Ryan Homes

[Elessar78]

A new housing plan is being developed in what is a work-life sweet spot in terms of location for me. From what I know, Ryan Homes construction quality has a pretty poor reputation— is this reputation deserved? Was it something that was true and was fixed? Is there any way to put up that many homes in that short a time and still maintain quality controls?

 

 

[China]

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/housing/ryan.html

[BornaSkinsFan83]

The only thing I know, 

 

About like 10 years ago in the housing complex up from the one we were staying in (Gainesville then), they were protesting against Ryan Homes. Not sure exactly what the beef was. I wanna say delays, shoddy work and lies. They had a bunch of signs and placards posted up for their little organization called R.O.A.R: Residents Organized Against Ryan. I only remember any of this because I stole one for my little brother's bday gift (also named Ryan). Thought...THINK it was a great gift and he obviously didn't and couldn't give two ****s. That still bugs me. 

 

But yeah, maybe research that group. Who knows, they might still be around. 

[Busch1724]

Their reputation is well deserved. It hasn't changed in recent years. 

[Elessar78]

Well that settles that. I might still think about it if those reviews weren't so recent and from multiple places around the country. Hasn't changed, doesn't seem like an isolated event.

[daveakl]

It really all depends on the site supervisor. If you've got a good contractor that's running the building in that development then you're ok. 

 

Make sure to go meet that person and then get references on homes he has worked on. 1,3,5 and 10 years back ideally. 

[Mr. S]

Are there any good home builders in the area?  It seems all of them have their problems in general, especially in this area where new houses go up in a week.  I'm just curious to see if anyone has had good experiences with a builder.  

[LeesburgSkinFan]

11 minutes ago, Mr. S said:

Are there any good home builders in the area?  It seems all of them have their problems in general, especially in this area where new houses go up in a week.  I'm just curious to see if anyone has had good experiences with a builder.  

  Van Metre is a local company, and I had no issues with them..

[Elessar78]

18 minutes ago, daveakl said:

It really all depends on the site supervisor. If you've got a good contractor that's running the building in that development then you're ok. 

 

Make sure to go meet that person and then get references on homes he has worked on. 1,3,5 and 10 years back ideally. 

I guess we are back to building our own. Was just hoping that this could simplify the process. We have a great builder lined up, as most people we have zero experience 

[daveakl]

Ryan is fine. Really the only difference between the big builders is the floor plans. They all order their materials from the same place. Who they employee to oversee the neighborhood is the key. They all use mostly the same subs within the area also. 

[just654]

I have never had a house built. But my wife and I had discussed it all ready more than likely our next house will be brand new. The way I would approach it is like having a loved one in a nursing home. If you are never there, paying attention to things. You will get really crappy health care for ur loved on. I see this with building a home. You want to make weekly if not every few day visits. Show up with out telling anyone. Stay on top of stuff, make sure you have a walk through before drywall goes up and on after. make sure you point out problems and follow up on them. 

[steve09ru]

Depends on locations/divisions.  I've found that the people who have expectations of a truly custom home and things to be flawless are the ones who are generally up in arms and causing the biggest fuss.  If you understand there are going to be a few bumps and bruises along the way (anything with a home settling) then you'll be much better off.  We bought with Ryan and closed back in October and have been very happy.  Have only had minor cosmetic issues which they fix very quickly.  We've also had a great project manager.

 

You also have to look at who puts reviews online.  Not many happy people do reviews and it's usually the unsatisfied ones that you hear from.  As many homes as they build, there's 31 1 star votes but you don't hear from the thousands that have been perfectly fine.

 

If you have Facebook, you can also join the Ryan Homes New Home Builder page and get a lot of questions answered there.

 

Just my .02

[Elessar78]

2 hours ago, steve09ru said:

Depends on locations/divisions.  I've found that the people who have expectations of a truly custom home and things to be flawless are the ones who are generally up in arms and causing the biggest fuss.  If you understand there are going to be a few bumps and bruises along the way (anything with a home settling) then you'll be much better off.  We bought with Ryan and closed back in October and have been very happy.  Have only had minor cosmetic issues which they fix very quickly.  We've also had a great project manager.

 

You also have to look at who puts reviews online.  Not many happy people do reviews and it's usually the unsatisfied ones that you hear from.  As many homes as they build, there's 31 1 star votes but you don't hear from the thousands that have been perfectly fine.

 

If you have Facebook, you can also join the Ryan Homes New Home Builder page and get a lot of questions answered there.

 

Just my .02

I understand that dynamic very clearly. But when you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home you want peace of mind. The, granted one-sided, complaints don't seem to be one offs or "minor bumps". Yes you'll have some complainy-pants who will **** about things. Bad foundations, missing insulation, faulty plumbing, questionable financing practices, indifferent customer service seem par for the course.

 

as with most companies, it's na question of what percent of the product is to spec. Many companies will write off 10% as out of spec and live with the bad vibes off that. 

