[Villages Kahuna]

In early 2006 TV eliminated the "street of dreams" approach that had been used for several years for buyers to specify every detail of their new home before construction started. They switched to the "we'll design them--you buy them as is" approach. Our sales rep opined that she liked the new approach better in that lots of people found it very difficult to select a model and then picture it on one of the many lots shown them. Besides, she explained, after building more than 30,000 houses, their designers pretty much know what features are most desired at each price point.

Each house is constructed under the direction of a "builder". Each builder supervises about 6 houses at one time. (At least that's the ratio when sales are good.) The builders like to use the same sub-contractor crews on the houses they build. That's not always the case, but they try to use the same people in an effort to maintain high quality.

I'm sure there is some variation in the quality between builders and crews. The quality of our house was impeccable. With the downturn in sales, I'd guess that they've kept only the best builders and sub-contractors, so the chance of even better build quality might have even improved.

Don't hesitate to ask as many questions and do as detailed an inspection as possible before closing. I developed a four-page list of questions and inspected every nook and cranny. Our builder patiently answered every question, taking almost three hours for our "walk thru".

After closing, the warranty process is as smooth as silk. You can make a a warranty claim by either phone or online. You will get a call back from a warranty rep the next day and the appropriate contractor will be out to address your issue within a day or so. Amazing.

Having said that, make sure that you read and understand the warranty. There are some things that aren't covered. Paint defects, as an example. You can't close, move in and then call and tell them you have scrapes or smudges. They take the position--appropriately so, I think--that those types of defects may have happened as the result of the move-in. Just understand what's warranted and what's not and what the time limits are.

At the end of the warranty period lots of people spend $200 or so to get a professional house inspection. I did and the inspector found a structural item I never would have found (a roof vent that had not been properly built). Within a couple days after my final warranty request was submitted, our builder personally came out, climbed up into the attic to look, then came down and told me "no problem, we'll completely re-build (not just repair) the defective vent".

Unless things have changed a lot since 2006, you will be pleased with the construction process and the end product. You will have few if any decisions to make. As someone pointed out earlier, you will get a very complete computerized listing of all the specs and they are not changeable once you sign the contract. Even if you are absolutely desperate to make a change once construction has started, the chances are you'll be unable to do so. Don't get frustrated by this approach because "it's not the same as up north". That's right, it isn't the same. TV is careful to reach agreement with buyers at the front end, but once construction gets rolling forget about trying to make changes. All that will happen is that you'll get mad and frustrated.

The Villages has built a whole lot of houses with the same contractor personnel. They know what they're doing and it shows in the end product. You will be anxious--but you will not be unhappy.