Good home builders in Southern Maryland

[moon5leg]

Permit Status

For those who are in the home building process as I am, here's a link that you will be interested in checking out:

http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/permits-inspections/lookup/

You can lookup the status of your building permits here. The builders don't like us buyers knowing about this information, because then they actually will have to answer to us when they delay, but oh well.

Hope you find this useful.

 

[greeker375]

What's your price range? Where do you need to live? How big a house?

Tell me and I'll tell you where and who to get to build your home. I've been appraising real estate in Calvert & St. Mary's for over 15 years and I've seen who the "quality" builders are vs the slocks.

 

[chaotic]

Curtis...

My STBX is buying a townhouse that is being built by Curtis, and they seem to be doing a very nice job of building it properly. Not to say they didn't make any mistakes, but fit and finish is looking pretty good (not to mention there didn't seem to be a slew of beer cans in the foundation, which is a common occurrence with other builders, I've seen).

 

[bhanks]

greeker375 Thanks for offering your advice! My husband and I are looking to build in the northern half of St. Mary's county. (From Leonardtown on up.) We love the look of the Chestnut Hills/Ridge area, but aren't really sure where to start looking for a piece of land. If you have any ideas, I'm always open to suggestions. Thanks in advance!

 

[Shannie0308]

I would recommend Alexander Homes Inc. for Home building. They do spec homes or custom homes. They are a small business and make the home building experience very easy and fun. It is based out of St. Mary's City but they will build anywhere.

Their Contact Info: 240-925-3260 Brian (Owner)
Mahoney19@msn.com

 

[bhanks]

Thanks, Shannie0308 ! I wonder if they have a website to visit?

 

[Shannie0308]

No they dont as of yet. I am in the process of getting that going. ( I work for them). But if you want to see photos of houses previously built or possibly visit some of the ones we have still under construction that can possibly be arranged.

 

[starr]

bhanks check your pm!

 

[outdoorgirl]

St. James

My husband and I are building in Section 4 of St. James, too! On the pool subject, the builder's agent told us that it probably wouldn't be started until after all the homes in Sections 3, 4, and 5 are finished (ugh... could be a while!).

I am very nervous about the clearing aspect and want it to stay as woodsy as possible. Suz, how did they respond when complaints were brought about how much section 3 was cleared?

Also, have you noticed or spoken with anyone who's moved into section 3 about how HBI was with timeframes? Our permits just got approved yesterday, so I'm just wondering what to expect from here on out. I have heard that HBI is great with those things, but am just curious if that's stayed true now that they've taken on all these new developments.

One of the HUGE frustrations for me so far has been with options on the house-- my dad is a builder up in Western Maryland, and although he can't build the house for me, he wanted to help us with hardwood flooring and tile so that we don't have to pay the price that the builder charges. Of course, to do that, we have to go with all the standards and then just rip it all out to do our thing when the house is done. What a waste! (I swore I would never go with a mass production builder, but here I am lovin' it)

Also, I'm not a huge fan of textured ceilings and that's all they offer. UGH!! No budging on that one so far. Any tips?

 

[outdoorgirl]

St. James

Also, HBI's website is:

www.homebuildersmd.com

 

[moon5leg]

Originally posted by outdoorgirl:

Our permits just got approved yesterday

Hey outdoorgirl, congrats on the permits. Ours just got approved yesterday too!! I guess we'll be neighbors!

I was wondering the same thing you were, now that the permits are approved, what's next?

HBI's agent (not a big fan of her's to be honest) tells us they have no clue how long things will take. The like to cover their butts by saying they can't control weather delays and what-not.

Believe me, I'll be tracking the weather for the next few months.

Got kids?

 

[outdoorgirl]

St. James

Not yet, but we're going to start trying as soon as we get into this darn house!

