THE HARDEST QUESTION FOR ANY AGENT TO ANSWER IS...

"Is this a GOOD builder?"

"Good" is a subjective word. Serioulsy, how do YOU define "good?"

Is it someone, who builds with all of the county codes and best practices in mind?

Is it someone, who builds BEYOND the "minimum requirements?"

Is it someone, who builds with plans and finishes that match current market trends?

Is it someone, who builds with exclusive focus on longevity and energy conservation?

Is it someone, who builds with the highest quality materials?

Is it somoene, who has a contractor and staff support to be able to guarantee a build time?

Is it someone, who will allow you to make special requests before and during the build project?

Any or ALL of those things come at a "price" so the REAL QUESTION IS, "for your desired budget, what are the MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO YOU?"

I've had people "slam" DR Horton and suggest they are a "cheap" builder - for starters, they have different "levels" of construction, which carry different price points and different goals. The EXPRESS home communities are their most affordable "line" of homes, and they are touted for smart square footage - aka, the best bang for your buck. Their finishes are boring; they DO build to pass county code inspections, but their focus is on swiftly delivering a good sized home at a great price to a buyer, who prioritizes NEW and CLEAN and who wants to feel confident that they aren't likely staring at a roof, HVAC, hot water heater, etc repair any time soon. So for some buyers, THAT'S a great home and built by a "good builder."

But let's have a cup of coffee and talk for-real-for-real, mmkay?

IF a person's budget allows, they want the PRETTY HOME. And they want the home with technology and efficiency. And of course, they want it to be pretty. And while they *hopefully* understand that they have a strong cap to their purchase price, they are HOPING the builder will allow an "exception" for them to get "x" at no additional cost.

If you say that's not *you* or at least *someone you know,* I'm calling it because INDEPENDENT of price point, location or anything else, that has been ALMOST every buyer I've ever helped buy a newly built home for 20 years. That's OK. It's me, too.

HUNTER QUINN Meet Anderson County. 

ANDERSON COUNTY, Meet Hunter Quinn.

I just had my first client purchase a Hunter Quinn home. Here are my takeaways:

• HQ cares about THE EXPERIENCE: from my first conversation with the onsite sales agent to negotiating offer terms to the walk throughs with the superintendent, it was evident that there was a culture of CARING ABOUT PEOPLE & cooperating with a customer to ensure they walked away feeling good about their investment
• HQ takes it up a notch: let's be honest - builders have been PUT THROUGH THE RINGER the last couple of years with construction costs. As a result, to ensure homes could appraise, builders have had to limit themselves (and homeowners) to attractive but BASIC finishes. It was honestly to a buyer's benefit but that doesn't mean buyers haven't missed the fancier things - HQ brings back the bonuses without the price hike (42" high cabinets, quartz countertops, craftsman trim, arched hallways, 8' doors, covered porches, automated smart home features...to name a few things)!
• HQ addresses the elephant in the room: in their new community in Anderson, a section of the homes faces a road - the road isn't particularly busy, but they recognized that no one would enjoy sitting in their backyard as cars drove by (it's worth noting that the homes sat back fairly far from the road and were "higher" so not in direct sight of those passing by) - BUT HQ GOT THE BIG PICTURE. Without quabbling, they agreed to install 6' privacy fences for all of the new (and prospective) home owners in that section of the community.
• HQ does it the BEST way, even if it costs them a little (unbudgeted) money: as a real estate professional, the WORST reality to explain to a buyer is that while there is a "BEST" way to handle issues, there's also a "good" way to address the same issues - in most of my new construction experiences, builders are not willing to "overinvest" to handle issues the ideal way for a buyer. HQ stands out amongst others. In a recent sale I had, my clients and I noticed water settling in a few sections of their yard - HONESTLY, it was "by design" - an affordable and preferred method for ensuring water doesn't collect around a house is to create what's known as a "swale," which basically pulls water away from the home and into a low spot. Typically, the Upstate of SC is not super rainy, but global warming must be getting to us because it feels like we live in Seattle, South Carolina sometimes. Anyway, we did our walk through. The swales were squishy. And muddy. And it hadn't been raining that day. I could tell my client was disappointed, and as they uttered the words, "do you think the builder would install drains..." I felt myself break into a cold sweat AS I KNEW the swales were "correct" and AT BEST, most builders would recommend adding SAND to the low spots because...well, drains = $$$$$. I didn't want my client to be disappointed so we wrapped up, and I drove to the model home to to have a face-to-face chat with HQ's (awesome) sales agent. I gave myself a pep talk in the car and mapped out the points of my discussion. I also prayed and devised a plan B, which would be an all-out-embarassing moment of BEGGING.  I laid out the story of my client's sad hearts and nicely asked if she could "just ask the builder..." She told me she would do that but also said they would likely add SAND to those spots because she had not experienced them adding drains. I decided to wait until our final walk through day to find out what the verdict was (I KNOW - SEEMS CRAZY...I had a strategic plan). We showed up, and landscapers were onsite INTALLING DRAINS. PLURAL. NOT ONE DRAIN - MULTIPLE DRAINS. No drama. Just drains. And that was the day that Little Tammy decided she would sell HQ homes forever. The End.

But seriously. I have been fortunate (and unlike some horror story experiences I've heard from agents about other builders), my personal career has been marked by being able to represent and work with some INCREDIBLE builders in the Upstate of SC. And I'm happy to add HQ to the list of builders I want my clients to know about.

Look at how cute they are.