[Gibbsisgod2006]

I have been in my Ryan townhome for almost 10 years. The only problem my wife and I had was the rep who sold the house to use gave us the wrong end unit; however, after speaking with her supervisor they gave us 15,000 for the mistake. Since then we have had some minor hiccups but overall we have been very satisfied with our home especially in comparison to the other builder in our neighborhood Brookfield who homeowners have had some many issues with their homes such as busted water pipes in the ceiling, gas leaks, and other issues. Like the one person said its all about the project lead who is running the site. I hope this helps.

[tshile]

The former builder I know said stay away from them...

 

National stores are just a different experience from custom. It's cheaper, because theyre putting the same tub in yours as they did an a thousand others, etc. But it's hit or miss on quality and honestly I imagine it depends entirely on what subcontractors they used for each community.

 

We're building a house, on that lot you told me I need an agent for (you weren't wrong)

 

I'm talking to custom builders now. It's an interesting experience. We're being quoted 125/150 per sqft as a rough guess for trying to figure out the size of house to look for. We're digging through plans online every night (right now it's my wife's turn to pull up 10 for me to look at, I just finished my turn 10 minutes ago...)

 

I have 3 family members that built houses in the last 10 years. I'll give you the advice they've given me.

 

It's less expensive to build vertical than horizontal, but avoiding stairs is nice too. Have to find a balance

 

Basement is a cheap way to greatly increase your total space

 

Look at the number of ridge lines on the roof in the diagrams - that's a huge expense

 

Make sure you and your builder are correctly accommodating for water... Hills that flow into your house, below grade basements, etc.

 

Make sure you think about closets. One person built the house they loved, when they moved in they realized they had nowhere to put their crap

 

Consider geothermal... the reviews are great. Just look into it.

 

If you're building now, see if you can get your appliances on black Friday

 

Don't take the lowest bid just because it's the lowest bid... take the person that's going to do the best job for what you can afford

 

Check in on them regularly. As in daily. You can do stuff wrong underneath and cover it up and make it look nice. Spend some time looking at what good tiling looks like (backerboard comers don't meet, perpendicular to subfloor, mortar under them, etc) and other things, so you can spot mistakes early. 

 

On that note find out what materials they're using and then go read the manufacturer's installation instructions, almost every one of them has youtube videos. If owens corning says their shingles need 6 nails and your guys put in 4, and your roof leaks, they're not going to honor that 25 year warranty your builder assured you would protect you. It's a lot of work - but it's worth it.

 

I know many (all?) Seem like common sense, but it's just random advice I was given.

[bearrock]

I'll just add to tshile's excellent post, have your contract reviewed by an attorney.  Even if it's boilerplate and builder won't accomodate amendments, you want to know exactly what you are signing now instead of when something goes wrong.

[steve09ru]

And you can always use a realtor and hire your own inspector as well for added comfort and to ensure all goes smoothly

[tshile]

Oh don't buy plans without finding a builder first. One builder I talked to refuses to use online plans - too many bad experiences, we would have to pay for an architect to redo everything. The other wants us to do that, so long as it's a reputable company and they can approve them first.

 

I don't think it's a good idea to force them either way... find what you generally like, find a builder that you think you can trust, and then let the builder make those decision.

 

In my state they're required to offer a 1 year warranty and none offer more. But the custom builders all said - look, our reputation is all we have, if we identify a problem caused by our subs we'll fix it, if it's from natural stuff (weather, or you) they'll help us fix it. If you force them into plans they don't like you might lose goodwill for such a situation.

4 minutes ago, steve09ru said:

And you can always use a realtor and hire your own inspector as well for added comfort and to ensure all goes smoothly

That was another thing I was told. Independent 3rd party to check in on things.

 

I have no idea how much that would cost but it sounds like a smart idea if you can afford it.

[steve09ru]

1 minute ago, tshile said:

 

 

I have no idea how much that would cost but it sounds like a smart idea if you can afford it.

I feel like it's around 500 for inspector but probably varies by area

[tshile]

oh, something else I forgot...

 

Everyone who builds goes into it think they're going to get that perfect dream home. 

 

I can tell you not everything will go according to plan. You'll have to sacrifice some things as you go along. There will be delays. You'll be rushed into picking things, and you'll make decisions you're not entirely sure of (like cabinet color/style/hardware)

 

Go with the flow... have a very loose timeline (they'll quote you 4-8 weeks for design and permits, 6-8 months for build... just plan on 12-18 months and if you get in earlier then dance a jig.) 

 

Don't let the stress get to you. You're building a home for your family - be pleased with the opportunity.

 

The plumber screwed up and now the drywall work is 3 weeks behind schedule cause they had jobs liked up for the 2 weeks after the week they planned for you that they missed. Oh well.

 

I was told "building a house will really test the strength of your marriage" and I believe the people who told me that.

 

Unless you have an ass load of money then you probably won't have so much to worry about.

