Frustration prior to Design Team meeting

[bdabob]

AAAAAArgh!!
Our Design Team meeting is scheduled for mid June. We have been trying for several months to get vital information about our various options, including pricing, so that we are fully prepared; the last thing we want is to be rushed into major design issues, we want to be ahead of the game.
Our sales rep has been outstanding and has genuinely tried to assist us. Unfortunately, we have continuely been told there can be no direct communication between us, the buyers, and the Design Team, the people with all the pertinent info, prior to our June meeting.
We have dozens of questions that could easily be dealt with in advance. For example, we want a counter depth fridge. We have asked if that's an option. If not, we will then proceed with an outside vendor for our appliances. We can't get an answer in advance to this simple question.
We have asked what the upgrade price is for granite counter tops; wait until June.
We have asked about pool/spa/paver pricing; wait until June.
This is very frustrating and sadly this method of sales makes no sense to us whatsoever.

[redwitch]

I think some reasons for not getting answers in advance is that things have a tendency to change here. If the builders discover certain items are frequently requested, they might be looking for those items to be offered as upgrades. The cost of upgrades might vary depending on what is available at any given time and if subcontractor are up for new contracts (and negotiations). It may be frustrating to you but imagine going into the meeting thinking you have answers and then discovering they are all wrong -- something tells me that TV has had angry purchasers in the past and this least keeps them from leaving a meeting really angry.

[shcisamax]

I found it to be really irritating as well. That said, when I arrived, my list of questions were answered in the first 10 minutes. It won't matter today if you don't know if you can get counter depth. I had my design meeting in March, am closing in a couple of weeks and just finally ordered my appliances. You will have time to figure out whether to go with what they have or order outside. The upgrade for granite will depend upon the grade of granite you choose and the style of house depending upon stretches and changes so it isn't really a good idea to say how much it would be prior to the meeting. T&D does the pool so TV can't answer that. And again, the pool, spa, birdcage issue with or without columns is way way too complicated to give a simple answer. If you put in the search bar pool costs perhaps you will get an idea as to the cost to build. The only thing I can tell you is that it actually will get done in an efficient way. I called the process "design on steroids." The designers as a whole are very good at this and will move you through the process well and you will not feel rushed. The best thing you can do at this point is figure out which model you want and what is your budget. Good luck and feel free to vent. :)

[aljetmet]

The week we picked our lot we viewed several models and our sales agent took note of what we liked. At the end she priced the house out with all the major options we wanted. Using options/upgrades from the various houses. Very clever way TV does this now.

No big deal and I can't believe your agent won't do this for you now. Takes about 15 minutes. To get individual pricing for each option is more difficult because of how their program is built.
I'm pretty sure this was done on purpose but that's my humble opinion.

We actually viewed two houses recently built on our visit and the owner mentioned that she wanted a fridge that came out to the counter. She could not get it through TV, but you can always ask.

You can buy the basic appliance package and sell off those appliances. There is a great demand in TV and you should get fair prices.

Good luck with your build! Just be prepared to have plan A, B and C in place and it should be a piece of cake. :1rotfl: j/k

[applesoffh]

Another thing you can do is make a list of the options you may want, such as specific appliances, wood floors, crown moulding (which TV now offers in some models), etc., and ask for recommendations for flooring people, moulding people, appliance stores, etc. on TOTV, and come prepared with costs. Many contrators who do business in TV base their price on specific models, i.e., crown moulding, which some installers can give you prices for just by knowing what model you are building. I learned (after the fact, of course), that some things I wanted that the design team said were unavailable in the model we selected we very doable through outside contractors, and other options that we priced through the design team were much less expensive when done through outside contractors. Don't be discouraged, just be prepared. There are plenty of options you will be discussing with the design team, and specific costs won't be available until you decide on your model, your expansions, the kitchen/laundry options you may have, etc.

[jimbo2012]

I got the pricing, but it takes a bit of pushing.

