New construction prices

[TomW]

I just noticed that some of the new construction ranch homes underwent additional price reductions over the weekend. It appeared to be directed at the ones that had been in inventory the longest and located in northern section of Amelia along Corbett Drive and adjoining streets. New discounts appear to be on only selected homes and not across the board.

While nobody would reasonably attempt to call a bottom (or top) to the market, some of these homes are starting to look very interesting for those waiting to see how low they will go. For those looking for larger lots and a FL room in this area, the discounts are significant. I just drilled down from the main page for TV to see the new prices. If you search any other way, say by VNH number for example, you may come up with an older price.

[Russ_Boston]

Thanks for the info Tom. I'll be down there in two weeks and I'll check them out.

[wmarsh]

I have a question. I've seen a few others on these boards mention that they purchased homes that were not yet built. When we last visited TV in 2007 this was not available. have they changed their stance on this?

thanks.

[graciegirl]

NO. I was told on Tuesday you could not purchase a home not built and even if you stood there with a million bucks cash money they wouldn't do it.

[KathieI]

Gracie, Honey, you have a million bucks!!!?????

Good luck with the new house, I'm so excited for you and your family. I may be a neighbor, wouldn't that be nice? Probably for me but not for you, huh!!


Kath

[graciegirl]

Million bucks? Fa-git-abowdit!!!!! NOPE. But I would just love to have you for our neighbor. Come on down!!

[F16 1UB]

TomW,

When we were there 2 weeks ago looking at homes, the prices in person were lower than the advertised price on the i-net. I might say in this case "Don't believe everything you read" is a good thing.

F16

[fizzbyn]

F16 is right. We bought our house 2 weeks and 2 days ago. The bid came in 30k less than we feared and 20k less than we hoped. We were flabbergasted! And of course very happy. By the way, this is a "home not built". We purchased our lot and then went to TV to pick out the house. Construction has just started.

[TomW]

Congrats on your new home!!! We are considering purchasing later this summer and I'm trying to keep up as best I can with the pricing. When we were in TV, there always seems to be a 'deal of the week" or something like it that isn't available for discovery on the Internet resources. Since we aren't in a rush, we are trying to pick just the right spot. I like the "leafy" aspect of the older sections and their mature trees but also appreciate sidewalks and some of the improvements seen only in the newer villages. We've had too many houses in the past with the rear to the west which makes the deck/lanai/patio too hot to use during the warm months - so the orientation is important too. The TOTV has been a most valuable source of information of life in TV and many little do's and don'ts. Thanks and please keep it up.

[Mary Lou]

NO. I was told on Tuesday you could not purchase a home not built and even if you stood there with a million bucks cash money they wouldn't do it.


That was true awhile ago, but now you can choose a lot, and then a home with certain packages. You can't select everything, but at least you have some say. We live in Mallory and our neighbor sold their home and is having a new one built in Hemingway. They were able to select a nice lot on the golf course and make certain selections in their new home.

Mary Lou

[chuckinca]

NO. I was told on Tuesday you could not purchase a home not built and even if you stood there with a million bucks cash money they wouldn't do it.



You shoulda asked again on Wednesday!

[Lucko]

We just bought a lot and picked our house type, floor plan with expansions, colors inside and out, roof line and front options, garage options, kitchen options, appliance options, patio options and discount / furniture option. We also had the option to relocate from Duval and pay dearly for the golf course/sunset view in Hemmingway. Now we will rent/wait until the Duval ranch is two years old in April to avoid the Florida tax assessed to quick sales by out of state owners. I love options so much that I'm paying for all this with stock options !!!!!!!!!!!

[pili]

Lucko,

I'm a bit confused. From everything I've read the only options offered are inside and outside colors. You say your picked appliances, size of rooms, colors, and more? We'll be in TV looking at homes in two weeks. Once thing I don't like about TV is that you don't get to choose what you want. Has this changed?

Pili :) ???

[Gshepherd]

Yes, they have a "package deal" that they offer now. We also picked out our appliances, flooring, counter, siding, etc..
;D

[bestmickey]

What type of home are you having built....ranch, designer, or premier?

