Love these....

[ScrimpAndSave]

Especially the Victoria and the Bainbridge...

Ryan Homes - Fox Run Estates - Halifax - Palmer, PA

[myrdale]

They are all beautiful homes. For now atleast even the Halifax is 2.5 to 3 times my price range.

The only thing I disliked about the brick houses is they only have brick on the front, the sides looks to be siding. This is a popular style in GA, but if I was going to invest in a brick house, it would all have to be brick.

I didn't see any chimneys either, thus no fire places. It is hard to beat laying infront of an open fire place during the winter. They are all full AC/heatpump I am sure. One of the kitchens shown looked very nice.

[ScrimpAndSave]

I don't know...on the house tours, they all have fireplaces.

[noppenbd]

Nowadays I believe gas fireplaces can be direct vented outside without a chimney. Maybe someone with building experience can confirm?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

About houses with brick fronts--Sometimes the brick is only a decorative veneer, not really a structural part of the house. If you ever see it being applied, you can even see that they are like slices of brick, about a half inch thick. If a storm comes along that rips off vinyl siding, it can also rip off the brick veneer, though not so easily as the vinyl. If you get in on the building stage of the house, you might be able to specify brick veneer all around. But even when it is only a veneer, it is still more expensive than vinyl.

If I were buying a house that size nowadays, I would definitely ask the builder for info on expected utilities costs. I doubt if builders offer that without asking, but I think they ought (ought, as in, "there ought to be a law") to always have figured utilities on some standardized basis to make comparisons between houses possible.

[disneysteve]

I know you've been going back and forth about your housing situation, whether or not to live with your father, whether and when to buy a house, whether to buy your father's house, etc. I think you and your fiance really need to sit down and decide once and for all which way you are going. If you are going to buy soon, then keep on looking at houses, going on house tours, whatever you need to do to find the right place. If, however, you are going to stick to the orginal plan of living with your father for 2-3 more years and not buying until 2010 or 2011, STOP LOOKING. All you are doing is driving yourself nuts.

Please take that as friendly advice, not criticism in any way.

[PrincessPerky]

Are you having fun looking? I know when we were looking for a house, I had a ton of fun looking. I loved looking at floor plans and deciding where furniture owuld go. I did that even as a kid, planned out houses and the like. No desire to worry about the structural issues, so I love things like the sims for house building any old way you want. So if you are just playing I see no issue with it.

But if you are really waffling and if looking makes you less likely to do what is right for you and your fiancee, then I agree with Disney.

Though I personally do not like brick facing. I want my house to look good from front or side. and having half and half looks half done IMO.

[disneysteve]

Are you having fun looking? I know when we were looking for a house, I had a ton of fun looking. I loved looking at floor plans and deciding where furniture owuld go. I did that even as a kid, planned out houses and the like. No desire to worry about the structural issues, so I love things like the sims for house building any old way you want. So if you are just playing I see no issue with it.

Agreed. If you are just doing it for the heck of it, go right ahead and have fun. I remember when I was younger, my parents and I would go out on a Saturday afternoon and if we passed an open house or a new development, we'd stop in and look at the sample house. We had no intention of buying a home or moving. It was just something different (and free) to do to entertain ourselves.

[jIM_Ohio]

Good luck with Ryan. They cut corners when they build all the time. Watch them like a hawk.

We liked the Waverly model, but would not build with Ryan. 4 data points:

1) in Buffalo, where I grew up, my uncle and two cousins are plumbers for new construction. They do not work with Ryan because Ryan asks them to change materials to cut costs (even though the cheaper materials are poor professional choices).

2) in cincy, my neighbor two houses down built a Ryan house (could not find model- maybe avalon or dunkirk)- when the basement was poured, they missed the footer. I know little about concrete, but even I could see the wall missed the footer (corner missed the footer) by at least 2 feet. Ryan tried to fill in the dirt before owner saw this.

3) same neighbor, December 26 (we closed on Dec 18), while we were moving in, they were replacing his roof (he was closing on Dec 31). This was his third roof during the building the process.

4) same neighbor- he had hardwood on first floor and could fit 3 quarters or more into some of the gaps on the hardwood.

If you build with Ryan, hire a home inspector or find a friend which can stop by 3-4X per week to supervise the building process. Check the little things (floor joices, roof, basement pouring).

We built with Dixon and my best friend knew a thing or two, and stopped by once or twice per week to see what was going on structurally. We also paid $500 for a home inspection the day before we closed. He climbed on the roof on Dec 17 (when there was a blizzard) and checked the attic, electrical and similar. He walked the outside, the inside, the basement, the attic, and everything in between. $500 well spent.

We built Chase C Dixon Builders - Cincinnati, Ohio Home Builder -


I would not consider Ryan a reputable builder.

The houses do look nice when decorated, but look at a Ryan house which is 10 years old and talk to that owner and see what they say.

Around here Ryan sells more houses than anyone.

I have built with Fischer and would do it again. I built with Dixon and would do it again. M/I, Drees and a few others offer mid class housing. Do not choose a builder until you have compared 3 to 5 builders and this should take care of itself.

[wincrasher]

If you are looking to have a house built - here are some things you want to look for:

Gas fireplaces now are mostly vent-less. The vent stack is a big heat loss which is not very efficient. I have one of these ventless fireplaces and love it - heats the whole house very well, even though it's really just decorative. Often builders don't build a chimney on the house - but you can certainly add a faux one - that would be pretty cheap.

Make sure you are getting spray in insulation and thermal windows - that makes all the difference in energy consumption in winter and summer. I have yet to see my electric and gas bills top $200 for a 3700 sq ft house.

Make sure your heat pump has a high SEER number. I think they go as high as 17 - for the most efficient.

Always get all you options included upfront. Weather it's the full brick exterior or ceramic tile or hardwoods - adding it later is MUCH more expensive. One of my BIL turned down full brick when his house was going up - it was $10k extra. Now he looks at sagging, cheap vynil. Also there are many grades of siding - educate yourself on the quality of the different grades.

Never is brick siding a structural element. There is always an underlying wood frame or cement block structure. Brick can either be full size brick - about 3" thick, or just a stick on veneer (1/2"). But it doesn't carry any load of the building. It does give nice wind resistance though!

Enjoy the house hunt. I'm spoiled by living in new construction. My next house will be custom. It's too hard to find the perfect floor plan - might as well design your own.

[jIM_Ohio]

note SnS has moved on from relationship above, and the most recent post was made 18 months after thread died

[ScrimpAndSave]

Thanks Jim!

I found a new house and a new boyfriend.

Oh, and a trip to Vegas to boot!

[wincrasher]

Weird - this popped up like a new post.