You know, it is a big company but so much of the experience is local. A local person from 3 years ago would be more relevant than a CA person yesterday. Except for perhaps some general contract or corporate policy issues.

Toll Brothers is like eating at Carrabbas. I mean it is better than McDonalds but it pales in comparison to a real restaurant. But you also know what you are getting and the value equation is pretty good.

For many of the tract builders the end product is very dependent on the local Job Supervisor or Site Manager, and the crews they are able to hire.

A family friend built with a large builder recently. Her upstairs wood floors and subfloor have all just been torn up for repairs. When it was being built, each trade just came in and did their job, even though the previous step had been done wrong. The end result was major bowing of the wood and subfloor. The floor installer admitted he had noticed issues, told the Site Manager, but they never fix anything, so he went ahead and installed the floors, so he could get paid. The builder is now having to pay a huge upcharge, including paying moving fees for antique/heavy furniture.

I have lots of stories like that. The large production builders just don't care. Their business model seems to be based on coming back several times to re-build something that could have have easily and quickly been fixed upfront.

With a production builder there are rarely any "options that we get without having to pay more". Look carefully at the models and specs and you will see that many of the things you might consider as standard, will be considered upgrades by the builder and will cost you more.

We built a Toll Brothers home in Massachusetts and moved in last October. Did we spend more in extras than we initially anticipated? Yes! When you look at what is actually included, you will understand why. Extra lighting ( very few recessed lights included), upgrade cabinets, flooring, tile, counters. We are pleased with our finished home, but Toll does seem to have issues that need to be re-done. We have a saying here...of course it’s nice, they do it twice! Most importantly, we love our community and our neighbors! Would do it again!!!

Why don’t you tell us where Holbrook Reserve is? Is it in the United States? Homes and their quality vary widely across the country.

Sorry, missed mentioning that it is in Cumming, Georgia

@David Sagarias I looked hard at Toll Brothers last year and determined that it was a business that I didn't want to work with. Without getting into the details, before contracting with them understand that 100% of your deposit goes hard once your sign the contract. There is no loan contingency. So, if your circumstances change and lose your job (e.g. COVID-related job loss), then you lose 100% of your deposits. So, if your deposit is $40k and you have another $50k in upgrade deposits, then you will lose that money (even if the home construction has not started). I understand liquidated damages, but Toll takes it to the extreme. In other words, Toll profits at the expense of their customer's unfortunate loss:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2012/07/27/how-did-toll-brothers-survive-the-housing-slump-by-keeping-buyers-deposits-2/

Also, Toll claims to be a luxury builder. They are not. Their base finishes are apartment like, particularly the flooring and the cabinets. You'll need to spend BIG money (which means more deposit money at risk) to get anywhere near to what you see in their beautiful models. Before contracting and your money goes hard, insist on getting a the upgrade price list for the model that you like and also get a comprehensive list of the options--all of them (finish, paint, trim, faucet, counters, cabinets) and after you recover from the sticker shock (and you will be shocked), make your informed decision.

With that said, if you like the home and you're 100% certain that you can close on time, then move forward. If not, look elsewhere.

Consider the information at this link from Toll customers all over the US: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/housing/toll-brothers.html, then ask yourself if this is the company that you want building a home for you.

They sure make a pretty model, though.

Caveat emptor must be at the forefront with this builder.

They do make a pretty model. We went to as many Toll Brother model homes as we could to get decorating ideas, but did not build with them.

Thanks all for your comments. This is the article that made me uneasy. I will probably have to spend more time on the "default options", if I decide to go ahead with toll brothers. My first preference at the moment is Pulte at North Cove. But it is hard to get a lot, being a sellers market. Sometimes I think I should wait for a year!. Getting the right land for building a custom home might be too hard and I know next to nothing about houses!

OMG! That is such a sad story.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/housing/toll-brothers.html

@David Sagarias My builder (local) has two small communities in Cumming but they start at half a million which might be above your range. I only have good things to say about them though. Honestly if you don't HAVE to buy now I wouldn’t. I can only afford my house because I squeaked in before a price increase in September. My model now goes for $40k above what I went under contract for. It’s crazy out here.

