Close on New Build

[DrMack]

We are closing on our new house about the end of February next year. I know this seems a little bit out, but what can we get done before that day comes? We want the floor in the garage and lanai coated, light tubes put in, a water softener up and running and some specialized landscaping by a third party installed. What can be done beforehand? Also we are hoping to have the washer and dryer working before close? Can any of this be done earlier than closing?

[retiredguy123]

I don't think they will allow you to do any of those things until you take ownership of the house, which would be at the closing. You don't own the house.

The only option I see would be to buy some of those things from the builder and have them install them. For example, you can buy a washer and dryer from the builder.

[Papa_lecki]

You won’t be able to do anything until you close, unless you pay the builder to do them.

Honestly, don’t rush into things. You will want to live in the house, and prioritize your projects.
Keep a list of what you want to do, BUT, line up all the estimates after shortly after close.

You can buy the washer and dryer and arrange delivery the same day you close.

[Keefelane66]

Wait and be patient don't rush it could be a costly mistake.

[asianthree]

NO, you can’t do anything until developers have money in their account and all is signed.

First house closed 17 hours later than scheduled.

Second house 11a close. Close didn’t go off as they expected close finally finished at 1605.

[villagetinker]

Delay your move by a week, stay at a local hotel, and get the stuff you absolutely need for your house. NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT!! Make sure your new house shows up on Google Maps, etc., or you may have a lot of trouble getting your stuff delivered. Make sure your cell phone number is on all delivery instructions and be prepared to provide directions to lost delivery drivers, been there done that. Next will be getting your furniture in your house and arranged. If you are not staying there, you can stop when you are tired, and go to the hotel, rest, and get back into it the next morning. We did an initial move (U-Haul) with enough furniture to 'live' in the house for a few days as we beat the furniture delivery. The washer and dryer were ordered up North, and they literally could not find the NEW zip code for delivery, even the associated store in the villages could not find the new zip code.
As noted above, get in the house, RELAX, then and only then start to look into modifications. While lots of people love solar tube lights, these do not work well on cloudy days or at night, unless you get the ones with auxiliary lights installed ($$$). We found it much more cost effective to just have an additional light installed in place of a solar tube light.
The only item we did before moving in and after closing was to coat the garage floor. It is a real pain to do this after the garage is filled (storage is very limited in these houses).
Hope this helps, and welcome to TV.

[rjm1cc]

Be careful. You may have a problem at closing and decide not to close for a few days.
If you close have the minimum stuff you will need, air mattress, fold up chairs etc and have you stuff delivered a week after closing as suggested. We did not move much in the way of furniture and purchased furniture locally before closing with deliver to be set once we closed. We did have some minor problem but did not have to delay closing.

[Garywt]

You can definitely schedule things to be done the day of closing or possible the next day just in case. Washer delivery, water softener install if you are sure you are going to need that (we put a filter in but didn’t want a softener). Might be able to get prices for the floor painting and the solar tubes before hand if you can get in with them. As said, they will not let you do anything until you own it because what if it fell through or the like.

[Babubhat]

It took months of nagging google maps to get an address south of 44 in database for delivery services. Google needs to to a drive through. Much still shows as dirt with no homes on it.

[Dusty_Star]

I would say that much of the advice is good. Unfortunately, there is little you can do before the house is yours. Take a close look at Google maps, I just did, & there is very, very little (houses, but no roads) for Lake Denham & Lake Denham is much further along than Dabney. Without the Google maps update, you will have a very hard time getting items delivered that you ordered in advance to be delivered upon closing.
Good luck in your new house & Welcome!

[Maker]

Do not roll any upgrade costs into the selling price of the house. That higher sales price will be subjected to property taxes forever. Buy your own appliances, closet hardware, etc.
Landscaping is subjected to ARC approval if you do it. Builder might be able to set things up, like walls and irrigation, that are minimal costs. No need to pay for irrigation in places that needs to be ripped out. Have them set up more zones to better match your plans, including drip irrigation zones.
Things to do now - more outlets inside and outside (every wall, soffits, above kitchen cabinets, toilets, closets). Install 1/4 turn metal shutoff valves. Position water shutoff for refrigerator somewhere it can be reached without moving the refrigerator.
Search for so many other threads about this topic. Great ideas everywhere.