If you ask more than twice, get another sales rep or ask to speak a sales manager tomorrow.

You'll get your info within minutes.

This is supposed to enjoyable not fustrating

[tag460]

You sales rep is you point of contact until you meet with the design team, have them price your house with and without granite. In the our model the price difference was approximate $10,000, we have decided to install laminate at this time. As soon as we close on our house, we will have granite installed for about half the price and a better selection. We have found talking to others who just built was very helpful they pointed out different options and gave us insight on the process.
If you need more time to work on you plans for you new house we are willing to trade our designer appointment with you, ours is in August.

[CarGuys]

I found our two day visit with the design team was more than adequate and that all our questions were answered.

Now some answeres were and some were not to our liking but it was a honest yea or nea!

I do believe that three years of visits to TV and looking at numerous open houses prepared us well.

[Villageshooter]

You can never lose sight of one thing anything they do has one goal and that is to get into your pocketbook taking as much money from you as they can! you can never lose sight of that! The goal is for you to think you can buy happiness by spending more money on the upgrades

[CraigAC]

It sounds like your frustration is with your sales rep. They are the ones that should be preparing you for your design meeting.

We picked out our lot in December 2011 and scheduled our design meeting for last week. In the 5 months leading up to our design meeting our sales rep provided us pricing for at least 9 different combinations of options for the model we picked out.

We started with a base unit, and kept adding and subtracting options until we came up with the combination of options and final price we were comfortable with.

Our rep was very clear with us – he couldn’t supply us with a price list of the different options, but he could supply us with a total price for the home with the options we were considering – and he never turned down my request to provide a price for a new combination of options.

By the time we arrived last week we were ready to approve our final decisions with our designer. All she had to do was take us around to the various models so we could see the options we picked out in an actual home. We also spent about 90 minutes at the granite yard to pick out the 4 slabs they’ll be using in our home.

We started at 1pm on Thursday and were completely finished with the paperwork by 5pm on Friday.

I suggest you ask your sales rep to price out your model with a couple of different option combinations. You’ll be able to work the numbers to see what each of the major options are going to cost you.

The more you prepare prior to the designer meeting, the smoother it will go.
Good Luck to you…

[graciegirl]

You can never lose sight of one thing anything they do has one goal and that is to get into your pocketbook taking as much money from you as they can! you can never lose sight of that! The goal is for you to think you can buy happiness by spending more money on the upgrades

Villageshooter? Please tell us if you have gone through the building process.

I found that NO ONE...repeat...NO ONE pushes anything including upgrades. They listen to what you want and show you the choices. We didn't have time for the design team and showed them the model we liked and found a lot we liked and asked them how much that would be. We are very satisfied. We bought a new spec house the first time and were very satisfied with warranty. That was just four years ago and building wasn't an option at that time. Now all kinds of choices are available but it is STILL not like a custom builder back North. It is what it is, but there isn't any...pressure to upgrade that we encountered at ALL.

One of the things that most sold me about this place is the lack of pressure about anything to do with selling you a house or upgrading choices.

They just simply don't have to sell anything.

[jimbo2012]

It sounds like your frustration is with your sales rep. They are the ones that should be preparing you for your design meeting.

I agree totally!

We picked out our lot in December 2011 and scheduled our design meeting for last week. In the 5 months leading up to our design meeting our sales rep provided us pricing for at least 9 different combinations of options for the model we picked out.
We started with a base unit, and kept adding and subtracting options until we came up with the combination of options and final price we were comfortable with.
Our rep was very clear with us – he couldn’t supply us with a price list of the different options, but he could supply us with a total price for the home with the options we were considering – and he never turned down my request to provide a price for a new combination of options.

I was told that also, I told him that was unacceptable if I couldn't get the costs individually of I think it was 8 or 9 options I was not going to make the trip to select a lot. Had the numbers the next day.

Now I'm just waiting for a new Cottage section to open and we're on our way.

