56 replies to this topic

[vakr]

Does anyone know how's the Blackstone development coming up? I am new to this forum and would like to get some info on this new community. The home prices look attractive for what they come with. I read some old posts about this, but am not sure how the development is looking right now. Anyone has ideas?

Thanks

[aprilfool71]

well i talked with cambridge homes a few weeks ago and it is up in the air whether or not they are going to ever build there at all with the real estate downturn. they have postponed their build dates twice. centex started building then pulled out and sold their lots back to the developer lennar. so to date the only confirmed builder is lennar. they finished the club house, but the school will likely not be built for two more years if at all. that community is going to be a ghost town for 10 years. so if you buy a house there at a cheap price there is reason for it. i'd recommend either buying a bank owned home which is where you get the best deals, or wait another year or two to buy. there are another 400 defaults about to hit the market in EDH according to Realtytrac.com. that is sure to drag prices further down.

we were going to buy too, but after finding that out we decided to just rent a nice house and wait for prices to hit rock bottom. it's not like prices are going to go up again any time soon. at best they will just stabilize, and that is the time to buy.

good luck!

[palango]

Does anyone know how's the Blackstone development coming up? I am new to this forum and would like to get some info on this new community. The home prices look attractive for what they come with. I read some old posts about this, but am not sure how the development is looking right now. Anyone has ideas?

Thanks

I have conducted extensive research on this and I do have to concur with Aprilfool71 on this. There were lots of promises when the development first openned up, but now you have buildres such as Cambridge and parkland balking and and looks like they may be pulling out. Centex washed their hands off and now you are left with lennar.

The clubhouse is complete, but will not open for another 2-3 years because they do not have $$ to operate it so now they are giving memberships to the edh soprts club. Schools and parks are a good 3-5 years away. My biggest fear is that what if Lennar says screw it , we are not making enough $$ and it makes financial sense for us to completely pull out and halt development. There are documented cases in Elk Grove where a builder competely shut down development and left unfinished houses, no schools, parks, etc. So the contractors and subcontractors started putting liens on some of the propertyies that were completed. It was a huge headache for the folks that bought there. Now I do not think it will get that bad, but you have to be extremely careful. Who cares if yuou are getting a screaming deal when there is no trees, parks, schools and you have to wait 3- 5 years for that???

[MSgt]

Is this the blackstone in edh on latrobe rd? My friend and I went over there (the development at the south end) the other day to pass time at lunch and the guy said they were sold out. All they have left is the three model homes. Maybe that is different than blackstone?

[palango]

YES. There is only one Blackstone Development in EDH and that is on Latrobe rd. Sold out is only a gimmick because look all around you at all the empty lots of land. There is about 3000 homes waiting to be sold. The builder now is building very slowly because with the price of gas and everything else, there is no way that they can build a bunch of homes and have it sit there all empty.

The wave of the future is to build 1-4 homes at a time (instead of 15-20). Once those homes are "sold out", then create a buzz and out folks on waiting lists. All marketing.

[MSgt]

All they had for sale at the south end build of blackstone was model homes. They had three for sale 490,000+ with everything that is presently in the models. Also they had a dry erase board that had the model homes and their prices. I don't think he would lie when he could potientially sell us a house. Why would you tell a customer we are sold out if they aren't. He said the last house will be finished in Oct. These are the smaller homes on the south end of the development.

[palango]

All they had for sale at the south end build of blackstone was model homes. They had three for sale 490,000+ with everything that is presently in the models. Also they had a dry erase board that had the model homes and their prices. I don't think he would lie when he could potientially sell us a house. Why would you tell a customer we are sold out if they aren't. He said the last house will be finished in Oct. These are the smaller homes on the south end of the development.

Ok now it makes sense. What you are referring to is the last homes of Centex. Centex pulledout/was forced out by Lennar. They never really "sold out". I love how these new home salesfolks try to put a nice spin like a politician. Lennar (the builder that you passed on your left side) has lots of homes. In fact they are the ONLY builder left at that development. Trust me when I say that no one has sold out of anything. If anything, they are trying to wash their hands off with losses and get out before it gets worst in 2009 and beyond.

