Phoenix Homes

[pinktulips]

Hey there,

Just wondering if any of you knew anything about Phoenix Homes. They seem to have great value for what they offer you. I'm just not sure what their reputation is and wanted to hear any positive/negative experiences you may have heard about or gone through with them.

[mart242]

Run my friend... run.. don't walk. run. That's what it used to be.

I'd say go knock on some doors of recently built homes and ask the homeowners. Maybe things have changed.

[TSB]

We just bought a Phoenix home, closing date of September 14, 2007.

We knocked on doors in Barrhaven prior to buying it, and everyone seemed happy that they bought it. No matter what builder you go with, nothing will be perfect. I have yet to hear of one builder where absolutely nothing needed to be fixed after the house was built. While the people we talked to had minor repairs, none of them had any major repairs, and said that everything was fixed quickly. One of the owners was on their second Phoenix home, and not one person we talked to regretted their decision in buying a Phoenix home.

I will say, however, that the staff at the Design Centre people are lacking in customer service skills.

[Joseph]

I have a close friend who is having a home built by Phoenix Homes in Barrhaven. So far, he has not had a very good experience with them. He has asked for a number of changes to the floor plan of the house they are building. According to him, Phoenix is not interested in making changes (he is getting them to move some windows around in some rooms, better use of space to include a closet, etc). But, what he wanted (and Phoenix had agreed to do) is not what the trades people are doing. So there is a lot of "frustration" on both side.

As with a lot of other builders, as long as you do not need changes to the floor plan (except maybe for some minor things), things should go well. In the end, the quality is only as good as the trades people working on it and the building supervisor overseeing the work for your new home.

[GreyingJay]

Originally Posted by Joseph

I have a close friend who is having a home built by Phoenix Homes in Barrhaven. So far, he has not had a very good experience with them. He has asked for a number of changes to the floor plan of the house they are building. According to him, Phoenix is not interested in making changes (he is getting them to move some windows around in some rooms, better use of space to include a closet, etc). But, what he wanted (and Phoenix had agreed to do) is not what the trades people are doing. So there is a lot of "frustration" on both side.

As with a lot of other builders, as long as you do not need changes to the floor plan (except maybe for some minor things), things should go well. In the end, the quality is only as good as the trades people working on it and the building supervisor overseeing the work for your new home.

You'd think that after hundreds of years of building houses, we would be good at it by now

I suspect it is this sort of reason (and their added hassle, cost, time, stress) that certain builders have simply adopted "no changes allowed whatsoever" policies, or provide only specific sets of changes rather than having things customized to each house. Of course, then we buyers complain about the lack of flexibility...

[aikejon]

Originally Posted by mart242

Run my friend... run.. don't walk. run. That's what it used to be.

I'd say go knock on some doors of recently built homes and ask the homeowners. Maybe things have changed.

I did this last fall in Barrhaven (I may have posted this elsewhere).... one should still run.... the stories of delays and workmanship were the worst I've ever heard... the guy said that Phoenix even sued a recent owner (neighbour) to get her to shut up.... how bad does THAT have to be....

The first Phoenix site I looked at was in Deer Run, and the rep told me that I wasn't allowed to speak to the owners around the corner because they got angry when people hassled them. I first thought that it would be normal if hordes of people showed up at your doorstep asking silly questions.... but then I did that for other builders in other developments and found that people were generally happy to answer questions about their new homes. I know now why the Phoenix homeowners were angry....

[mart242]

Originally Posted by aikejon

but then I did that for other builders in other developments and found that people were generally happy to answer questions about their new homes. I know now why the Phoenix homeowners were angry....

Yeah, I've answered questions of a quite a few people / potential buyers. Most owners are glad to help.

[canabiz]

Phoenix Homes has an ad in the latest *New Homes* insert from Ottawa Sun (dated April 21, 2007) stating about 75% of its singles in Strandherd Meadows has been sold and prices start at $257,000

Does anyone have any more info on these singles ? I believe granite kitchen countertops and granite foyer are standard in Phoenix singles now. Also Free Hardwood Bonus available. I'll probably go with my cousin (he's house-hunting) this weekend for another drive out there again!

[ShowStopper]

The granite they include is crap. They only include it because the owner of the company owns a granite factory in India. It is super thin. They have vinyl floor in the kitchen so unless you are ready to upgrade your kitchen floor, what is the point. And if they crap out on the installation, it looks like total junk.
They won't let you get a credit for the countertop and granite foyer to put towards something else...

[Molson_g]

Speaking of Pheonix, We were looking in the Brookside development as my wife and I really like what is going in there, we have been looking at Garand Homes, Has anyone heard of this builder? or any stories?

We were speaking with the owner directly and liked what he had to say. He also had some townhomes nearly completed, and walked us throught those. We were very impressed with the qualilty and how the homes were built. I guess the good thing is him being a smaller builder you deal directly with him as he mentioned to us.