I believe that most people wouldn't recognize quality if it came up and bit them in the butt!. I've been in so many $250,000 homes in East Central Indiana (where you can get a lot of house for that much money!) and was disgusted at the finish. Everything looks nice as long as you don't look too closely. I think the general population has been conditioned to accept the "cookie cutter" houses on postage stamp lots with no trees.

I know what I want, even if it doesn't bite me in the butt. The only one I could even afford as a first-time buyer was a claptrap condo. It is a nice illusion to assume that $250,000 is a middle-class home ... or maybe it is an illusion to assume that there is a middle class.
By the way, I knew my condo was junk. There were four condos together in each building. One was owned by college students that partied all night and knocked down the fences. I had bushes growing through the wall into my living room. The plumbing was a nightmare. BUT ... it was all I could afford after a thorough search, and it was mine. I was lucky. It got condemned and I got my money back, enough for a down payment on a beautiful vintage brick that was not built out of chipboard and plastic, or cloned from the latest idiotic "ranch" with all the extra corners to make it more expensive.
I had to sell my beauty so I could be a caregiver. I now live in an old house which is loosing the back end due to lack of foundation. To date, I have not hired an honest handyman, and the only honest contractor I hired eventually decided there was little money in rebuilding old houses. Like you, Mark, he is full-time building solid new homes, so far out of my price range that I give up. And ... I don't blame him one bit. I just tell people my crumbling house has character, and I read handyman books and am trying to learn to do things myself. I may be disabled, but I am not dumb.
But there are times I wish that there were more honest handymen in the world. I am not physically strong enough to rebuild a house by myself, even if I knew what I was doing. Why in the world do you folks think people like me return here again and again? Desperate to pick the brains of those of you kind enough to help us.

Spec homes and condos - the con man's dream.

When any other building is built, whether it's a hospital, an office building or even apartments or an individually designed home, there is somebody in the process who represents the interests of the owner. That provides a level of protection and assures (or should) that a quality product is built.

In spec homes and condos, nobody is looking out for the eventual owner. The eventual owner likely never sees the home under construction, and wouldn't know what he was looking at even if he did see it. This scenario gives the developer, builder and subcontractors license to do pretty much whatever they want and whatever they can get away with.

When the choice is between the interests of the eventual owner and the developer/builder's bottom line, the owner loses.

I have been inspecting constructed buildings for over 30 years. I am still amazed at the crap being built and sold in the residential market.

I live in "Ashburn Va." DO I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING MORE!! My friends,with $$$$, building/buying a house is WILLING to spend the cash to "have it there way" and the builders will not comply. I suggest "firing" the builder, but they seem to have some sort of "POWER" over their clients. What is this "POWER"?
I am a retired P.A. and a handy man of sorts. When my "dying" neighbor paid $1000.00 for a storm door from a "contractor", thats when I became a handy-man. So the elderly and single parents could find some one at a reasonable price. Thanks for the article, and voicing what every "reasonable" adult male with minimal common sense "bitches" about every week-end with his neighbors. Gary K.

People buy junk because there is so little quality available at affordable prices in the Seattle area.

Most homeowners in our 10 year old development have replaced cheap toilets that don't flush, leaky faucets, they find huge cracks in the slab foundation where bugs come in when they replace the carpets.

Cheap fixtures and shoddy work must be a huge factor fueling the remodeling explosion. It would be so much less wasteful to spend 50% more for a quality component.

Small buiiders can be better. Our first home was built by Bellmark and it was good quality and affordable. If they had developments in the area we needed to be in, we would buy from them again.

I agree.... cookie cutter housing seems to have been going on for a while, and quality has taken a dive. All for making that quick buck.

So happy someone is speaking out against the cookie cutter house.

I have often wondered why the quality of new housing is so bad.

Such a simple thing as siting the house to make full use of Southern Exposure for example...there ought to be a law...seriously. How many of our national resources are going into these ill conceived monstrosities... makes me shudder. When so many more things can be done so differently, some at so little cost.

Perhaps a little less house, and a little better house?

Thanks for the article!

So happy someone is speaking out against the cookie cutter house.

I have often wondered why the quality of new housing is so bad.

