

Does this sound honest? We chose Pulte because of their reputation;
we've never purchased a house before.


I look at bbb.org, the better business bureau and find Pulte has
an... well, you can look it up, too. They have a good reputation
with exactly whom?

There are real advantages to buying an existing home. You know
what's there, can make use of a real estate agent to help you
understand the neighborhood and the builder's quality there as
determined by lots of residents.

You know... I can pretty much guarantee that 15 - 25% of all
possible homes you could look at will face the same direction
as this home does. I can guarantee you can find another floor
plan that meets your needs at least as well as this one does.
There are lots of homes in nice subdivisions in Houston, and
many of them built in the last few years.

Keep in mind that builders have been making a bunch o' money
for a few years now. And their cost structure probably reflects
the good times. Now when the market is slowing down and costs
for raw materials are rising, they're being pinched. Can't sell
homes because too many used homes are on the market cheaper,
can't build a home cheaper because raw materials and overhead
are higher... what would you do? You'd find a way to put
cheaper 'stuff' in the house, so it still looked good, on the
surface at least, no?

Suppose you went to an agent (and make sure you pick one who
is experienced as a BUYER's agent, and that you're signing an
agreement with them to that effect) and asked to find 5-year-
old homes in a neighborhood not too far from this one, in your
price range, with your requirements. What if he or she found
you just what you wanted, and all the landscaping was in
place, and the builder had a good rating with the BBB, and
your neighbors were happy with their homes? Heck, what if
you went looking for foreclosures, or homes about to be
foreclosed on that you could save the owner from that trauma?

Or, sure, you can sign a commitment to pay someone a couple
of hundred thousand dollars when you're already worried about
the quality of their work, their honesty, and their business
practices.
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Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:12:05 -0500 from :
I'm considering buying a new home in Texas. There are certain
incentives on the house, but even then the house is kind of expensive.
So, we want to negotiate some more off. The salesman said his company
wouldn't be able to take any more off the price (for legal reasons)?


That's right up there with "our insurance company says we can't let
customers use our restroom" and "I'll pull out before I ____".

He then suggested a friend of his who could
kick back 1% of the normal 3% commission.

Does this seem strange, or sleazy to anyone?


Yes to both.

I've just laid down $3000 in escrow and it's soon to be
irrevocable.


Are you so sure it's not irrevocable?

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...
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Thanks, Thomas, Stan, and Keith for your timely and thoughtful
advice. Right now, we are trying to decide what we should do, and all
of your comments are really helping us to make this very important
decision. This afternoon, we received 2 calls from the salesman's boss
and 1 from the VP of Finance for the local branch of Pulte. At the end
of the 2nd call, the salesman's boss started to flag and said, "Maybe
Pulte's not the right builder for you." He also seemed to start to take
back the tile we'd been promised everywhere except the bedrooms; but
after I got angry, he called the salesman and said we were getting the
tile.

At this stage, we thought about hiring an expert to evaluate the
materials in the home, as well as a real estate lawyer to put clauses
in the escrow contract to ensure that if we don't get what we paid for,
we can back out without penalty (or they'll have to reduce their price).
(We're scheduled to come back in and sign the escrow contract this
Friday or Saturday. but we haven't selected either, and I don't see
how we can get both experts by that time). We'd also like the real
estate lawyer to read the sales contract, when we close on the house.

By the way, I'm a little confused. Is the escrow contract (in Texas,
if it's different there) different from the final sales contract?

As far as a buyer's agent goes, we tried that a couple of times. The
first time, we negotiated a 1 1/2% rate, because we did all the
legwork. All we really needed was someone to let us in to the house and
help us with the contract itself. Still, this buyer's agent apparently
wanted more than 1 1/2%, and lagged on putting the bid in, thus
costing us the bid. Once we found another house (through our legwork)
that we wanted, we found another buyer's agent (like the first,
recommended by the National Association of Buyer's Agents), who pushed
to put in a bid that was $10,000 - $15,000 higher than the bid which we
wanted to put in (based on our legwork at the tax assessor's office).
We terminated that relationship as well. We've found that the "Buyer's
Agent" designation is no guarantee of quality, even when they're
recommended by the best buyer's agent organization we know of. As for
foreclosures, they're really too risky for first-time homebuyers,
because of possible lien-related complications. As for existing homes,
that's what we've been looking at. However, in the course of looking
at existing homes, we came across these new homes, and we really love
the neighborhood, but we're not sure we really want to put up with the
BS from this builder.

