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T O P I C     R E V I E W AllenResident2 We are now looking at Grand Homes in the West side of Allen (Custer Meadows and Waterford). Has anyone built a Grand Home? I have heard mixed reviews about them - some are great while some are not so great. I have fallen in love with one of their floor plans and think we are ready to sign the papers - now just to sell our home. Argh. Also, has anyone sold a home recently in Allen. We live in Shadow Lakes and were hoping our 2 story, 2600 sq ft home would sell within a couple of months. Anyone have any experiences recently with selling that they would like to share? We are hoping to get at least $189,000 for our home. We have done TONS of upgrades to the house in the past several years - shed w/ loft in the back yard, brick patio and walkway in the back w/ shingled over hang, new paint, all 13 x 13 tile downstairs, french doors instead of those poopy sliding glass doors, work benches galore in the garage, 12 year oak tree in the back yard, etc....... Any experiences would be appreciated!!! [This message has been edited by AllenResident2 (edited April 01, 2003).] [This message has been edited by AllenResident2 (edited April 29, 2003).] vrs Good luck with your transition! I have no experience with Grand Homes. We are building a home now and needed some serious floorplan modifications to accommodate special family needs. Grand would not modify plans for us so they were out. Drees, Goodman, and DR Horton were the only builders who were willing to work with us to the extent we needed. Sounds as if this is not an issue for you. We could not possibly be happier with Goodman and Clint Byrum. Anyway, to your second point, we sold a house in Allen last fall for a good bit more than I ever thought we would get. We worked with LocalRealtor and did exactly what he told us to do. I kept saying - you don't tell me how to find oil and gas and I won't tell you how to sell real estate! Anyway, that's my best advice to you. Find a realtor who specializes in Allen homes and check out their track record - how long THEIR listings stay on the market relative to normal, what their listings sell for per square foot relative to comparables, etc. Once you settle on a realtor -TAKE HIS/HER ADVICE. Do NOT be emotional about your home - it is a business transaction. Another thing we did was list the house right away - accepting that we would probably have to move twice. If you try to time the sale of your old home with the completion of your new home, you really weaken your position on both sides of the transaction - you are an anxious seller and an anxious closer. There are several apartments in Allen that will give you a 3 month lease and then let you go month-to-month after that. Also, LocalRealtor has been very helpful to us in the building process - negotiating the deal, advice on the floorplan modifications, coming with us to the walkthroughs, etc. Good luck and enjoy your "grand" new home!!!!!! lil-lisav Hi neighbor! In 2001, we couldn't decide between Grand Homes and Paul Taylor and the two adjacent neighborhoods they built in. Since we had heard bad things about Grand, we chose Taylor. (I too was in love with just about every Grand floor plan!) We've been in our new house for one year now and we don't regret our decision at all. It went smoothly and we LOVE our new neighborhood. Good luck! bullseye vrs--may I ask what realtor you used to sell your home? vrs Sure. He is an advertizer on this site: http://www.homesinallen.com/ James was our listing agent. AllenResident2 I have been to the Goodman model where Clynt works. I met with the older gentleman who also works there today and he ran me around on my lunch hour. I liked the homes he showed me okay - the stair cases were a bit enclosed and one house had the hallway upstairs with doors all down it - I hate that look. I want a very open floor plan with an elegant wrought iron stair case. Just haven't found it except in the Grand - well, let me rephrase that - I have found plans that I like (Drees) but they are over $300k. Again, if anyone has built a Grand, let me know your experiences. I think I will take up the advice of knocking on people's doors in the neighborhood for a final clincher on the decision to go with or not go with Grand Homes. Thanks! sellingmarykay I do not live in a Grand home myself but have only heard bad things about them. They do have some very nice floorplans and we looked into building with them a few years ago, but everyone talked us out of it(family, friends and realtors). There was a home in Plano that used to have signs in it stating "BEWARE OF GRAND HOMES" and things to that effect. When we were considering building with them, we stopped at that particular home and asked what their problems had been. It's been a while now and I don't remember details, but the list was quite lengthy. We've also asked different realtors their opinions of Grand and they either won't work with them, or make their clients sign an agreement stating that they've been warned of the problems they're likely to incur with Grand. We never even got so much as a "they're okay, but not great." The thing that makes me leary of them is that they were willing to throw in everything AND the kitchen sink and still take off a good amount of the base price of the home. I guess in theory that would be the ideal situation when buying a home...more for much less. However, after a point you get what you pay for. If they're so willing to throw in a ton of upgrades and still take a good deal off of the price, the only place I can see them making up their loss is in the quality of construction (you know, make the part you see look good to you but skimp on the part you don't see). When you're talking about your home, that can be bad news. Good luck with whatever you decide! [This message has been edited by sellingmarykay (edited April 02, 2003).] AllenRealtor I built and currently live in a Grand Home. Like any builder, they have some good homes and some that need a little help. I love our floorplan and our neighborhood (Custer Meadows). I have had some "interesting" times with our warranty, but overall it has been a good experience. I would encourage you to investigate the building supervisor that will be working on your specific house. Investigate the homeowner's association (I can help you with that with Custer Meadows). I would definitely consult with a Realtor about the upgrades, options and builders. We have experience with many of the builders in town. We also know which upgrades are worth the money, which ones aren't, and how to save money on the ones that you do want. And don't forget, the salesperson at any homebuilder is usually not a licensed real estate agent. Their only duty is to their company. A Realtor represents you and helps protect your interests. Geez, does this sound like a commercial or what? lol LocalRealtor A good commercial. AllenResident2 Thanks to those who gave me their input. We have decided not to go with a Grand home even though I had fallen in love with the one floor plan. We weighed the 'good vs evil' and decided not to risk it. We have decided to go with Goodman Homes in Country Brook. Now we just need to find the perfect floor plan again or alter one enough that it becomes 'perfect'. I have heard nothing but good things about Goodman so hopefully I won't get bombarded with bad reports regarding Goodman. They seem to build a quiality home. Plus I was impressed that their model only carried $40,000 in upgrades, while Grand had over $120,000 in theirs. Thanks everyone!!! vrs AllenResident Sounds as if you were signing off on input, but I offer one more item anyway. We narrowed our floorplan choices to two - seemed equivalent on paper. Then we asked if there were any on the ground we could look at. One was being built as a custom in the neighborhood - the other was on the ground in a subdivision in Plano and was open as a spec. When we walked into the first one, we did not like the feel of the space. When we walked into the second, it felt like home. Decision made. So that's it, really, if you can, walk the plan(s) you like before making your final choice. Enjoy!! allensince1979 allen resident, You won't be sorry. We built our first Goodman home in 1989 and just built our second last year. The only advice I would give you is to get everything they promise to do in writing. We had a little trouble with that this time around. imitationlife I hope everything on the build job is going smoothly. Goodman Family of Builders have a wonderful product. Best of luck!