Ryan Homes and NVR Mortgage Help

[Huly]

According to the BBB and other websites Ryan homes is a good builder but I found one website that hates Ryan Homes and NVR Mortgage (you only get the Ryan incentives if you use their mortgage co). I know we have a lot of Builders, home owners and mortgage guys and gals here so I want your take on these two companies.

Do any of you know if Ryan homes is a good builder?

Do any of you know anything about NVR Mortgage?

Do any of you know if it is legal for a builder to only give you incentives if you use their mortgage co? (from one website I saw they were saying that might not be legal)

Any and all help is appreciated.

[thelongestbreath]

We have an NVR in the same building as our suite. We every once and awhile get people coming to our floor by mistake with problems, but that goes with every company. It's not an every day experience but overall they seem to be a good company, and the people are fairly nice when you catch them in the elevator. I normally wouldn't tell you to go anywhere but our company for a mortgage, but if you're looking at NVR, for the benifets, you'll be happy with them.

[sircharlz]

Just about every builder has their own mortgage & settlement company now (the national builders - like Ryan - are the ones who started this trend). In order to get you to use their mortgage & settlement company they'll offer a discount or incentive. It's less about the builder making money on those deals than it is about the builder being able to have more control over the process.

If you use an outsided mortgage & settlement firm all of the paperwork is now in the hands of a separate entity from the builder. Ryan Homes wants all of their buyers to use their system so that they can stay on top of mortgage commitments, settlement time/location etc.

I wouldn't build a new home with any national builder - you're better off buying a completed spec home from them. The reason is you'll get no attention during the building process and it will create a bad feeling about the home. So buy one of their completed specs/models if you can and be sure to get a third party inspector to check for any problems. National builders have a way of skirting around some of the building codes.

Just my 2 cents from an unbiased mid-size builder!

[canethang 305]

Do any of you know if Ryan homes is a good builder?

Watch out I have heard bad things from a friend in the home building field, when I was looking I was staying away from Dan Ryan because i had heard they were bad but was told otherwise and i bought a Dan Ryan and have had no problems with the foundation, settling, etc.

It's really hard to say, just because Ryan Homes may be the builder it depends on who actually builds the house, since a lot of that is subcontracted.

I think a lot of the reputation of Ryan and Dan Ryan is mudslinging back and forth since they used to be partners and had a nasty break up.

[Major Harris]

i haven't heard many bad things about ryan builders at all. most local subcontractors around here will tell you to avoid dan ryan like the plague.

i think sircharlz is right....a national builder is not the route i'd take.

[FunBunch7]

As long as you can avid a Pre Payment Penalty, go ahead and take the incentives to use their lender.

I am a Mortgage Broker in Arizona and often will advise my clients to go ahead with the financing the bulilder is offering. The rates will always be much higher with the builder's lender.

After you get the upgraded carpet, tile, fire place and what ever else they throw in and you get possession of the property, you can look into refinancing at a more competetive rate.

But remember, avoid the Pre Payment Penalty, which is usually 6 months worth of interrest. This is the KEY!

[PugSkin]

When were were looking at building a home we briefly looked at Ryan. We were quickly turned off by them when we noticed that on a lot of their projects they don't actually use plywood to build the sides of the home. Rather they use thisthin insulation/styrofoam type material and slap the siding right over it. We opted to stay away from that type of building and go with a true stick built.

[Major Harris]

When were were looking at building a home we briefly looked at Ryan. We were quickly turned off by them when we noticed that on a lot of their projects they don't actually use plywood to build the sides of the home. Rather they use thisthin insulation/styrofoam type material and slap the siding right over it. We opted to stay away from that type of building and go with a true stick built.

if it was styrofoam insulation, that is placed over the plywood. and that's an upgrade over traditional tyvek housewrap.

there's no way a house was built using stryofoam insulation. if that did happen, those houses would be gone by now.

[PugSkin]

if it was styrofoam insulation, that is placed over the plywood. and that's an upgrade over traditional tyvek housewrap.

there's no way a house was built using stryofoam insulation. if that did happen, those houses would be gone by now.

I don't know exactly what the material was. It was about as thick as drywall, and seemed rather insufficient to both myself and my husband. However, it was not placed over plywood. There was NO plywood. We examined the homes from the inside and the outside. We watched the entire community go up and there was no plywood on the sides of any of the homes. Obviously it wasn't styrofoam, but it certainly wasn't plywood.

