Home Builders List

Ryland Homes is a national home builder based in Calabasas, California and builds homes in 14 states. Not only do they build homes, but they provide financing and other services to potential home buyers as well. They are listed at one of the top 10 national home builders in the country.

Ryland claims that they’ve built more than 285,000 thousand homes over the course of 30 years, starting with a master planned community in Maryland and growing from there. The name came about because the creator of the company saw a sign in Maryland with the M and A missing and liked the way the name looked.

Ryland has over 1,200 employees across its building area and has revenues of $1.2 billion in 2009. The present leadership includes CEO Larry Nicholson and president Yoshitsugu Motoda.

They have had a tough beginning to 2011. Home orders declined 17% in the first quarter of the year and their share price was down more than $19 million, nearly $5 million less than last year at the same time. Revenues dropped 30% from last year, although March started showing some signs of recovery. Yet they continue building new home communities, up to 218 from 177 at this time last year.

Ryland Homes is known for its customer service and its attention to detail, and they will work with potential home owners to try to give them what they want while also building communities with homes that are ready to move into.

There are a lot of home builders throughout the country and the world. All of them have both good and bad things about them; hopefully there are more good things than bad things. If you’re looking to buy a home that’s already been built that’s one thing. If you’re looking to have a house built for you, then there are some things you probably need to know up front. Here are 5 things you should check.

1. Check the styles of homes they build online. Every home builder will exhibit at least a few styles of homes they build, even those home builders that only make customized homes. Some of them even have pricing next to the homes. This is a quick way to know if a builder will make the type of house you’re looking to have.

2. Find out the locations your builder likes to work in. It doesn’t help if you like the style of home a builder makes but they don’t build in your area. Some home builders will cover a particular area of a state, the entire state, or even multiple states. Some builders will only build certain styles in certain areas, while others will give you whatever you want.

3. Check out reviews of home builders online but be circumspect on what you read. It’s not always easy, but you have to be able to discern legitimate gripes from those reviews from people who just like to complain. When people talk about the quality of homes that’s something to pay attention to. When they talk about someone that might have treated them in a manner they didn’t like, that still might be a red flag but it’s less important than getting a quality home.

4. Make them sign everything they promise. When you’re talking to a home builder and they start promising things to you that you want, whether you believe it or not, make them write it down and then get that person’s signature on it. The sales person you talk to isn’t always the person you’ll be dealing with later on, and if you don’t have it in writing then it wasn’t agreed upon; remember what Judge Judy says.

5. Don’t get pressured into anything you don’t want. The home builder’s job is to get your name on the contract. They can be very good at their job. Your job is to make sure you get it right the first time and that you can afford it. Don’t sign anything or agree to anything until you’re totally comfortable with the deal. You may have your home a long time, so make sure you think about it before you commit to it.