1 Year to Build???

[Ritchie]

I bought a lot in October 2011, and was told I had a year to start building. That would be Ocrtober 2012. Received a call today informing me that buildings are already scheduled up to October, and are behind in building. That I would lose my lot if I don't schedule to build within the next week (This is June 9th!!!!) We are trying to sell our house here (Up North) and have had traffic, but only one very LOW offer. We're planning to return to the Villages in September to build one way or another. Your comments would be appreciated.

[jimbo2012]

I would say that the terms of the contract would govern the deadline?

Did you take a read of the terms & conditions recently?

At first blush I think you have until Oct, the one week threat is just to wake you up.

[Sunshine Mary]

Welcome to Talk of the Villages Ritchie I see this is your first post,

I sure hope this is not true Bought my lot in Oct also and going to wait till Sept to start building .My sale rep did not call me and tell me this .I was told I got one year to build.

[asianthree]

so will they let you pic a date of October?

[shcisamax]

I think the bigger problem is getting a design appointment which I understand are scheduled through September. You probably need to call for your design appointment this week and get that scheduled. The actual building begins approximately 7 to 10 days after the appointment because they order all the pieces relating to your build. You could then be within the contract parameters.

[aljetmet]

I think the bigger problem is getting a design appointment which I understand are scheduled through September. You probably need to call for your design appointment this week and get that scheduled. The actual building begins approximately 7 to 10 days after the appointment because they order all the pieces relating to your build. You could then be within the contract parameters.

I agree. Think you need to call your sales rep and schedule an appointment for Sept. or Oct. There is a definite difference in "build within one year" vs. "complete building within one year"

[Ritchie]

Just reread the contract. It states,"Buyer agrees to select and order on or before Oct XX, a particular home and improvement packages for immediate build and closing....."

[Ritchie]

so will they let you pic a date of October?

Yes, according to the contract that I just reread.

[shcisamax]

Yes, but the key is to schedule the design appointment before the contract date expires. If there are no appointments, you run into a problem. Call and get your appointment scheduled. If they say they can't do it before the date for your contract, the it will be TV who needs to extend your contract deadline because you are complying with the terms and they are unable to fulfill their end.

[jimbo2012]

it will be TV who needs to extend your contract deadline because you are complying with the terms and they are unable to fulfill their end.

Makes sense it's not your responsibility to know what their next available
booking dates are.

Example if it called for October 15th and you contacted them on or before that date you met the terms I think. The contract should provide how notices are to be sent.

If your appointment is a month or two later it's their issue

[tommy steam]

Yes, but the key is to schedule the design appointment before the contract date expires. If there are no appointments, you run into a problem. Call and get your appointment scheduled. If they say they can't do it before the date for your contract, the it will be TV who needs to extend your contract deadline because you are complying with the terms and they are unable to fulfill their end.

sounds good to me:thumbup:

[Yankee Quilter]

We checked on it with our rep. We have 12/30/12 as our one year date, and a few weeks ago there was a thread about how long it was taking for the design appointments. I was told, by her, that if we are ready to go before our 1 year, and they cannot get us in, they will extend as long as we meet with them at their earliest availability.
We really do not want to build and try to juggle 2 mortgages!
I guess we have to remember we do not loos the money just the lot, but I am becoming a Charlotte-tor in my mind!
Good luck with your sale.

[jackz]

Are they still offering a 4% reduction on the total cost of the home and lot for appts in October?

[asianthree]

:a040::a040::a040:Are they still offering a 4% reduction on the total cost of the home and lot for appts in October?

[CarGuys]

We checked on it with our rep. We have 12/30/12 as our one year date, and a few weeks ago there was a thread about how long it was taking for the design appointments. I was told, by her, that if we are ready to go before our 1 year, and they cannot get us in, they will extend as long as we meet with them at their earliest availability.
We really do not want to build and try to juggle 2 mortgages!
I guess we have to remember we do not loos the money just the lot, but I am becoming a Charlotte-tor in my mind!
Good luck with your sale.