Any further advice, anyone?

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In article ,
says...
Thanks, Thomas, Stan, and Keith for your timely and thoughtful
advice. Right now, we are trying to decide what we should do, and all
of your comments are really helping us to make this very important
decision. This afternoon, we received 2 calls from the salesman's boss
and 1 from the VP of Finance for the local branch of Pulte. At the end
of the 2nd call, the salesman's boss started to flag and said, "Maybe
Pulte's not the right builder for you." He also seemed to start to take
back the tile we'd been promised everywhere except the bedrooms; but
after I got angry, he called the salesman and said we were getting the
tile.


You've just been suckered again. He was correct when he said "*****
is not right for you", but you bit the worm.

At this stage, we thought about hiring an expert to evaluate the
materials in the home, as well as a real estate lawyer to put clauses
in the escrow contract to ensure that if we don't get what we paid for,
we can back out without penalty (or they'll have to reduce their price).
(We're scheduled to come back in and sign the escrow contract this
Friday or Saturday. but we haven't selected either, and I don't see
how we can get both experts by that time). We'd also like the real
estate lawyer to read the sales contract, when we close on the house.


It's too late then. You need a lawyer to read the contract BEFORE
YOU SIGN it or PAY ANY MONEY. If you're having these reservations
now, *run*. You could just have a simple case of "buyer's remorse",
but it sounds a lot worse than that. IMO, you're in for a miserable
few months (or years), if you can't trust your builder.

By the way, I'm a little confused. Is the escrow contract (in Texas,
if it's different there) different from the final sales contract?


I'm not a lawyer, nor have I ever lived in Texas. These are things
you should be asking you lawyer *before* you sign a thing or fork
over money of significance that matters to you (I've paid $100
earnest money" without a thought before).

As far as a buyer's agent goes, we tried that a couple of times. The
first time, we negotiated a 1 1/2% rate, because we did all the
legwork. All we really needed was someone to let us in to the house and
help us with the contract itself. Still, this buyer's agent apparently
wanted more than 1 1/2%, and lagged on putting the bid in, thus
costing us the bid. Once we found another house (through our legwork)
that we wanted, we found another buyer's agent (like the first,
recommended by the National Association of Buyer's Agents), who pushed
to put in a bid that was $10,000 - $15,000 higher than the bid which we
wanted to put in (based on our legwork at the tax assessor's office).
We terminated that relationship as well.


Woa! The agent put in a bid that you didn't authorize? Did you
take him to the real estate board and have his license burned? 1.5%
may be a little skimpy for their time. I'm not surprised you had
trouble finding an agent. In most cases the seller will pay the
buyer's agent's fee.

We've found that the "Buyer's
Agent" designation is no guarantee of quality, even when they're
recommended by the best buyer's agent organization we know of. As for
foreclosures, they're really too risky for first-time homebuyers,


What does the agent have to do with foreclosures? The whole point
of a buyer's agent is that they work for you, no the seller. *ANY*
other agent works for the seller, even if you found the agent with
darts and a phone book.

because of possible lien-related complications. As for existing homes,
that's what we've been looking at. However, in the course of looking
at existing homes, we came across these new homes, and we really love
the neighborhood, but we're not sure we really want to put up with the
BS from this builder.

Any further advice, anyone?


Yes. Find another builder that makes you more comfortable. *NOW*.
This one will make you sick, even if they're not doing anything
wrong.

BTW, we're going to be in your position in a few weeks, though most
likely a new, already existing home. The prices are pretty good on
spec-houses that have been standing empty for a year. ;-)

--
Keith


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Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:46:03 -0500 from :
We'd also like the real
estate lawyer to read the sales contract, when we close on the house.


That is *way* too late.

You may think you aren't committed, but you handed over the check,
and unless you have it in writing that it's non-binding you are
already on the hook, most likely.

Get thee to an attorney, NOW.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...
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Default Thanks everyone

Thanks so much for all the advice, Thomas, Keith, and Stan, and if
I've left anyone out, I deeply apologize. Just wanted to tell you all
what we've decided. As everyone said, we've decided to pass on this
house. If someday they come back with a better price, maybe we'll
consider this house again. We were sort of leaning toward walking away
anyway; your kind, thoughtful and wise advice confirmed what we were
already thinking, and gave us confidence to move on.

