Questions about building

[shcisamax]

]Just put the deposit down and got my design date in a month...My husband is unable to go so decisions will fall on me. Would love to get some answers before that date to discuss with my husband if anyone can help me.
1. Can they stretch the house wider? The model Lantana I looked at was already stretched two feet longer. I would like an extra 2 to 4 ft. wideras well. Can they do that?
2. Do you order different packages for landscaping or what you see is what you get? Do you have to get any landscaping or can you figure it out later when you have a design done?
3. Can anyone estimate how long to build start to finish for a Lantana with a pool?
4. If you are in the process of building a house, but can't get a rental for the entire time period you are waiting for your house, can you get amenity passes or do they just simply say no.
5. The laminated floors they put in...do they hold up with dogs? The appear to have some plasticized finish so I thought perhaps they do better than regular hardwood.
6. I assume in the winter it is cold. Is there such a thing as solar heat for the pool? How much does it cost to maintain a pool ..maybe 15 by 20?
7. I like to have shower stalls but am thinking we should have one bath tub in the house for resale. Any comments?
8. Does TV put in the solar panels or is it a separate company.
9. People were commenting on Fernandia had a smell near the Bonifay country club. Does anyone know for sure what the smell is coming from and if it is a permanent issue.
10. Does anyone know where to buy good upholstery fabric...besides Joann's.
11. Does Verizon work in TV?
12. Do people use cable for television or satellite?
Guess that is enough for starters. :) Thanks for any answers you can provide. I hate not being able to speak to anyone before the design meeting. I would like to go in having a better idea of what I am doing.
Thanks again.

[lanabanana73]

That is a LOT of great questions! I look forward to reading the answers from everyone. I would LOVE to do all the designing without my husband. Actually, he would probably like it, too!

Alanna

[shcisamax]

Alanna,
Love your dog photo. Very cute. Don't you have any answers for me? Help.

[aljetmet]

]Just put the deposit down and got my design date in a month...My husband is unable to go so decisions will fall on me. Would love to get some answers before that date to discuss with my husband if anyone can help me.
1. Can they stretch the house wider? The model Lantana I looked at was already stretched two feet longer. I would like an extra 2 to 4 ft. wideras well. Can they do that?
2. Do you order different packages for landscaping or what you see is what you get? Do you have to get any landscaping or can you figure it out later when you have a design done?
3. Can anyone estimate how long to build start to finish for a Lantana with a pool?
4. If you are in the process of building a house, but can't get a rental for the entire time period you are waiting for your house, can you get amenity passes or do they just simply say no.
5. The laminated floors they put in...do they hold up with dogs? The appear to have some plasticized finish so I thought perhaps they do better than regular hardwood.
6. I assume in the winter it is cold. Is there such a thing as solar heat for the pool? How much does it cost to maintain a pool ..maybe 15 by 20?
7. I like to have shower stalls but am thinking we should have one bath tub in the house for resale. Any comments?
8. Does TV put in the solar panels or is it a separate company.
9. People were commenting on Fernandia had a smell near the Bonifay country club. Does anyone know for sure what the smell is coming from and if it is a permanent issue.
10. Does anyone know where to buy good upholstery fabric...besides Joann's.
11. Does Verizon work in TV?
12. Do people use cable for television or satellite?
Guess that is enough for starters. :) Thanks for any answers you can provide. I hate not being able to speak to anyone before the design meeting. I would like to go in having a better idea of what I am doing.
Thanks again.

First of all :welcome:
Second of all which CT town do you live? We lived in Norwalk and Trumbull

We're coming in April to choose our lot so I might not have all your answers.
We want to build a Lantana also.

1> Probably, depends if your lot can handle it.
2> Good question.
3> I'll guess at about 75 days.
4> I'll guess no but others can answer you
5> ??
6> Yes to solar. cost ?
7> good idea. We want the tub in the master (if it comes with jets) I would want a tub for grand kids in the guest bath.
8> ?? TV probably could get it for you
9> I have read in TOTV that it's probably a non issue. Others can comment since I've never been there
10>??
11> I have read on TOTV that Verizon cellular is superior to AT&T but AT&T has just added new cell towers. Use either one as I'm a share holder of each!
12> I have been a Directv user for over 11 years will not change in TV

Hope you get answers to questions I did not address and hopefully TOTVers will agree with most of my answers....:ohdear:

[bike42]

