Did YOU buy a new home or a resale?

[graciegirl]

Just for the fun of it, did you choose a new home or a resale? Tell a little why you made that choice and would you do it again?

If you bought a resale, was the bond completely paid?

We bought a new spec house in Hadley three years ago in June, recently sold it and are building a new house in Laurel Valley.

We didn't pay off the bond on our home in Hadley.

[Trish Crocker]

Good question Gracie...Since we will soon be making that decision it will be nice to see the answers.

[Larry Wilson]

I bought pre-owned.

[red tail]

i bought a resale cyv on the golf course. no bond, has tile roof,2 car garage walking distance from spanish springs large trees everywhere.

[getdul981]

We bought new. I don't know if we even considered pre-owned. There was a time factor. We needed a lot of it, so we made a down payment on the lot and then proceeded to prepare our previous home for sale and get listed and sell.

[NJblue]

We bought a new "made-to-order" house on a lot which we picked out. We wanted a brand new neighborhood where everyone was new to each other and looking for a common bond. It has worked out very well for us.

[loonlovers]

We bought a resale (5 years old) primarily because it was furnished. When we looked at many properties in TV, we listed "furnished" in our list of criteria. In retrospect, this was probably not the wisest decision since we replaced almost all the furniture within the first three months! We may have overlooked a better property because we narrowed our search. But in the end, we love our home and our neighbors and have made the updates that we wanted.

The resale had a bond...we did not pay off that bond.

[Cynbod]

We purchased a new home in December. We did look at pre-owned, but decided to go with new. This is the first new home we have ever owned and we love it. Up north we have an old home and for quite a few years we had a Sears and Roebuck bungleow(sp?). Fully happy with both; but new is great.

We have not paid the bond and probably won't until right before we retire. We have heard that the first home is rarely the last and that is our rationale.

One thing we might have reconsidered is a pool. Never thought my children would enjoy spending time in a retirement village but they love it as much as we do and they don't understand why we did not think of one (even with all the available pools, go figure). Unfortunately we do not even have space for a hot tub. Too bad for us, maybe these issues are what cause so many pre-owned homes at seem to be almost new. :posting:

[billmar]

Bought new designer model... wanted some features couldn't seem to find in the resales we were seeing in our price point.... like walk in shower, golf car garage, open kitchen.

[nkrifats]

I bought pre owned villa for a start. Now in a cottage. Did not pay off bond on villa.

[tainsley]

We came down in July to look at preowned. Looked at many. Went to look at a new CYV in Tamarind Grove. When we walked through the front door both hubby and I said THIS IS IT!

[memason]

We bought a new Bridgeport....sort of. It was a model. Since we were still living in Germany, when we purchased, we thought we might rent it out for a while. Never happened and we moved into it 6 months later...

[2BNTV]

Very interesting question Gracie.

My preference would be to buy a pre-owned with little or no bond.

[Bob45]

We bought a pre-owned CYV in Hemingway. The people before us did many upgrades, some very expensive. And included a new golf cart. They bought it new and lived in it only 8 months. They came from Florida and lived in a condo on the ocean. They missed the ocean and moved back. Their loss was my gain. They did not pay off the bond. We are very happy with our purchase. And we have the best neighbors in The Villages.

Bob

[tomkat]

We bought new...picked out the lot, selected the options, and waited for the house to be built...purchased a corner lot in the newer section of Duval and had a designer gardenia built...very happy with our choice of home and neighborhood.

[NicknBabs]

We went down in May, intending to put a deposit on a lot and build in another year. Then they showed us a Designer Model Home that had recently been released for sale and had everything we were looking for...so we jumped on it. Completely furnished.

Saved a bundle of aggravation (and many, many arguments) in matching colors, buying furniture, etc...especially since neither of us know how to decorate. We were going to hire somone to help decorate, so saved that expense too.

And since the street had already been built (more models), everyone was in the same boat, so no mystery about what was going up next to us, behind us, etc.

We think we hit the jackpot...for our needs.

[jebartle]

Bought pre-owned, and by now I'm sure every one knows me as NO Bond Bartle...giggle.....No bond in LaZamora (Lake County), Yea!

[Mudder]

We bought pre owned also in Lake county, so no bond issues to deal with. Love the location and the big trees, price was right. Did many renovations, it's us now. Not sure if this will be our frog house..........