[Orangetj]

Sounds like they've "sold out" of the houses they intend to build, which apparently are far fewer in number than originally anticipated. This is the kind of thing that makes a bit of a case for buying in a neighborhood that's already built out or at least mostly built out. Yeah, the homes aren't brand new but at least you know you'll have an actual neighborhood around you with the parks, trails, landscaping, etc..

[vakr]

Sounds like they've "sold out" of the houses they intend to build, which apparently are far fewer in number than originally anticipated. This is the kind of thing that makes a bit of a case for buying in a neighborhood that's already built out or at least mostly built out. Yeah, the homes aren't brand new but at least you know you'll have an actual neighborhood around you with the parks, trails, landscaping, etc..

Thanks all for the comments. I will keep a watch how things turn out there.

[palango]

Sounds like they've "sold out" of the houses they intend to build, which apparently are far fewer in number than originally anticipated. This is the kind of thing that makes a bit of a case for buying in a neighborhood that's already built out or at least mostly built out. Yeah, the homes aren't brand new but at least you know you'll have an actual neighborhood around you with the parks, trails, landscaping, etc..

agreed 150%. As a buyer/consumer, you are in a driver seat now. The builders will sell you not only a home, but a DREAM of a "supposed" community with all the amenities, but during these very hard times, it is so difficult for a builder to go through quarter after quarter of losses. Something has to give. Corners have to be cut. Quality has to be compromised. Promises have to be broken. Its all about PROFIT.

[Orangetj]

Sheesh...what's up with this. How is it possible that Palango and I can agree on so much!

[palango]

Sheesh...what's up with this. How is it possible that Palango and I can agree on so much!

I figure that you may say "tomaaaaato" and I say "towmawwwwto", but at least we are talking about veggetables. We both feel passionately about EDH and we may differ about Serrano, but the bottom line is that we both pay property taxes, melloo roos, HOA, and other taxes and we both wish that all these charges were at least 50R% lesser so we could go to vacation with the $$ saved every year. Am I wrong?

[Sammy]

I am a resident of Blackstone and I own a Centex home there, we are quite happy with the home and the neighborhood, the people there are really nice and family oriented. We are a little disappointed that things are going a little slow there, the construction on the school stopped 2 months ago not sure why, and no visible construction on the parks. The Club is done but we can not access the Gym for another 2 years I hear, the pools however are open and we have access to them free of charge, currently we are only paying $20 for association until the Gym opens up. We do see that Centex and Lennar are building homes there, I believe about 10 homes are being build right now and just recently they started planting trees and plants on the side of the road. We do see movement but just slow. I also hear that Centex is trying to buy land there but they are not getting the right prices from the development owner. We will see what happens. Also Latrobe road is being widen up to 4 lanes up to the Blackstone entrance that should help a little with the traffic however I have absolutely no issues with traffic in the morning, most of the traffic is seen at the Serrano side.

[Orangetj]

Glad to hear that you're enjoying your home in Blackstone! Hopefully they'll get things on a bit of a faster track over there and get back to building the neighborhood amenities.

We have a Centex home as well (in Serrano, though) and are pretty happy with it. The previous owners didn't treat it very well, so there are a few cosmetic blemishes, but the house itself seems to be great.

One nice thing about EDH - there's really not much traffic to speak of anywhere in town, at least compared with much of Folsom.

[palango]

Glad to hear that you're enjoying your home in Blackstone! Hopefully they'll get things on a bit of a faster track over there and get back to building the neighborhood amenities.

We have a Centex home as well (in Serrano, though) and are pretty happy with it. The previous owners didn't treat it very well, so there are a few cosmetic blemishes, but the house itself seems to be great.

One nice thing about EDH - there's really not much traffic to speak of anywhere in town, at least compared with much of Folsom.

I am glad to hear that you have positive feedback with Centex. Agreeing on a builder is like agreeing on which is the best burrito shop in Folsom (Chipotle and Rubios are mine). I had THE worst luck with our Centex home in EDH (serrnao). It seemed like it was not insulated properly as it leaked oputside air from many different locations of the home. We contacted customer care and they came in a few times and put a temp band aid on it.

Our rental home in Folsom with Beazer, which is the cheapest builder ever, is constructed much better than Centex. I called them last year about a cracked window and they fixed it within a week. This is 6 years AFTER we bought the home. Thats what I call Customer Service !!!