[bowlingal]

DO NOT do anything until the closing...that house is NOT yours until then. Anything can happen between now and Feb.

[bobeaston]

All of the above is good advice. I jump in to emphasize the point of getting the garage floor coated as early as possible. Liquid Floors, and other contractors, has a queue of several weeks, but with this much lead time should be able to schedule close to your closing date.

We had all household goods moved into the large living room rather than the garage and were lucky to get those floors coated quickly. Ever grateful at not having to move goods twice. This also gives you the incentive to get those boxes unpacked quickly instead of sitting untouched in the garage for months. (Two years after our village was first populated, I can see unpacked moving boxes in garages.)

Also IMPORTANT... If there are any things heavy to come through the front door (i.e. clothes washer), have the mover lay a piece of plywood over the door threshold. Those thresholds are a tough plastic composite, but not tough enough. A piece of plywood, and large tires on moving dollies will lessen the pressure.

Best wishes for smooth moving. You'll appreciate your early planning.

[Skunky1]

Make sure you get a mailbox key and the number for your mailbox and location!

[Jolson]

We are closing on our new house about the end of February next year. I know this seems a little bit out, but what can we get done before that day comes? We want the floor in the garage and lanai coated, light tubes put in, a water softener up and running and some specialized landscaping by a third party installed. What can be done beforehand? Also we are hoping to have the washer and dryer working before close? Can any of this be done earlier than closing?

Take a look at Waze. It shows all the new roads.

[JZawacki]

With the supervision of our Villages realty agent, we got estimates before closing for the garage floor, and we purchased our washer/dryer before closing last year. Both went in the day after closing. Just remember you have to stay off the newly installed garage floor for several days so that will delay furniture delivery ( which we did on purpose because we knew there would be lots of boxes in the garage). Welcome to the Villages—we love it.

[NotGolfer]

I echo what others have said and my answer if "NO"!! I doubt you could do those things where you're moving from neither.
What we did in our experience was.....we bought our house but didn't move down for six months. We came for a week and did our basic purchases half way through that. Had the items delivered while we were here or on hold til we contacted the vendors after we'd moved. We had our L.R. items, the bed in the master etc. While your expectations are valid in your mind---you don't want all that done before-hand. Be patient and things will work out ultimately. Anyway, it seems you're putting the cart before the horse.

[Marmaduke]

For what it's worth, we've built and moved several times and learned a like of tricks along the way.
We have always stayed at a hotel for 7 days after closing, as the Village Tinker has already suggested.

Here's why:
We pre-book several after-market services to continue happening immediately "after we close." The after-market service providers understand that it's dependant on a successful closing.

Builders paint is absolutely awful.
It takes 3-4 days to paint our size home, with 2 costs on ceilings/walls, crown, trim, baseboards and closets included.

We've NEVER regretted doing that, dispite the builder saying that you may negate nail pop warrenty. It never did, as we had the paint.
We assure that we use quality paint, 2 coats by a well know licensed and insured painter before the furniture gets placed.

Folks sometimes skip that idea because it's quite expensive, but boy, oh boy, it's worth every cent!

Remember to have the water softener loop installed by the builder, if you want one. It's more expensive as an afterthought.

It's a time to clean well before moving in. "Builders clean" is NOT clean. There's lots of construction dust, etc that the evenings after the painters are gone afford the time.
We used the building months, when we were held up in a rental somewhere to line things up, interview and get the best insurance carriers for home and auto, so everything's in place for the days and weeks after closing.
Very methodical, but never ever RUSHED. Slow and steady wins the race.
Enjoy the rest stops along the way and welcome to The Villages!

[sallyg]

Delay your move by a week, stay at a local hotel, and get the stuff you absolutely need for your house. NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT!! Make sure your new house shows up on Google Maps, etc., or you may have a lot of trouble getting your stuff delivered. Make sure your cell phone number is on all delivery instructions and be prepared to provide directions to lost delivery drivers, been there done that. Next will be getting your furniture in your house and arranged. If you are not staying there, you can stop when you are tired, and go to the hotel, rest, and get back into it the next morning. We did an initial move (U-Haul) with enough furniture to 'live' in the house for a few days as we beat the furniture delivery. The washer and dryer were ordered up North, and they literally could not find the NEW zip code for delivery, even the associated store in the villages could not find the new zip code.
As noted above, get in the house, RELAX, then and only then start to look into modifications. While lots of people love solar tube lights, these do not work well on cloudy days or at night, unless you get the ones with auxiliary lights installed ($$$). We found it much more cost effective to just have an additional light installed in place of a solar tube light.
The only item we did before moving in and after closing was to coat the garage floor. It is a real pain to do this after the garage is filled (storage is very limited in these houses).
Hope this helps, and welcome to TV.
Waze will be more apt to show new construction than Google maps.