[Bill-n-Brillo]

We bought a furnished resale Patio Villa last year for our use while we continue with our "snowflaking" adventures. It was furnished to FL tastes (as opposed to our more traditional "Early Attic, Late Basement" decor :1rotfl:) which was what we wanted. We only needed televisions, towels, kitchen counter appliances (toaster, coffee pot, etc.), silverware, a golf cart......and toothbrushes :D and we were good to go.

It came with a bond that the original owners had paid on for 3 years. But it was a rather small bond to start with so we're fine with it as it is for now. Whether or not we choose to pay it off at some future point will depend on what we elect to do with our living arrangement as time goes on - remain snowflakes, become snowbirds, or take the ultimate step and become frogs!!

It suits our present needs perfectly!

Bill :)

[KYTeacher]

We bought a new - it was a model. Village of St. Charles. Just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. We were coming down on spring break in 2009 to look at specific new homes when our sales rep told us of the models going on sale the following Monday. We spent the day looking at lots of homes, picked out 3 we really liked. Our sales rep gave us a couple days to prioritize and we decided on the one that had most of the things we had determined most important in the previous 4 years of looking and visiting!

Looked at pre-owned briefly, but decided we wanted new. We love the location - have met several of our neighbors - have to disagree with some of you saying you live in the best neighborhood! We do! And we have GREAT neighbors!!!
:D
Now wish we would be able to come down more often...gotta finish the teaching thing - then here we come!

[rhredd1654]

I also built. Wanted a Sand Castle, not many on the resale market. Also, figured a newer neighborhood meant a younger crowd, and since I had never built, decided to do so. I can look out my back window and watch the traffic on 466A...won't be able to do that in a year! No regrets, my Village is VERY active.

[rblammon]

We will be closing on a preowned Oct. 4th of this year. Bond is less than 1K. Wanted a golf car garage, but settled for a golf front home on the 4th tee of the Tierra Del Sol golf course.. Wanted 3 bedroom with a pool and 2 baths. settled for a 2 bedroom 2 and 1/2 bath home. Also got a summer kitchen that we hadn't expected and an outside shower. The 1/2 bath is situated so that one does not have to go inside to use it, No it isn't behind a tree :22yikes: Can't wait to get there. :a040:

[Bill-n-Brillo]

...... The 1/2 bath is situated so that one does not have to go inside to use it, No it isn't behind a tree :22yikes: .....

That's some funny stuff right there! :1rotfl:

Bill :)

[buzzy]

Near the end of a 10-day visit with friends, we bought a spec home that was a closeout in Pennecamp. It was the same model as our friends have, less than a mile away, and had the exposure that we wanted. We only looked at two of these homes. Never went into a model home, or any resales. I think we are about average age in our neighborhood, but we will have to be part-timers for a couple of years.

[bkcunningham1]

We just bought a second pre-owned home on the historic side June 15 and we did major renovations and accepted an offer to sell it yesterday, August 15. From offer to acceptance; 105 days, incredible. Thank you my husband and my friend John Gorry. We are currently negotiating an offer we made today, the the day after we got an offer on our flip, on another pre-owned on the historic side.

We have found some tremendous homes and bargains over here that a little TLC has made into beautiful buys. I love the historic side and it's people. The pools and golf aint' bad either. Just saying. My father-in-law is moving into one of our buys, good Lord willing, in September. He fell in love with TV at first sight.

[CMANN]

We bought new for social reasons. Like minded people. People all in the same boat. Growing in the neighborhood together.

[dfn8tly]

I bought a new ranch style on an over-sized lot backing up to a large old wood area often referred to as "The Horse Farm". I was on a somewhat limited time schedule and this house just spoke to me.

[John_W]

After our LSV in April we returned to Baltimore and called a realtor to list our home in May. After the appointment the listing agent went back to her office at about 8pm and put our home in MLS. The first viewing the next morning at 10am bought our home, it was sold in less than 18 hours. We had listed for $289,900 and we received a cash offer of $275,000 with a letter guaranteeing the money. Needless to say we didn't have a lot of time before our June 29th closing.

During our April visit we toured all the cottages, courtyard villas and patio villas and drove through the newest building sites. After returning to Maryland I scanned the resale homes everyday online. We had decided we wanted to buy either a new Cabot Cove patio villa with white cabinets in Buttonwood for $140k or a 5 year old furnished rancher in Tall Trees for $159K.

