Homes by Fleetwood

[CyinCo]

My wife and I are getting closer to buying a house in the Des Moines area. We have our eye on house built by Homes by Fleetwood. Anyone know anything about them? I can't seem to find much except for a small blurb on Iowa Realty's site. I know they are a small builder and tend to build and sell 4 or 5 homes per year.

Construction quality seems good.

If anyone has an opionon, first-hand knowledge, etc., I'd like to hear it.

 

[thunderdave]

Try to contact Fleetwood and see if they'll give you names of previous buyers that would give a reference for their quality.
Nothing's better than talking to someone who has already bought one of their homes.

 

[Knownothing]

You can go your own way. Go your own wayyyy.

 

[becrisgreg]

My wife and I are getting closer to buying a house in the Des Moines area. We have our eye on house built by Homes by Fleetwood. Anyone know anything about them? I can't seem to find much except for a small blurb on Iowa Realty's site. I know they are a small builder and tend to build and sell 4 or 5 homes per year.

Construction quality seems good.

If anyone has an opionon, first-hand knowledge, etc., I'd like to hear it.

Unless it is a different company (the small builder 4-5 homes would suggest it might be), Fleetwood's primary business is RVs and Manufactured housing. In a previous life they were a customer of mine. Only dealt with the RVs. Their higher end stuff was some of the best available, but they offered a range of product to meet every price point and the quality reflected the price.

Fleetwood Enterprises

 

[CyinCo]

Unless it is a different company (the small builder 4-5 homes would suggest it might be), Fleetwood's primary business is RVs and Manufactured housing. In a previous life they were a customer of mine. Only dealt with the RVs. Their higher end stuff was some of the best available, but they offered a range of product to meet every price point and the quality reflected the price.

Fleetwood Enterprises

Thats not the same company. Fleetwood is owned by a local business owner named Mark Reetz (sp?). I don't know much more than that. I hoping someone on here might own one of his homes and could comment.

 

[isuno1fan]

Never heard of em. What type of price range are their houses??

 

[CyinCo]

Never heard of em. What type of price range are their houses??

Here is there Iowa Realty Builder Profile:

Iowa Realty -- Residential real estate in Des Moines and throughout Iowa

Looks like most houses are in the 300-400 range although there is one home that is 200.

 

[isuno1fan]

In my experience, the builders that only do a few homes at a time offer a better product and higher quality. The builder of my home in Clive is Breckenridge. They only do a couple homes at a time tops. The quantity builders like Regency have alot of problems with their subcontractors and quality issues. My neighbor has a Regency house and he just figured out that his plumbing has been leaking within the walls of his house for the last 7 years. He had to gut a good portion of his home to fix the problems.

 

[isuno1fan]

I can also attest to the fact that Stephen Grubb homes are total crap. I lived in one of his townhomes when I was in my 20s in WDM. Brand new and the friggin pipes would freeze in the winter plus I also had a leaky roof.

 

[CyinCo]

I can also attest to the fact that Stephen Grubb homes are total crap. I lived in one of his townhomes when I was in my 20s in WDM. Brand new and the friggin pipes would freeze in the winter plus I also had a leaky roof.

We have looked at one place by Newblood development. Newblood's builder is Eric Grubb. I'm sure there is a relation there. The house by newblood was nice and it currently our number 3 house on our list.

Where you at in Clive (subdivision). That is where we have mostly been looking.

 

[Cyclonepride]

If you are looking in Ankeny at all, I would recommend Strahan Construction.

 

[Dave19642006]

be cautious on your slab thickness

 

[isuno1fan]

We have looked at one place by Newblood development. Newblood's builder is Eric Grubb. I'm sure there is a relation there. The house by newblood was nice and it currently our number 3 house on our list.

Where you at in Clive (subdivision). That is where we have mostly been looking.

I live off 142nd street across from DM Golf. It's called Country Club Meadows or something like that. What I like about my location is on my Caul de Sac there are homes built by 6 different builders. Basically means your house doesn't look exactly like the neighbors.

 

[CYCLONE STATE]

If you are looking in Ankeny at all, I would recommend Strahan Construction.

I'll second that.

 

[CyinCo]

I live off 142nd street across from DM Golf. It's called Country Club Meadows or something like that. What I like about my location is on my Caul de Sac there are homes built by 6 different builders. Basically means your house doesn't look exactly like the neighbors.

Cool. We have primarily looked at an area North of Hickman and off 152nd. It seems like a good mix of builders and the sub-division is nearly full so there won't be much construction activity. I think the subdivision names are Deer Ridge West, Stonegate, and wood creek.

It seems to be hard to find an area where homes don't all look the same. Builder developments are much more common in Des Moines than in CO.

 

[jumbopackage]

It seems to be hard to find an area where homes don't all look the same. Builder developments are much more common in Des Moines than in CO.

This is one of the main reasons I bought on the southwest side of DSM, in the Southwestern Hills neighborhood. Big back yards, unique houses and floor plans, quality construction, reasonable prices, established neighborhood. I work down at the airport, so it's really close to work. It's super close to downtown, and you never have to touch the interstate to get there. It's really a nice neighborhood. It's not really "suburby" either, but it's only 15 minutes or so to most of the stuff in WDM.

After living out in WDM for 3 years, and living here for a year and a half, I don't miss the suburbs at all.

 

[CyinCo]

This is one of the main reasons I bought on the southwest side of DSM, in the Southwestern Hills neighborhood. Big back yards, unique houses and floor plans, quality construction, reasonable prices, established neighborhood. I work down at the airport, so it's really close to work. It's super close to downtown, and you never have to touch the interstate to get there. It's really a nice neighborhood. It's not really "suburby" either, but it's only 15 minutes or so to most of the stuff in WDM.

After living out in WDM for 3 years, and living here for a year and a half, I don't miss the suburbs at all.

So is this area considered Des Moines?

 

[HILLCYD]

So is this area considered Des Moines?

Yeah, you can send your kids to school in a district that thinks JN is a good leader.

 

[jumbopackage]

So is this area considered Des Moines?

Yes, it's Des Moines proper. The WDM line is about 2 miles west of here.

As far as the schools go, I doubt it's nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Of course I don't have kids, so it's not that huge of a concern to me at the moment. By and large, the schools in Iowa are all pretty decent, regardless of where you live. Jefferson school is about 3 blocks away from where I live, which I've heard nothing but great things about. I can almost see Brody Middle school from my back yard, which is supposed to be a pretty decent middle school, and I think I'm in the Lincoln High school district.

Property taxes are quite similar to the suburbs, from what I can tell. The response time for city services is also quite a bit better than the suburbs from what I saw last time they did a study.

I'm not saying it's better than living in the 'burbs for everyone, but it is for me.

 

[CyinCo]

Yes, it's Des Moines proper. The WDM line is about 2 miles west of here.

As far as the schools go, I doubt it's nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Of course I don't have kids, so it's not that huge of a concern to me at the moment. By and large, the schools in Iowa are all pretty decent, regardless of where you live. Jefferson school is about 3 blocks away from where I live, which I've heard nothing but great things about. I can almost see Brody Middle school from my back yard, which is supposed to be a pretty decent middle school, and I think I'm in the Lincoln High school district.

Property taxes are quite similar to the suburbs, from what I can tell. The response time for city services is also quite a bit better than the suburbs from what I saw last time they did a study.

I'm not saying it's better than living in the 'burbs for everyone, but it is for me.

Schools are THE most important factor in where I locate. That is basically why we are moving from CO. The schools out here are terrible with Greeley being some of the worst in the state. I agree that, in general, anywhere in Iowa is good but I'm sold on Waukee right now.