Some information I found when trying to find out what they use on the sides of the homes in place of plywood:

http://www.srstractor.com/ryanhomesemail.html

From the above listed site:

I thought I was the only one with problems with Ryan Homes until I came across your website. We purchased a Ryan Home in Dumfries, VA 3 years ago and it has been a major dissapointment. The problems we have encountered include foyer chandelier not centered, unbalanced switches (fireplace and fireplace light) on each side of the fireplace, leaking windows, crooked walls, creaking loose floors etc. In addition to save money, they didn't use any plywood to cover the house when the house frame was put up..they just wrapped the frame in TYVEC (a cardboard material) and then put on the siding. So at this point , anyone can pretty much punch a hold in the wall and easily enter from the outside. Also unlike most quality builders, they didn't put any kind of molding around any of the windows in the house. Basically just cheap products were used to build in our sub community for one reason or another.

[Major Harris]

wow. :yikes:

[BAFGA]

We bought a Ryan townhome over a year ago. The house itself is fine. The landscaping they did around the place could have been better. When it rains, the backyard is very slow to drain. They've been out several times trying to fix it but it doesn't do much good.

We used NVR mortgage but we used a friend to do our closing. I don't think they were happy about that.

Overall I would rate Ryan Homes a C+. Not fabulous, but not crappy.

[PleaseBlitz]

According to the BBB and other websites Ryan homes is a good builder but I found one website that hates Ryan Homes and NVR Mortgage (you only get the Ryan incentives if you use their mortgage co). I know we have a lot of Builders, home owners and mortgage guys and gals here so I want your take on these two companies.

Do any of you know if Ryan homes is a good builder?

They are a good builder, but any builder will have some problems from time to time.


Do any of you know anything about NVR Mortgage?

Yes, they KNOW that you are getting tens of thousands of dollars in incentives to use them, so they can pretty much :hump: you all they want. Still, its probably worth it.


Do any of you know if it is legal for a builder to only give you incentives if you use their mortgage co? (from one website I saw they were saying that might not be legal)

Totally legal.

That all being said, in THIS market where nothing is moving, you can PROBABLY negotiate the same incentives WITHOUT using NVR mortgage. Ryan isnt going to kick a buyer out the door just because they wont be in control of the settlement. They need to sell these homes. Talk to the guy sitting on the house and ask. Better yet, hire a realtor and have them ask.

[sircharlz]

The styrofoam in place of plywood was pretty standard practice in the 80's when plywood was through the roof. The corners of all exterior walls had plywood to keep the structure rigid, but the remainder of the wall surface was covered with styrofoam sheets and then siding applied to that. The siding guys hated it because they had to make sure they hit the stud everytime.

About 2 or 3 years ago when plywood went through the roof again many builders went back to that method. Insulation wise it is actually better - structurally it's pretty lame.

But yeah - with a national builder it's all about moving product so be sure to hit them with a lowball number and work up from there until they accept it. Don't be affraid to start 10-15% under what their incentives would make the final price, but you didn't hear this from me.

[Huly]

Yes, they KNOW that you are getting tens of thousands of dollars in incentives to use them, so they can pretty much :hump: you all they want. Still, its probably worth it.

Totally legal.

That all being said, in THIS market where nothing is moving, you can PROBABLY negotiate the same incentives WITHOUT using NVR mortgage. Ryan isnt going to kick a buyer out the door just because they wont be in control of the settlement. They need to sell these homes. Talk to the guy sitting on the house and ask. Better yet, hire a realtor and have them ask.

Thanks the other thought was go through NVR then refi what do you think?

[skinfan2k]

go with chesapeake custom homes!!!!!!

[portisizzle]

if it was styrofoam insulation, that is placed over the plywood. and that's an upgrade over traditional tyvek housewrap.

there's no way a house was built using stryofoam insulation. if that did happen, those houses would be gone by now.

This is wrong. It is code approved to use insulation for exterior walls. Corners are braced with plywood.

Research homes built in the late 70's and 80's. What is behind that siding? Most likely foam.


Quick point on the national home builders. They build them QUICK. I mean lightning QUICK. Consider the effect on quality vs. price. Also, KNOW what the allowances are for specialty items. If you can not invest enough time in determining what that allowance will actually buy you then do not get mad when the finished product is lacking.

