We closed in Braxton Village in Jan 2007 on a basement home. We chose this builder because they would do a full poured concrete basement, and because they would allow us to change a few things about the house.
In the summer of 2006 the company was completely revamped and reorganized. So any negative comments you may see about homes built before that probably don't apply any more. I was told that the the reorg was done to raise their quality level and customer service.
That said, we got caught in the middle of the reorg, and our home was significantly delayed because of it. Our original plans were lost, so we had to keep a close watch to make sure everything on the original plans was done. There were a number of things that they built to the default spec that they had to change to match the customizations we asked for.
I believe that they have struggled and continue to struggle with this transition to being a mid-sized builder. However, I truly believe they are trying to get organized. They have added staff positions for customer service and implemented more customer walk-throughs. They have had growing pains, but they are getting there.
This is not a national builder. Building a house won't be a cut and dry streamlined process. However, there are benefits to this. This house is *our* house. We were there every step of the way, talking to the project manager on his cell phone almost weekly. Nobody was ever rude to us or argued with us. There were several times when it cost the builder money to make things right, and every time they made them right. I never once got the impression that their profit was more important to them than our house was.
Overall I recommend them. However, I recommend that you make your contract extremely detailed (always do this anyway) so there's nothing to argue over, and to take your closing date with a dose of skepticism. Oh, and ask for Dale or Al to be your project manager--they were both outstanding.
more