Such a simple thing as siting the house to make full use of Southern Exposure for example...there ought to be a law...seriously. How many of our national resources are going into these ill conceived monstrosities... makes me shudder. When so many more things can be done so differently, some at so little cost.

Perhaps a little less house, and a little better house?

Thanks for the article!

So happy someone is speaking out against the cookie cutter house.

I have often wondered why the quality of new housing is so bad.

Such a simple thing as siting the house to make full use of Southern Exposure for example...there ought to be a law...seriously. How many of our national resources are going into these ill conceived monstrosities... makes me shudder. When so many more things can be done so differently, some at so little cost.

Perhaps a little less house, and a little better house?

Thanks for the article!

I would be surprised if you have not already lost your shirt building houses given your obvious lack of understanding the market and visible disconnect with mainstream America. Best wishes to you.

I can't stand those types of developments. And the interior layout of these houses is horrific, with soaring entries that make you feel lost and eat up your heat. I much more a fan of the Not So Big House movement, where smaller is designed better and more efficiently. Of course, most people are lemmings, and buy what is put in front of them. Just check out any of the Realtor shows that are out now. And our zoning is making it worse, forcing bigger lots that make driving a necessity and increasing sprawl. What we need is a return to the "village", with a mixture of residential and commercial, encouraging people to walk. New England has had an encouraging renaissance in this type of planning, and it will hopefully continue.

Our house was built by a company that is small and local, and I am not impressed by it. It seems just about all builders use the cheapest materials they can, and many floor plans make no sense. Our house has single pane windows, and we have a horrible problem with condensation and mold on the area around the windows. Unbelievable! I didn't even think to look at the windows, because I never imagined single pane windows were even used any more. That's just the beginning. The carpet is cheap and the kitchen sink was the cheapest junk I have ever seen.

We had to find a house in 4 days, and this was the best we could find in our price range. You have to be rich to afford something decent these days, and even then, builders rip people off with poor quality.

I hate our house, and we'll probably be stuck here until they wheel me out to Silver Leaves Home, because we can't afford to move. It amazes me how much we pay for houses and how cheaply made they are. Don't blame these problems on buyers. Builders are the one building cheap crap.

This is for Dan. Do you know any Realtors in your area? Ask them who the good handymen are-if you don't know any Realtors you may take a trip to a Real Estate office and talk to the broker. Trust me Realtors know who's good and who isn't and they have only the best-not the most expensive-do work on their own homes and the houses that they've got listed. Sort of like nurses telling you who the better doctors are. Of course you'll want to talk to someone whose been is business for awhile and they'll probably give you 2 or three names. A question to ask-I need such and such done on my home-if this were YOUR house who would you have making the repair?

YOU nailed it! I wouldn't buy ANY ONE of the new homes being built as the material used is just garbarge. The greed of the City Planners/Building Dept. Personnel, etc. is why this is happening to our City/County/State enviroments.

"cookie cutter" does not mean poor quality, just lack of choice. I recently visited my son in Chacago where many thousands of "cookie cutters" were built in the early 20th century. They are now sold at a premium due to their quality.
The problem seems to be in the managment theory of defineing quality as "give the customer exactly what he/she will accept and nothing more. Any more is waste and lack of "quality". This was hammered into our heads at countless meetings at the large office equipment mfg, sales and service corporation. Almost all large corporations adopted this theory. Real quality is in small builders.

I've recently walked through a series of new homes in our area and realize now that craftsmanship has been replaced with the caulking gun. Ceilings aren't flat and walls aren't plum but nothing's too much for the caulking gun!
Clearly, this lack of quality is what makes the HGTV and DIY networks so popular.

I'm a general engineer, with 37 years experience in several disclipines. In 1996, we relocated from Denver to Beckley, WV. Available housing was pretty much like that discribed in the subject article - and overpriced by 20 to 25%. I bought a nice lot in a quiet development and served as the general contractor on a new, two-story, brick home. I put quite a bit of labor into it, myself. I spent approximately $235,000 and now have a home that's worth $335,000 in this area. It has all the features that we wanted, because I researched and put them in, myself. It's not quite perfect, but, it's ALL MINE.