Do not expect the national builders to be too helpful in this department. In fact expect them to beat the living pulp out of you FOR upgrades. And unless you go with bland and basic (read cheap) do not expect much from their base allowance.

[sircharlz]

portisizzle is correct regarding the allowances.

When you visit their model homes you'll see tons of cabinetry & flooring upgrades. The sad truth is that sometimes the allowance built into your base price won't even cover the same footage of cabinetry shown in the model - let alone any of the upgrades.

You really need to spend time and research everything with a national builder before you sign contracts - know exactly what your getting and what your costs are. Like I said before - you're better off buying a completed home from them rather than going through the building process.

[Major Harris]

This is wrong.


yes, that's been established. i stand corrected.

[CHUBAKAH]

Ryan homes is ranked #2 in the entire country.
Any questions?

The homes in this area Huly are pre fab, meaning the walls are engineered at a factory, and brought on site to assemble.

The outside corners on these specific homes are not plywood either, however they are OSB. [plywood comparable]

If been in the building industry for 27 years Huly. I wouldn't have bought one this past weekend if I would have had any issues with Ryan builders. As a matter of fact I worked for this very company in Texas for a few years.

In that specific area, you won't find a better built home with a better reputation than Ryan homes comparatively speaking.
Fact

BTW NVR is the parent company to Ryan homes, which also builds. They do however build a more expensive home typically speaking.

[portisizzle]

Ryan homes is ranked #2 in the entire country.
Any questions?

.

Ranked on what scale? Sales volume or customer satisfaction?

Serious question BTW.

I can build my own home and have no need for a Ryan homes nor do I have an axe to grind. Just looking for clarification.

[portisizzle]

yes, that's been established. i stand corrected.

I stopped reading after I saw your first comment. Sorry about that.

That being said. don't get mad and punch the siding on one of these homes with the foam walls. :laugh:

[PugSkin]

Ranked on what scale? Sales volume or customer satisfaction?

Serious question BTW.

I can build my own home and have no need for a Ryan homes nor do I have an axe to grind. Just looking for clarification.

My guess is sales volume, though I have no support whatsoever to back that up. When I was looking for information on what exactly it is that Ryan uses for the extreior walls on their homes I came across quite a few websites of people who were not happy with Ryan homes. That being said, my sister-in-law owned a Ryan townhouse for quite a while and was very happy with it. Ryan does build a beautiful home. I have never lived in one, though, so I can not remark on the quality of the homes. The lack of plywood on the exterior walls freaked us out so we chose to go with another builder.

Incidentally, many people seem to have a hard time dealing with NVR. Though, someone who has done research and knows what to expect would probably be just fine in dealing with them.

[Major Harris]

I stopped reading after I saw your first comment. Sorry about that.

That being said. don't get mad and punch the siding on one of these homes with the foam walls. :laugh:

no problem. :cheers:

i don't have to worry about that at all. my house was built in 1952, with cinder block construction and a brick vaneer. i don't think i could punch through it. :laugh:

[PugSkin]

no problem. :cheers:

i don't have to worry about that at all. my house was built in 1952, with cinder block construction and a brick vaneer. i don't think i could punch through it. :laugh:

Did you, by any chance, use WV's USDA loan? I know there are a few Extremeskins who have used it. I am selling a house in WV now where the buyer is using the USDA loan. I know nothing about it, other than that it seems to be a fantastic program.

[sircharlz]

Ryan homes is ranked #2 in the entire country.
Any questions?


In that specific area, you won't find a better built home with a better reputation than Ryan homes comparatively speaking.
Fact



I'm going to have to call you out on a few of your points.....

First off - Here are the rankings from 2006 (professional builder magazine)

Rank ///// Company ///// Revenue ///// Closings
1 --- Pulte Homes --- $14,370,667,000 ---45,630
2 --- D.R. Horton --- $13,716,638,000 --- 51,383
3 --- Lennar --- $12,711,789,000 --- 42,359
4 --- Centex --- $11,330,467,395 --- 37,876
5 --- KB Home --- $ 9,364,803,000 --- 37,140
6 --- Toll Brothers --- $ 5,759,301,000 --- 8,769
7 --- K. Hovnanian --- $ 5,707,906,000 --- 17,783
8 --- NVR (Ryan) --- $ 5,177,743,000 --- 13,787

So as you can see here, Ryan Homes isn't ranked #2 in revenue or in closings.