[bonrich]

I understand about not getting pricing prior to the design team meeting since costs do change, how quickly not sure, but what I wanted to have was a list of options, upgrades, stretches, etc. that was available for the model we were considering before our design team meeting. If a person knew what to ask for, and what was available it would make the process so much easier. Pricing? That can be handled at the meeting with your choice of options, of what to keep and what was not necessary due to costs.

[bdabob]

Many thanks for all the responses. Our rep has been very good at trying to assist us. We have chatted with several non TV suppliers for items such as granite, appliances & pools, but we can't even gwet ballpark figures from TV to compare.
We would prefer to one-stop-shop and have TV do everything but we need to research and compare to ensure we get the most for our dollars.
We are also from overseas so there is an aditional learning curve. We will be in town for 4 days so that doesn't leave us much time to coordinate with outside suppliers, if necessary.
If I knew in advance that the grade granite we want is approx. a $10K upgrade from TV, and our outside source is quoting a similar price, then I can tick that off as a TV supplied item. The pool is going to be the most expensive option but we can't even get a ballpark even after submitting sketches of our ideas.
I guess I'll have to bring a flask of Dark n' Stormies to help me through the process!

[Bonny]

We have built 2 houses here. The Villages really doesn't make money on the upgrades. For instance, every plug in my house I marked where I wanted it. It's really a pain in the butt for them. That's why for a long time they stopped letting people make many changes. If you go through the models, you can look at everything & keep a list of all the things you liked & didn't like. Also a list of your own of things that might be important to you. There are so many options that it would be impossible to try & tell everyone everything. Things change. Items change as far as what they can get, who the vendor is, what the prices will be.
You many be frustrated now, but you will be amazed how well it goes with the design team. They are all very knowledgeable about everything & will really help you.

[Bonny]

One of the things we did that a lot of my friends say they wish they would have done, is make my driveway wider. The driveway is always the width of the garage door. I made mine the width of the garage. One of the best things we did.

[keithwand]

Not as frustrating as you may think and actually fun.
Our rep gave us a price; "loaded" he said before we purchased our lot.
We never told him our budget and it came in lower than we had expected so we purchased our lot.
Then we found out there was a mistake made on the original quote and there was no price for tile throughout so now the price shot up.
One huge mistake but mistakes happen to everyone.
We deleted the 3rd bath (pool bath) and went with WP Gold instead of Kitchenaid and got back into the budget we had.
Looking at it positively we decided had the mistake not been made we may have stayed in Orlando and who needs the pool bath anyway.
Close in 4 days.

[Golfer in Sanibel]

Many thanks for all the responses. Our rep has been very good at trying to assist us. We have chatted with several non TV suppliers for items such as granite, appliances & pools, but we can't even gwet ballpark figures from TV to compare.
We would prefer to one-stop-shop and have TV do everything but we need to research and compare to ensure we get the most for our dollars.
We are also from overseas so there is an aditional learning curve. We will be in town for 4 days so that doesn't leave us much time to coordinate with outside suppliers, if necessary.
If I knew in advance that the grade granite we want is approx. a $10K upgrade from TV, and our outside source is quoting a similar price, then I can tick that off as a TV supplied item. The pool is going to be the most expensive option but we can't even get a ballpark even after submitting sketches of our ideas.
I guess I'll have to bring a flask of Dark n' Stormies to help me through the process!

Cherie and I went through this in January. Our home was finished in March and we are thrilled with the result.

Keep in mind this place is different then anywhere else you may have bought/built a home. Their processes have been refined through virtually tens of thousands of transactions. They currently are selling around 200 new homes per month. That is maybe 10 or more customers per day in the design center. As others have said, their process in the design center is slick, efficient, thorough and complete.

Many of us moving here have owned our own businesses and been in control for decades. It is hard for us to let go and just let the process happen. You want it done via your style and terms. We call that swimming against the tide. What you need to do is just relax and let things happen. When all is done you'll look back and say "Wow, that was great."