@David Sagarias, you mentioned Pulte. You need to do the same research for them as you are doing for Toll Brothers ... the results won't be very different.

@David Sagarias....I read the article you tagged. I mean, unfortunate for sure, but, I would definitely not let that stop me from building with Toll. I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but, the author strikes me as the type who claims that everything bad happens to him and nothing is his fault. My guess is there is more to the story.

I'm not trying to suggest that Toll is your local, hometown credit union who treats you like family - they're not - they're a huge organization with many irons in the fire and specific processes set up to enable them to achieve their bottom line. They wouldn't be able to function at the level they function without them. And my guess is they've been burned too often by people who get right to the end of the process and then for whatever reason, can't close. Toll has no choice to impose the deposit structure and deadlines they do or they'd be stuck trying to flip houses that have finishes they would never have chosen and now can't sell. As a purchaser, I don't want them spending their time managing that - I want them focused on building good houses. Yes, they do have pretty stringent non-negotiables, but they're very clear about them in the paperwork and like any other major purchase you make in your life, the onus is on you to understand them or get an atty. to walk you through it. I don't know....to me, there's something a little suspect about a guy buying an $800k house in NC who keeps getting dinged for late payments on his credit report that are completely not his fault. I can't speak to the sales staff or construction managers at his community, but the ones at mine - particularly sales, were very friendly, efficient, and problem solvers right up to closing - and beyond, actually.

I think I'm just saying, be more concerned about construction quality than their ability to manage other people's issues. I realize that they, like all production builders, have had communities that you'll read not-so-great things about, but there are communities that also turned out beautifully....nobody writes about those because, well, why would they? It's unfortunate that we're in times of COVID and your ability to mingle with folks in the community you're looking at are limited, but if you can talk to some of them, that may give you a much better idea. I am in a townhouse community that is being built out just down the road from a single family home community that's been done for quite a while -- and I heard nothing but good things from there.

It's a tough call -- custom build or production -- both have pluses and minuses. Good luck with your decision. (And lastly, if you don't already know, if you don't need to rush your decision, don't.....lumber and material prices are still way up, and getting materials in, thanks to COVID and shipping challenges, is not so easy right now.)

@Marie J. It might be around my budget. Even though it is bad out there, I do not think the prices are coming down any time soon. If it still has lots available, it might be worth a look.

@David Sagarias Look up Bentley Commons and Trammel Manor. I can speak to the design center experience.

We are building with Toll Brothers in Belterra in Austin, Texas. It's been approximately 330 days since we signed our contract and our home isn't complete just yet. Based on our experience so far, I would not recommend them. Toll Brothers built the entry to our home 10" shorter and 10" narrower than planned (and than all other completed homes built to pursuant to our floor plan). We discussed with the Project Manager and were told it was "not a problem" that the main entry dimensions had been materially diminished, that Toll Brothers is not obligated to build the home pursuant to the architectural drawings attached to the Agreement of Sale, and that no solution would be offered. The Project Manager went on to say that is was my fault that the entry dimensions had been diminished because I made a $16,700 exterior stone upgrade and that it wasn't Toll Brothers responsibility to advise me that the dimensions of the entry would be materially reduced as a result of this expensive upgrade (at no point in the process did a Toll Brother employee say, if you make this expensive exterior stone upgrade, your home entry will be materially smaller). This is not the first issue in our build process. Try to talk to your would be neighbors because experiences vary from one location to another.

Just an update. I ended up booking a home with Drees Homes in Mason, Ohio. I work remotely and have a couple of good friends there. The housing market is simply too hot now around Atlanta, I hope I do not regret this! The property taxes in Mason are ridiculously high though :-(

David, we were considering a Toll home in Castle Rock, CO until we looked at the property taxes. The Toll neighborhood taxes were $7000/year more than the surrounding neighborhood due to a bond they worked to pass to pay for the infrastructure and on top of taxes (not including the up charged home and lot prices) you paid, they also charge you again in the closing HOA fees for infrastructure. Toll never paid for any infrastructure!!