topic Re: Lennar Homes in Mortgage Loans

Lennar Homes

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 03:26:15 GMT

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with new construction with Lennar homes. Reviews lead to alot of horror stories. I am currently in the process have have a home built and want to have a smooth and pleasant experience. Any feedback anyone can share is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Re: Lennar Homes

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 22:38:15 GMT

The thing is even if someone here had first hand experience with that builder it would read the same as any other online review to you because it's not your experience. With everythign there is good/bad pros/cons, so you kind of haev to really dig into what teh reviewer is saying and whether it's related to the actual quality of the build. Rather than "oh I didn't like the color if this", or "they totally din't tell me this" etc. With anything it's about "comminication" so it's up to the buyer and their agent to sit down and communicate with the builder on what it is they want going in. Some buyers like to add things in the middle that weren't planned out, and with Lennar and several other builders your options are somewhat limited on what you can add or change.

Remember your experience with them will be very different from anyone else simply because you want different things, so as long as they use quality products and offer a warranty it should go fine. The key is to stay informed throughout the build process and visit often to make sjure thing are indeed going as planned because it's much costlier to change it after the fact, and most contactors like to know before that of a potential issue before it too late. If you're fine with one of their house plans without any changes it should go off without a hitch, normally, and if they cannot meet your specific needs up front then seek out another that will. Just be sure to get any promises in writting so that you have prro they agreed to said modifications to the base plan.

Re: Lennar Homes

disdreamin — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 23:39:45 GMT

Everything should be in writing, as the previous post mentioned. The other thing I'd do is plan on a [edited to add: professional] home inspection prior to closing and make sure that it is in writing that any required fixes the home inspector flags must be completed before you close. Our builder was reputable, but their trick was that the list of fixes we made when we first moved in had to wait an entire year so they could do everything all the warranty work at once rather than dealing with existing issues immediately. Having to live with things that should have been fixed prior to move-in was infuriating and I will never accept that again on new construction.

Re: Lennar Homes

4sallypat — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 00:11:29 GMT

We were looking at a number of Lennar new home construction in the Los Angeles and San Bernardino County areas.

All of them of are friendly enough but when it came to actually price a home (not the models), it was tough because we could not see what a "basic no frills" construction looks like. They all came with options that are a mile long !

While we are not "cheap" with the interior options, we wanted to know certain things we wanted but not other options like the models had. They also gave me a hassle when I wanted to run my own CAT6 cabling (wired network) during construction.

When it came to deciding, many already had buyers lined up and they would put us in a waiting list.

They have incentives to get you to finance thru their "preferred" lender with various closing costs paid for...

We decided due to the higher HOA fees, double or triple property taxes, and PUD/HUD future costs; we are now switching over to looking for a used single family residence...

Re: Lennar Homes

brk1971 — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 14:23:08 GMT

I think one thing is important to keep in mind with reviews... people who have a smooth transaction, build, and close aren't generally focused on posting about their experience, they're focused on living and moving, etc. So a slew of online reviews should be assumed to be slanted significantly negative.

I saw the comment upthread about a home inspection prior to close. I understand the concept, but I suggest a different strategy to help you take the worry out of your Lennar build. Hire a home inspection service to do a new construction inspection series. It's more expensive but also much much more helpful to peace of mind and finding issues early. A new construction series should include an inspection at foundation pour / curing, then one at pre-drywall (framing, trusses, electrical, insulation, and plumbing), a final pre-purchase inspection (finishing), and a 10 month (lived in) pre-warranty claim inspection. Hiring an inspector at the final stage only will provide you with info that is helpful - but it won't really tell you anything much that the 10 month won't also find, and the warranty claim will fix it anyway.