[MandoMan]

Delay your move by a week, stay at a local hotel, and get the stuff you absolutely need for your house. NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT!! Make sure your new house shows up on Google Maps, etc., or you may have a lot of trouble getting your stuff delivered. Make sure your cell phone number is on all delivery instructions and be prepared to provide directions to lost delivery drivers, been there done that. Next will be getting your furniture in your house and arranged. If you are not staying there, you can stop when you are tired, and go to the hotel, rest, and get back into it the next morning. We did an initial move (U-Haul) with enough furniture to 'live' in the house for a few days as we beat the furniture delivery. The washer and dryer were ordered up North, and they literally could not find the NEW zip code for delivery, even the associated store in the villages could not find the new zip code.
As noted above, get in the house, RELAX, then and only then start to look into modifications. While lots of people love solar tube lights, these do not work well on cloudy days or at night, unless you get the ones with auxiliary lights installed ($$$). We found it much more cost effective to just have an additional light installed in place of a solar tube light.
The only item we did before moving in and after closing was to coat the garage floor. It is a real pain to do this after the garage is filled (storage is very limited in these houses).
Hope this helps, and welcome to TV.

I had four solar tubes installed in my previous home in The Villages—one in each bathroom and two in the very dark living room where I couldn’t read in the day without a light, and I loved them. A year ago I moved to a 1200 sq ft courtyard villa. It has enough light 8n the living room to read in the day without turning on lights, but not in the master bedroom. However, installed solar tubes cost about $800 each. My biggest electric bill has been $130, of which maybe $15 is lights, at most. While it might be nice to have more light in the bathrooms (which have no windows) or in the bedroom (though the SolarTubes guy says putting tubes in a bedroom is too much light for most people), really, it’s not cost effective. Given that I don’t often have the bathroom lights on and might still have them on when using the bathroom, I doubt that the solar tubes would save me a dollar a year in electricity.

[RRGuyNJ]

NO, you can’t do anything until developers have money in their account and all is signed.

First house closed 17 hours later than scheduled.

Second house 11a close. Close didn’t go off as they expected close finally finished at 1605.

WOW! 17 hrs delay for a closing! Tragic!!
The last house we sold in NJ was delayed 9 months! Trouble is we trusted the lawyer and agent that everything looked good, So we went ahead and bought our current home in NC and had to carry both for all that time.

[Lancer]

We closed on our home on October 12 and didn’t move in until November 2nd. We moved from Lakeland so was only an hour away. Got the garage floor coated, washer and dryer installed and everything else. The idea of staying in a local hotel for a week is a great idea. You don’t own the home until you close.

[SusanStCatherine]

I agree with not moving in for at least the first week. If you see defects during your closing walkthrough, tell them you want them fixed before you sign - it's the last time you'll have any real power to get things fixed. They want you to sign and moved in ASAP. If you can, come in and check on the build as it progresses and report anything wrong. Best time to have things fixed is before closing. If you can't be here, hire Don Wiley (Goldwingnut) to take photos and video of the construction and have him report defects to you.

Hire an inspection for the day after closing to check for defects, especially cosmetic ones that must be reported in the first week. With the list submitted, warranty should come in and fix everything properly. If they don't, it's possible you can get your lodging covered for that time.

[SusanStCatherine]

You can book garage floor coating, but beware you may void your garage floor warranty. My neighbors needed their entire garage concerete floor jackhammered up and redone by warranty after closing. So if they had put a coating on, they would need to pay to have it redone.

[SusanStCatherine]

Get quotes and line up your insurances. State Farm has sinkhole coverage, but requires an inspection. The inspection can be done before closing and you can have your salesperson let them in.

