Celebrity Homes

[shanikquabanana4 55]

I am so mad at Celebrity Homes,they want to buy our remaining lots
when we have worked so hard on our Benchmark Homes,this better not
happen.

[LOL]

Why are you so mad? They can and they will buy our remaining lots. Crap I mean some of them even own keys to our city. lol. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie for example. Yes I know perhaps they didnt truly deserve this reward,,, but in this day and age celebs can pretty much have anything they can possibly dream of. Thats just how it is.

[LOL]

Oh wait.. I forgot one thing, have and want anythig they can dream except for 'PRIVACY'

[CHEAP HOMES]

Celebrity homes/townhomes has to be the biggest joke! Cheap homes, cookie cutter designs, and their agents! Talk about bottom of the barrel! DO NOT buy a Celebrity home! You will just have to pay for a new garage door, appliances, and just about everything! You're better off going with Hearthstone or DesignOne! These companies actually tell you the truth and have ethics!

[Ryan]

CHEAP HOMES wrote:

Celebrity homes/townhomes has to be the biggest joke! Cheap homes, cookie cutter designs, and their agents! Talk about bottom of the barrel! DO NOT buy a Celebrity home! You will just have to pay for a new garage door, appliances, and just about everything! You're better off going with Hearthstone or DesignOne! These companies actually tell you the truth and have ethics!

Could someone give more feedback on Celebrity townhomes? Is anyone happy with one? I am seriously thinking about buying one.

[tyxf5]

ryan your better off buying a hearthstone home they have a letter styles,celebrity lies a bout everything

[nobody]

I've seen Celebrity frame entire homes in a day with some rope, a post and a truck. Their foundations are extremely weak too. Hearthstone has some new models that are really quite impressive. Spend a little more money and get something that'll last a lot longer.

[Ted]

Celebrity and Hearthstone are just volumn builders, they share a lot of the same "subcontractors" Both are ok if you are just starting out and cannot afford very much.
Design one seems to be a spin off of Hearthstone or Celebrity .just watch out for the "Upgrades" that is where they all make their money. Check the standard features and upgrades before making your decision.

[Trisha]

I have lived in a celebrity home for 2 years, and I love it. I have had no problems with it. I guess you did not do enough research.

[rosie]

my boyfriend and i are looking into purcasing our first home in august. We already found a really nice house and its a celebrity home. has someone lived in it and actually not liked it? im just reading quotes and one person who lives in one and loves it. c'mon. i want to know!

[traci]

I have lived in a Celebrity for almost 4 years and it was not new when we bought it. We had to replace the garage door when the house was 10 years old. I did not think this was unreasonable. We have had no other problems. You get what you pay for. You will not get top of the line appliances or carpet, but you are not paying for them either!

[Not Celebrity Fan]

Their product does fit a need... low cost entry into home ownership.

They do it by keeping choices down, keeping quality down, keeping service down, and only building many like models in the same subdivision.

Its a business model that has worked well with prices of quality homes going into higher levels.

The only issue with this type home is the long term maintenance is a lot higher... in 10 years a lot of the homes in a new subdivision will be replacing windows and siding.

Hopefully in that 10 years homeowners will plant trees and do landscaping.

Short-term lower cost... long-term higher cost...

[matt]

I just happened to come across this posting and had a good laugh. It's unfortunate that so many un-educated people feel that need to give advice about something that they obviously know little about. I will start by saying that I've worked in the construction industry for over 7 years in several different areas, including new construction. Every home that is built in the Omaha metro area must meet certain specifications or an inspector will shut down construction. Companies like celebrity, and Hearthstone are forced to follows these specifications rigidly. For someone to say that the foundations are weak is just plain ignorant. Are you suggesting that Celebrity isn't using concrete in the footings? Or, are you saying they aren't using the right Mix design, or somehow shorting the amount of concrete they are placing? Also yes, they can frame a house in a day. The reason for this is that the lumber is pre cut, and somewhat pre assembled. That is an area where the homebuilder can save money by cutting labor costs during framing, and reduce waste. I'm also confused about the quality of the appliances. Are you saying that Celebrity is somehow buying defective units? Or, are you saying that the brands themselves are defective? I keep scratching my head at that statement. The only word that comes to mind is ignorant. An excellent way to judge the quality of construction on any new home is by the energy bills. Ask homeowners if they have noticed heating and cooling bills slowing increasing over time. The biggest difference between Celebrity, and Hearthstone is the lot size. Hearthstone places there homes much closer together. One last thought. If you are basing possible the most expensive, and most important purchase of your life on advice you read on web site you might want to consider renting. I'm my opinion you aren't ready for the responsibility.

