I'm interested in purchasing a new townhome and started looking at places. However, I don't know what exactly to look for as far as the build quality is concerned. Are there telling signs that I should look for in the walls or floor or something? What about places that are under construction? Are there reviews of builders or something to that effect? If someone could give me some insight, or point me to some resources, I would really appreciate it. I know that warrenty will cover lots of things, but I still don't want to buy a "lemon".
I too am looking at buying a new townhome or condo. In California and New York at least part of the process is having professional building inspectors come in and assess the property before the sell goes through. I don't know if it is standard procedure in Texas or not, but I'm sure you could ask that one be brought in to make sure.
You must get the property inspected before you buy it, but there are also things you can look at when you go to view the properties. When you find one you are interested in, you get the sellers disclosure where the seller is required to disclose certain information. My wife is a realtor with Keller Williams. She would be more then happy to help you out, she knows a really good inspector that she uses all of the time. If you are using her to buy a property it does not cost you anything, the seller pays her fees. You can email her at angelabrown@kw.com.
I would say finding a place you want to live is the best thing to look for when buying a home or townhome...Once you find the one you want, then you get your inspector involved and they will lay out all the problems the place may have. I have used Fox Inspections in the past. While he's not cheap, he is extremely thorough and is a really nice guy. Good luck!
I'm looking for a house as well. I can tell this is going to take a while. MLS listings have a lot of crappy homes that have been listed forever. I think you have to get in on the new listings early. That could take a while. All I know is I want a house and I'm getting tired of this crap.
Sounds dum, but when you are ready to buy, sleep in your car on that street for one night. You may learn something about the neighborhood that you need to know.
This site has some really nice new townhomes. Kind of pricey though... http://www.urbanliving.com/developments.cfm
So I pretty much depend solely on the inspection and discloused information? I always thought of passing inspection as "up to par" rather than "good quality". I guess I'm looking at it the wrong way. Thanks for the Urban Living link. Any other good online resources for the Houston area? www.har.com and www.hcad.org have been invaluable in my search so far.
Tolne and Others, I actually build townhomes in the West Grey area and know pretty much all there is to know about. Most of what people focus on is superficial items like granite countertops, nice fixtures and flooring type. Areas that will really help you in the long-run is adequate A/C coverage and energy efficient windows. For example a set of two homes i just finished are 3100 square feet and quite nice, and I used three A/C units per house. My brother lives in that same floor plan and his electric bill was only $130 last month, and his gas (heat) was only $40. Sometimes pre-construction is the way to go if you can walk through the floorplan they intend on using. You can usually buy it for a lower price and make some changes that would suit you better. For example the townhouse above mentioned, i'm selling for $475,000, but i'm about to start four more of the same design and will only charge $445,000 for preconstruction and will give people the option of choosing colors, some flooring etc. to make it more to their desire. You can email me if you have any questions, as I also know most the builders in the areas surrounding downtown and can tell you which ones build crappy homes.
This is not dumb. It may rouse suspicion, but if I had done this, I would have never agreed to buy the house that the ex-wife now lives in. I knew the street behind us was bad, but had no idea how bad it was till we moved in, then all the noise, loud cars, loud neighbors started up... I regretted from the first week.
The only thing that keeps today's new housing development from being tomorrow's slum is a strong Home Owner's Association with well wriiten covenants and enforcment power. Drive around enough 20 year old subdivisions and you will see the difference. You might consider them to be the neighborhood nazi's but who are you going to turn to when your next door neighbor turns his front lawn into a slavage yard? I assume this is the same or moreso for townhomes where your neighbors peculiarities are just one wall away. And always, always consider the location. Is it up and coming or on the way out; close to where people want to be or across the tracks. The average person sells their home every 7 years but when this current low interest rate housing boom ends (and the trillion dollar deficit means it will) there are going to be a lot of people in nondescript tract housing that won't be able to find anyone to buy their used home.
If you are able to take your time in buying a house, here are some more helpful hints: Check out the house after a good rain. See if there's any drainage problems with the house, yard, or street. Beware of a master bedroom that has windows facing East ("good morning! It's 6am on satruday and here comes the sun!") Builders such as David Powers add a bunch of nice touches that others don't (arched doorways, rounded wall corners, arched bay windows, crown molding in every room, etc.). Beware of homes that were owned by people who had dogs or who smoked. You may find smells and stains that you didn't orignially notice. Check to make sure the house doesn't back up to power lines or the bayou. If there's a fire hydrant in the front yard, you won't be able to park on the street in front of your house. How far is the nearest police/fire/EMS/hospital? Beware of houses that are too close to schools - traffic backups, buses, and kids everywhere may become a nuisance. It's better to buy the smallest house in a neighborhood full of big houses than it is to buy the biggest house in a neighborhood full of smaller houses. Check the DPS records to make sure you aren't going to be living next door to a sex offender. Ask the neighbors across the street about the people next door to the house you're looking at. -- droxford
Are you staying in FW? I don't know what you're looking to spend, but there are very good homes that have been listed forever because people are still buying new construction. It's hard to compete with new construction right next door and you're trying to sell your 2 or 3 year old home.
