Build Process - Considering Select Minimum / Upgrade After Closing…
 

As we understand it from recent forum posts, the “Street of Dreams” build process is now more like the “Avenue of Disappointment” regarding very limited choices and options. Thinking of going with the bare minimum selections or least expensive choices then have everything from tile flooring, backsplash, light fixtures, and blinds, added after closing…

Guess choosing basic carpet everywhere possible is the cheapest way to proceed with upgrading to tile flooring later; omit what we can or select the least expensive options. Cabinets, sinks, countertops, and shower, we are thinking those are the “keepers” and we should choose best of what’s available not replacing later.

Has anyone followed a similar strategy and can say they are happy with the results (choices, costs, and quality of third party workmanship)?

The current marketing period you are describing sounds similar to the restrictive environment when we built in 2008. We opted for tile in the public areas, i.e., living, dining room. They (developer) wouldn't even lay it diagonally. Now we prefer the look of plank tile over square ceramic that comes with enormous amount of troublesome grout. But too costly to change.

Your thinking about installing the builder carpet throughout is sound, in my opinion.

Not sure how much it adds to the price of the home but doing the tile floor afterwards may be an issue. Some tiles won't line up correctly if carpet is laid like in a bedroom. The tile from the hall will match going into the bedroom (where carpet is removed) but when you get to the bathroom that originally had tile, the new tile probably won't line up and you'll need a threshold piece. May be 2 or 3 tiles laid perpendicular to bedroom & bathroom tiles. Either way, the grout lines will not match going from bedroom to bathroom. It could look like a hack job when finished.

I'd put tile in the same category as your cabinets & countertops. Get what you want as it's being built and cut back elsewhere. It's only a few more $ on your monthly mortgage.

You also need to think about how difficult it might (will) be to get construction people in to do any work after the fact. And pricing will be higher.

You may be able to choose vinyl instead of tile. Matching tile after is not fun

Matching vinyl has the same issue. Dye lots change and some are discontinued just like regular ceramic/porcelain tile.

One puts in vinyl to save $$$$, so it can be ripped up after closing along with the builder carpet, than install aftermarket floors

I believe I agree with your assessment, we bought a lot and built in a different era (2013) and were able to get almost everything we wanted. I agree with getting quality cabinets and counter tops, some friends went what I would call a nightmare getting new counter tops. The general opinion is to avoid grout in the bathrooms, IF (BIG IF) you can get epoxy based grout then I would go with tile and this grout, as it is sealed. We had to seal our a few years after moving in but are very happy with the results. There are so many choices with flooring that you will need time to decide. We had carpet (I loved the quiet), however after a few years these showed the normal wear and tear, I refused tile (too noisy), we settled on a very nice vinyl plank floor (NOT a conventional engineered floor). My point, get the stuff you absolutely know you want, move into your house and then decide what needs to be changed.
Hope this helps.

We built so long ago, not sure anything we did would apply. Here goes: none of our carpet choices were of any quality AT ALL. They refused to just do NO flooring, so we were forced to take the carpet, and we tolerated it for two years... by then it has about "pilled" itself into extinction anyway. We had NO choice of appliances, only GE, and we were finally able to get them to agree to just not hook them up, but they did argue a bit. So we ordered the Bosch products and others we wanted and had to hire installation. Been VERY happy with that decision, did not want to use a cheap dishwasher for a year and then have to have it torn out, etc. We took their highest upgrade in a disposal because a 1/4 or 1/3 hp disposal was not for us, definitely not for ME, and hubby feels similar. At that time we were able to get a high hp Insinkerator, which was exactly what we left and what we wanted in our new home, so, another good decision. Window quality was not good and we took the most upgraded models offered, definitely still not our first choice, but stuck. Hubby was most concerned about what is NOT seen, the diameter size of the major drains, copper versus aluminum wire (they used aluminum, much cheaper than copper). We let them put in their standard fans and light fixtures, then took our time shopping for what we wanted as didn't care for the "upgrades" they offered. Biggest regret is probably not upgrading the light switches. Changing all those cheap toggle type is not difficult, but it is a "pain".... so we just waited until the little wires finally broke, and then replaced them with the wide toggle type. Should have just upgraded to that. Other regret, since they were pricey, only had one center of the floor outlets in living room, now wish we'd had 2 or 3 done, so when we change entire arrangement, or have Christmas tree, floor lamps, etc. we'd have more choices now in arranging furniture. Also would have had standard outlets put in above the kitchen cabinets, so after we had the moldings done around the cabinet tops, we would have been able to have lights at Christmas time, or, like our neighbors, who had outlets put above cabinets because they have very small candlestick type lights as part of their above cabinet decor, so I regret not having that done. Last perhaps, is not having additional outlets on OUTSIDE of house, much cheaper to do when built than an after thought. Again, holiday decorations without having to have cords all over the lawn, convenient if you use a non battery edge trimmer or hedge trimmer, and in case you want to add a fountain or pond. Don't know if any of this applies now or not ?