I just visited a friend's new townhouse in Playa del Rey - there are hundreds of homes with a town square, a restaurant, grocery store, Starbucks - it reminds me of a movie set which would make sense since there ARE film sets within just a few miles. The quality didn't look cheesy to me - but the price tags, I think, start at over $1M. It had three stories, with a nicely landscaped front yard (very small) facing south with a view of a hill. The floors were beautiful hardwood, the kitchen cabinets were the same I saw at Universal (a high end kitchen cabinet and appliances store here). If it was situated among some trees without 10,000 other similar units surrounding it I would really love living there.

But my issues with the place, and with all mass produced housing communities, is that it was built at all.

It should be 1) illegal to build on wetlands. 2) No builders should be permitted to clear cut a forest in order to build houses. What is the point of people having to continually plant trees (have you guys ever heard of global warming) and get green credits (or whatever they are called) when they are wiping out all other trees in the process. Plus, trees look good, and housing projects look just horrible. These planned communities are just in unbelievably bad taste. They aren't "towns", and all the stores that are entering this kind of market are the stores I wouldn't want to go to anyway unless I was looking for products to clean my house (Target, Kmart, Starbucks (ugh), TGI Fridays). I mean, come on. None of these communities and their perfectly positioned stores have character, and the people who live in these places seem to be looking for security, in a homogeneous population, with a locked gate. It's pathetic.

And by the way, maybe in Indiana you can buy a nice home for $250,000 - but certainly not in the Los Angeles area. A cheap 3BD/2BATH sells for around $550K-$1.2M depending on how close you are to the Hollywood Hills.

I just visited a friend's new townhouse in Playa del Rey - there are hundreds of homes with a town square, a restaurant, grocery store, Starbucks - it reminds me of a movie set which would make sense since there ARE film sets within just a few miles. The quality didn't look cheesy to me - but the price tags, I think, start at over $1M. It had three stories, with a nicely landscaped front yard (very small) facing south with a view of a hill. The floors were beautiful hardwood, the kitchen cabinets were the same I saw at Universal (a high end kitchen cabinet and appliances store here). If it was situated among some trees without 10,000 other similar units surrounding it I would really love living there.

But my issues with the place, and with all mass produced housing communities, is that it was built at all.

It should be 1) illegal to build on wetlands. 2) No builders should be permitted to clear cut a forest in order to build houses. What is the point of people having to continually plant trees (have you guys ever heard of global warming) and get green credits (or whatever they are called) when they are wiping out all other trees in the process. Plus, trees look good, and housing projects look just horrible. These planned communities are just in unbelievably bad taste. They aren't "towns", and all the stores that are entering this kind of market are the stores I wouldn't want to go to anyway unless I was looking for products to clean my house (Target, Kmart, Starbucks (ugh), TGI Fridays). I mean, come on. None of these communities and their perfectly positioned stores have character, and the people who live in these places seem to be looking for security, in a homogeneous population, with a locked gate. It's pathetic.

And by the way, maybe in Indiana you can buy a nice home for $250,000 - but certainly not in the Los Angeles area. A cheap 3BD/2BATH sells for around $550K-$1.2M depending on how close you are to the Hollywood Hills.

I just visited a friend's new townhouse in Playa del Rey - there are hundreds of homes with a town square, a restaurant, grocery store, Starbucks - it reminds me of a movie set which would make sense since there ARE film sets within just a few miles. The quality didn't look cheesy to me - but the price tags, I think, start at over $1M. It had three stories, with a nicely landscaped front yard (very small) facing south with a view of a hill. The floors were beautiful hardwood, the kitchen cabinets were the same I saw at Universal (a high end kitchen cabinet and appliances store here). If it was situated among some trees without 10,000 other similar units surrounding it I would really love living there.

But my issues with the place, and with all mass produced housing communities, is that it was built at all.

It should be 1) illegal to build on wetlands. 2) No builders should be permitted to clear cut a forest in order to build houses. What is the point of people having to continually plant trees (have you guys ever heard of global warming) and get green credits (or whatever they are called) when they are wiping out all other trees in the process. Plus, trees look good, and housing projects look just horrible. These planned communities are just in unbelievably bad taste. They aren't "towns", and all the stores that are entering this kind of market are the stores I wouldn't want to go to anyway unless I was looking for products to clean my house (Target, Kmart, Starbucks (ugh), TGI Fridays). I mean, come on. None of these communities and their perfectly positioned stores have character, and the people who live in these places seem to be looking for security, in a homogeneous population, with a locked gate. It's pathetic.

And by the way, maybe in Indiana you can buy a nice home for $250,000 - but certainly not in the Los Angeles area. A cheap 3BD/2BATH sells for around $550K-$1.2M depending on how close you are to the Hollywood Hills.

I just visited a friend's new townhouse in Playa del Rey - there are hundreds of homes with a town square, a restaurant, grocery store, Starbucks - it reminds me of a movie set which would make sense since there ARE film sets within just a few miles. The quality didn't look cheesy to me - but the price tags, I think, start at over $1M. It had three stories, with a nicely landscaped front yard (very small) facing south with a view of a hill. The floors were beautiful hardwood, the kitchen cabinets were the same I saw at Universal (a high end kitchen cabinet and appliances store here). If it was situated among some trees without 10,000 other similar units surrounding it I would really love living there.

But my issues with the place, and with all mass produced housing communities, is that it was built at all.

It should be 1) illegal to build on wetlands. 2) No builders should be permitted to clear cut a forest in order to build houses. What is the point of people having to continually plant trees (have you guys ever heard of global warming) and get green credits (or whatever they are called) when they are wiping out all other trees in the process. Plus, trees look good, and housing projects look just horrible. These planned communities are just in unbelievably bad taste. They aren't "towns", and all the stores that are entering this kind of market are the stores I wouldn't want to go to anyway unless I was looking for products to clean my house (Target, Kmart, Starbucks (ugh), TGI Fridays). I mean, come on. None of these communities and their perfectly positioned stores have character, and the people who live in these places seem to be looking for security, in a homogeneous population, with a locked gate. It's pathetic.

And by the way, maybe in Indiana you can buy a nice home for $250,000 - but certainly not in the Los Angeles area. A cheap 3BD/2BATH sells for around $550K-$1.2M depending on how close you are to the Hollywood Hills.

I live in a 35 year old house with cracks in the slab foundation that run in 2 places across the NE corner. I didn't water that side of the house because of a gravel path & now know that I probably caused the problem. I have no idea how to find someone to do foundation work (I'm guessing I need it to be raised or whatever it's called). It's so much money to do this sort of thing, that I'm afraid of cheap/improper work. Any help?

My sister-in-law used the handyman who lived next door to her when she had an extention added to her house, just because he was her friends husband. I happened to stop by one day while he was there, and asked him about the big cracks that were already in the new cement slab (about a month old). He told me that cracks are normal and nothing to worry about. My dad was a quality builder while I was growing up, so I knew better. (Once, when they were building a group of houses on our street, we went over on the weekend and he pointed out to us things they were doing wrong, and cheap shortcuts they were taking. He said that he was surprised that they were even passing inspections.) When he left, I tried to tell my sister-in-law that cracks are not "normal", or good, in your slab, but she brushed me off like I couldn't know what I was talking about, even though she knew my family.

You should always research, through your Better Business Bureau or by references, any contractor or handyman you are considering to have work on your house. It takes a bit of effort, but is so worth it when you don't have to have things redone or replaced.

I am not a home builder but am a DIYer. I am renting one of the cookie cutter homes in albuquerque, nm. There is no comparison between these homes and one from a small builder. The first writer was spot on with his blog. If you dont look closely then you will not find anything wrong. I went to install my dog door in our back slider it would not fit. The slider was a half inch out of square from top to bottom. When we have dust storms here the dust just pours in around it. There are several walls out of square. The drywall contractors left big chunks of mud on the floor and the carpet guys did not clean it up so we have humps under the carpet.

