[NatureBoy]

My wife & I are still doing our research before moving to TV. I am leaning towards the Veranda models for the privacy (maybe a CV if we can't or don't want to afford a Veranda). I've also seen Designer homes with large birdcages that have side walls. The walled cages seem to always be around pools.

The downside to the Verandas is that they are "spec" built. They build it, you buy it. The buyer has no choice on what goes into the house or which model will be put on what lot. You just hope that something you can live with will be built where you want to be (or spend money remodeling).

The Designer series, on the other hand, the buyer picks a lot and then spends time designing the home they want built on the lot. Much more flexible and personalized.

Does anyone have a feel for what the cost difference & design approval would be of a Veranda vs a Designer with a walled birdcage without a pool? Would they let you put a wall on a cage without a pool?

Off the top of my head, I'd expect the lot would cost more (bigger), and then the price of the cage & wall. But, assuming comparable house prices, are we talking $10k difference? $50k? $100k? And would it be possible/prudent to buy an existing Designer & put a walled cage on it?

[Joeg180]

When we were building lot costs varied, if they face a golf course or water you will pay more.
We found a lot on a cul de sac that would fit the home as we designed it. The agent we worked with went through the changes we were looking for and we were able to come up with a pretty good estimate of final price. The designer we worked with also listened carefully to our thoughts on this house.

We were able to afford our dream home, now that we are living in it would we want to change some items not really. It was a great experience for us.

Good luck with your decisions and home search.




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[Joanne and Mike]

We love our Veranda in McClure. Our criteria was: a house design with around 2000 sf, open concept with both nook and dining area, small yard, fenced back yard, 3 car garage. There were several different floor plans to choose from and we found one perfect for us (Rockport). We love all of the colors, cabinets and countertops. The only change we made was to extend the same tile into the bedrooms in place of the carpet, which we had done before we moved in. It looks like there are quite a few Verandas in Monarch Grove.

[VillageIdiots]

Regardless of whether you get a pool, a cage with a wall will require that the lot be larger (basically sized for a pool), so yes there would be a premium for that. Many of the Verandas are nicely upgraded even though they are spec built. On our 4th day of looking, we found our Veranda in the designer floorplan (different name) that we liked and was upgraded almost exactly the way we would have wanted it if we had picked it out and designed it ourselves. We love the privacy of the backyard and it was a must for our 2 dogs.