In my opinion, excellent advice. You only have to go through tearing up grout and tile ONCE, to know you think you may never survive and that you will still be breathing the dust from it for a year after it's done, no matter how well you clean. It's so fine, just don't do it, take the carpet for now. What we did in kitchen, is pass on their tile section, and took a vinyl that did not even have to be removed when we chose or "permanent" flooring after we moved in.

Aluminum wiring has not been used in fifty years, except for the multi strand wires used for service cables and sometimes wiring to the stove or HVAC, which is legal.

I did exactly that on the new build we moved into in August 2022 in St. John’s. I have built two new homes elsewhere in the past and The Villages was the most ridiculous and frustrating of anything I have ever been involve in. Between The Villages unwillingness to disclose the cost for upgrades, a bump in the base price of our plan of $25,000 at our design meeting due to lumber prices going up (lumber went back down 2 months later but we got nothing back), non disclosure of several key changes to design features of our plan ahead of time until we got to our design appt….then had to pay a fortune to make changes back to the original design. Good luck with these Village idiots. I ripped out the base carpet the day of closing and gave it away on Facebook market place. Left the vinyl sheeting down and put vinyl plank everywhere…my preference since I have seen too many older seniors fall on ceramic and break something like hips. I put in all the light fixtures, fans, blinds, did my own painting. Personally I would prefer not to have had to do any changes because it really ruined the enjoyment of building a new home, and I will never build another new home with The Villages. The build process was the “Street of Big Disappointments” and not great quality at all.

I close May 15 in Newell. The rules they have are arbitrary and made to build faster - quantity, NOT quality. You pick lot, floor plan, (basic) colors, cabinets, countertops and flooring. The choices are very few and very basic grays and pastels. If they display 20 light fixtures, 6 are available. There is no flexibility - only one carpet color, one color paint, one cabinet type, landscaping choices, etc. There are NO interior wall deviations. If you dream of designing a house, go to TOTW.

As far as upgrades - we did what we could (undercabinet lighting, all available stretches) but anything customer is aftermarket...

Very sad to read these posts.

Certainly kills any interest we would have to build another homes here.

Not my intention to project a negative perception, we love it here and would not build elsewhere. Just going to have to be creative in building as close to our dream home as “practical”. I think flooring, light fixtures, room colors, and maybe even backsplash, can be our after close choices - six months down the road after closing hopefully will be what others could custom build years ago. Times change guess we just have to change with it is what I am trying to do… thanks to everyone for their responses - staying positive TV is still the best place I can think of to live!

We took vinyl over carpet, you can put most plank flooring right over it.
At the time the options were almost unlimited 2.5 years ago.

Very smart choice
Do not buy appliances from the builder either
You will avoid paying real estate taxes on the upgrades

Nightmare
 

So instead of Living The Dream you got Living The Nightmare just like us, almost a year prior. Our increase was $19K. They were doing rolled sheet vinyl throughout until right before us they changed. We got LVP and it came with a major scratch along main walking area. A year later and the warranty department left replacement flooring in garage and there it still sits. We also had a designer who would not break down most prices. We have often been stuck at home for a ton of warranty work even an entire week for tile redo.

Hoping we have the option “not to purchase” - thinking they will want an oven and dishwasher for closing so will select cheapest and list for sale and replace from BestBuy or Home Depot sales…

Vinyl not available
 

Back in 2021, they took away the option of sheet vinyl throughout. That's what we would have done, but we did not want carpet in the bedrooms.

Several people have told me they had problems with the sheet vinyl ripping. Warranty told them it is "delicate" and will not repair. Apparently, that particular vinyl is no longer offered. I have even heard sheet vinyl is no longer an option. Call the design center or have your salesperson call for you and ask.

Appliances
 

Back when we built in 2021, it was the worst of supply chain problems and still Covid issues. We were allowed to close without a single appliance. Since appliances were hard to get, they were ordered and stored in the garages of new construction homes. After the appliances were installed in the home, the roaches would come out. That made our decision for us. We got GE appliances from an appliance store (Sonny's Altamonte Springs) that backed us up after GE failed to repair after nine visits and just brought us a new fridge. We would still be fighting GE if we had gotten appliances with our build.

