Top 10 things I have learned about D R Horton homes since owning one for 5.5 years

[mikec]

bullshit! spill the beans.

No, really, it is!

[lowthreeohz]

Incoming PM...

bullshit! spill the beans.

[mikec]

Looks like they framed that one on 32" centers?

Incoming PM...

[Vertnut]

Looks like they framed that one on 32" centers?

[mikec]

This is a random picture of an actual Horton home obtained from the internet...

[Vertnut]

My experience during the build process
City came and inspected each step of the build process
especially all electric installations.
Did this not occur during your build? What city?
We also picked-paid for upgraded carpet at the designed center in farmers Branch, however we did get what we selected.
We also took pictures of each step of the build as our builder at the time
invited us to visit the site whenever we wanted.
I just hope not to find any surprises 3 years from now.

No offense, but city inspections just cover VERY basic things. Most cities use inspections as a reason to charge you $1800 for a building permit. Slab, framing, and "tops" is all they cover. Quality of workmanship is not.

[robert]

My experience during the build process
City came and inspected each step of the build process
especially all electric installations.
Did this not occur during your build? What city?
We also picked-paid for upgraded carpet at the designed center in farmers Branch, however we did get what we selected.
We also took pictures of each step of the build as our builder at the time
invited us to visit the site whenever we wanted.
I just hope not to find any surprises 3 years from now.

[Roscoe]

DR Horton, KB Homes, lots of entry level builders out there.

My home in Frisco is a First Texas Home. I didn't know much about them at the time I bought, but had 30 days and had to buy, and they were the right price and in the right area, so we bought. For the most part, I have very minimal complaints, and most of what I could complain about is fairly easily fixable.

My next home will be a Shaddock, without a doubt. Probably the next subdivision over, at that...

[fordracing19]

Isn't it better to find a contractor and make your own custom house on a tract of land you own? I've heard this was the cheaper solution with more features that you want. Has anyone tried doing it like that?

Have you seen my thread in the home improvement forum?

[Forever_frost]

Sounds like my house. The builders spent a fortune putting in steel framing and studs and steel roof. From there, they cut every possible corner. There was a 8"x8" square cut in the brick that went directly outside with the guest bathroom sinks running PVC out the hole and then dumping on the ground, half of the sockets didn't work or would only work if you held the plug a certain way.

The hallway is not square and until I had an electrician out to fix it, if you went into the attic when it rained, you'd get shocked from the electrical sitting on the steel.

[staticx]

The builder my wife and I love is Our Country Homes but they are to expensive for us at this time. I've heard DR Horton, Fox and Jacobs and Kb Homes are crap.

[mstng86]

What about Devonshire ( a Highland Homes subdivision) up FM548, we went there a month ago and the hood was pretty decent, I saw no riff-raff, cars on 30's, redneck 4x4's or people of african decent.

Devonshire is nice from what I can tell.

[Steve]

The customer service that HH provides is unmatched on my purchase. I had a tree die on me two years after I moved in, not their problem right. I went ahead and called since they were still building in my area, they came out and dug up the old one and planted a new one.
Five years later I was buying a surround system and I was getting quotes to install the speakers in the ceilings. My wife had thought we payed for that, we looked up our build contract and behold, we did pay for it. We didnt noticed it or care at the time since we didnt have a surround system then, I sent an email. They came by saw the paperwork, BAM the electricians showed and and spent several days installing my wires, patching the holes and repainted everything to my satisfaction.

Nice! That's good service right there.

[Broncojohnny]

Gonna have to look at the $250k+ neighborhoods from now on to weed out the trash lol

From what I have seen, I think $200K is about the break point for the trash in Plano. I'd say $250K would leave them out of your area.

As for the custom homes, I have one built by David Weekly in 1995. It is unique in the subdivision it is in, which is about 50 houses. They cut corners in a few areas but overall it isn't bad. And the cheap shit was the easiest to change. IE, the fixtures and countertops and flooring. Things like the A/C system, roof and hot water heaters had a really good lifespan.

[Rick Modena]

Highland is a full notch above DR, First Texas, etc.

The customer service that HH provides is unmatched on my purchase. I had a tree die on me two years after I moved in, not their problem right. I went ahead and called since they were still building in my area, they came out and dug up the old one and planted a new one.
Five years later I was buying a surround system and I was getting quotes to install the speakers in the ceilings. My wife had thought we payed for that, we looked up our build contract and behold, we did pay for it. We didnt noticed it or care at the time since we didnt have a surround system then, I sent an email. They came by saw the paperwork, BAM the electricians showed and and spent several days installing my wires, patching the holes and repainted everything to my satisfaction.