I know, I'm just holding my breath to see how things go. I have a friend who's building with Curtis, and she's having a total nightmare of a time. I actually called over there (the agent isn't big on my happy list, either, but that seems to be pretty common) today to see what happens next. I guess the site plans have to go to the printer or something (?)... of course, no timeframes at all on when they'll get started or anything.

UGH!

In any case, it's nice to meet a new neighbor!!

 

[sbearden]

Home Builders in So.MD

We are in the process of contracting Somerset Homes to build a house in the Porto Bello subdivision off Flat Iron Rd. I know that they do not coop with Real Estate agents, and that they "were" running behind schedule about 6 months ago.
Does anyone have pro/con comments on Somerset? Please reply. We've looked in HBI in St. James, and they nickle/dime you to DEATH! A 2400sf home for over $420K... That's quite high.
We have researched the homes that Somerset builds, and we like the product.

Any comments welcome!

 

[EPAMOM]

Quality Built Homes

Quality Built Homes are the worst! If I had to guess, I would say that 99% of folks have had issues with them, most of them major. I would NEVER recommend QBH to anyone, not even my worst enemies.

 

[Cletus_Vandam]

Good Builders versus Good Contracts

Getting a good contractor to build you home is only part of the process. Make sure the contract between yourself and builder has a damages clause to protect you from your builder taking a year to build your house when they told you it should only take four months.

This will likely have to be a negotiation between the two of you since each of the builders will want to use their contact and there will certainly be nothing in there Contract that subjects them to any damages. Typically, a dollar figure can be set based on a certain completion date and the builder having to perform to meet that end date. This has to be agreed upon before you negotiate a price and settle on terms. Don’t wait to throw this in at the last minute and expect it to be greeted with a positive response. He will likely complain at first, but it can be dealt with. The problem that you will encounter right now is that there are fewer houses that there are buyers; so you don’t have much bargaining power. But don’t hang yourself out just to get a builder under contract. You can always use the argument that if they are such good builders, then the damages clause will never come into play.

Believe me, if the builder tells you it will take four months to build your house and you gear your move to that time line and he screws around and takes eight or nine, you are going to encounter damages (storage of packed goods, paying interest on the building loan, paying taxes on property you aren’t living on, etc.). Sure you can go after him in the sixth or seventh month of construction, but all that will do is slow down the progress and delay you getting in there further.

If your construction falls behind, simply remind him that you’re looking at the days and the damages will come of the price of things at closing. That’ll be good motivation to keep him pushing to get things completed.

 

[moon5leg]

originally posted by sbearden
We are in the process of contracting Somerset Homes to build a house in the Porto Bello subdivision off Flat Iron Rd. I know that they do not coop with Real Estate agents, and that they "were" running behind schedule about 6 months ago.
Does anyone have pro/con comments on Somerset? Please reply. We've looked in HBI in St. James, and they nickle/dime you to DEATH! A 2400sf home for over $420K... That's quite high.
We have researched the homes that Somerset builds, and we like the product.

Any comments welcome!

Don't have building experience with Somerset, but we did look into them and were impressed. They seem to build to a high quality standard.

Not sure what exactly you were looking at in St. James, but I'm paying no where near $400, let alone $420k for my house, I'll have 2400 sq. ft on 5 acres.

I think that one of the reasons that almost all of the builders seem to be behind schedule has to do with the building permit process. It is not a fast process, and with so much construction going on, the board is backed up with applications.

 

[Cletus_Vandam]

outdoorgirl

Also, I'm not a huge fan of textured ceilings and that's all they offer. UGH!! No budging on that one so far. Any tips?

I doubt there's a whole lot you can do about the ceilings if you are already under contract with your house. Believe it or not, the textured ceilings cost a lot less for the contractors to do that a smooth ceiling. With textured ceilings they can have poor joints and a single coat of "mud" (joint compund) before they texture. Not to mention they don't require priming or paint.