You will be amazed at how much fun this process can be if you will just get out of the way and let it happen. And don't pay any attention to that old grouch who said they squeeze you for all your money. As Gracie said, they will not pressure you at all. They will do their best to help you get what you want, within your budget.

One tip. The design people do this everyday. Be sure to ask for their suggestions and ask which options are the most cost effective. On just a little item like the banding in the master shower tile we were able to get something awesome for less money just by asking "What do you suggest?".

Good luck and enjoy the ride. :MOJE_whot:

[Golfer in Sanibel]

Not as frustrating as you may think and actually fun.
Our rep gave us a price; "loaded" he said before we purchased our lot.
We never told him our budget and it came in lower than we had expected so we purchased our lot.
Then we found out there was a mistake made on the original quote and there was no price for tile throughout so now the price shot up.
One huge mistake but mistakes happen to everyone.
We deleted the 3rd bath (pool bath) and went with WP Gold instead of Kitchenaid and got back into the budget we had.
Looking at it positively we decided had the mistake not been made we may have stayed in Orlando and who needs the pool bath anyway.
Close in 4 days.

Congratulations. :MOJE_whot::MOJE_whot::MOJE_whot:

[Mikitv]

We picked our lot and house back in Dec. 2009. There was no design team. It was our Realtor and us going through the models to pick out the flooring, cabinets, fixtures, etc. I always had an A and B selection as we went because it was hard to remember what we had seen after going through all the models. At the end she got the information on our selections and gave us an estimate. Then she went back to her office and did all the final pricing and had us back to go over those figures. It was all done before we left to go back home and they started our home in Jan. and finished in March. Sounds like they have a different procedure in place now. The told some recent friends looking here that if they bought a lot today they couldn't get with the design team until Sept. Sounds like they are doing a lot of new houses again.

[rubicon]

AAAAAArgh!!
Our Design Team meeting is scheduled for mid June. We have been trying for several months to get vital information about our various options, including pricing, so that we are fully prepared; the last thing we want is to be rushed into major design issues, we want to be ahead of the game.
Our sales rep has been outstanding and has genuinely tried to assist us. Unfortunately, we have continuely been told there can be no direct communication between us, the buyers, and the Design Team, the people with all the pertinent info, prior to our June meeting.
We have dozens of questions that could easily be dealt with in advance. For example, we want a counter depth fridge. We have asked if that's an option. If not, we will then proceed with an outside vendor for our appliances. We can't get an answer in advance to this simple question.
We have asked what the upgrade price is for granite counter tops; wait until June.
We have asked about pool/spa/paver pricing; wait until June.
This is very frustrating and sadly this method of sales makes no sense to us whatsoever.

bdabob: You want frustration try being told with market price as high as it ever will probably be that what you see is what you get or go to the back of the line. that was the way it had been in 2005-06-07. I told the sales rep what I wanted in a house and what I was willing to pay and she came through
so stop complaining because many residents here wished they had an opportunity to choose. In retrospect I should have told them to drop dead. TV isn't the only nice place to live and you are getting more bang for your buck and the taxes given dollar per square foot of living space in popular places to retire/live.

[aljetmet]

It sounds like your frustration is with your sales rep. They are the ones that should be preparing you for your design meeting.

We picked out our lot in December 2011 and scheduled our design meeting for last week. In the 5 months leading up to our design meeting our sales rep provided us pricing for at least 9 different combinations of options for the model we picked out.

We started with a base unit, and kept adding and subtracting options until we came up with the combination of options and final price we were comfortable with.

Our rep was very clear with us – he couldn’t supply us with a price list of the different options, but he could supply us with a total price for the home with the options we were considering – and he never turned down my request to provide a price for a new combination of options.

By the time we arrived last week we were ready to approve our final decisions with our designer. All she had to do was take us around to the various models so we could see the options we picked out in an actual home. We also spent about 90 minutes at the granite yard to pick out the 4 slabs they’ll be using in our home.

We started at 1pm on Thursday and were completely finished with the paperwork by 5pm on Friday.