3 minutes ago, steve09ru said:

I feel like it's around 500 for inspector but probably varies by area

Yeah for a 1 time final inspection.

 

I was talking about a dude who drops by every day (or at least during major projects like roofing, drainage around your basement/slab, etc) and makes sure they aren't cutting corners

 

I imagine that's a couple thousand... we're entertaining it but we're not at the point of quotes for it yet...

[steve09ru]

Yeah good point- that was final inspection I heard on.  You can always stop by the house throughout the process on your own to make sure things aren't being half assed or major issues.  Minor ones will happen and they'll be fixed.  But again as long as the community you are in is reputable you should be fine.  Most new build neighborhoods have a Facebook community that I'm sure you can join and get feedback on their experience to understand as well

[tshile]

For example, my dad had an addition built. He is retired, so he was there to watch.

 

The idiot putting in the French showed up with standard corrugated pipe. He has the sock 1/2 way on when my dad noticed there were no holes. Asked him about it, dude realized he bought the wrong ****, and had to undo it all.

 

Then.... Same duded put the tube in with the holes pointing up. Which makes sense - the water will go in and be carried away. Unless you actually understand how a French drain works, then you realize that's the dumbest thing you've heard in a while. How's all that water going to get in those little tiny holes? Wtf. The holes go down so as the water level rises it goes into the tube and then is carried away. Anyone who understands French drains knows that.

 

(They actually sell the pipe with holes all the way around it now because so many people do it wrong... but it's an example)

 

He had to fire two different tile people for doing stuff wrong in the bathroom.

 

He also had to have them rip out the sky lights because they were in wrong.

 

The damn instructions are printed on the box these guys rip off the stuff. They don't read it. They do it wrong, you have a problem, and that manufacturer's warranty is worthless. Some builder's will cut corners anywhere they can, and unless you catch it while it's happening you don't find out you hired that type of builder until it's too late.

 

Keep an eye on them and if you can't, hire someone who can.

 

I know enough from remodeling my house to know I don't know enough. So we're considering hiring an inspector.

 

 

Every sub contractor you talk to will say they've been doing it for 20 years and haven't had a problem. That's bull****. Don't buy it.

 

[tshile]

I've been researching builders in virginia for about a week now.

 

Reading reviews is just scary when you think about how much money you're dumping down and the problems you might have if you get the wrong builder (or if you get a builder who gets the wrong subs...)

 

From the custom builders i'm being quoted 150-170/sqft (with the caveat that $/sqft is a terrible way to price a house, but works for a rough guideline of how much a house will cost) for:

hardieplank siding, architectural roof, tiled showers, upgraded cabinets/vanities, 2x6 construction, spray foam insulation, recessed lighting, stone accents, etc.

That price includes an allowance for driveway, well, septic, and lot clearing (300' driveway, 300' well, traditional septic, lot clearing to accommodate house and drainage field), but those costs go up if you need more than the allowance and down accordingly.

(again, rough pricing)

 

You get up there in price quite quickly...

 

For the cookie-cutter builders (i don't know how to describe them) their basic package is 60-90$/sqft. That's plastic showers, carpet everywhere, non-stone counter tops, basic door knobs/doors/windows, etc. And doesn't include any of the lot clearing, well, etc.

Plus, they aren't going to build the house you want; you have to pick from their book of plans. They have upgrades for everything, but you're limited to their choices.

 

Then you read reviews and they're just terrible... part of that is unrealistic people being mad, the nature of internet comments, the sheer number of homes they build... but part of it is bad experiences. When you start finding people posting their address and phone number on the internet saying "come look at this bull**** house they built for me for 300k" you've gone beyond typical internet commenting and into some seriously pissed off people.

 

Then you look into their parent companies with their many company names and start researching them and finding themes... not standing behind their work, hiring subs that cut corners, playing games/giving you a run-around, falling back on arbitration process, etc.

 

*sigh* i've looked at so many floor plans they all look the same to me now.

[tshile]

oh, and @Elessar78 if you find any good resources for floor plans let me know.

 

what i've found so far is that two companies seem to own majority of the websites. the name is different, but the search engine is exactly the same (and the results are too...)

I've been using:

homeplans.com (and their many variants)

houseplans.com (and their many variants)

and recently finally found a reasonable site that's not part of the first two: familyhomeplans.com

 

[zoony]

Try to negotiate flat fee if you can.  You buy the materials, pay the subs directly, and pay the GC a flat fee

 

Its almost always a better deal if you can negotiate it

 

I strongly dislike builders, which is why i refuse to move.  I dont want to buy someone elses problems, and i cant imagine going thru the building process right now with all I have going on.  Im going to stay right where I am until the kids leave the nest, then build my own house

 

That said, a great way to get intel on builders is to call suppliers in your area.  Lumber yards, electrical and plumbing wholesalers, etc.  These guys know more about the competitive landscape than anyone, and they know who is paying bills on time, who is buying cheap ass building materials, etc.