[SusanStCatherine]

Contact your gas and electric providers and set up start date and accounts for auto-pay. Also internet and cable TV.

[SusanStCatherine]

Schedule your orientation for HVAC and the sprinkler system to occur just after closing. Contact those subs directly. If not, you may have to wait.

[SusanStCatherine]

You can order your washer and dryer for delivery and installation. Sonny's Discount Appliances in Altamonte Springs can deliver and set up. If you get a gas dryer, the safest and usually least expensive is to have your gas utility provider connect it.

[SusanStCatherine]

Most changes to landscaping require ARC approval. Don't know if you can get that before closing.

[SusanStCatherine]

You may want to wait on water filter and/or softener. The water is safe and many go without treating it. A filter on your icemaker may be enough.

[sowilts]

Delay your move by a week, stay at a local hotel, and get the stuff you absolutely need for your house. NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT!! Make sure your new house shows up on Google Maps, etc., or you may have a lot of trouble getting your stuff delivered. Make sure your cell phone number is on all delivery instructions and be prepared to provide directions to lost delivery drivers, been there done that. Next will be getting your furniture in your house and arranged. If you are not staying there, you can stop when you are tired, and go to the hotel, rest, and get back into it the next morning. We did an initial move (U-Haul) with enough furniture to 'live' in the house for a few days as we beat the furniture delivery. The washer and dryer were ordered up North, and they literally could not find the NEW zip code for delivery, even the associated store in the villages could not find the new zip code.
As noted above, get in the house, RELAX, then and only then start to look into modifications. While lots of people love solar tube lights, these do not work well on cloudy days or at night, unless you get the ones with auxiliary lights installed ($$$). We found it much more cost effective to just have an additional light installed in place of a solar tube light.
The only item we did before moving in and after closing was to coat the garage floor. It is a real pain to do this after the garage is filled (storage is very limited in these houses).
Hope this helps, and welcome to TV.
Excellent advice as always. We have two 1991 house numbers, ours and one the next street over. We had 7 large boxes of furniture delivered to the wrong 1991. They covered the entire front of the house. Had to move them with the help of my Grandson.

[Deden]

Not unless you sign off on the inspection before close, and ask the builder if permittable. Good luck.

[PaulUnderwood]

I hope you selected eggshell wall paint not the non washable flat paint that comes standard.

[Murphy1408]

Some of those things can be set up before you close. We had the garage floor done the day after close, ordered custom windows to enclose our lanai. You have a good lead time to get yourselves on the list for February installation. Part of your home will have to be built before they can measure to give you an estimate.
Good luck

[AKKlein]

Only unexpected thing we ran in to was dryer was only set up for gas connection and we brought electric dryer with us. Had to hire an electrician to have functioning dryer.

[pikeselectric]

Hello Dr. Mack - To our knowledge, not much can be done by trades until closing is official. We would love to offer you FREE estimates on any electrical work you are interested in prior to your closing. We try to remotely quote as much as we can at Pike's Electric, then we coordinate installation as close
to after the closing as possible. We would love to be who you call on for electrical needs/upgrades :) Talk of The Villages members get 5% OFF all of our services.
- Casandra with Pike's Electric 352-748-6251

[pikeselectric]

Only unexpected thing we ran in to was dryer was only set up for gas connection and we brought electric dryer with us. Had to hire an electrician to have functioning dryer.

Very common for realtors/The Villages not to disclose, but yes, Most all new construction homes come with gas prep for appliances. Electric lines for dryers are considered an after-market upgrade. We offer FREE remote estimates for dryer lines if anyone needs!

[CoachKandSportsguy]

I hope you selected eggshell wall paint not the non washable flat paint that comes standard.

Now that is the first post i have seen about the interior paint,
and the standard paint job, whatever that is, sucks beyond all paint jobs i have ever seen.

ugh, had i known i would have paid extra for anything but what we have as low end builder's grade sh!$

[Bwanajim]

The one thing that is probably the most important to do is lineup someone to epoxy your garage floor. And have it scheduled as soon as possible after closing before you move all your junk in.

[SusanStCatherine]

We had a whole house surge protector installed by Pikes Electric. The lightning around here is wicked. You can rent one from utility company, but we bought ours outright. You will still want surge protectors inside your house on important items.