While scanning The Villages new homes website one last time before our next visit I noticed all the CYV's in Southern Star were marked down about $6000. While on the phone with my salesman Tony Trussler he explained they were being closed out, then I noticed one of the Woodlawns (2br masonary) was suddenly marked down another $6000 making the final price $156,900. After a few questions I gave Tony my credit card and we bought the home off the internet sight-unseen. We then cancelled our visit to TV and just waited for closing in Maryland.

We didn't see our new home until we arrived June 30th. We were pleasantly surprised that the natural maple cabinets and neutral countertops, flooring and carpet all looked great. Also, we have the lowest priced home in the entire 80 unit Southern Star complex, which isn't a bad thing.

[iandwk]

We bought pre-owned because of the price. The man who was selling it had a deal with the assisted living facility he was moving into. If the house hadn't sold in 90 days, they would pay the difference (within reason) between selling and asking price. We got a $209,000 home with $2500 bond remaining for $180,000.

[pooh]

We bought new, when you didn't have a chance to pick any options, but I love my house. Never considered buying a pre-owned, not sure why not, but we didn't.

[jojo]

We were planning to build unless we saw a pre-owned that we really liked. Our house in Ohio sold quickly and we had little time to make a decision. The last day of the week we had allotted to house hunting we found a home that just spoke to us and had only been lived in 2 months by renters. We are very happy with our decision. I would encourage everyone to look at both new and pre-owned.

[TednRobin]

After looking at new and resales we saw the CYV online. It just said buy me NOW! Bought site unseen. 1st time to see it was walk thru day before closing. We were pleasantly surprised and can't wait to get there in November.

[obxgal]

New CYV, because we liked the area.

[villagegolfer]

Our original plan was to come down here and rent for a few months until we found a pre-owned that we both liked. The sale of our home fell through and we didn't sell it for a few months, so we purchased a CYV brand new in Pennecamp. Love it here.

[another Linda]

We bought a resale 2-2 CYV because we fell in love with the expanded, lushly landscaped courtyard and in a perfect location. We looked at new models and many resales before we found "the one." This was in 2007 when prices were coming down (but not as low as they are now) -- and bond was paid. We have since remodeled kitchen, master bath, tiled throughout, etc. (husband rolls eyes) After moving in I discovered that I really like our neighbors who are a mixture of older and younger, snowbirds and permanent, from all over the US and many from England.

The only thing I'm not sure about is the size. As we spend more time there will I want more room? Guess time will tell. Right now it is a relief to have something that is a manageable size compared to our big house here in Syracuse.

BTW, great topic GG. Thanks.

[angiefox10]

We are building a new because when we looked at the used none of them had everything we wanted. We figured we would have to fill in holes and paint, replace carpet etc and didn't want to go to that much work to make it ours. We wanted to be in a new neighborhood where we were all new and not try to fit into one that was already established. We feel that with new, we will have more maintenance free. We didn't want to worry about new roofs, etc.

I've NEVER had a new home and I'm so very excited about EVERYTHING being new!!! This is our last home... :thumbup:

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Sounds like you're going to do what is best........for YOU! That's the key!!

Bill :)

[blueash]

Never a doubt once we saw the house as DW whispered into my ear "I want this house". To the rear is a large lake, then a golf green. No golf cart path. And great welcoming neighbors. Did you'all see the Lucy's 100th b'day article. My neighbors. We have paid off the remaining bond (5 yrs in) as we intend to stay here. New, preowned, there really are only good choices and whatever you select you will likely be pleased. A small thought, if considering pre-owned knock on a couple doors on the block and see if the neighbors get along, and socialize.

[Mark1130]

We bought a resale CYV in Buttonwood that was practically a new home.

The previous owner had closed on it it as a new home on Oct 2010 and we bought it in July of 2011 fully furnished and in the best neighborhood with the best neighbors..

We fell in love with the pictures our relator sent us. It had not been put on the open market yet and we bought it sight unseen. It still had a bond AND the new home warranty.

[eweissenbach]

From the responses in this thread it is obvious that everyone is satisfied that they made the right decision for them, pre-owned or new, which is a sign of good mental health. We have looked at dozens of homes both pre-owned and new in our trips to TV. We are highly likely to purchase a pre-owned home because, in our opinion, we can get more value for the dollar, lower or no bond, many upgrades, and a centralized location. There is no right answer for everyone, but pre-owned makes the most sense to us.