As for your other comment, I found it interesting that you noted "comparatively speaking". Compared against another national builder you may be right. Compared against a quality local builder I very much doubt they could hold a candle to the local guy. You'd have to look at a Parade of Homes type of judging to see how there homes stack up. In our area the national guys are a joke - but they are cheap.

[Major Harris]

Did you, by any chance, use WV's USDA loan? I know there are a few Extremeskins who have used it. I am selling a house in WV now where the buyer is using the USDA loan. I know nothing about it, other than that it seems to be a fantastic program.

no i didn't. i don't know anything about it.

[PugSkin]

no i didn't. i don't know anything about it.

Thanks anyway...

[CHUBAKAH]

Ranked on what scale? Sales volume or customer satisfaction?

Serious question BTW.

I can build my own home and have no need for a Ryan homes nor do I have an axe to grind. Just looking for clarification.
J.D. Power and Associates scale which is quite broad, however I am at work and do not have my research links in front of me.

I believe they also make the top ten on consumer reports, although I have not seen it myself, and think I just read that some where.

In any event using Ryan homes has nothing to do with one's skill level, and my NARI, IRC, and IIRC certifications should just about cover any curiosity of weather or not I can build a custom home. It's about convenience.
;)

[canethang 305]

Did you, by any chance, use WV's USDA loan? I know there are a few Extremeskins who have used it. I am selling a house in WV now where the buyer is using the USDA loan. I know nothing about it, other than that it seems to be a fantastic program.

Low rates, closing assistance, no cash down. I got one of these and if I took the convential loan with money down my rate would have been higher and I would have been responsible for closing. The only hang up USED to be since it was a USDA loan you had to buy a property in a rural/unincorporated area but in January they dropped that.

The only qualification is good credit.

[PugSkin]

Low rates, closing assistance, no cash down. I got one of these and if I took the convential loan with money down my rate would have been higher and I would have been responsible for closing. The only hang up USED to be since it was a USDA loan you had to buy a property in a rural/unincorporated area but in January they dropped that.

The only qualification is good credit.

Thank you! We are selling a home in Inwood. The buyer is using this loan, but we are completely unfamiliar with it. We did not know that the buyer gets closing assistance. That's great. Did they require that you have a home inspection? I assumed there would be one, but I have not heard anything from the lender regarding it...so far they've only asked for a sewer availability letter and an appraisal.

Thanks again for the info.

[canethang 305]

Thank you! We are selling a home in Inwood. The buyer is using this loan, but we are completely unfamiliar with it. We did not know that the buyer gets closing assistance. That's great. Did they require that you have a home inspection? I assumed there would be one, but I have not heard anything from the lender regarding it...so far they've only asked for a sewer availability letter and an appraisal.

Thanks again for the info.

My lender, The Mortgage Center in Martinsburg basically took care of everything for me, they set up the inspection and let me know when it was good, they handled the appraisal. I had $5000 closing assistance and they set up and additonal loan for $3000 to cover the rest and that loan is intrest free for 5 years with the thought that in 5 years you can pay it off then and not pay any intrest. All I really had to do was get the house isured 5 day's before closing so that the insurance company could get the appraisal and send the policy back by closing date. It was quite possibly the easiest thing I have ever done. At closing I actually got back all of my money I put up for the insurance. So in the end it cost me nothing, oh and i didn't have to pay my mortgage for 45 days after closing.

I am not sure if this loan is just that simple, but i'm sure my lender made it as easy as possible since he came in after hours to help me start the process because I couldn't make it during their normal business hours.

If you ever have to recomend a lender you may want to look into The Mortgage Center, Mark the owner has helped 5 of my friends get these loans and all 5 are so happy because they had been saving for a while to buy and their mortgage is almost the same as their rent was.

[Major Harris]

The only hang up USED to be since it was a USDA loan you had to buy a property in a rural/unincorporated area but in January they dropped that.



i knew there was a reason i didn't look into it much.

[canethang 305]

i knew there was a reason i didn't look into it much.

My lender only recommended it because he has a "in" at the USDA office in Martinsburg and knew that as of the 1st of the year 2006 that would change because the USDA wanted to do more loans as well as they saw an opportunity with the growth going on to make a lot of money. I had told him my lease expired on April 1st and I wanted to close on my house around 3/15.

If you went to get a loan and already had your house picked out that's why they didn't recomend it.