I do not understand what the hype is about Marini homes. I feel this is part of the Albany syndrome - one doesn't know that there are things SO MUCH better outside of New York, and certainly outside of Albany, if one has never ventured beyond. When we moved to the Crapital Region seven years ago, we went straight with Marini due to their supposed reputation. Are they one of the better builders in the region? Yes. However, outside the region, I would rank them as below average when taking into account building style, customization, and value. This was our first new construction house. Since then we've moved out of the mess that is NY and used a true custom builder in a state that values our liberties and paycheck.
The pricing of a Marini home is a symptom of the Capital Region, so we can't blame Marini, but make no mistake, they ARE taking you to the cleaners in relation to home pricing in other, more desirable, places to live in the U.S. Our current, all brick, 4200 sq ft (not including basement), FULLY custom home (sitting down with an architect and designing our own layout and picking our OWN vendors to work with based on builder credits) on 2 acres with $200k+ in upgrades in one of the most livable cities in the U.S. was only $200k more than Marini was charging for our 2900 sq ft, vinyl siding, 1/3 acre, pre-built, no modification to floorplan house. An undesirable area like Albany shouldn't command the prices that are being charged, so please be aware that building in this area is not a relative value proposition, but your house value will be preserved (see my comments at the end)
-- Marini's pre-framing construction model makes modifications EXTREMELY expensive, which prevents you from having a truly custom home, so the fact that they call themselves a "custom builder" is disingenuous (anything can be custom if you throw enough money at it; other builders simply charge by the square foot if you simply want square footage modifications).
-- Marini doesn't use foamboard on exterior foundation walls which is contrary to current building science standards. They also don't use a Forma Drain type system (like modern builders) and rely on a sump pump to take care of any water AFTER it has made its way inside your house. Good construction will prevent water from ever making it inside.
-- I have not seen them use caisson construction (prevents settlement issues) in marshy, sandy, or fill areas where a house would be built.
-- Unlike higher end builders, Marini does not insulate behind outlets/gangs, so there are multiple draft entry points on exterior walls of the house and there is no foamboard insulation in exterior wall cavities that act as return ducts. There are other minor issues like use of Plex instead of copper piping, no high/low same cavity air return vents for increased upstairs comfort, unnecessary use of quarter rounds on baseboards and other areas.
-- Finally, getting things fixed under warranty was like pulling teeth, but this is typical with most builders nowadays - just push them hard to fix things and don't let the warranty run out before you put in your claim.
Again, is Marini one of the better builders in Albany - yes, but that's like a Happy Meal in Ethiopia being considered a gourmet dish. If you're going to make Albania your permanent home, then I would suggest you pony up some more money and get a more individualized builder that adheres to building science standards (NYS building code falls far short of what is best practices current building science standards), especially for the strange 6A climate zone that Albany is situated in. If you're going to live in the wasteland that is Albany for just a few years (like we did), a Marini home is a good investment because you'll be able to flip that house when you leave to some fresh-off-the-boat folks who don't know any better (and of course, that's what we did). read more
