Building in Auburn bay --- Builder recommendations?

[r3ccOs]

My other half and I have decided to build in Auburn bay... Why? Well I work from home and she'll likely try to work down the street at the hospital as an RN.

Also we've grown fond of the community, and the value of building is almost better than buying in established lake communities.

Regardless... we've come down to the following builders:

Jayman
Baywest
Cedar Glen

We are not looking at estate homes, but certainly not starter homes neither.

We've found very simular floor plans with the three builders, with virtually the same "value added" features for roughly the same price.

That being said, Cedar Glen comes with landscaping and builder fences. Its kinda nice knowing that you don't have to worry about yourself nor a deadbeat mortgage poor neighbor who can't afford to sod their lawn.

However it seems like Bay West and Jayman offer higher quality standards as per their windows, insulation and heating systems.


What are your opinions of the three?

[sputnik]

I built with Jayman a couple of years ago in Auburn Bay and am happy with my house.

Like with any builder there is bound to be minor issues that you may come across after possession. I found the Jayman guys to be great when dealing with and fixing these issues.

[r3ccOs]

wow... found this
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread/t-102571.html

Is Cedar Glen really that bad?

[black_2.5RS]

JD Power and Associates did a consumer study on Calgary Home Builders about a year or so ago. May not make or break your decision but good to keep in mind.

http://corp.jdpower.com/jdpcc/global...ly/calgary.jsp

[2002civic]

We looked at Jayman in Auburn Bay but they wouldnt even let us change one door in the house because there houses are as is. A company that won't let you tinker with a house is not a good company IMO. The Jayman sales rep (former stripper 40 years ago IMO) said it gets too confusing for the trades people

We ended up going with Baywest in Cranston.

[r3ccOs]

Originally posted by 2002civic
We looked at Jayman in Auburn Bay but they wouldnt even let us change one door in the house because there houses are as is. A company that won't let you tinker with a house is not a good company IMO. The Jayman sales rep (former stripper 40 years ago IMO) said it gets too confusing for the trades people

We ended up going with Baywest in Cranston.

The best priced homes I've seen are from Cardel, but overall I like the way Baywest is flexable

[Stealth22]

I live in a Cardel home now- I HATE IT. Do NOT build with Cardel, whatever you do. I've heard horror stories about Jayman.

As for Baywest, a good friend of mine built with them and had nothing but good things to say. I have also heard great things about them- wherever you build, build with Baywest if at all possible.

[Redlyne_mr2]

What about Hawthorne?

[calgary350z]

We built with Cedarglen and they are awesome. We got to customize anything and everything we wanted and the build quality in comparison to our other friends new houses is much better. There online tracking system while you build is also very helpful and is probably why they get such great reviews too.

[NickGT]

I just signed off on my plans a couple weeks ago with Baywest Homes in Auburn Bay. Wayne or Brian are pretty good guys to deal with. I'm just starting to book my appointments with the various contractors to customize it now.

Can't wait to move in - possession is scheduled for March but could be done sooner. I've worked and continue to work in all baywest homes during construction (amongst many other builders - I'm a tradesguy). They definitely put out a solid product.

[joe-rocket]

I am building with Baywest in Springbank Hill and they have been amazing to work with. We liked the fact that we could make several changes to customize your home.

They are very professional and they have answered every question I have asked and this helps ease the process.
There is a lot of things to consider.

PM if you have any questions and good luck.

[r3ccOs]

We have decided to go with Baywest

They have an incentive program much like Cardel and Cedar Glen, providing 20g's in options.. but as their standards are of higher quality, we were able to apply the options into things we actuality wanted without being nickled and dimed.

Out of all the places, Cardel had the lowest base price. Jayman was pushing spec's which weren't overly competitive price wise. Cedar Glen provided landscaping, and Bay West was the middle of the pack based on insentives and starting prices.

We were going to go though Cardel, until we heard alot of negatives from a realty buddy, who basically said to look at Cedar Glen or Bay West.

Cardel price'd out low to start, but by the time you choose "upgrade" which you would think were standards, it was right up there with Jayman.

Cedar Glen had some nice niches, but again they were all about nickle and diming.
For instance, we want granite, it was 6,570. However if you want an undermount sink, it was an additonal $953 w/ installation...

Baywest & Cardel out of the bunch would allow for "red pen" changes at a better price than the other two.

Baywest however when it came down to putting the pencil on paper were the most accomodating.

Both were turnkey assumpions, and Baywest didn't require a "mortage" preapproval as part of the terms of the sale. Perhaps they were being nice, and I already did get a preapproval, it didn't really matter.

However they only required a 20% of the lot as downpayment, which worked out much less than the total 10% that all other builders require... Not a big deal, but still nice

Now.. as we didn't yet sell our townhome and we didn't intend to immediately as we'd be having to rent and do a double move... Brian pushed out the posession date to 10 months, rather than typical 7, yet with the same start date. This is to accomodate us, by allowing us to sell at our own leasure and should we sell sooner, and the house is ready... well hey the posession date bumps up.

As for floor plans, we went with the Crimson by BayWest, which basically is your typical cabover 21XX sqft design (as simular w/ all builders)
However by the time we got all our options and customizations in, it beat the competitors quotes by an easy 25g's.

[NickGT]

Nice choice. I opted for the Crimson with Baywest as well. Maybe we'll be neighbors lol. Congrats and good luck on your house build!

[2002civic]

nice choice, we just finished picking our exterior colours, doors, stone etc with baywest in Cranston, besides hammering out contract details everything has been awesome

[Masked Bandit]

Man am I pissed we built with Cardel. Glad to hear you went with ANYONE else. I've also heard plenty of good things about Baywest.

[quazimoto]

Just so you know most undermount sinks are going to cost you a pretty penny. I would suggest doing granite after you move in and not letting the builder do it. Many companies will do the countertops for 3k-4k for most homes now a days so long as your kitchen isn't huge. A typical under mount sink though at home depot is going to run you around $600 or more depending on your taste. The installation price in that sink also likely includes the extra polishing they must do for the granite edges. The price is pretty much in line with the exception they are charging too much for the granite.

I would also say baywest as our friends have built with them and only had good experiences. I've only heard negative regarding cardel and cedar glen. Cardel for the record, is likely one of the worst builders I have seen.

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
Man am I pissed we built with Cardel. Glad to hear you went with ANYONE else. I've also heard plenty of good things about Baywest.

I can't believe we actually let Cardel build this POS. Our next house is going to be a Baywest home, there's no question about that. I've seen my above-mentioned friend's house that they built with Baywest, and it is simply gorgeous!

EDIT: I also can't believe I forgot to write this part- OP, congrats on the new house, and great choice going with Baywest! I don't think you'll be disappointed!

[iksnipus]

Whatever you do, don't build a Cardel. They are the worst out there. No customer service and they don't fix their mistakes. Awful.

My suggestion is go with Baywest. I've heard good things about them.



Cardel Homes Suck !!!!!!!!

[rookie101]

I'm glad this thread popped back to the top.

My wife and I are thinking of building with Heartland in Auburn Bay. Anyone have any experience with them, good or bad?

Thanks

[hurrdurr]

Bump. Any other opinions in the past 4 years for Auburn bay w/Baywest?