anyone live(ed) in a home built by KB HOMES?

i've heard/read some bad press on them... wondering if any local folks care to share their experience... good or bad.

Don't get me started...don't EVEN get me started.

It's tract housing.. NEXT!

kbhomestink.org/default.…

jen... i'm getting u started....

i'm all ears.

I've heard bad things about every home builder out there. Sadly, with construction quality and consumer expectations being so vastly different these days, no builder will ever be considered perfect.

jdpower.com/util/ratings…

I lived in a brand new KB home in Tucson. My friend bought it as an investment and we moved in for a year. The house began falling apart immediately after we moved in. There were all these neighborhood rules about how many cars you could have in front of your house, when you had to take x-mas lights down, what color paint you could have, what type of lawn furniture was allowed...it was fucking ridiculous. To each his own, but I would never buy a house in a Master Planned Community if I could help it. Just my preference.

I've heard that they're pretty bad...go kbsucks if they are still up!

jen---
everything u just mentioned, with the lone exception of build quality, is more due to HOA rules... not necessarily KB.  no?

regarding crap falling apart... was KB responsive in fixing it?

sorry to keep poking, but i really value your input.  thanks.

HOA CC&Rs are put together by the Developer (KB Homes) to satisfy City development requirements.  The CC&Rs are in place prior to purchasing the home and EVERYONE planning to buy a home should read them before agreeing to buy in a planned development, as they will be responsible for upholding the CC&Rs.

As for KB Homes, I've been told that their workmanship is really bad and they cut a lot of corners.  If you are buying a new home, and you have a chance to watch it from the ground up, make sure the building inspector checks your unit, or find a friend who knows about homes and building codes to help you check out their work.  I'm sure they'll find plenty to harp about.

My only thought is that they bring to mind KB Toys, which is that defunct toystore that used to be in the mall. Not good for my confidence.

that is all.

The Sock: As always, useful and cool info!

Can we get into a discussion of pricing on these new homes? Kidding...

Shoot, I didn't see your post Mia. Can I take the last comment back since it's none of those things???

jeff

"make sure the building inspector checks your unit, "

this actually sounds like a good idea... have u done this?  any idea what this may cost?

I thought this was a joke thread about KT Holmes.

they're supposed to do it as part of the whole development, but they don't usually check every home.  Your best bet would be to find out when an inspector is scheduled with the Developer to do an inspection of your unit.  You can try to contact the City and see if you can have them go out there, but they will charge you for each visit.  Thus if you have a friend that is a contractor or knows about the latest Uniform Building Code, it's best to do it on your own.  You probably want to make sure framing, electrical, plumbing, and probably roofing is done properly.  Otherwise, you usually have 1 yr warranty for them to fix any problems that arise after your move-in.

Even if you do get a 1 year warranty in the purchase of a newly constructed home. Make sure you find out what exactly that warranty covers.  Some only cover appliances and basic wiring.  

Highly reccommend using your own inspector for your personal house since they don't usually check each home.

yes...always read the fine print.

thanks for the info. my sister just bought a house in north richmond from kb homes.

I believe the 1-2 yr warranty is for fit and finish. So if the cabinet falls apart, carpet pulls loose, etc. that is covered under that. CA has a 10-yr structural warranty I believe. This is for things like window or roof leaks.

i always thought inspectors checked every home.

so the question now is .... any good leads for home inspectors?

jeff, thanks for that advice.

You may want to check with the City inspector option first, as that might be cheaper to do.  Hiring a home inspector runs about $500 for a full inspection of a completed home...meaning you're having the inspection to disclose any info for sale or purchase of a home.  You can probably hire someone to do some stage-inspections, but I've know idea what that would cost.  You might check Craigslist for a licensed General Contractor who should be able to provide that type of inspection for you.

great idea jeff... thanks.


*********

still waiting for more responses to my original post!

bump!

Vu - If you didn't see the release already, KB's first quarter income dropped 84% from last year.

socks... i didn't see it, will look now...

if u have a link handy, please share.  thanks.

This is their pr.

phx.corporate-ir.net/pho…

socks, i just caught the headlines...

i'm too hungry right now to analyze their financial reports, but here are my initial impressions:

* it's a widespread industry problem, given the white hot market we saw a couple years ago.  everyone will make less, it's a matter of how much.
* i hate reading % changes... give me the numbers.  media tends to play this trick on us.

i'm gonna go eat lunch and read their financials after...

WSJ has an article, but you have to register.

Note the supply overhang. West coast pricing is off 3.3%. They've had lots of cancellations the last two qtrs of 2006 but returned to normal this qtr. I'd be interested to see how much land value they write down.

It doesn't really have to do with your quality question though.

Toll Brothers Inc, the largest luxury-home builder's 1st qtr profits slid 67%...net income was $0.33/share down from $0.98/share.

sock,
just skimmed through their PR, thanks for the link.

i didn't get the data i wanted.  sure, if you compare YoY results things are gonna look ugly.  and, if you simply use %change, that's going to magnify the poor results.  but, here's a company that saw a 19% drop in Q1 YoY earnings... dramatic?  yes.  catastrophic?  hardly.  they still had revenues of $1.8 billion/qtr!  my point is this:  compared to the white hot market we saw in 2002-2004ish, everyone will see dramatic percentage decreases.  that market demand is not sustainable.  

the data i really wanted to see was how they fared against pre-housing boom periods.

but let's not get too far off topic.

i still want to hear the dirt on KB, if any.

You'd be able to gather that from old 10-K/Qs. Not saying KB is going under by any means or even troubled, but the Q1 earnings is not the whole story. Sales volume or walkaways will only tell part of the story for the next few quarters. See what kind of write offs they do for their land options. Should things get really bad financially, that's when personally I would get more concerned about a builder cutting corners to get product off the books.

End of financial stuff, now back to the KB quality question.

KB has a horrible reputation and I did not find this out until after I put down my earnest money.  My husband and I talked and decided we are going to go through with the building process but we now know what it is going to take to be sure the home is built correctly.  I firmly beleive that whn building any home that you have to be an integral part of the process, from day one til the end.  After finding out they had such a bad reputation, I also began doing research ....which I had not done prior to all the horrible things I have heard about KB.  I have also contacted an inspector, who's pricing is reasonable, and has great experience advises an inspection prior to sheetrock and then at closing.  If you want to read what a good inspector should do for you, check out austinstructural.com.  I hope that you find someone you can trust in your area.  I think that every builder has its issues and will cut corners when the opportunity is given.  Buying a home is such a huge investment, treat it as so.  Do your reseach not just on builders but on inspectors and financing and loan types before you talk to anyone.  It really makes a difference.  Also, use a real estate agent who will work for you and with you.  If they are good, they will also work with you and visit the homesite with the inspector and with you anytime you need them to.  (at least mine is)

Sorry one mor thing kbstinks.com  will make you cry and feel like you are making the worse decision in your life.  Dont be scared just be smart no matter who you use as a builder.

Most mass produced homes has issues.  My home was built by Summerhill Homes and I had a laundry list of issues during the first year of living there.  They just build the houses so fast and don't really put too much thought and care into in.  The fast they build, they faster the customers move in and faster they get paid!