Get upgrades on Cabinets and Flooring , cost will be much cheaper than aftermarket, light fixtures and plumbing fixtures usually have plenty to choose but not a big deal to change out later and is cost effective, if wanting wide baseboard I would also do now , crown molds can be added later usually cheaper than during build , if wanting any stretching of house , garage or screen porch do now also , I have found those to be most cost effective things the developers do ,
Good luck

Keep in mind things change and not everyone has the same experience. As for your getting the cheapest list, we did not get a backsplash or blinds. We got some light fixtures but skipped the dining and foyer. You may be able to skip most light fixtures, but outside fixtures may be required, especially lampost which must be lit when dark out.

The street of disappointments is very sad to hear. The fun of designing your last house, was very satisfying in 2019. We made lots of permanent structural changes during design with electrical, networking outlets in every room and into the ceiling for elevated coverage options for wireless, foundation stretches, no hanging lights, more outlets, 4 gang where tvs and computers might go, central vac, solar light tubes, upgraded HVAC, multiple outdoor house hose spigots, outdoor gas spigots, more lanai outlets, no phone outlets , knowing that those are very hard to do after construction or would not rather spend time being a general contractor afterwards or doing it ourselves. .

As far as appliances, be sure the cabinets spaces are big enough for the appliance sizes you want, ie refrigerator vary hugely in sizes.

Monopoly corporate managements always make customer suboptimal decisions as customer satisfaction is no longer a competitive requirement for success. . . as i work in a monopoly, i see it daily . .

We got laminate countertops. We asked about getting quartz, but we were told they will put seams wherever they want and they will do the sink cutout with an overhang, which is the most forgiving. We priced countertops ourselves and can get what we want at about half the cost.

If I knew what I know now, I would only put in the basics that are required and pay to have it done your way later. If they let you do your own, do it. You will have a lower cost, which determines your taxes. You will have more selection at a lower cost and more control over workmanship and warranty. Beware, the line "Warranty is wonderful, they will fix everything" is propagated by the salespeople and is not true in our case. We have well over $50K worth of remaining defects a year and a half after closing.

Structural
 

This is good advice. Stretches, outlets, and spigots should be done at build time. Make sure you specify outlets where you want them. We were not allowed to specify outlet locations unless we paid to make sure there was an outlet in a particular location.

Review your plans carefully before signing. Our designer did not include HVAC in a small room we said we were using as an office. Not being HVAC knowledgeable, we did not catch her error.

Purchased a Courtyard Villa on Championship golf course with elevated view. We could change nothing since it was already built and we received a $25,000 close out discount in 2008. IMO Location is more important than dishwasher but ironically since we bought on our first visit we had no idea that we were in what we now consider the best area in The Villages, Bonita off Canal, and we knew nothing about location at the time of purchase. Very happy with this purchase since we bought for the lifestyle not the rugs. Made changes over time that we would make no matter where we bought. Time spent out of home greatly exceeds time in our home. If I we were wearing out our rugs too soon perhaps it was a sign that we should get out more. Purchasing a seasonal home in The Villages is one of the best decisions and best investments we ever made. Market price just about doubled. We could not ask for more. This family is perhaps the most successful home builder in the Universe; there are a myriad of reasons why they became billionaires and selling a shoddy product to unsuspecting buyers is certainly not one of them.

We did not custom build but if we did we would take the least we could and install aftermarket. It is less expensive and you get exactly what you want especially if you are planning on not moving. We went that route with our previous home and loved everything. We didn’t change a thing in 16 yrs and sold it in 8 days. You just have to do your research for the best quality and price point you can afford.
Most designers will suggest you live in a home for a year to really get a feel for what you need and want. As far as flooring, go with the cheapest. You may decide on LVP or Wood. My neighbor covered her tile with LVP throughout.
Another bit of advice is don’t look at what your neighbors are doing especially with landscaping. You may love what they have but later on change your mind. Drive around to get ideas.
Important to get gutters after market and water treatment. We used Pegasus but I believe NOVA may have the same system for a lot less. I would check with both to find what the differences are.

Purchased a Courtyard Villa on Championship golf course with elevated view. We could change nothing since it was already built and we received a $25,000 close out discount in 2008. IMO Location is more important than dishwasher but ironically since we bought on our first visit we had no idea that we were in what we now consider the best area in The Villages, Bonita off Canal, and we knew nothing about location at the time of purchase. Very happy with this purchase since we bought for the lifestyle not the rugs. Made changes over time that we would make no matter where we bought. Time spent out of home greatly exceeds time in our home. If I we were wearing out our rugs too soon perhaps it was a sign that we should get out more. Purchasing a seasonal home in The Villages is one of the best decisions and best investments we ever made. Market price just about doubled. We could not ask for more. This family is perhaps the most successful home builder in the Universe; there are a myriad of reasons why they became billionaires and selling a shoddy product to unsuspecting buyers is certainly not one of them.

If you don't like the builders limited options, consider what is easier to re-do after closing.