BTW, to answer krw's question, the buyer's agent put in the bid WITH
our authorization. He just put it in too slow and lost the deal for us.
Also, the foreclosures and the buyer's agent are 2 different issues.
We were thinking of looking at foreclosures, but there are a lot of
problems with them, including with the lien and title. We're searching
on the Net to find houses; no realtor would want to work with us to do
that, because we just have too many G-D requirements. We have worked
with a couple of different buyer's agents (both recommended by National
Assoc of Exclusive Buyer's Agents); the first put in the bid too slow,
and the second named a bid that was too high for us. And, I understand
about the seller paying. We wanted the first buyer's agent to kick back
(to us) 1.5% of his 3% commission (because all we needed him for was to
submit the bid and help us with the contract at closing). Sorry, I
just got a little lazy there.

To answer Thomas' earlier question as to who Pulte has a good rep with,
they've won the J.D. Power Home Builders' survey for 6 - 7 years
running. Also, the second buyer's agent once told us that during the
last recession, every builder skimped on materials. We wonder if it's
happening again.

If any other questions are left unanswered, or if anyone can answer my
question in the previous paragraph, please feel free to post.

Tony

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wrote in message
...
Thanks so much for all the advice, Thomas, Keith, and Stan, and if
I've left anyone out, I deeply apologize. Just wanted to tell you all
what we've decided. As everyone said, we've decided to pass on this
house. If someday they come back with a better price, maybe we'll
consider this house again. We were sort of leaning toward walking away
anyway; your kind, thoughtful and wise advice confirmed what we were
already thinking, and gave us confidence to move on.


....snip. Good for you! Trust your gut. There is another deal out there;
never get so worried about one slipping by that you go against your common
sense.

To answer Thomas' earlier question as to who Pulte has a good rep with,
they've won the J.D. Power Home Builders' survey for 6 - 7 years
running. Also, the second buyer's agent once told us that during the
last recession, every builder skimped on materials. We wonder if it's
happening again.


Take any award from J.D. Power with a grain of salt. The way they fund
their "research" is by licensing their logos to the proud, winning
companies. If the results of their surveys are unfavorable, the companies
are unlikely to pony up. Very biased.


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Default Alternative to J.D. Power?

In a previous post, Travis said to take any J.D. Power award "with a
grain of salt". Who, then, is a more reliable ratings agency than
this (I'm in the Houston market)?

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In article ,
says...
Thanks so much for all the advice, Thomas, Keith, and Stan, and if
I've left anyone out, I deeply apologize. Just wanted to tell you all
what we've decided. As everyone said, we've decided to pass on this
house. If someday they come back with a better price, maybe we'll
consider this house again. We were sort of leaning toward walking away
anyway; your kind, thoughtful and wise advice confirmed what we were
already thinking, and gave us confidence to move on.


Good. Buying a house is worrying enough. You don't need to add
more to it. It did sound fishy.

BTW, to answer krw's question, the buyer's agent put in the bid WITH
our authorization. He just put it in too slow and lost the deal for us.


That happens. I lost one earlier this year that way, but wouldn't
have gotten it anyway. It was a bank-owned property and I wasn't
going to bid the asking price anyway (though it was likely worth
it).

Also, the foreclosures and the buyer's agent are 2 different issues.
We were thinking of looking at foreclosures, but there are a lot of
problems with them, including with the lien and title.


There shouldn't be any problems. That's what you pay a lawyer for.

We're searching
on the Net to find houses; no realtor would want to work with us to do
that, because we just have too many G-D requirements.


We don't really want the agent to either. We don't pay the agent
for that.

We have worked
with a couple of different buyer's agents (both recommended by National
Assoc of Exclusive Buyer's Agents); the first put in the bid too slow,
and the second named a bid that was too high for us.


*YOU* name the bid. The agent may suggest a bid, but you're the one
buying. An agent tried that with my brother and just about lost
them a deal. He told them that if they didn't submit his bid he'd
have their license. They did, and he got the house.

And, I understand
about the seller paying. We wanted the first buyer's agent to kick back
(to us) 1.5% of his 3% commission (because all we needed him for was to
submit the bid and help us with the contract at closing). Sorry, I
just got a little lazy there.


You can want all you want, but you get what you pay for.

To answer Thomas' earlier question as to who Pulte has a good rep with,
they've won the J.D. Power Home Builders' survey for 6 - 7 years
running. Also, the second buyer's agent once told us that during the
last recession, every builder skimped on materials. We wonder if it's
happening again.


