deposit anxiety
 

During our last visit, we put down the required amount to hold a building site for one year. Even though a year is a long time, the anxiety of our house being on the market and not selling, is great. I know that spring and summer are better months for activity. The thought of losing the deposit is always in the back of our minds. Is anyone in the same "boat" so to speak?

We also have put down a deposit and are in the process of deciding when to put our home on the market. It is scary to think that we could own two houses and be paying expenses for both. Losing a deposit is not what we want to do either. We are coming down in May to make selections. I have been told we make those selections with the realtor(???) I read somewhere that you were assigned a design person to help with selections, but the realtor has made no mention of that. We have a list of upgrades that we would like to get prices for. Does anyone know if your realtor can give you amounts on those upgrades? We have built 10 homes and always worked with a designer for selections, not the realtor. I realize I will be limited on choice but I am unsure on how this will work. Can anyone who has recently been thru the process shed some light.

We are building a cottage home (Seabreeze) and our Villages rep. told us the following;
* select the design that will fit on your lot with or without golf cart garage
* select cabinets, countertops, flooring, ouside exterior color, appliances, window treatments, ceiling fans, etc.

All options are computerized so you can select/deselect and the price will be altered accordingly. You can visit model centers to see all the selections in person. Each home design has a base price plus the lot which may have a premium added. Our lot did not have a premium such as corner, back-up to designer homes, cul-de-sac or golf course view. You have 12 months to decide to build on your lot, move to another lot or select another style home. Monies will be applied to all except pre-owned porperities. Hope this helps.

Re anxiety
 

Hi gcrisp & lincap, We will be in the same boat shortly - as soon as Sanibel lots are released. We will buy our lot remotely, if you can believe that. We looked at lots there before we left at the end of march and found several we're interested in. Our home will go on the market in May. I am optimistic now, but come 6 or 7 months and I'm sure our mood will change.

We have been to TV 3 times and have worked with the same agent. It is also my understanding that he will also be responsible for helping make choices for your home. Never talked about a separate designer. I know the Gardenia in the model center in the Beecher Path area has boards with samples of all your choices. You can then view these samples on a regular scale in various newly constructed homes. It's rather a limited way of doing things, but they can do it considering the homes they sell. The method obviously works for them and the customer has to adjust. These homes are customizable in the Villages way and not as we usually think of customizing a home.

Good luck to you both!:thumbup:

Think positively!
 

We have to all think positively and look forward to our new life in TV!!!!:gc:

As mentioned, you can move the deposit at the end of the year time to a new lot. This can be done one time. But you don't need to pick the new lot right away. As long as you commit to build by the time TV closes out (4 years?).

-------------------------
My salesperson gave me print-out of my upgrade options. I keep on changing & adding upgrades $$$. She said when I come down to put my 20% down, I'll have an appointment with a Designer. Then the fun will begin. I have to hand it to TV owners....they are a well-oiled machine. I have friends who built in North Port and it took a year and a half to complete. Three months in TV and voila!....move in. Great!

Quick Build
 

My husband and i are planning to move to TV in early November. We are scheduled to meet with the design team in July. Can they really get homes built in 90 days? When we built before it was at least 6 months. We are so anxious to move to TV. Please say they can complete our home in 90 days!

:pepper2:We purchased in 09 and had the north house on sale for 9 months at the time. 7 days later CONTRACT. The rest is history, 2 years in TV this June.:MOJE_whot::pepper2::MOJE_whot::clap2:

We purchased a lot in Buttonwood last July. We retired in January, put our home on the market Jan. 15th and we are still waiting patiently for a wonderful buyer. We have until July to begin building in Buttonwood or return the lot and bank our deposit with The Villages. We love our lot, but if we don't sell, at least we have a choice for another lot. Saying all that, we are in a place called a "Holding Pattern". This holding pattern is very uncomfortable because we want to play with the big kids in The Villages. We want to be frogs, NOW. :shocked::1rotfl:

However, I know all you folks have gone through this and you made it to Dizzyland. With this knowledge I can be a bit more patient, plus TV gives us so many options, because they understand the market.

Hang in there, keep visiting TOTV, it has a wealth of information and you will make wonderful pre-friends.:blahblahblah: We our taking this journey one day at a time, at least trying to be in the day.