But, some items are indeed worth having the builder complete. Some samples:

Electrical: Decora paddle switches instead of toggle. Dimmers for LED everywhere. Floor plugs in large areas. Warm white settings on any can lights (yes, adjustable).

If you don't like the light fixture choices, install the cheapest builder grade and upgrade later.

Install an extra 50 amp outlet in the garage for anybody with a future electric vehicle.

Appliances:
Opt for no appliances that are not required for C of O. Slow close toilet seats on water-saving toilets.
Aftermarket kitchen and laundry appliances often on sale (not part of taxable basis).

Window treatments and flooring:
Opt out as much as possible. Live with builder grade carpeting and get paper mini blinds. Installing blinds is a very easy DIY job after closing.

Doors:
Pocket doors if they're an option. Lever handles over round knobs.

I may be pulling together a 2-column list from all this info...

We got stuck with the switch to Wellborn cabinets and our design was partially held up by this. Get your own cabinets if you can. We had over 400 defects on ours. It took 4.5 hours to go over the defects with the installer and the manufacturer. We got the Wellborn Select line white-painted shaker. This line is not good and the Wellborn paint-finishing process is not good - especially the white. At least our installer Timberwood was good at fixing installation problems. Gayle of Timberwood has been one of the best subcontractors to deal with. The workers have been in my house for many hours over many days. One day there were nine people in and out of my house all day; my ring recorded 200 times in or out the front door. I have totally emptied my cabinets at least four times. They say there are fewer problems with the wood cabinets (not painted). After fourteen months, Wellborn finally sent their finish expert to my house for two entire days and sprayed all of the cabinet fronts and drawer fronts in just my kitchen. So now they look better, but now they feel like sandpaper. Wellborn says they are done, but I'm stuck with patched-up cabinets with debris in the finish.

So true on pocket doors! They are must-haves, especially for closets.

Even if you don’t build, you just buy, you don’t get the same things they show you in a model home. Examples, outlets are far and few between, blinds are different, number of light fixtures in garage are less, the paint coating is so thin, so many little things like that they put in a model but thats not what you get when you just buy the same model. So make sure you have extra money as you will be redoing lots of projects.

Be very careful when deciding on having tile installed. I know someone who had their tile floor jackhammered up under warranty due to poor installation (severe lippage). It's a major messy and noisy ordeal to have the tile redone. We paid for upgraded tile in the bathrooms. The tile has manufacturing defects as well as almost every possible installation defect you can imagine - chipped tile, jagged edge cuts, misaligned tiles, uneven grout lines both in depth and width, uneven colored and patched grout with white particles, pinholes and chunks of debris in the grout, cracked grout, excess grout in most corners, raised areas and sunken areas where water pools, water pools on the bench, thresholds are loose and scratched. The builder refuses to hold the sub accountable for the work despite the fact that we have an opinion from a certified tile installer who says it is a "total fail." The showers are not installed to be completely waterproof - they do not use any waterproof membrane like Kerdi board or the equivalent. I learned a lot by having many contractors in my house to evaluate and quote replacement costs.

Pointers
 

Create the escrow account option if offered in the contract or finance or hold back some money until all of your defects are remediated by warranty.

Get your home inspected within the first seven days by someone perceptive to workmanship and cosmetic issues.

Make sure all warranty defects are repaired before your one year is up. I suggest a ten-month inspection by an independent inspector. The statement, "As long as you report it within the first year it will be covered" is propagated by salespeople and people who have been fortunate to have things go well for them.

Keep detailed records and get everything you can in writing.

Substitutions
 

Remember substitutions can be made, some without your permission or knowledge. The window supplier was changed to PGT in early 2021 and these PGT windows I got were not in the model homes at the time nor in any homes when we signed our contract. I believe they are in the new model homes as well, so they may be what you get, or maybe not. In any case, make sure you wash and examine your windows within the first seven days. I have replacements of replacements that are still defective. Over a year and a half later I still have eight windows and two sliders ordered to be replaced.

During design, we not only lost the cabinets we had selected but also lost the millwork we had selected. We were given no choice whatsoever for baseboards and door trim. This trim work has been worked on in our house at least three times and remains subpar. It currently needs more patching, sanding, and painting.

Video and Photos of Construction
 

We hired Don Wiley (Gold Wingnut) to take drone videos and photographs of our house while it was under construction. This was extremely worthwhile. Don sees a lot of new construction and he was able to point out some major defects that were corrected before closing on our house.

We call our house the most expensive brand new fixer upper we have ever bought. What you get is very basic, cheap materials. We have replaced much of it.

Ahh yes. Quicker to move on to the next buyer, AND, of course save more money that they don't need.

The other choice is choose somewhere else if there are so many issues. I had zero issues and it has continued that way for 25 years in this great place.