Feel your pain, Doing the Juggle two Mortages since December.:cryin2: It has seriously diminished play money and home improvement fund for when we get there. :cryin2:

We contemplated the build vs no build early for months. The good news is the home design team was met with, A good experience for us, The home is up and waiting for us done when we get there in July.:D

[hotrodgirl]

I think that is what they may have been referring to in the letter? I purchased a lot in May, but have only 3 months to start because it's a golf course lot. Unfortunately, on the date of purchase (5/19) they could not schedule a design appt until September! Obviously we cannot begin until after the meeting, so they gave me until after the meeting to start. I need to have the papers signed and 20% paid by Sept 10th. So maybe they were alluding to the fact you need to make your design team meeting right away so it is within the parameters of the contract! I would call my agent and discuss this.

[Motrmom]

The design appointments are now not available until the end of the year! We purchased our lot over Memorial Day weekend, and first appointment was Sept 26! We sold our house in 5 days, and now have to be out Aug 10th, and will have a few months to "kill" before our home will be built. Trying to get an appointment sooner, but they are a HOT commodity.

[shcisamax]

Pack and move through TV relocation where they put the belongings in storage in Ocala. Rent so you can be here to start really looking at what are your choices. Go sit on your land and imagine...

[LAshby50]

We were in somewhat similar situation. Our 12 month anniversary date was late October. We still had not sold our place in Minnesota but opted for an earlier slot in September for the design appointment that still gets us the 4% discount. So in the meantime we accepted an offer and they want our Minnesota house by end of July. So we are mooching off relatives in Minnesota until mid-September when we are planning to rent in TV while our home is being built. But this was still better than paying for 2 houses. Just got lucky, House sold in 4 months, so we were happy with timeline.

[BeeGee]

We checked on it with our rep. We have 12/30/12 as our one year date, and a few weeks ago there was a thread about how long it was taking for the design appointments. I was told, by her, that if we are ready to go before our 1 year, and they cannot get us in, they will extend as long as we meet with them at their earliest availability.
We really do not want to build and try to juggle 2 mortgages!
I guess we have to remember we do not loos the money just the lot, but I am becoming a Charlotte-tor in my mind!
Good luck with your sale.

Our one year is up 8/10/12....was called a few months ago, they wanted an add'l $1K to extend that a few months.....we said no...then a few weeks ago, we got a letter to sign and send back relinquishing all rights to our lot :( AND the letter stated that if we do not buy a new home by 12/15/12, we lose our money....our sales rep always kept saying that we'd never lose our money...we can't buy without first selling our current home...so we'll see how it goes....very disappointed that our original plans are not working out, but hopefully we'll sell/move/buy before then!!!

[jimbo2012]

You can call them on 8/9 and be within the terms of your contract, they are simply trying to push you.

If you call them on 8/9 they will give you a date about 4 months out, then 2.5 more months to build.

So you can easily add 6 months.

Read your contract, I have and clarified that exact scenario, if needed have your attorney read it and have a letter go out addressing the terms of that contract.

[TimeForChange]

I bought a lot in October 2011, and was told I had a year to start building. That would be Ocrtober 2012. Received a call today informing me that buildings are already scheduled up to October, and are behind in building. That I would lose my lot if I don't schedule to build within the next week (This is June 9th!!!!) We are trying to sell our house here (Up North) and have had traffic, but only one very LOW offer. We're planning to return to the Villages in September to build one way or another. Your comments would be appreciated.

We bought exsting new house today. Our Villages Sales person told us the same. They want to finish the areas under constructon South of 466A. We bought in Village of Charlotte and a new home already built. The pre-owned homes are at a very low inventory and we could not find what we wanted. The lots are sellng fast. Good luck!

[tommy steam]

Our one year is up 8/10/12....was called a few months ago, they wanted an add'l $1K to extend that a few months.....we said no...then a few weeks ago, we got a letter to sign and send back relinquishing all rights to our lot :( AND the letter stated that if we do not buy a new home by 12/15/12, we lose our money....our sales rep always kept saying that we'd never lose our money...we can't buy without first selling our current home...so we'll see how it goes....very disappointed that our original plans are not working out, but hopefully we'll sell/move/buy before then!!!

Im not sure about this. Maby before signing anything ,you should have a lawyer go over the contract and see what your rights are. Even now, one could look over your signed contract and see whats up. I hope everything works out for you.

[Yankee Quilter]

Bringing this up again because we now have been advised that design appointments are into late Jan. so our 12/30/12 drop dead date is not a possibility. We have to relinquish the lot or loose the deposit! In retrospect, we were told so many things that our rep admits have changed because of the massive response of buyers and the hot market in the villages! We are giving up Mayflower and hoping that when the time comes we can find a spec home that we fall in love with. Right now t hey are not looking at delivery, if we said ok today, until March or April!
So ... Good luck to all our fellow want to bes ... Getting harder to keep the faith! Need some magic potion!