Could be. They're not in business to lose money, though it's hard
to see how they're making any money now. The area we're looking in
has tons of new builds in our price range (which is pretty wide).
Some have been on the market for over a year, so whenever we can get
our butts out there we should have good hunting. ;-)

If any other questions are left unanswered, or if anyone can answer my
question in the previous paragraph, please feel free to post.


--
Keith
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wrote:
Thanks, Thomas, Stan, and Keith for your timely and thoughtful
advice. Right now, we are trying to decide what we should do, and all
of your comments are really helping us to make this very important
decision. This afternoon, we received 2 calls from the salesman's boss
and 1 from the VP of Finance for the local branch of Pulte. At the end
of the 2nd call, the salesman's boss started to flag and said, "Maybe
Pulte's not the right builder for you." He also seemed to start to take
back the tile we'd been promised everywhere except the bedrooms; but
after I got angry, he called the salesman and said we were getting the
tile.

At this stage, we thought about hiring an expert to evaluate the
materials in the home, as well as a real estate lawyer to put clauses
in the escrow contract to ensure that if we don't get what we paid for,
we can back out without penalty (or they'll have to reduce their price).
(We're scheduled to come back in and sign the escrow contract this
Friday or Saturday. but we haven't selected either, and I don't see
how we can get both experts by that time). We'd also like the real
estate lawyer to read the sales contract, when we close on the house.

By the way, I'm a little confused. Is the escrow contract (in Texas,
if it's different there) different from the final sales contract?

As far as a buyer's agent goes, we tried that a couple of times. The
first time, we negotiated a 1 1/2% rate, because we did all the
legwork. All we really needed was someone to let us in to the house and
help us with the contract itself. Still, this buyer's agent apparently
wanted more than 1 1/2%, and lagged on putting the bid in, thus
costing us the bid. Once we found another house (through our legwork)
that we wanted, we found another buyer's agent (like the first,
recommended by the National Association of Buyer's Agents), who pushed
to put in a bid that was $10,000 - $15,000 higher than the bid which we
wanted to put in (based on our legwork at the tax assessor's office).
We terminated that relationship as well. We've found that the "Buyer's
Agent" designation is no guarantee of quality, even when they're
recommended by the best buyer's agent organization we know of. As for
foreclosures, they're really too risky for first-time homebuyers,
because of possible lien-related complications. As for existing homes,
that's what we've been looking at. However, in the course of looking
at existing homes, we came across these new homes, and we really love
the neighborhood, but we're not sure we really want to put up with the
BS from this builder.

Any further advice, anyone?

Yeah. Walk Away Now. Pulte, like most of the McBuilders, is primarily in
the business of lending money- houses are just an incidental to get you
in the tent. Go with a local independent builder, or buy an existing
house you have a warm fuzzy feeling about. Even in Texas, it is a
buyer's market right now. Chain builders use the car dealer business
model- say anything to get that signature on a contract. Building a
house, IMHO, you want a GC where you can sit across the table from the
owner, not a salesman. You want somebody who depends on word of mouth
for future business, not massive ad budgets and high-pressure sales
techniques. Good independent builders don't advertise much- they don't
need to. Word of mouth gets them all the business they can handle, and
they avoid having so many houses underway at once that they can't keep
the quality up. Drive around the areas you like, and look for houses
under construction in existing neighborhoods, and read the names on the
signs.

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Default More about this house

Thanks, Travis Hayes, krw, and aemeijers for the timely and thoughtful
responses.

Travis, we'd heard that the J.D. Power surveys weren't as good as
Consumer Reports, but we had no idea they were that bad.

krw, thanks for mentioning about the web search and "local consumer
resources", and also mentioning that you can get more aggressive with a
buyer's agent than we'd thought possible.

aemeijers, we completely agree with you about your description of the
buying experience - it was exactly like going to a car dealer. Also,
we liked your idea of going to a locat independent builder - would this
be like a custom builder? I assume this would also be like David
Powers, who, although he's not a custom builder, just builds houses
in the Houston area, and has an excellent reputation. (We can't,
however, afford him.)

BTW, we're now strongly considering going with David Weekley in Seven
Meadows. If anyone knows anything about them, I'd love to hear from
you. Locally (realtors, tax assessors, etc.), Weekley and Pulte seem
to have the best reputations in the Houston area. And Weekley is
headquartered locally, and seems to treat us more nicely and honestly
than Pulte.

Tony

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