Promotion continuing for new homes

[gigi22]

I talked to my realtor, today, and she said that the September promotion is going to continue through November 5th (if you buy a new home, you can spend 10% of the cost of the home at Southern Living). There's a new twist. If you don't want to spend the entire 10% at Southern Living, you can spend some of it on a golf cart. I don't know all the specifics, but I wanted to pass on the information.

[Sidney Lanier]

Desperation, perhaps? But it'll only make it harder to sell preowneds....

[beady]

I would call it a marketing tool,and a good one, not desperation. Let's face it the housing market is bad. When we were buying last month the promotion was just for the furniture. We were tempted to buy a house in Duval because of the 10% towards furnishings. It was really hard to pass up. We just didn't find "the house" in our price range and so opted for a preowned that we both really loved. I hope people don't get caught up in the "deal" and then find they really do not like the house they bought because turning it around is not an option in this market.

beady

[RCT]

yea, nyclicker, great deal on a home, and isn't a bad place, but, is nowhere NEAR the lifestyle, amenities, and all of the villages. I guess it depends on what you're priorities are. you want a bigger house for less money? Or do you want to live somewhere like no other, with a lifestyle like no other. for my money, there is no comparison, TV has it all over Summerglen!!

[DDoug]

Makes you wonder, they still are making money but giving back that amount of money why was the price so much higher before. Yes I know thats sales.

[nyclicker]

I agree theres no place like TV but even they have rolled prices back a couple of years and are throwing in furniture.

[luvnit]

Wow! NYClicker, your info about SummerGlen sounds wonderful! My boyfriend and I are planning on visiting Lady Lake area again soon, we will definitely keep this place in mind. :bigthumbsup: Thanks.

[jbladybnugg]

We are looking into buying at TV and this promotion is being offered to us. What I want to know is what are the REAL monthly fees for a house in the $300-$350,00 range?

[Barefoot]

We looked at much bigger houses for less money in several lovely communities in Florida. But we left them behind in the dust after we found TV. Sure, you can do better price wise. But there is NO comparison between TV and any community I've seen.

[dadspet]

Barefoot at last said it all :agree: > We also looked at several other communities and felt "inland" You can get more house for your money then TV but these other communities didn't even come close to the active life style in TV. Other communities seemed to promise a lot but when you came right down to it > there was no comparison. We looked at these other communities but never came close to the urge to buy in one. If your not after an active lifestyle in a beautiful and extremely well maintained community with all the rec center out of Home beautiful (All of which you can go too without hesitation or any other fees), nice restaurants, good shopping, entertainment, great (free) golf, access everyplace by golf cart , great friendly people, and a reasonable Cost of Living, TV might not be the place for you. I got tried of typing, sorry if miss all the other things we/others like about TV? There are a few shortcomings but TV comes as close as we could find to Wonderful. My wife just enjoys riding around in the golf cart and and thinking What a beautiful place.

BTW I often tell people > if you look at the DVD of TVs its actually a lot nicer then the DVD shows.

[zcaveman]

When I bought back in 2001, I got 4% on upgrades when ordering my new home. I thought it was a good deal. If you are going to buy anyway, why not hake advantage of the deal of the month!!

[vitacr]

If I'm not mistaken, TV owns Southern Lifestyles - so I do think it would calculate as a true savings percentage - also -------- it is all offset by the enormous "BOND" amounts due on new homes vs pre-owned homes. If you find a pre-owned home in Lake County, there is NO bond. :)

[Bucco]

I have been told that the promotion ONLY applies to certain home styles. I am looking for a courtyard villa and told it does not apply !

[Bella]

We will be at TV in December for our second look at homes and received a letter from TV this week stating the following...

We have decided to extend and expand the promotional offer until November 5th.
The letter says that they will give you 10% of the purchase price to use towards the purchase of a golf cart and/or furniture - the promo is for the purchase of Ranch, Designer or Premier Series homes.

I am hoping they will extend it yet again into December...

[nanci2539]

I saw this great segment today on TV about negotiating. Everything you buy from furniture to electronics to homes is negotiable.

So Bella, tell them if they want to sell you a home, they should extend the 10% promotion. Bet you win!

[GERALDINE]

I would call it a marketing tool,and a good one, not desperation. Let's face it the housing market is bad. When we were buying last month the promotion was just for the furniture. We were tempted to buy a house in Duval because of the 10% towards furnishings. It was really hard to pass up. We just didn't find "the house" in our price range and so opted for a preowned that we both really loved. I hope people don't get caught up in the "deal" and then find they really do not like the house they bought because turning it around is not an option in this market.

beady


Good for you that you were able to see through what the developer is trying to do here. It is a desperation move on the part of the developer and people should see through this "trickery". If anyone is planning on moving to The Villages, let me tell you that it IS a WONDERFUL place to live in terms of amenities and lifestyle...but the house construction really SUCKS!!! They are the poorest construction we've ever seen and they want TOP DOLLAR for them. Villager Wannabees, do yourselves a favor and buy a pre-owned home...preferably a 2 year old model...and take advantage of what the past homeowner has done to fix up and upgrade and repair their home instead of falling for the 10% worth of free furniture...or golf cart. You can buy GOOD, even EXCELLENT barely used furniture and golf carts for a pittance down here. Don't be caught up in "Village Fever"...buy smart...we did and are soooo glad we did.

[mdspchldy1]

We built a home in TV in 2003, and it is the best constucted home that we have ever bought. There were no mistakes in the changes that we ordered, and the warranty department fixed all problems that we incurred during the first year. I can't vouch for the new homes being built now, but it sure was better than purchasing a new house in the north!

[Prsm]

JKP, can you give examples of construction problems I might encounter? Instinct tells me to consider used homes, but if I find the right house, right price from the developer, I sure wonder what I'm in for. I expect deceit from the developer because they call their surcharge a bond. Should I be wary or is a "bond" common terminology thereabouts for a surcharge? Any other ideas about what I should watch out for as I begin my house search? Thanks!

[villages07]

prsm...the bond is fairly common in FL for planned communities; may be higher in the Villages than other places and seems to be increasing rapidly here (house purchased a year ago had a bond of $15K, now it's about $21K). The upfront disclosure is there, but, not always fully understood by buyers.

You can always have a new home inspected prior to closing (and perhaps make it a contingency within the first 5 days of your offer to buy...as someone else said, it should be negotiable). As you will read in other posts, the new home warranty process is extremely efficient and responsive. If stuff is broke or wrong they will fix it and fix it fast. There have been some extensive problems with the installation of vinyl siding in some areas. Hopefully, they are now installing siding properly. That's something to watch for. I agree with mds....I found the overall quality of our home to be very good...no major construction issues and anything we reported got fixed.

When contemplating new vs resale....with a resale closing costs are lower, the bond will likely be less, you can negotiate more, and it will have some maturity (landscape, window treatments, etc.) Downside of resale...you will be newbie in an established neighborhood, no warranty, "stuck" with whatever colors, choices prior owner made.

Either way, this board is full of useful information. It's big decision with a lot of factors to consider, but, in the end, tiz a wonderful place to live. Keep that goal in sight.

[Bella]

We are hoping that we can still get the "promotion" if we find the right home...Buying will not depend on the promotion though...Common sense will have to prevail...
My husband is very critical of new construction. He can point out things that I would not see in a million years and when we were looking at homes back in April, he was impressed by the construction on these homes. Granted he did not get down to the nitty gritty, but on the surface he could not see many problems...