I am not a home builder but am a DIYer. I am renting one of the cookie cutter homes in albuquerque, nm. I will not name the company. There is no comparison between these homes and one from a small builder. The first writer was spot on with his blog. If you dont look closely then you will not find anything wrong. I went to install my dog door in our back slider it would not fit. The slider was a half inch out of square from top to bottom. When we have dust storms here the dust just pours in around it. There are several walls out of square. The drywall contractors left big chunks of mud on the floor and the carpet guys did not clean it up so we have humps under the carpet. I would never buy one of these homes from any of the builders I will have a custom home built when it comes time. One built to my specs not someonelses

I really don't understand why there are so many comments on bad construction. Doesn't the contractor have to acquire building permits and abide by the Uniform Building Code, Electrical Code, Mechanical Code, etc., and doesn't each phase of the work have to be inspected? Or is it that only some states, counties, or local governments have code requirements? Or are code requirements so minimal that anything goes is okay?

I live in northern Va also.We have 8 acres for sale here on a mnt top..near the corridor,handy to the highway.Not out some impassable mnt road and awful in the winter.We have a great location here.You hear how great a location is...no one cares.They don't even realize it when you tell them.

We have a smaller older house..cabin style originally for hunting.Solid built but needs
re modeled.
Most want the sub division throw up models.NEW.
NEW is better (yeh right).They don't look very deep.
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I agree with your article.
They use to build to the contour of the land/now they contour the land any way they want.They cut down the trees...in a woodland and plant grass.
(zoning encourages that)They just refigure the land.
What happened to the concept of working with the land?It is obsolete now.Zoning (from hell) only cares if you line your buildings up.
******
My old house....no one wants to wire or plumb it.
Too much work and more money in new bldgs.Can't hardley get anyone to work on your house and then expect to pay a small fortune.New projects..
just run that wire or pipes B4 they build the walls.cleaner and easier than crawling under an existing house.
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There are better ways to build homes. It is more expensive but they are definitely worth it in the long run. I am just north of Detroit MI and have been in the HVAC-R industry for over 20 years. I have seen first hand the high quality home being built with contractors that care about the customers' needs. When the homes are properly built with considerations made in regards to the total building design, it can be a wonderful thing. Thicker outside walls can provide better R-value. Foam or cellulose insulation with a proper vapor barrier can insulate better and reduce air infiltration significantly. Better doors, windows, roofing, thicker insulation in the attic, can make all the difference in the world. It also allows the heating and cooling system to be smaller and to work more efficiently than the average home. When it comes to designing a system for your home, the homeowner should be the one making the decisions based on the expertise of the HVAC contractor, not the builder. The builder may know a little bit about the systems installed in a home, but they are generally far from experts and I doubt that many keep up with the constant cahnges in the industry. This would hold true for the other trades as well. If you are having a home built, it is your right to ask questions and to demand quality at a fair price. There is nothing wrong with making a profit. We all need to make a living. The question is whether or not you have earned it!

I am an honest handyman. I live and work in a very small area of Pomona CA, known as Phillips Ranch. There are about 3000 homes here all cookie cutter types built 25+- years ago. Though they were built by 5 different biggy builders they are all exactly the same crappy construction. About 50% of my work is repairing original construction defects. Yes, things done wrong 25 years ago. These are homes that sell from $500,000 to well over a million. I never have to drive more than 1 mile from home to go to work and could work seven days a week. You are right though about honest contractors and handymen. None of them seem to give a damn about the quality of their work. I do a lot of repairs of work done by licensed electricians and plumbers. There is no pride in what they do. Some of the work done is so unsafe it is really criminal. I sometimes wonder if the state of California is putting contractors license in Cracker Jack boxes. Quite often my clients pay me more than the bill I give them, because they know they have gotten great workmanship at a fair price. I have never heard that from any other contractor.

The codes are basically just there for safety. I'm sure all these houses being described were subject to inspections, but the inspections are there to keep people safe, like proper electrical work, strength of walls, substantial ventilation, proper railing heights, that sort of thing, not quality of work or materials. By definition codes are MINIMUMS, and thats what most of the cookie cutters pass, just the minimum. The designs are some of the worst aspects, made to be fine for many and great for no one. These big builders have leverage and use it, like banker partners, builders that give multiple home discounts, because its easy to build the same thing 100 times.

The best approach to aquiring a new home is the following:

Step 1: Find a lot that you love.

Step 2: Get an architect to design the home ESPECIALLY for you, your budget, and the lot.

Step 3: Find a few highly recommended builders and have them quote the exact construction costs.

Step 4: Get the house built!

