What are "must do" expenses after moving into new home?

[gardenia]

I am planning to purchase a new designer home in TV this Summer and would like to plan and budget for things I should do inside and outside the house/property within the first 2-3 months (excluding decorating) after moving. I keep lots of notes from the info on this forum and constantly refer to the Nuts and Bolts section, print it every few months to make sure I have the latest copy. I would really appreciate your input and help, don't recall seeing any posts on this topic.

I have already noted replacing mulch, doing landscaping, installing gutters, attic drop down ladder (love those! Have one in my current home, couldn't live without it), garage screen door.

Whatever help you can provide, and any estimated costs will be really appreciated. I believe someone mentioned having a spreadsheet a while back?? Thanks so much for your advice.

[Hoosiervillager]

Well the first thing my husband did once we signed our contract was to buy two new sets of golf clubs! Can you tell where his priorities are? For me it was having the closets redone. I don't like wire shelving and I now have TONS more storage than before. We did all closets, even the linen closet and pantry. Best money I've spent so far.

[ajbrown]

For us it was:

Golf Cart
Attic Stairs for garage
Case of wine
Case of beer

I cannot remember the second week :jester:

[gardenia]

Thanks to both Hoosiervillager and AJBrown for your responses....ooh, closets, good one! Gotta have that! I got custom closets in my master walk in closet when I moved into my current home 5 years ago, and also think it is the biggest "bang for my buck". We ladies gotta have "da closet looking good!!". And even though I knew about the golf cart, silly me forgot to put it on my spreadsheet and that's a big cost. So thanks to both of you!

Anyone else have anything to suggest I add to my list of expenses I should consider doing quickly after moving into a new home in TV?

[NJblue]

Many people either enclose their lanais or add a birdcage and possibly a pool or spa. While a birdcage doesn't need to be done immediately, it may make sense to do it before you do any backyard landscaping.

Depending upon your furniture and what you will be bringing with you, you may be in the market to spend a lot on new "Florida" furniture. Don't forget outdoor furniture for the lanai and possibly a new grill. Also, window treatments can get very costly. Because of the bright sun down here you may also want to have film put on your windows to reduce heat buildup and also keep your furniture and carpeting from fading.

[pooh]

What you will want to do is dependent upon what you feel is important to you. The golf cart really is something you'll use quite a bit, even if you don't golf. Getting around in one is easy and lots of fun. There are rules to follow when driving one....autos have the right of way at gates, but one quickly learns how to get around the community with little difficulty. I do recommend you pick up a Villages map at Banner Mercantile, you'll need one if you aren't totally sure of where things are.

A garage screen is wonderful, but not all people want one. We have one and love it!

If you're going to golf, pay your trail fee. Otherwise, you pay each time you take your cart on to the course.

If you wish to have payments for utilities set up for automatic payments, do that. Make your requests for television and phone service as soon as you can.

Drive around to get ideas about landscaping your yard. It's been a fairly tough winter for tropical plants around here...and this winter, we lost almost all of our hibiscus and crotons, even though they were covered. Hardier plants will be their replacements.

One thing that is very important....have a great time. Introduce yourself to your neighbors, though I think they'll be introducing themselves to you. Take time to visit the rec centers, the town squares, the shops. Enjoy the beauty of The Villages and the surrounding areas. You're going to love it here.

[uujudy]

Gardenia,
You'll probably want a new sign out front with your name on it. ($40 for regular, or $100+ for lighted)

Solartubes in the bathrooms or any dark rooms are nice. ($500) (Note, don't have solartubes or any ceiling lights installed above your ceiling fan. When you turn on the fan you get a strobe light effect.)

You might want to get a mat for underneath your golf cart so it doesn't drip onto your garage floor. Sometimes the golf cart place will include it with your golf cart.

Another thing we did that is REALLY useful is the coded entry for the garage door. ($50) You don't have to take the house keys or garage opener with you when you go for a walk in the neighborhood or dancing at the town square.

When you finally change your address, the USPS will send you a coupon for 20% off one item (or something like that) at Lowe's. Maybe you can use it for your grill, or a lovely new water feature in your garden or on your lanai? lol

You'll want a weather radio, too. ($30)

Sign up at Ace Hardware and you'll get $5 coupons in the mail. You know you'll need something from the hardware store.

Hope this helps, and welcome!
Judy

[golfnut]

wow, uujudy, lots of great suggestions....gn

[Hawkwind]

Sealing the garage floor before moving all your belongings in.

[chuckinca]

In addition to other items already mentioned:

Garage attic insulation

Garage Attic exhaust fan

Garage storage racks (we brought our "Gorilla Racks" with us from Norcal)

Change carpets to wood or laminate flooring (carpets here need to be stretched out periodically to lay flat)

Repaint interior to get colors coordinated - we spent $3,500 to have the whole interior color coordinated and repainted and it is the best money we spent in a long time, looks great!

.