Re: Lennar Homes

disdreamin — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 16:39:02 GMT

@brk1971 wrote:
I think one thing is important to keep in mind with reviews... people who have a smooth transaction, build, and close aren't generally focused on posting about their experience, they're focused on living and moving, etc. So a slew of online reviews should be assumed to be slanted significantly negative.
I saw the comment upthread about a home inspection prior to close. I understand the concept, but I suggest a different strategy to help you take the worry out of your Lennar build. Hire a home inspection service to do a new construction inspection series. It's more expensive but also much much more helpful to peace of mind and finding issues early. A new construction series should include an inspection at foundation pour / curing, then one at pre-drywall (framing, trusses, electrical, insulation, and plumbing), a final pre-purchase inspection (finishing), and a 10 month (lived in) pre-warranty claim inspection. Hiring an inspector at the final stage only will provide you with info that is helpful - but it won't really tell you anything much that the 10 month won't also find, and the warranty claim will fix it anyway.

The above sounds like a brilliant idea!

Personally, we monitored the construction and I had my father, who was a builder, help by doing walk-throughs at each stage. I also have images of the house at each stage as well. The best thing I did was to grab an image of every single wall just prior to drywall, once electrical/plumbing/wiring/HVAC were in. Those images are invaluable when considering changes or installations - I know if there is a ventilation run or plumbing in a wall before considering drilling into it. Pure gold.

We caught a lot of issues, many that were easily fixed at the time but would have been a pain later, and we were also able to make minor modifications make things easier for us in the long run. Those had primarily to do with installation points for HDMI, wall-mounts, speaker wiring, etc. Some of them were bigger though (like when I caught that, to run ventilation for our cooktop hood, a contractor/installer cut the supports for a header - gee, I wonder why there were multiple studs all nailed together? No matter, a Sawzall will cure that ). So yeah, you definitely want someone keeping an eye on things for you throughout the process.

What I wanted in the end was to not live with the issues discovered pre-closing until the one year warranty claim. Some of the issues were small but infuriating (ask me about the toilet plumbed with hot water and how much fun that was, lmao). That's the one thing I would change if I could.

Re: Lennar Homes

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 21:57:31 GMT

@4sallypat wrote:
All of them of are friendly enough but when it came to actually price a home (not the models), it was tough because we could not see what a "basic no frills" construction looks like. They all came with options that are a mile long !

While we are not "cheap" with the interior options, we wanted to know certain things we wanted but not other options like the models had. They also gave me a hassle when I wanted to run my own CAT6 cabling (wired network) during construction.

When it came to deciding, many already had buyers lined up and they would put us in a waiting list.

They have incentives to get you to finance thru their "preferred" lender with various closing costs paid for...

We decided due to the higher HOA fees, double or triple property taxes, and PUD/HUD future costs; we are now switching over to looking for a used single family residence...

Well there specific reasons as to why you simply cannot "do your thing" during construction, they are the builder and if you run cable or do anything it coud potentially void any warranty they offer. I have construction background and I couldn't simply "save Money" by doing small things myself because firstly they don't want you to save and scond the warranty issue. As well as the fact they hire subcontractors for electrical plumbing etc. so it's not just an easy thing to allow the homeowner to with the work of those subcontractors. It's too complicated.

That's another reason I don't care for Builders like this as they have "preferred" Lenders, there a few here who only want to deal with theirs despite it being much costlier than I care for. I prefer the local Construction outfits who are a little more down to Earth and willing to work with you.

Re: Lennar Homes

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 21:21:48 GMT

Thanks for replies. I plan on using an independent inspector to inspect at different phases of construction. Despite the horrific reviews they seem to be selling out of homes quickly. I hope that everything goes smooth.

Re: Lennar Homes

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 17:31:39 GMT

We just closed on a newly built Lennar home in Florida. We hired an inspector and caught a few minor issues before they became major ones, so I would definitely suggest having a private inspector. Lennar was good to us and so far it looks like we have a quality home. Like others have mentioned, the negative reviews are going to far outweigh the positive. People just aren't as invested in shouting from the rooftops when they're happy about something versus when they feel upset. Good luck on finding your home!

Re: Lennar Homes

House2021 — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 03:11:59 GMT

I thought Lennar had everything included? What kinds of things did they charge extra for?

Re: Lennar Homes

brk1971 — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 17:05:12 GMT

I ultimately did not go with Lennar for mine due to a lack of larger lots in the development. However, they had both spec homes where customization was not possible and also homes where "everything was included" meant basic builder grade everything that's actually required, but there were plenty of upgrades possible for an additional charge.