[graciegirl]

Makes sense it's not your responsibility to know what their next available
booking dates are.

Example if it called for October 15th and you contacted them on or before that date you met the terms I think. The contract should provide how notices are to be sent.

If your appointment is a month or two later it's their issue

This design appointment process is elective. You can have a house built without it by picking a model you would like to duplicate and asking for a kick here or there. Your sales rep can handle that. That is what we did last year. We didn't have the time to spare when we were here. Just a thought.

They priced out the model we liked, we asked for an extension to the garage and they gave us the cost on that and we were good to go.

Priceless.

They aren't trying to do anything but make you another satisfied customer. I don't work for them. Honest.

[bluedog103]

This design appointment process is elective. You can have a house built without it by picking a model you would like to duplicate and asking for a kick here or there. Your sales rep can handle that. That is what we did last year. We didn't have the time to spare when we were here. Just a thought.

They priced out the model we liked, we asked for an extension to the garage and they gave us the cost on that and we were good to go.

Priceless.

They aren't trying to do anything but you another satisfied customer. I don't work for them. Honest.
That's how we did it too. That was a over two years ago so things might have changed. It wasn't any big deal. My wife wasn't able to make the trip to TV so we we e-mailed pictures to her and discussed everything during conference calls. Toured the models with the sales rep and picked everything out. We made a few changes and it was done. The sales rep. did everything. He had most everything available on his laptop. There was one change we wanted which involved flipping the patio to the other side of the lanai that he had to call about. It was approved within minutes and they even recommended that we enlarge the patio for a minimal fee. Very easy process.

[BeeGee]

that it will happen. We had a contract on our house. Was told they loved it and the realtor showing the house said it was the best showing house she'd seen lately....had the close date for 8/24/12 - then they scheduled to come back to do some measuring...sure, that's great...gives them a chance to fall in love with the house again!!! The next day, they terminated their contract, reason given that they were thinking they'd need to replace the roof and the HVAC someday...sorry, that's just part of owning a house! Anyway, sorry to hijack this thread...the point I guess is that we had to relinquish our lot, too and it's getting harder and harder to believe that it's going to happen...don't like giving up, but well it's just hard...I sympathize.

[dkrhardy]

How about taking that low bid and get on with the best part of your life? We were on the market for a year and finally sold at waaay below market .. to the point of taking $xx,000 out of pocket. We needed to get going a lot more than we needed to sit there waiting. I hope you are able to consider that approach.
Don & Kaz

[BeeGee]

we need to get on with our lives, living our dream....we kid about getting off our high horse....that horse has become a burro....so we may not be able to afford the house we wanted, but at least we'll be WHERE we want to be. Thanks for your encouragement.

[Bavarian]

If you made a good faith effort to schedule the design build and the Developer can't schedule it in time, why is this not the Developers fault. Now if you purposely streced it out, that is another story.
If you lose your lot, I might think this was a sign from God not to move to The Villages.

[Wing-nut2]

When we first look at TV, my agent was very clear about starting to build within one year.

[justjim]

These type of problems is why the Developer quit letting people "design" their homes a few years ago. The demand was so great that it became difficult if not impossible to accommodate the "design" phase of the building process. Building then slowed down due to the economy and they brought back the "design" phase. I would look for only Developer designed homes (Speck homes) in the near future if demand continues at the current pace IMHO.

Post #26 in this Thread (Graciegirl and Bluedog) explain an alternative to going through "design" and still getting the model of home you want. Bavarian: Maybe God wants you to go this route instead of losing your lot and your hard earned money. Makes sense to me!

[Yankee Quilter]

I argued the "non performance "issue .... basically no design appointment no build, no build, no lot.... They gave us a month extension ... Interesting conversations with our rep and her manager. Evidently the overwhelming amount of buyers has exhausted the teams that build the designers after the team appointments. They are hoping to have more buyers buy specs and are starting to bump them out and doing a lot of the common upgrades on the specs. We are thinking that we will be better with a spec,when the time comes. We can use what we save on storage and rent on the extras,like tile and extra cabinets,... So ready to not be dreaming about it and ... Just doing it! Good luck to you all!:pray: