irvinesinglemom - I agree with oldsharecropper that the builders have always taken the lowest bid, trust me I speak from inside knowledge. Even when times are good they want to maximize their profit. This cut will only make things worse. Personally I am not a big fan of Lennar but I know of good things about John Laing and Taylor Woodrow. Take a look at JD Powers suveys from the divisions of the builders you are looking at. The ones that have high scores are the ones that really care about those scores and know how to make people happy.
I have posted previously that I am interested in the Lennar housing development planned to debut Summer of 2008. I am troubled by news like this with respect to the shortcuts and poor craftmanship that would logically result from such extreme actions on the part of Lennar.
I’m thinking that the houses built during the 2001-2006 bubble will be of higher quality than those that are built during the next 3-5 years for reasons entirely associated with cuts like this one Lennar is making. God forbid they dip into their gigantic profit margins once prices come down from the stupid high levels they have been able to charge in recent years! ——-
Posted by oldsharecropper on 01/26/07 at 07:06 PM
I would not worry about it. There has been little “craftsmanship” since the late 60s. Construction projects are given to the lowest bidder, usually using semi-skilled workers. If the piles of sticks (houses) that were built in SoCal in the 70s are still standing today you don’t have anything to worry about.
Posted by graphrix on 01/26/07 at 09:20 PM
irvinesinglemom - I agree with oldsharecropper that the builders have always taken the lowest bid, trust me I speak from inside knowledge. Even when times are good they want to maximize their profit. This cut will only make things worse. Personally I am not a big fan of Lennar but I know of good things about John Laing and Taylor Woodrow. Take a look at JD Powers suveys from the divisions of the builders you are looking at. The ones that have high scores are the ones that really care about those scores and know how to make people happy.
Posted by irvinesinglemom on 01/26/07 at 06:49 PM
I have posted previously that I am interested in the Lennar housing development planned to debut Summer of 2008. I am troubled by news like this with respect to the shortcuts and poor craftmanship that would logically result from such extreme actions on the part of Lennar.
I’m thinking that the houses built during the 2001-2006 bubble will be of higher quality than those that are built during the next 3-5 years for reasons entirely associated with cuts like this one Lennar is making. God forbid they dip into their gigantic profit margins once prices come down from the stupid high levels they have been able to charge in recent years!
——-
Posted by oldsharecropper on 01/26/07 at 07:06 PM
I would not worry about it. There has been little “craftsmanship” since the late 60s. Construction projects are given to the lowest bidder, usually using semi-skilled workers. If the piles of sticks (houses) that were built in SoCal in the 70s are still standing today you don’t have anything to worry about.