I suggest you ask your sales rep to price out your model with a couple of different option combinations. You’ll be able to work the numbers to see what each of the major options are going to cost you.

The more you prepare prior to the designer meeting, the smoother it will go.
Good Luck to you…

Very well said!!:BigApplause: The OP is not the only one who who has mentioned on TOTV they were getting stonewalled by their rep....Rediculous!

[Beatit]

I agree with Alanc......we were given three different estimates, however, we did push our sales rep to give us as much info as he could regarding upgrades. We picked upgrades which were listed by grade, ie ABC, etc and then picked the highest grade given to determine the most expensive and then work from that point. Our meeting is on Monday, June 10!!!!! I hope it goes as smoothly as some indicate.

[graciegirl]

bdabob: You want frustration try being told with market price as high as it ever will probably be that what you see is what you get or go to the back of the line. that was the way it had been in 2005-06-07. I told the sales rep what I wanted in a house and what I was willing to pay and she came through
so stop complaining because many residents here wished they had an opportunity to choose. In retrospect I should have told them to drop dead. TV isn't the only nice place to live and you are getting more bang for your buck and the taxes given dollar per square foot of living space in popular places to retire/live.
'
Why Rubicon? Why do you say that? I hate to hear you be unhappy. Houses are easy to sell here.

[Pturner]

It sounds like your frustration is with your sales rep. They are the ones that should be preparing you for your design meeting.

We picked out our lot in December 2011 and scheduled our design meeting for last week. In the 5 months leading up to our design meeting our sales rep provided us pricing for at least 9 different combinations of options for the model we picked out.

We started with a base unit, and kept adding and subtracting options until we came up with the combination of options and final price we were comfortable with.

Our rep was very clear with us – he couldn’t supply us with a price list of the different options, but he could supply us with a total price for the home with the options we were considering – and he never turned down my request to provide a price for a new combination of options.

By the time we arrived last week we were ready to approve our final decisions with our designer. All she had to do was take us around to the various models so we could see the options we picked out in an actual home. We also spent about 90 minutes at the granite yard to pick out the 4 slabs they’ll be using in our home.

We started at 1pm on Thursday and were completely finished with the paperwork by 5pm on Friday.

I suggest you ask your sales rep to price out your model with a couple of different option combinations. You’ll be able to work the numbers to see what each of the major options are going to cost you.

The more you prepare prior to the designer meeting, the smoother it will go.
Good Luck to you…

Alanc,
Who was your sales rep?

Bdabob,
Perhaps you could try the approach Alanc took of requesting total home price with various combinations of options. If your sales rep. cannot accommodate you, you might want to call the sales office and ask to be switched to the sale agent that Alanc used. Whatever you do, I suspect you will be pleased with the result. Best wishes. Please keep us posted on your progress.

[campy]

We just went through the process. They don't give much information ahead of time - maybe no information is a better way to say it. We went down with a list of wants, including extensions that were not offered yet to our surprise were added to the plans because our lot had the room. We told them what we didn't want to exceed $$ wise and we were able to stay well within that amount. Ask for everything on your list and then decide what you can live without if you exceed your budget.

Good Luck and make this the first step of the good things to come in TV.

[PandG]

We had our design meeting last week. The remnants of "Beryl" didn't help because it was too wet to be driven by golf car to the various models, so we used cars.

We agree with the comments about TV not giving pricing and design choices ahead of time. They often change suppliers, which is difficult for TV to keep up with. For example, they used to offer GE appliances, but now use Whirlpool and KitchenAid.

I had a list of questions prepared for the designer, and we reviewed those at the start of the design meeting. We were never asked about a budget, and never knew any prices up-front. I had to ask multiple times how much something cost, because no price was given to us. Perhaps he was a bit frustrated, because for some strange reason, TV's pricing system is difficult for the sales reps and designers to use. And prices quoted are only approximate.