[jblum8156]

I had (for less than 2K) shelves built in completely covering one wall of my home office and craft room, including desks for computer and sewing machine. Best thing I ever did in any house. Closets-by-Design did it for me.

[sschuler1]

You will want to make sure that you seal the grout in your tile showers and floors. We have tile floors throughout the living area, so we delayed our furniture deliveries for a day so we would have time to seal the floor before putting the furniture down. We did the job ourselves, so cost is not an issue there. But if you physically can't do that job, that would be an expense you would need to consider.

We wanted an internet outlet in our dining room area (which we use as an office area), and had to have a cable outlet installed. It was $50. Almost every room in the house has an outlet, except for the one where we wanted it, of course!

We had a whole house serge protection put in. With all the lightning around here, we felt it was a wise decision. That was around $200.

The new homes only have one towel rod in each of the bathrooms. I wanted an additional towel bar in the master bath. It was $90 installed. We told the guy we would install it ourselves, but he said it would still be $90. So we let them install it! Quite a racket they have going there! They know you can't get the matching one anywhere else!

We wanted an additional garage door opener. (we needed one in the car, and one in each of the golf carts) The guy that installed the garage door wanted to charge us $60 for the additional opener. We went on the internet and ordered one for $20. It came a week later!

[TomW]

Adding to the growing list:
-We had an electrician improve the lighting throughout the house. This included kitchen, laundry, bath, undercabinets, and hallways. Still to do is to put a few more outlets in the garage. Added heat lamps in the master bath. Already paid for themselves IMHO. Knocks the chill off stepping out of the shower on these cool mornings.
-You will need 3 types of pest control: Termites, other bugs in house, lawn. These are usually separate services vended perhaps by different companies.

[Niels]

One thing I don't see mentioned above is donuts for your irrigation system. These are needed to protect your sprinkler heads.

Pest control that TomW mentioed can be a large expense especially if you have a large lot!

[Allen]

We wanted an internet outlet in our dining room area (which we use as an office area), and had to have a cable outlet installed. It was $50. Almost every room in the house has an outlet, except for the one where we wanted it, of course!


We are also interested in having cable outlets added where the do not shown or the floor plan. Can you please tell me who installed the outlet... was it the builder (during construction) or the internet service provider (after the house was completed) i.e. Comcast?

Also how did he install the outlet? Did he go into the attic and splice off another line or run the new cable all the way back to the box? When finished, is the cable completely hidden (aside from the new outlet) or was some of the wire exposed?

Finally, regarding the towel bars... my impression was that these kinds of changes were not allowed... that you got what was in the package and that's it. How did you manage to have these small alterations done during construction... assuming that was the case?

[pooh]

We are also interested in having cable outlets added where the do not shown or the floor plan. Can you please tell me who installed the outlet... was it the builder (during construction) or the internet service provider (after the house was completed) i.e. Comcast?

Also how did he install the outlet? Did he go into the attic and splice off another line or run the new cable all the way back to the box? When finished, is the cable completely hidden (aside from the new outlet) or was some of the wire exposed?



Finally, regarding the towel bars... my impression was that these kinds of changes were not allowed... that you got what was in the package and that's it. How did you manage to have these small alterations done during construction... assuming that was the case?

We had additional cable outlets installed after we moved in. They were separate lines, not spliced off another line. The installation was in the attic with new lines running down through the walls. Mom in law also used the same young man to install extra outlets when she moved in. She has just moved to a home in our village and had three more outlets installed. The same young man did the job. She had him disconnect the outlets she was not going to use now or in the future so there wouldn't be a need for an "amplifier"...or whatever is used to boost the signal. We used Donald Hickey, who owns Precision Sound. Did a good job, showed up on time, no mess to clean and no wires showing.

[dog friendly]

did my own painting and that is the best money I have ever saved...:clap2:

[otherbruddaDarrell]

Solar Tubes.
We have five and they are great!

[jebartle]

We upgraded appliances to stainless and granite countertops, not necessary, but in the long run, the kitchen will sell your house down the road, we also tiled garage floor ourselves, also not necessary. Also when setting up phone, cable and internet, look into package deals, will save you money.

[gardenia]

I knew I could count on you guys! I am so thrilled by every one of your contributions to my post about initial expenses to consider in a new home. I made a detailed list and am up to about 35 items thanks to this post! You have given me great suggestions, and I love them all! I plan to treasure this list, and have it with me (not packed away) when I travel to TV to first rent for a few months then purchase/relocate permanently by early Fall I hope (all dependent on selling my house here in NJ).

As we say in Spanish - "mil gracias" (thousand thanks)!

[sschuler1]

Allen - the alterations I was talking about were done after we moved in. The builder gave us the name of the contractor to contact regarding the extra towel bar for our master bath. We stopped by as the house was being built and spoke with one of the electricians when they were wiring our house. We asked if one of them would be willing to come back the day we signed on the house and install the additional cable outlet as a side job. We got his name and told him we would pay him $50. He came and installed it a few hours after we moved in.