There are so many builders out there, it's hard to keep track of them but there are some that just pop them out like nail heads in sheet rock on new builds. Dr. Horton, Lennar, Pulte, NVR, Taylor Morrison, kb Home, Meritage Homes, and LGI are some of the biggest in the United States. These builders are usually priced at the lower end but does that mean they are less quality? It depends but here is my experience.
All Builders Use the Same Labor
For the most part, all builders use the same laborers. This is one of the ways they keep costs way down but allows a team to come in and tape and float the entire house in a day. This is mostly done by migrant workers who may have some building experience prior to coming to the United States but learned pretty much on the job through their fellow laborers. Not all of them are bad but some just rush through things because they have like ten houses to complete in a day and must keep moving. So, quality and craftsmanship are usually lost here a little bit here. I am not saying they can't be good at what they do, I am just saying that in their industry, time equals money. This rings true on whether you have a $300,000 or a multi-million dollar home. I have walked into some multi-million dollar homes and honestly thought I had just walked into a manufactured home.
The thing that really makes a difference when it comes to labor is the builder's willingness to care and who their project manager is. On one side, a builder wants to have a good customer relationship to improve their brand. Speaking positively about the home building experience may bring their friends and families to that builder in the future. So, it is possible to have a builder that allows their project managers to give the time and care to the houses they are constructing. Some builders, depending on the area and the market at the time, will honestly try to address whatever concerns you may have.
My husband and I recently moved into a Drees home. During the construction, we visited the home weekly to see any progress. This is incredibly important. Because there were two times in which we found massive water leaks that would not have been caught in a timely manner. The first one was a leak in our bathroom, which ended up causing black mold to form on the wall on the other side. Who knows how long this leak had been going but we immediately called the builder and informed them. We made sure that they replaced all the sheet rock around the area and got a mold test before they continued any further. The other time, there was water leaking in our kitchen and our brand-new cabinets were just sitting in water. While they didn't replace the cabinets, they assured us they were not damaged. Also waiting for cabinets would've pushed out our closing date even further. But in both these cases, having a manager come to inspect the house at least weekly may have caught more of these mistakes.
However, if the builder doesn't care and the project manager also doesn't, then there isn't much you can do. During Covid, builders got cocky chasing that money and did not care if their clients walked away. There were plenty of people in line that would buy that house. They sacrificed not only the quality but their customer service to keep their homes selling fast and even before schedule. So, it really depends on the market and environment with some of these builders.
So, What is the Real Difference?
I have purchased a kb Home, a Pulte home and a Drees home, all brand new. The cost of the home went up after each builder in that order. The major differences between these builders weren't necessarily the quality but the different types of finishes, house layouts that made more sense, and really, the feel and look of the home. Walking into my home now, we have 10 ft ceilings. So, it just feels a lot more spacious than the previous builders who had your typical 8 ft ceilings. The layout and design were more practical. I have a slight spiral staircase instead of one that turns 90 or 180 degrees. It makes it so much easier to move furniture up and downstairs. There are more electrical fixtures and internet access points. I don't have much carpet in my house. These small details really do add up. But at the same time, we didn't have ceiling fans in every room, those brass boob lights, cheap looking chrome fixtures, toilet seats that felt like cement blocks and no soft close cabinets. Sure, these are all upgrades, but you'd expect with a higher price tag, some of it would just be standard.
To be honest, I find that with most new builds, there will just be a lot of issues that need to be fixed through the warranty process. And if you haven't had many problems, either you have an exceptional project manager or you may not know what to look for. I would suspect the latter in my experience. That's why it’s imperative to have a trained eye and someone willing to make sure your house is built to your expectations.