EDIT: I want to clarify why I ask. I'm not typically that nosey. I only ask because if I move to TV, I will probably purchase a ranch home. I wouldn't think TV would be allowing for all those choices for "just" a ranch home.

[Gshepherd]

Not a problem, honestly. It is a designer home. I was thrilled that this was offered. The lot was picked out first then the type of home along with the other choices I mentioned.
Hope you take advantage of this great opportunity!

[Barefoot]

I should know the answer to this question, I've owned a house in TV for a year. But there's lot of stuff I should know that I don't. More's the pity.

What is the difference between a 1392 sf amarillo ranch and a 1392 sf designer home? To me they look identical.

[Lucko]

pili -- The Villages is offering more choices, but they certainly don't give you many -- Talk to an experienced realtor like Debra Park 1-800-346-4556 at the Villages to get the up to date scoop on what the deals are for this week in new construction -- We are building a designer in Hemmingway and the choices vary with each model, you can extend a room on the Gardenia, enlarge the patio on the Lantana and pick several factors on each -- When we bought our ranch in Duval last year, it was a take it or leave it spec home and we had no choice -- some things including price and choices have gotten better -- You can pick a lot and they will build it in about 90 days -- Financing through independent loan brokers is well under 6 percent -- Realize that you are buying into a way of life and it's worth it -- Happy house hunting -- Lucko

[73Goat]

Thanks all for the answers.

My child bride and I are planning to buy next spring (whether we've sold our home in VA or not - retiring in 2012). This information is very helpful. We are so looking forward to taking up residence in the Villages. Party Time 2012!

[Just Susan]

I should know the answer to this question, I've owned a house in TV for a year. But there's lot of stuff I should know that I don't. More's the pity.

What is the difference between a 1392 sf amarillo ranch and a 1392 sf designer home? To me they look identical.


Bare, our TV realtor told us the only real difference between those two houses is the neighborhood. Ranches are with ranches and designer homes are with designer homes. Otherwise they are the same.

[swrinfla]

I believe the current ads in the paper limit your house style to either designer or premier, when you want the options of lot, external decorating, interior amenities. Having had full choices when I bought in late 2004, I urge anyone interested now to consider these offerings as soon as possible.

When (I assume it will happen) the housing market goes back up, I think you can pretty well bet that you won't have these choices anymore!

SWR

[Pookirgirl]

We don't live in TV yet but received a call from our realtor there. She informed us that they have just expanded the closing dates for new construction by another 2 months....so by my estimations, you can put your order and down payment in and close approximately 5 months from that day! Sounds wonderful but I still have to sell my NJ house. Any takers? LOL!

[nanci2539]

My TV rep told us that there are no deals on the personalized package and it's a 120 day close.

For those of you who purchased pre-construction using the Personalized package, were you able to negotiate?

We're renting for two months before we buy and hoping to find a home within this time frame. But my wish list is pretty significant and doubt if we can find what we want in an inventory home.

And, I understood these packages were limited to Premier and Designer homes.

[Sidney Lanier]

Barefoot, we asked the same question comparing the 1392 sq Bougainvillea Designer with the 1392 sf Amarillo Ranch, since the layouts look identical. To our surprise we ended up buying a Bougainvillea (as snowbirds we'd been looking at Patio Villas and the Designer cost us minimally more as we bought privately and the sellers had to sell...). In terms of the difference between the two, the answer we were given was, "Oh, about $30-40,000." Go figure....

[stjade]

:dontknow: :dontknow: In a recent post LUCKO mentioned a Florida tax on sale of a house within two years of when it was bought. Does anyone have any information on this tax,as we are thinking of trading up by selling the house we bought in Jan. and buying a larger one in a better location. Steve

[villages07]

stjade....

Not a Florida tax, but, IRS federal tax regulations. If you have lived in a house as your principal residence for 2 or more of the past 5 years, you can exclude up to 250K (for a single) or 500K for a couple of capital gains (i.e. profits) on the sale of the house. If you've lived in it less than 2 of past 5 years, then you will pay federal tax on part of the gain. If you've had no or little gain (or a paper loss), then this is not a problem.

