Questions About Building a House and Acadia Home Builders.

We have built 2 homes from scratch. No matter how good the builder is, there are still some times of pure he$$ in the process.

With both homes, we paid over the contract price to upgrade carpeting and gutters. Within 3 years of building our current home (completion in 2/2000) we gutted the AC/heat system and completely upgraded it. We had a gas leak that put us out of our home due to faulty workmanship. As much as we stayed on top of the builders to oversee that they were doing the right thing, there are still some things you miss. We also had 2 fires where our outdoor light exploded.

It is true that they will cheapen things you cannot see... such as electrical, heating/air etc.

Bottom line, we were so fed up that we have spent a lot of money to undo what the builder did and redo with upgrades and better quality. I got SO SICK of voicing a complaint about something and being told "It is within code". Well, "code" does not mean quality.

We were on hand with both homes going up from scratch. We came over daily to check progress and voice any concerns during the process. I can say that our sales rep and supervisor were glad to have us finally close on our homes because we did not let up until things were right. I didn't start building a home to make friends... I wanted my home to be of sound quality.

As far as Acadia, I have never heard of them. We built with Drees first and we have a Huntington/Highland now.

Best wishes!

ETA: "if you want granite...is that extra?" ???!!!
Sure doesn't sound like your Have any experience. Have you orrsonally spoken to anyone who has built in that or any development? If you e visited the model on site, in sure they've got a spec outline. It's not a surprise--you get what you order, choose and pay for. Geez. It's not "sneaky" hidden fees. Options cost what they do. You get them or not.

Whoaaaaaa..
It's not as easy as "ok build me a house"!
You have to find land, or a development.
Sometimes developments only use O., or two builders, so you can't really choose your own.
Research the company online. Look for complaints, reviews, talk to people with homes by that builder and see how that hold up.
Yes there are basics (ex: unfinished basement) and there are upgrades ( better grade carpeting, flooring, etcetera,)
You really need to research it pretty thoroughly...

There is nothing sneaky or hidden about upgrades. All builders are very upfront what is included and most of what you will see in a display home is not standard. If you don't like to read, point to anything and ask the agent, "is this standard", they will tell you.

I considered my home modestly upgraded and the upgrades cost around 15,000 and this was 22 years ago.

An easy way to tell if you are getting a cheap home is does it cost less than a comparable home in another new subdivision close by. Unless they are closing out a subdivision the only reason for cheap is that the home is cheaply made. Get a friend who has built a home. There are so many things you have to look for there is no way anyone could list them all here.

I have no experience with Acadia. I actually acted as the contractor on our little house that we built 30 years ago. We hired an independent builder, a talented young man who did not yet have his contractor's license, and I designed the house from the ground up to fit the land and our housing needs.

We built on land leased from my mother, buying one load of lumber at a time, over 2.5 years. It was an intense learning process, and I realize that not everyone's a designer, but there are pre-designed house plans available for all styles and needs. And this made the whole concept of Tiny Dream House possible for us, which included a smallish loan that we paid off in a couple more years.

We've been largely happy with the results, but the electrician I hired was pretty terrible. He actually left live wires dangling outside one rainy day, and almost started a fire. He was the one guy from whom I accepted a whole-job estimate, and he cut corners wherever he could. Everyone else, I paid by the hour, and our house cost less than a third of what a big building contractor would have charged us (we got quotes before choosing our builder). I chose the materials for quality. AND because we paid by the hour, there was no rushed or shoddy work. We also did a considerable amount of the work ourselves.

Our house is still cute and cozy. In the 30 years since, we've redone the roof once. We've upgraded the heating system (installed a heat pump) and replaced some lighting for energy savings. We did just have to repipe the house, and replace some windows, but the originals served us well for decades. We've had to repair the driveway twice following flooding. Calculating the rent we would have paid for less ideal housing for us, adding up all those repairs/upgrades, and throwing in property taxes and insurance, this house became essentially "rent free" at about 13-14 years.

I hope you end up with the right choice for you!

I do not know Acadia Homes, but I would suggest you do your research just like working with any other business. I also wanted to say that your granite example is not a sneaky hidden fee; rather, an upgrade from the base price, and more of an example of how you should have all your choices made and laid-out for your builder at the beginning. And two-way communication goes both ways. A good builder will ask, "what kind of counters do you want?" before even quoting you the job bid, and about 3 dozen other questions at least.