The extra time this method takes is always worth the extra quality, even if you dont get all the square footage that you could have gotten with the cookie cutter houses. The well designed house will work much more efficiently than the one with all the wasted space and poor planing.

Thats just my opinion...

Design-Builder

I am a single parent living in Virginia and saved for a long time to buy my first home. I looked at new homes in an exclusive development ($450,000.00 and up) and was ready to sign a contract on one when something stopped me,I think it is called sanity. I then started looking at older homes in estabished neighborhoods. I bought an older home built in the 30's ($200,000,00) and I love it. It is built extremely well. Granted I had to update the electrical, but the plumbing had all ready been updated. Even with doing that and few other minor repairs I came out way ahead of the game, considering what my mortgage payment is compared to what it could have been. My heating/cooling bills are a lot less than my friends are paying in new homes of the same size that aren't built as well. My yard is established with large trees,a beautiful lawn and great flower beds, can't find that in a new home. I have friends come in my home and say I wish mine was built like this or a builder will say I wish I could afford to build like this. I don't understand why builders can't build quality. If they could do it in the 30's, why can't they do it now? It wasn't cheap to build quailty in the 30's, but they did it. All I have to say is research what you are looking for and take your time.

I have real experience in the Residential and Commercial (hi-rise) Building Industry in southern Florida. Additionally, besides manangement my other experience has been gainfully working in most of the different trades required to build a home. I have spent many years acquiring this knowledge in order to build my own home one day. Yes, I could have simply studied for an General Contractors exam or even hired someone to build for me but what would I have truly learned? Could I repair anything deficient on my own or be able to differenciate between quality and poor workmanship from the beginning of any construction project, I think not without practical experience. So, I think I might be able to help answer questions for those of you who might be frustrated with builders or those of you whom are trying to understand where is the quality in the building industry today? A quick helpful hint to those you who would like to learn the level(s) of quality one can purchase, yes there are different levels of building/contruction just like there are different levels (classes) of automobiles. Purchase the book Walkers Construction Estimating Guide... considered the bible of construction estimating which most builders formulate their priceing structure from. I am here to help.

It is more expensive to build quality, it takes more time and skill. When profit is the name of the game, quality can sometimes lose.

I have a radical theory: I believe national homebuilders are a bad thing. In consolidating to cut expenses, they have changed entirely how development is done. #1, Every suburb in America built within the last 15 years has been "Californicated." The homes' exteriors may look regional, but the floorplans themselves and even more alarming, the neighborhood layouts are 100% opposite what we have ever done before L.A. style development took hold. Before there were national players, regional flavor was used, but now the only thing making Orlando look different from Kansas City or Phoenix is that one native tree everyone is allowed by the CC&Rs to plant in their front yard. Every development has the same curvy roads designed to minimize corner lots, since they need to be bigger by zoning code; all the same narrow houses crouching behind monster garages on narrow lots; and they all are fully and deliberately separated from land uses that would actually HELP increase land value, like small retail stores and corner markets. Every suburb looks the same mainly because it would cost more money to use regional practices instead of blanket, assembly-line, one-size-fits-all development policy.

I like that term: Californicated. In flying over these great United States, the 'cookie-cutter' concept is painfully obvious. People I know call stuff: "contractor grade" and when it breaks or wears out, always replace it with custom/decorative higher end materials. Even multimillion dollar houses are being constructed with shoddy materials. Owner Beware! Quality builders are few and far between.

I believe our older neighborhoods with tons of charm and character (even if the charm needs to be rediscovered under years of "improvements") will be collectible classics. Much like classic cars. As everyone has mentioned the quality is in these old houses, often done with materials that are considered to expensive for todays market. Nothing makes me sadder than to see wonderful old houses with architectural interest ripped down to make room for a Pink Brick McMansion. I live in an area where lots alone sell for over a few million dollars. With the money being spent on these houses one would think an archtect with a charming design could be found. Yet all I see is crap being produced, it is all about massive square footage without any respect for the history and existing feel of the neighborhood. They just rip down the trees so the house can be bigger. It is one thing when your neigborhood starts out as a bunch of pink McMansions with no trees.....but to see it happening to an established neighbothood. It is really sad. Where are the city codes to protect us? The developers have won with promises of fat checks to the city.