]Just put the deposit down and got my design date in a month...My husband is unable to go so decisions will fall on me. Would love to get some answers before that date to discuss with my husband if anyone can help me.
1. Can they stretch the house wider? The model Lantana I looked at was already stretched two feet longer. I would like an extra 2 to 4 ft. wideras well. Can they do that?
2. Do you order different packages for landscaping or what you see is what you get? Do you have to get any landscaping or can you figure it out later when you have a design done?
3. Can anyone estimate how long to build start to finish for a Lantana with a pool?
4. If you are in the process of building a house, but can't get a rental for the entire time period you are waiting for your house, can you get amenity passes or do they just simply say no.
5. The laminated floors they put in...do they hold up with dogs? The appear to have some plasticized finish so I thought perhaps they do better than regular hardwood.
6. I assume in the winter it is cold. Is there such a thing as solar heat for the pool? How much does it cost to maintain a pool ..maybe 15 by 20?
7. I like to have shower stalls but am thinking we should have one bath tub in the house for resale. Any comments?
8. Does TV put in the solar panels or is it a separate company.
9. People were commenting on Fernandia had a smell near the Bonifay country club. Does anyone know for sure what the smell is coming from and if it is a permanent issue.
10. Does anyone know where to buy good upholstery fabric...besides Joann's.
11. Does Verizon work in TV?
12. Do people use cable for television or satellite?
Guess that is enough for starters. :) Thanks for any answers you can provide. I hate not being able to speak to anyone before the design meeting. I would like to go in having a better idea of what I am doing.
Thanks again.

Here are my answers to a few of your questions --
1) Stretches depend on the size of your lot. Get ALL they will give you, especially garage.
2) Landscape package comes with the house. If you are there, the crew may let you make some choices of plants and placement. Almost everyone upgrades landscaping after they move in. Soil is sandy so transplanting is very easy.
3) about 2 months.
5) Other dog owners may not agree with me, but I think laminate is the worst choice -- very slippery and noisy for dog toenails, and every bit of drool, drips from water bowl and paw prints showed. Tile is much better with dogs.
7) Most people prefer showers. Put a shower in the guest bath if they will let you.
Have fun!

[ducati1974]

I have Verizon for cell phone and Comcast for cable and internet and have been happy with both.

[shcisamax]

I think I have really messed up. On my hotmail, there was an email with a statement from TOTV that said if you want to unsubscribe to this thread, click here and I did. I thought it was going to say if you want to read the thread, click here. So.. what happens now?

[Pturner]

]Just put the deposit down and got my design date in a month...My husband is unable to go so decisions will fall on me. Would love to get some answers before that date to discuss with my husband if anyone can help me.
1. Can they stretch the house wider? The model Lantana I looked at was already stretched two feet longer. I would like an extra 2 to 4 ft. wideras well. Can they do that?
2. Do you order different packages for landscaping or what you see is what you get? Do you have to get any landscaping or can you figure it out later when you have a design done?
3. Can anyone estimate how long to build start to finish for a Lantana with a pool?
4. If you are in the process of building a house, but can't get a rental for the entire time period you are waiting for your house, can you get amenity passes or do they just simply say no.
5. The laminated floors they put in...do they hold up with dogs? The appear to have some plasticized finish so I thought perhaps they do better than regular hardwood.
6. I assume in the winter it is cold. Is there such a thing as solar heat for the pool? How much does it cost to maintain a pool ..maybe 15 by 20?
7. I like to have shower stalls but am thinking we should have one bath tub in the house for resale. Any comments?
8. Does TV put in the solar panels or is it a separate company.
9. People were commenting on Fernandia had a smell near the Bonifay country club. Does anyone know for sure what the smell is coming from and if it is a permanent issue.
10. Does anyone know where to buy good upholstery fabric...besides Joann's.
11. Does Verizon work in TV?
12. Do people use cable for television or satellite?
Guess that is enough for starters. :) Thanks for any answers you can provide. I hate not being able to speak to anyone before the design meeting. I would like to go in having a better idea of what I am doing.
Thanks again.

Hi Shcisamax,

Welcome to Lower Paradise! I can answer only a few of your questions but also want to comment on your concern that you cannot talk with anyone before the design meeting. You should be able to talk with your sales agent; and your agent can answer many of these questions for you.

1) All of the potential stretches depend upon the size and configuration of your lot. Please let your sales agent know asap what stretches you want. If the lot on which you put a deposit will not accommodate these, perhaps you can trade for a different lot. For the sake of other newbies, it is always a good idea to discuss with your sales agent before selecting a lot any expansions and additions you might want. That way, they can help you select a lot with these needs/wants in mind.