The smooth ceilings will typically require three coats of mud, sanding, priming and painting. I would guess for a 2400 SF home this could cost in the neighborhood of $2000 to do given the fact that your involving the drywall sub and have added painting in the mix.

Personnal, I like the smooth ceilings also. They're easier to clean and paint; and I know the reasoning behind the contractors wanting the stippled texture (cheaper).

Sorry, I wasn't able to give you any good news.

 

[Suz]

Re: St. James

Originally posted by outdoorgirl
My husband and I are building in Section 4 of St. James, too! On the pool subject, the builder's agent told us that it probably wouldn't be started until after all the homes in Sections 3, 4, and 5 are finished (ugh... could be a while!).

I am very nervous about the clearing aspect and want it to stay as woodsy as possible. Suz, how did they respond when complaints were brought about how much section 3 was cleared?

Also, have you noticed or spoken with anyone who's moved into section 3 about how HBI was with timeframes? Our permits just got approved yesterday, so I'm just wondering what to expect from here on out. I have heard that HBI is great with those things, but am just curious if that's stayed true now that they've taken on all these new developments.

One of the HUGE frustrations for me so far has been with options on the house-- my dad is a builder up in Western Maryland, and although he can't build the house for me, he wanted to help us with hardwood flooring and tile so that we don't have to pay the price that the builder charges. Of course, to do that, we have to go with all the standards and then just rip it all out to do our thing when the house is done. What a waste! (I swore I would never go with a mass production builder, but here I am lovin' it)

Also, I'm not a huge fan of textured ceilings and that's all they offer. UGH!! No budging on that one so far. Any tips?

*****************
wish I could comment on the clearing of land but I have yet to meet anyone in section 3.

The lack of a pool has been a sore spot with us "old timers" in the hood but we did hear last week that the permits etc had been applied for.
They are selling houses as fast as they build them so maybe by 2006 we will have the pool.

I hate textured ceilings. My home doesn't have them.
you and Moosleg should stop by and visit sometime. I am easy to find as I am the only one balking the rules about the mandatory plain black mailboxes. Mine has hummingbirds on it!

 

[outdoorgirl]

St. James

On the subject of pricing in St. James, my house is under $4k and we will have almost 2600 square feet and 2.7 acres. So...

UGH-- textured ceilings, it is, then. Any tips on getting rid of them and how much it would cost to have someone do it? I just think it's so silly that I am BUILDING a house and can't choose to pay this difference at the front instead of having to go back and re-do it myself. My dad is a builder in Western Maryland and his drywallers offer him either/or for no cost difference. Quality workmanship...

Other than that, though, I am SO EXCITED to live in St. James. I wish my house would be finished tomorrow, but I know there's not a chance in h$%# that it will be finished anytime soon!

Anyway, Suz, if some stranger comes knocking on your door someday, that would be me! I'll see if I can get anything else out of them about the pool the next time I talk with the agent.

 

[Cletus_Vandam]

textured ceilings

Not good new for replacing textured ceilings either, I'm afraid.

Typically the process of texturing the ceiling typically involves mixing paint with the joint compound then spreading it across the ceiling, followed by sponging it or some other process to give it a texture (I've seen some that used a wisk broom to create the swirls).

Whatever the texture, the process for removal would involve scraping the texture off (which will liely damage the paper surface of the gypsum board), then doing somthing like a plaster coat over that to fill all the gouges and high spots left from the scraping...

Have you tryed asking the builder just leave the ceilings alone-stop just before the texturing were done? You might have to hire a plaster crew to go over the joints once more and do the priming and painting yourself before settlement (this leaves you in a bit of a bad situation though since you are investing time and money in a house that is technically not yours yet-this may be the stopping point for the builder agreeing to it). But believe me, having them stop the process before the texture is ten-times easier than trying to remove it.

If you do want to go the removal route, I would suggest trying it in a closet first to see (1) how difficult it will be and (2) the more you do, the better you'll get at it.

Hope this helps.