[Bosoxfan]

I bought a new ranch style on an over-sized lot backing up to a large old wood area often referred to as "The Horse Farm". I was on a somewhat limited time schedule and this house just spoke to me.

We also bought new .Its an At Ease cotttage with the horse farm in the back.We will definitely be staying put & not moving. Can't.imagine a more beautiful & private setting!

[jimmemac]

We bought a resale but it is just about one year old; the former owners had decided they wanted to live there full time but wanted a bigger place so they decided that they wanted a new house built. We were down there 2 years ago and looked at the model homes and fell in love with one-realtor kept saying what you see is what you get but he never said that included the furniture(had he said that my wife would have signed on the spot). I spent every day for two years looking at the homes for sale waiting to see that same model(they stopped making it)come up for sale. I was beginning to think it would never happen and then 3 months ago I saw it-showed it to my wife and she said buy it and we did. The former owners just moved into their new home this weekend. We will be visiting our new home in October and hopefully moving in full time next summer. It is not new but it is almost new!!

[CarGuys]

We will be building new soon.

Wanted a resale because of the nice upgrades, however the price of resales were close to new

We also needed a oversize Garage and Lani, very few resales had these options.

There were some very nice resales however being backed up so close to another Lani did not appeal to us.

Our new lot in Tamarind has a open view from behind a pond view across the street. I believe that sealed the deal on new.

[hedoman]

We bought a preowned premier as it has everything, pool, golf course, privacy and great neighbors. Central to everything. Virtually no bond and alot of house for the $....it is a buyer's market on preowned....
Now we have it fixed up just the way we want it...

[Taj44]

We bought a preowned premier as it has everything, pool, golf course, privacy and great neighbors. Central to everything. Virtually no bond and alot of house for the $....it is a buyer's market on preowned....
Now we have it fixed up just the way we want it...

Sounds perfect! If you can find the things you're looking for, I think there are some great deals out there on pre-owneds. Often times, the actual selling prices are quite a bit lower than the original asking prices.

[Xavier]

We set out to buy a new home, but as it turned out, the best value for us was in a pre-owned. The extras added up to a super deal. Here is what we bought and the extras:

A pre-owned six year old Designer Gardenia that came with an extended lanai with wall to wall pavers and a huge built in spa, live landscaping around the spa, very nice mature landscaping in front and rear of the house that includes 6 palms, driveway and front walk done with pavers, BOSE sound system through-out with individual controls in each room, fans in the bedrooms, dinette, living room, den and lanai, rounded corners on all walls, built in full wall desk/work area in den, double louvered doors mounted at an angle as a entrance into the den off the living room, attic stairs and finished storage area above garage, pre-wired for security system, alarm system for all doors leading to the spa, professionally made draperies and window treatments in all rooms, pull-out drawers on all kitchen cabinets including the pantry, AprilAir Filter System on AC/Heating system, 12 place setting of Noritake China in addition to day-to-day stoneware, completely furnished kitchen, beer in the frig, completely supplied linen closets, completely furnished with like-new name brand furniture, three vacuum cleaners, lawn and garden tools, luggage and Christmas Decorations in the attic, and zero bond.

Our neighbors are wonderful and we love the location in Marion County.

Xavier

[graciegirl]

We set out to buy a new home, but as it turned out, the best value for us was in a pre-owned. The extras added up to a super deal. Here is what we bought and the extras:

A pre-owned six year old Designer Gardenia that came with an extended lanai with wall to wall pavers and a huge built in spa, live landscaping around the spa, very nice mature landscaping in front and rear of the house that includes 6 palms, driveway and front walk done with pavers, BOSE sound system through-out with individual controls in each room, fans in the bedrooms, dinette, living room, den and lanai, rounded corners on all walls, built in full wall desk/work area in den, double louvered doors mounted at an angle as a entrance into the den off the living room, attic stairs and finished storage area above garage, pre-wired for security system, alarm system for all doors leading to the spa, professionally made draperies and window treatments in all rooms, pull-out drawers on all kitchen cabinets including the pantry, AprilAir Filter System on AC/Heating system, 12 place setting of Noritake China in addition to day-to-day stoneware, completely furnished kitchen, beer in the frig, completely supplied linen closets, completely furnished with like-new name brand furniture, three vacuum cleaners, lawn and garden tools, luggage and Christmas Decorations in the attic, and zero bond.

Our neighbors are wonderful and we love the location in Marion County.