This surprised me because I learned just the opposite from posts on TOTV! At the end of day #1, I called our sales/mktg. rep (out of frustration), and he talked to our design person. Day #2 went better. We are pleased with the outcome, and the designer contributed some good and unique suggestions. Our new home in Fernandina will close in mid-August!

My advice is to bring lots of paper, take lots of notes, and ask lots of questions at the design meetings. Good luck to all!

[bdabob]

Hi PandG,
Thanks for the update on your design team meeting; sounds like you accomplished it all in the end.
We too are in Fernandina (205) and have our design team meeting at the end of next week.
My wife and I have been quite diligent in taking notes, reading TOTV daily, and speaking with our sales rep to be as prepared as possible. We even rented a home there for a week in early April to "kick the tires" and make some decisions in advance.
Our hope was that we could enter the design team meeting 85 - 90% ready, and then just fine tune. Sadly we estimate we are below 50% ready and will have to do plenty of thinking on our feet without the benefit of knowing in advance the approximate costs of all the upgrades & options.
It looks like we will be spending in excess of $500K with pool etc., and we just hoped we could have far more info in advance.
Best of luck to you with your new home.
Cheers,
Bob

[jimbo2012]

I realize that the TV sales & marketing team are probably the sharpest around with the number of homes going up over the years but it is odd that they don't offer a punch list of options with prices in advance or during the design meeting.

Why do they secret these costs?

I wish someone would explain their theory.

Is it to get you to spend more?

I had to twist my reps arm to get certain costs, that really shouldn't be necessary, I know you may say it will all work out in the end but it's not the point.

When I tell my friends about this process they are taken back.

Frustration is a great name for this thread:(

[Happinow]

I Agree with Gracie. There is absolutely no pressure when buying or designing your home. If anything, I would have liked to have known about more upgrades. The team just let's you pick what you want and they make suggestions, but I found them to be very helpful suggestions. This is a no pressure zone and I didn't feel at any time that they just wanted my money. They also want you to be happy with your purchase.

[dmorhome]

build your dream home to villages spec,s not how we do it back north,good luck.

[bdabob]

Just a follow up seeing that I started this thread. Our DT meeting was last weekend and it went as well as I expected. We were rushed in some areas and given ample time to consider in others.
Our designer was superb. We told her from the start that we invite her to make comments regarding our selections; challenge us to ensure we have thought this through. She gave us lots of ideas (have you thought about this or that) and besides being technically knowledgable about building, she was excellent with colors and textures. She really did listen to our wishes & wants and retained that theme throughout.
She did agree that the "system" was flawed when it doesn't provide the buyer with a punchlist of even ballpark figures to consider.
We are pleased with the outcome of the design but would have liked a smoother run up to the DT meetings.
Closing date is mid Sept. so we are now in another phase of planning and organizing.
Many thanks to everyone that chimed in. I would be happy to share our experiences if you wish to PM.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Glad to hear it worked out pretty well for you, bdabob....all things considered. Sound like you did your homework up front!

Bill :)

[tucson]

AAAAAArgh!!
Our Design Team meeting is scheduled for mid June. We have been trying for several months to get vital information about our various options, including pricing, so that we are fully prepared; the last thing we want is to be rushed into major design issues, we want to be ahead of the game.
Our sales rep has been outstanding and has genuinely tried to assist us. Unfortunately, we have continuely been told there can be no direct communication between us, the buyers, and the Design Team, the people with all the pertinent info, prior to our June meeting.
We have dozens of questions that could easily be dealt with in advance. For example, we want a counter depth fridge. We have asked if that's an option. If not, we will then proceed with an outside vendor for our appliances. We can't get an answer in advance to this simple question.
We have asked what the upgrade price is for granite counter tops; wait until June.
We have asked about pool/spa/paver pricing; wait until June.
This is very frustrating and sadly this method of sales makes no sense to us whatsoever.

My advice; Go with NO upgrades and AFTER you close and move in, do them yourselves or find the local hanymen/contractors to do all the upgrades. You'll SAVE ALOT of money !!!