3) Your sales agent should be able to give you an estimate for build-out time frame.

4) Your sales agent can definitely answer this question. If one home is not available for rent during the entire time frame you need, another option is to rent one home for part of the time and then rent another one. A little inconvenient, but an option if you can't otherwise get amenity passes.

11) Yes, you can get Verizon service in TV.

12) Cable and satellite are both available-- take your pick.

Your questions are all excellent and the answers will no doubt help other newbies as well. Please keep us posted on your progress and don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions.

All best wishes!

[angiefox10]

Here are my answers to a few of your questions --
1) Stretches depend on the size of your lot. Get ALL they will give you, especially garage.
2) Landscape package comes with the house. If you are there, the crew may let you make some choices of plants and placement. Almost everyone upgrades landscaping after they move in. Soil is sandy so transplanting is very easy.
3) about 2 months.
5) Other dog owners may not agree with me, but I think laminate is the worst choice -- very slippery and noisy for dog toenails, and every bit of drool, drips from water bowl and paw prints showed. Tile is much better with dogs.
7) Most people prefer showers. Put a shower in the guest bath if they will let you.
Have fun!


I agree!

I would like to add that we have dogs and did the tile. Laminant will be destroyed if they have an accident and you don't catch it. Not true with tile.

Also.... We did the shower in the guest bath as well!

[shcisamax]

Thank you PTurner for your reply. I appreciate your answers.


So far the rental issue is a nightmare. A pet issue. I think I may end up staying in a hotel for 2 weeks where the pet issue is a non issue and then going to a rental for May and June. Otherwise, I get stuck doing two deposits, two dog fees, two upfront month rental payments, two amenity fees. Not worth it. I will just tell my husband he can't play golf for two weeks. :) Although I think it is absurd that TV won't give you amenity passes while you are building a house. And for only two weeks! It is a little chintzy.

I really need to speak to the design people.

[shcisamax]

Bike42
l)So I think I can add 4 ft and still fit inside the dotted lines...but do you know what the sq ft price is they will charge for the added footprint?
2)As for choosing plants, I don;t know my FL shrubs so would need to defer for now.
5) The floor in the model had "wood" which actually looked like plastic so I assumed it would not get any dents. I am not a fan of tile...but marble ...do they sell marble? Hadn't considered the noise. Yes. that click click click could get old very quickly.
7) So you think for resale it is not necessary to have a bath tub in the house. Someone mentioned to me that it is a good idea in case you lose power in a storm, you have water...does the Villages get alot of storms?
Tks.

[graciegirl]

Thank you PTurner for your reply. I appreciate your answers.


So far the rental issue is a nightmare. A pet issue. I think I may end up staying in a hotel for 2 weeks where the pet issue is a non issue and then going to a rental for May and June. Otherwise, I get stuck doing two deposits, two dog fees, two upfront month rental payments, two amenity fees. Not worth it. I will just tell my husband he can't play golf for two weeks. :) Although I think it is absurd that TV won't give you amenity passes while you are building a house. And for only two weeks! It is a little chintzy.

I really need to speak to the design people.

When we were building, they gave us amenity passes, just this fall so I know it is current and even sent our mail to our new mailbox. We rented in The Villages but not FROM the Villages. There are folks who will rent to you with a pet. AND they can tell you the day your house will be closed.

There was no way to opt out of one of our bathtubs, but I am sorry we didn't put a shower in place of the other.
We have Verizon for internet and Direct TV. They give you plants that will live through the cold times and the dry times. I am pleased with their choices in landscaping.

[Happinow]

Since I just went through the design process this week I will try to answer some of your questions based on my experience.

1. You can stretch as much as your lot will allow. Stretch as much a you can.

2. We were told that landscaping is what is is. You have to take their landscaping package and redo it afterwards.

3. We are building a gardenia with pool and it will take 75-80 days. We signed our contract February 17 and got a closing date of may 9th.

6. We are putting in solar heat and it has to be done after they build. The solar heat is put in by someone other than the pool people. In our case it was T&D pools who will install pool. They will recommend a solar person for solar installation. They said it would cost about 4,000.