Xavier

Wow. Now that is some house, Xavier. :thumbup: Glad such a nice person got such a good deal!!

I feel somewhat cheated now :grumpy:..............;).

[Yorio]

We went with the idea of purchasing a pre-owned with the thought that it would be cheaper than new. Full bond was bothering me too. Pre-owned is not necessarily cheaper when the owner put extra bells and whistles. Yes, there is the bond issue but if you consider it as part of the yearly tax, then it is manageable. We initially made a bid on a pre-owned last December but there was a first bidder. If that party did not close on the deal, we would get it. Well, they did so we lost out. We returned in January and looked at new homes this time and decided in two days. When looking for new homes, I suggest you look at spec homes. When the developer wants to sell out on certain streets, the developer add bells and whistles. For example they would add extra feet around the rooms and lanai. They may add a golf cart garage without raising the price. That's what happened with us. Another advantage of getting a new home. All the neighbors are new waiting to make friends. Look what's happening to the posts on Sanibel and Tamarind Grove. With the established neighbors and pre-owned, the neighbors will welcome you with open arms but I have also heard that they have made the group already and might be difficult to get in sometimes. My 2 cents worth.

[2BNTV]

xavier:

Beer in the frig would seal the deal for me.:) :beer3: Funny stuff. :1rotfl:

Sounds like you got a great pre-owned deal.

Best Wishes

[uujudy]

We bought a resale (3rd owners of a 4-yr old house) because location was the most important thing to us, and we couldn't get a new house in the location we wanted.

We wanted to be near Lake Sumter Landing so I could see the water every day. We drew a circle around LSL on the map, and told our Villages agent that those were the villages we were most interested in seeing. She also showed us some incredible brand new homes that we loved, but they were not where we wanted to be. When we saw the fabulous view from a 3-2 CYV in our preferred location we were sold! I can see water (and a golf course) from inside the house!

The villa came with a bond, but we planned to stay here for only a year or 2 to see if something bigger in our location (with a water view) came up for sale. Meanwhile, we've been here for almost 3 years, and I've come to love having a smaller place without much maintenance. It leaves more time for play!

[njbchbum]

on our 4th visit with snowbird friends in the historic section, and after cruising those neighborhoods and open houses on each of our visits and learning that we did not want to live amongst the hustle and bustle on the other side of the cart bridge...on the day before our planned departure we viewed an unfurnished pre-owned house in a great location [close to webb way adult pool and southside club house] that had just come back on the market after a purchase contract failed to consummate...our friend and retired cost-estimator viewed the property with us and gave it a thumbs-up - so we made an offer.

since it was late in 'the season' and the market was more on the side of the buyer rather than the seller ['tho with prices on the rise from past 'seasons'] it was not an offer that was real close to asking as we really didn't need another house - having a primary residence in nj, a vacation home in maine and a disney vacation club timeshare! we offered what would be a good deal for us - thinking that it was a not-so-good deal for the seller...sure fooled us when the owner took our offer!!!!!

so....3 weeks later having used the assistance from the good folks of totv, and having set up telephone/cable installation and rug/house cleaning appts, we were back in the villages to spend three days shopping for furniture and to close on our new house!

and we have not regretted one thing about our purchase! it didn't have everything that we wanted, so we are tackling the small list of improvements with each snowbird season that we enjoy out of the frozen northeast! it's fun to plan the next reno/addition over the other seasons and gives us something more to look forward to when we arrive at our snowbird nest.

[whartonjelly]

I am hoping to buy a pre owned so we can have more space for the money. Also to have no bond or lower bond. Courtyard preferably. Now will someone please buy our home in Indiana?

[D&Lsunfun]

we looked at both, and when we stepped into our house, built but not furnished, we just knew it was right for us.
it is the "pearl" in tamarind grove.
2 bedroom, open living and kitchen area and liana straight back.
we thought used, but since we don't live here full time we wanted less headaches with replacement of items, like appliances, roof, carpet.
so new works for us.

[bonrich]

We bought a Cabana Villa furnished model home in Pennecamp last spring. My wife had certain parameters for a purchase since we were not looking to buy (sound familiar?), and lo and behold this model had all she was looking for and it was going to be sold that day, since we were number 2 on a list of 3 potential buyers.
So, number one backed out and we did our 3 hour contemplation and bought and are very happy with our purchase. As we get to spend more time in TV maybe we will cast out once again and look at other models.