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Clones85'

Clones85'

Just Win Baby
Jan 31, 2007
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The wife and I are looking at buying a new home in the upcoming months. There are some pretty decent buys on new construction homes right now. We are looking around the Ankeny/Johsnton area.

Anyway has anybody had any bad experiences or good experiences with builders? Anybody you would recommend or stay away from? Any thoughts would be appreciated
 
Clones85' said:
The wife and I are looking at buying a new home in the upcoming months. There are some pretty decent buys on new construction homes right now. We are looking around the Ankeny/Johsnton area.

Anyway has anybody had any bad experiences or good experiences with builders? Anybody you would recommend or stay away from? Any thoughts would be appreciated
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Ankeny is way overbuilt.
 
CycloneYoda said:
Sorry. Growing up in central Iowa, I always found Ankeny to be a quaint, wholesome town. Then the sprawl began. Now it looks like everywhere else.
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CyPride said:
Ankeny is way overbuilt.
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Oh I gotcha. I grew up in Johnston and want to live there but prices of homes are a little more expensive there it seems for the type of house we are looking for.

More options in Ankeny too, which goes with what you guys are saying about it being overbuilt
 
Clones85' said:
The wife and I are looking at buying a new home in the upcoming months. There are some pretty decent buys on new construction homes right now. We are looking around the Ankeny/Johsnton area.

Anyway has anybody had any bad experiences or good experiences with builders? Anybody you would recommend or stay away from? Any thoughts would be appreciated
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Depends how much you want to spend. We've been in Johnston for 8 years and have been happy. I really don't think there is a big difference between the newer developments in Johnston, Urbandale, Waukee, Grimes, etc. I would focus more on the development itself than the name of the suburb. We live in green meadows north. One thing we found is that the land prices are a little higher in Johnston but you'll get that back when you sell.

When they make a development without kids I would be first in line.:smile:


As a side note, don't count out homes that are a few years old. People forget how much it costs to add fencing, landscaping, etc.
 
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I like doing a lot of my own home improvement, so I stayed out of the Metro area completely.
 
What price range? Gardner Homes is the best builder in Ankeny in my opinion. His prices his homes well, they are quality built and he stands behind it. Just my opinion.
 
The_Architect said:
Stay away from Regency and Jerrys Homes.
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Your going to have a tough time getting Regency to build you a new home.

We've had a Regency for the 4 years and besides one crack in the driveway it's been perfect. They built thousands of mid priced homes in Iowa and if they had a bad record you'd be hearing a lot more from owners.

Before this we had a Jerry's townhome and every single townhouse in our development had ice damming problems.
 
dmclone said:
Your going to have a tough time getting Regency to build you a new home.

We've had a Regency for the 4 years and besides one crack in the driveway it's been perfect.

Before this we had a Jerry's townhome and every single townhouse in our development had ice damming problems.
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I agree here. You generally can't just call a builder garbage. Each house can be very different by the same builder. It's not like Grub or Myers was out swinging the hammer himself.....
 
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dmclone said:
As a side note, don't count out homes that are a few years old. People forget how much it costs to add fencing, landscaping, etc.
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Thanks for the info. Green Meadows North is a great area. You must have moved in when it was brand new.

Hard thing about Johnston is when a home goes on the market it usually sells right away b/c it is a great area to live in. That and most homes are out of my price range.

I am all for looking at houses that are a few years old. Problem is that my wife looked at a new home and now is all over it. She's like a fly attracted to shiny/new things!
 
Well Regency is out of business/ bankrupt/ whatever...so stay away from them. Jerry's homes are crap. Everyone I've been in looks really shoddy. Crappy materials and overpriced.

Gardener Homes, someone mentioned, are nice. As is Hubbell, but they are $$$.
 
Just curious, what do new homes average per square foot in DSM? Also, what does a finished basement run per square foot? I know there are many factors involved, but you can add alot of improvements/upgrades inside if you are not worried about impressing the neighbors on the outside (as in ridiculous roofs, stonework, etc.)
 
dosry5 said:
I agree here. You generally can't just call a builder garbage. Each house can be very different by the same builder. It's not like Grub or Myers was out swinging the hammer himself.....
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This. Every house is going to have issues. Price/quality all depends on the people doing the work and the products that go into it. These all cost money, so there are real trade-offs to consider. What is most important, IMO, is communication. Talk to folks that have purchased from a particular builder.

Do they answer their phone, or at least get back to you timely?
How long have they used particular subs or suppliers?
How have warranty issues been handled?

You can find out a lot about someone by the way they act after the contract has been signed, or the check transferred.
 
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