7. We decided not to have tub in guest room. A lot of people said it's bad for resale but we are never selling!!

9. We were in the Sanibel area all week and never smelled anything.

I think it depends on what designer you work with as to what they will let you do to your home. We had Melissa Stanford and we could do most anything to our house. All changes will cost you. We made a ton of changes
to our gardenia so thankfully she said yes to everything! I was talking to our neighbors who closed 2 months ago and they said they could hardly make any changes. I would advise you to ask for Melissa. She was a miracle worker! Not even sure you can request a designer. Good luck with your choices and be ready for some long days.

[shcisamax]

They actually make you take at least one bath tub?? Wow. Well I guess that decision is made then.
The villages only gives you passes if you rent one of the house. We will stay at a hotel. I gotta go to sleep. Thank you do very much.

[graciegirl]

They actually make you take at least one bath tub?? Wow. Well I guess that decision is made then.
The villages only gives you passes if you rent one of the house. We will stay at a hotel. I gotta go to sleep. Thank you do very much.

No. Not in a designer. You're good. You can choose no bathtubs.

I wish I could take the stress away a little for people not sleeping.

[shcisamax]

O K Graciegirl. So now I am back to having to make the decision. Is it better to have a bath tub in the house for resale? How often does the power go down that you would need to have a bath tub of water?
Sleep: I am very busy in my dreams.

[shcisamax]

Happinow: Thanks for all your useful info. I thought I sent you a pm with more questions and clarifications. But perhaps not because it isn't showing up in my sent folder. Could you please send me a pm and I will answer. I know it works when I send a response to a pm. Thanks.

[graciegirl]

O K Graciegirl. So now I am back to having to make the decision. Is it better to have a bath tub in the house for resale? How often does the power go down that you would need to have a bath tub of water?
Sleep: I am very busy in my dreams.

Oh my dear shcisamax, (Watta screen name, girl) I was worried about everything once we signed on the line the first time. I didn't get around to power failures and didn't think to worry about gopher or turtle mounds and didn't know they had sinkholes or never thought about the politics of the developer. I worried about the quality of the closet doors and not having a crawl space or basement under the house to cushion the steps and I worried about how alike the homes all were and the inability to make them your own by customizing choices that added architectural details like different and unusual windows and alcoves and my choice of appliances and back three years ago I couldn't get double ovens and I was sure those Damn Morses were Sheisters of the first water. I worried about the taxes and the bond and the mold and the pollen and the folks who would be our neighbors and just about everything else.

As many of you know I have become one of the biggest fans.

I feel so bad about your very normal worries, all of you who are going to a brand new place that is way too good to be true. I do so hope you will end up as happy as most of us are. Feel this hug.

The motivation for many of my posts is to make some of your worries go away and I don't work for the developer, don't know the developer, have never seen the developer. I sure would like to shake his hand before I exit stage right to the village of Heavenly which I hope will be in a thousand years.

Please post your worries here and know that many of us are listening and we care.

NO bathtub is my vote. The whole world takes showers.

[shcisamax]

You are simply marvelous Graciegirl.
And yes, I am worried too about the "quality of the closet doors and not having a crawl space or basement under the house to cushion the steps and I worried about how alike the homes all were and the inability to make them your own by customizing choices that added architectural details like different and unusual windows and alcoves" don't really care about the double oven but am worried "about the taxes and the bond and the mold and the pollen and the folks who would be our neighbors and just about everything else."
But if you are going to be my neighbor I will be fine.

[shcisamax]

BTW: What sinkholes and gopher and turtle holes and mold ?

[ducati1974]

If you need a place to rent for May/ June we have a Gardenia available in Virginia Trace and we do allow small pets. PM me if interested.

[shcisamax]

Thanks. I think we have May and June lined up but will keep it in mind. We are dealing with April 15 to April 30.

[Happinow]

They actually make you take at least one bath tub?? Wow. Well I guess that decision is made then.
The villages only gives you passes if you rent one of the house. We will stay at a hotel. I gotta go to sleep. Thank you do very much.

You do NOT have yo take a bath tub. But, in some of the models you have to stretch the room to have enough space for a shower in the guest room. Don't let them tell you that you have to have a tub cause you don't.

[shcisamax]

happinow. Did you get my pm? if not, please pm me. i have lots of questions to your responses.

[shcisamax]

We were interested in building the Lantana but just noticed the Ivy which seems to have significantly more space. That said, the view looking out the back seems to be narrower in the Ivy. It is difficult to tell from floor plans. Is anyone able to comment on the differences between the two, excluding the extra bedroom. Thanks.