[Jill]

I lived in a Hearthstone home for several years and it was fine. Basically the same construction, you're paying less due to the small lot size, cookie-cutter floor plans, and materials such as carpeting aren't top-quality unless you pay to upgrade. We then bought a home built in 1990 by someone other than Hearthstone/Celebrity, and now we're looking at moving into another Hearthstone home b/c our current home is a "money pit". I'm sure Hearthstone and Celebrity have some lemons, but I doubt if they are better or worse than most others.

[sjk]

tyxf5 wrote:

ryan your better off buying a hearthstone home they have a letter styles,celebrity lies a bout everything

He's right.Go with hearthstone.Ive built both for several years and know the pros and cons to every detail on every model well beyond just the surface.Believe me when I say HSH is the way to go ,If you have too.(lol)Just kiddig.The larger models are very reasonable for all they offer!

[sjk]

Jill wrote:

I lived in a Hearthstone home for several years and it was fine. Basically the same construction, you're paying less due to the small lot size, cookie-cutter floor plans, and materials such as carpeting aren't top-quality unless you pay to upgrade. We then bought a home built in 1990 by someone other than Hearthstone/Celebrity, and now we're looking at moving into another Hearthstone home b/c our current home is a "money pit". I'm sure Hearthstone and Celebrity have some lemons, but I doubt if they are better or worse than most others.

quite the contrary,the majority of celebritys products are less quality regardless of being standard or upgraded.

[Chris]

I own a Hearthstone, and my cousin owns Celebrity. Both have their cheap quality. Both have a standard they must meet, but they are the bare minimum in most cases. Wiring is awful in mine, and the houses are way too close together. I could easily hop roofs if I wanted to.

[Not Celebrity Fan]

As Chris points out, they are of cheaper quality. Yes they fit minimum building standards, but that is all.

While they are cheap, they are close, and alot look the same - they do fit a need, otherwise the market place wouldn't buy them.

Owners such as Chris may have problems with their home, but there is a reason people buy them. In a lot of cases it is the easy way to get into initial home ownership.

Just beware that resale is a little harder on a lower quality entry level home and if you stay a long time your maintenane expenses will be higher than in a higher quality home - which all of that is a cost that is avoided in the initial purchase. If you want to avoid those issues you may not be able to afford that first home.

Market place speaks.

[Roy in Papillion]

I live in Celebrity Townhome in Walnut Creek Hills in Papillion. I am reasonably satisfied with my purchase. There are some things about the house (I have the Dayton floorplan) that were not very well thought out by them but they were correctable things and I have done most of those corrections. Why would you put only a 40 gallon hot water heater in a house with a large jacuzzi, for example? Their warranty people have, in a reasonably timely fashion corrected every issue that I have asked them to. As far as my own house is concerned, I am not aware of nor have I seen any construction "issues" with the home and I used to work in the trade myself. Considering that the average home price in the Omaha metro is about 135k, only the lower 1/3 or so Celebrity stuff can be really be considered starter homes. My townhome certainly is not. I would consider it to be the be the next step up from a starter and, at nearly 200k, that's what it is. Nothing about the house, except maybe it's somewhat spartan exterior, reeks of cheap, IMHO, and every person who has walked in my front door and seen it for the first time has been astounded by the size of my home and been pleasantly surprised by how nice it really is. All the things I felt it lacked (water softener, reverse osmosis system, humidifier, better lighting, security system, too small of an electrical service etc.) were easy add-ons/fixes. It is what it is and I am not unhappy. My particular situation is made better by the location of my home which is next to Walnut Creek Recreation Area so I also have a nice lake view from my deck and I am right next to homes that cost 400k+ besides. If you can buy the right Celebrity Home in the right place, it might even be a good investment if you are looking at resale down the road. No real complaints from this quarter!

[Amy]

I found a Celebrity home that I liked and intended to purchase. About 2 weeks about placing the offer I paid for an inspection. The house is a lemon. I will not say anything negative about other homes built by Celebrity, but this one in particular is bad. Faulty electrical, missing shingles, bowed siding, and so on. I have no idea if the massive amounts of spring rain have ruined this house.

Celebrity does not include an inspection clause in your purchase agreemnt. Prospective homebuyers-be warned!