[stjade]

I'm sure there is no profit to be made by selling a house that we just closed on 5 months ago,and considering a real estate sales commission we will have to swallow a loss. Thats why I'm concerned about any additional tax.

[graciegirl]

Here I go, worlds authority on everything, but would you beleive we talked to no less than four couples who sold their house by theirselves when we were down there last month, in order to buy one they liked better. Just a thought.

[stjade]

Thats a good idea graciegirl ,we considered it ourselves,but we won't be full time till Oct 1st and you really need to be on-site to make it work???

[dadspet]

We have an Amarillo Ranch (new 9 months ago) and have looked a little at the Bougainvillea Designer models wondering what the difference was. A few of the things we noticed were:


Price
1.Your in a Designer area vs a Ranch Area?
2. You get a little better landscaping (but not much)?
3. Some of the appliances seemed upgraded ( Side by side ref vs Top freezer, didn't notice anything else but there may be something)
4.Fans and Blinds I think (worth about $1000 to $1500)
5.There may be one or two other things

but then again you can find differences in most Amarillo Ranchs Like:

1> Hip roofs
2> larger / corner / view lots
3.>Front fence and patio
4>His and her closets in master bath
5> Golf cart garage
6> Cabinets
7. Larger rear patio (excuse me Lanni )
8. Florida Room
9. Outside color combinations
10.Heating AC in garage (at expense of Closet space and garage space)
11.Offset guest bedrooms - giving a larger wall in the family room but adding a door in the guest bedroom to the Patio (blocking one wall in patio)
12.Different cabinets (white, off white, maple, etc) Some with and some without knobs BTW

I 'm sure there are several difference you can get in either model I missed

I would guess the above are the same options in Bougainvillea Designer models .
When I say options I really mean how the builder happen to build that particular house - they tend to have a variety of things that they build or add different in each house to give people
a choice and not have them all look exactly the same.
I think you need to consider each and every one of these little things and decide what they are worth or not worth to you. I understand the Villages now gives you the option on some or all of the above but those options were their before in already built houses.

[pili]

Ah...it gets confusing after a while. We'll be in TV next week and seriously looking since we just sold our home. My understanding was that there was little choices as far as appliances, type of floor, etc. Now I hear there are a few packages available which is good. We'll be interested in a designer home but I want options. I guess we won't know until next week.
Thanks everyone for all the information.

Pili

[Number 6]

We also looked at the Amerillo ranch vs. the Bougainvilea designer, before buying the Amerillo. One difference was that the ranch had blinds and the designer had fans. The landscaping was upgraded in the designer. What finally sold us on the ranch was the feeling of the ranch neighborhood. The privacy of the lot and the Florida room had something to do with it as well. Well, we are about three weeks out from the big move and we are really looking forward to it.

[wlou]

When we looked and then bought in DEC, the difference in Ranch versus designer was the upgrades. Not only the extra landscaping ( not by much) but yes the blinds and the ceramic tile. In the regular ranch, most had linoleum...We did not notice the designer lots/areas though. There were houses on the same street with the same view and they were designated differently. ( ranch or designer)
Also, if you are currently looking, look at the ranches they still have for sale on Corbett Dr in Amelia. I think someone else posted about the discounts there. We live there and have an amazing water view and most of us cannot believe the huge discounts. Bad for us, good for you. ..Good luck!

[pili]

Hello everyone, we were in TV last week doing our first "life style preview". We had sold our house the week before (it was listed in May and sold to the first couple who saw it). We bought a designer Lantana and were able to choose our lot, the package we wanted, and closing will be in September. The sales rep thought we could close in August, however, because we added pool, spa, and summer kitchen it will take a while longer. Our sales rep was Alicia Ford and she was wonderful. We wanted a site with no other houses behind and room for the pool. The found us the perfect lot overlooking the new Havana Country Club. We are so excited!!! Both my husband and I felt in love with TV. I don't know how much longer you'll be able to choose your lot and house. We are very happy with our choice. We'll be renting in TV for two months.

Thank you everyone for all the useful information. We'll be TV residents in July.

Pili ;D