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Some upgrades, particularly things that might impact structure or infrastructure (plumbing, wiring, etc.) might be easiest to do when the house is built. Might even wind up being less expensive as well.

Bill :)

[Bavarian]

Seems like normal. I have tried to talk to Design team or someone in between for almost a year. Important questions like wiring house for telephone, antenna, audio. What can we change, what not. Told we have to wait. If we could get some early info, we could start making decisions at home and have a list already done of the easy stuff and worry about the hard stuff when we go down. I found this website after being sold a lot via telephone, have not seen it.

Learning more here than anywhere else. Some bad to the point that I wonder if we should walk away. But, my wife likes the activities. I am more individual. Like Golf carts and no State Income Tax.

[tucson]

I've lived here 7yrs, you should ck out other places near TV as well. There's activities everywhere, not just in TV. I would rather be near the beaches personally.

[graciegirl]

I've lived here 7yrs, you should ck out other places near TV as well. There's activities everywhere, not just in TV. I would rather be near the beaches personally.

Houses are very easy to sell here. If you find someplace better that you like.

I haven't found anything better than here. EVER.

[cgalloway6]

Our design team meeting is Oct 1. Did anyone ever report the credit available if you deleted the appliances(except the microwave required for the OP)? Since they don't break out options it might have been hard to determine how much you got. Like everyone else we'd like to have some list of options and approximate pricing. Walking through the models it is hard to tell what is an option and what isn't and if it is, how much. Oh well, guess in 87 days it will all be clear. Or not. It is a long time to speculate.

[jimbo2012]

These costs are a closely guarded secret by all, after your meeting you must give a drop of blood swearing not to reveal to others what the individual costs are. :1rotfl:

If your sales rep isn't telling you, he/she is too lazy, I found costs on most options.

Appliances R -1500-2000

All they do is email the design team.

[slmwest]

We are in the early stage of design but still have a few months before we have to decide. The lack of information on the cost of options is a concern for me because we are about 80% sure we want to build a Cottage Home (Hammock) but after I add in a few (and only a few) options we are in the price range of a designer home where the same options are standard. Is that a problem for anyone else? How did you deal with it.

[jimbo2012]

First R U sure U can build one?

They stopped unless you have a commitment??

We were going to build a Sun Kist, with extras that were std in Bourgainville it was not looking as such a good buy, the gap closes real quick.

I think the resale will be better on a designer than a cottage, but both are great.

We at the moment are torn now between the bougainvilla and the Allamanda, it fells like we're up-selling ourselves.

Because now extras in the bouganivilla are std in the Allamanda, crazy......

There is a 10K difference but it is poured concrete v frame if that matters and it has a built in Florida room.

I think if it's within your budget, go for the designer, I'm sure others will chime in here.....I'm all ears.


. The lack of information on the cost of options is a concern for me because we are about 80% sure we want to build a Cottage Home (Hammock) but after I add in a few (and only a few) options we are in the price range of a designer home where the same options are standard. Is that a problem for anyone else? How did you deal with it.

I refused to accept that story, I received the costs, your rep just emails the design team, answer in < 24 hours

[hotrodgirl]

Quote:
Originally Posted by slmwest
The lack of information on the cost of options is a concern for me because we are about 80% sure we want to build a Cottage Home (Hammock) but after I add in a few (and only a few) options we are in the price range of a designer home where the same options are standard. Is that a problem for anyone else? How did you deal with it.

I refused to accept that story, I received the costs, your rep just emails the design team, answer in < 24 hours

I concur! Whenever I have asked my sales rep something regarding cost that I thought I may like to add to my build, she generally has gotten back to me within 24 hrs. Once or twice I got an "approximate" dependent upon how the builder may decide to proceed... Understand that it can be difficult to give every cost as between now and your build time, a company may change, a building/supply cost may differ, a manufacturer may change. But within reason, your rep should be able to help you with this.