Watch out folks here we come.:MOJE_whot:

Hi soon-to-be frogs,

I'm not familiar with the process as we purchased a resale in TV. But I'm responding to offer moral support. How many times have we all worried about something that didn't end up happening? Yep, we worried for naught. And we hate worrying, right? And worrying never got the job done, right?

On the other hand, say worse comes to worse and your house isn't sold in 12 months. Well, then you can start worrying-- although even then you have options besides loosing your deposit!

In the meantime there are plenty of productive and exciting things you can do to reduce the chances of not selling your house within a year. Price it to sell! (That's cheaper than losing your deposit, right?) Spruce it up. Use a highly recommended Realtor who has expertise in staging. Hold open houses.

And instead of worry, worry, worry-- dream, dream, dream! Sure, that's easier said than done. But it's more productive and makes more sense when you think about it.

So... dream on. Dream on. Dream until your dreams come true.
:sing:

You've got the entire active membership of TOTV rooting for you!

Love and best wishes,
P

We went through the process of selecting our home and options April 3 and 4. There is no design center. All selections are made by viewing several models with your realtor and selecting tile, cabinets, inside and outside lights, faucets, appliances, counter tops, etc.. Your exterior color will determine your outside lighting. We put our 20% down April 9 and our Lot was surveyed yesterday. Our closing date is June 23.
It is also my understanding that you can change your Lot once but that does not extend your one year committment to build.

We are sorta in the same boat, but one major step closer.

We put a deposit on a lot in Tamarind Grove in August 2010. We put our house on the market FSBO in late January and sold it in a week. We are sooo blessed!!!

I'm still working until October, so we are renting a 2BR 1BA duplex now. I call it our patio villa up north.

We will be down in June to select our options on a Sun Kissed, but we will have our rep hold the paperwork until August - unless TV offers some type of promotional discount before that. In October we will be FROGS!

Keep the faith. The cliche is true... it only takes one!

That would be a change in the policy. As I stated earlier you can put your deposit towards another lot as long as there are lots available.

BUT

once you pick another lot THEN you are committed to that new time frame and can not switch again.

That was the policy about 9 months ago when we did it. But things do change. Please verify with your agent.

I don't know how fast they can construct a home these days, but in 1998 when we had our courtyard villa built, it took 45 days to go from slab to completed home and closing. Back in those days we could choose a lot and order a customized villa, much as you can some of the higher-priced homes today. So, I would say that 90 days is not out of the question for your home to be completed. You have some exciting months ahead of you and the best years of your life are waiting for you here.

:welcome:

There is another thread on here that I read recently. It varies by cottage vs. designer and by the current sales volume. Generally the range is about 60-70 days.

Deposit
 

How does the "bank your deposit" work? Thanks

Pturner
 

As usual well said.,. you can turn a phrase.:BigApplause:

Working with designer
 

As for the question of having a designer help with selections, if there is such a service available it must be fairly new. We made our selections last July and only had the realtor to work with. We commented at the time that they needed a better system for helping folks make selections. We looked at samples then walked from model to model to see what each finish looked like in the space. It was very tedious and time consuming not to mention that it was a hot, hot July day. What they really need is a nice design center with trained professionals to help with selections. Maybe that's what they are working toward now. I'd be curious to know if anyone who has bought recently has had access to a designer when selecting finishes.

We had help
 

We purchased our lot last September and immediately worked with both our salesman and a design person who was assigned to us to review our options for our Gardenia. As pointed out, the system is not perfect even with the assistance of the designer. We trudged to and fro, back and forth to the model homes (then located in Buttonwood) to make our choices.

I recall the designer saying at one point that TV had just restored the design assistance program. Perhaps it is no longer in use. In reality, as the buyer, you're making all the decisions and in our case, the designer provided minimal advice and suggestion.

We return in late May for another week in our Buttonwood home and by then, our Connectcitu home will be on the market and optimistically not for long. Retirement arrives on Sept. 30. Holding onto two homes for more than a year is not something I want keeping me awake at night.

lot contract
 

We plan to put a year hold on a lot for 7500 and reviewed the contract. There is no language that allows you to change lots , just a verbal allegation.

We realize a risk accordingly and so should everyone else. Bottom line the "family" is in control and do and change policy not in writing at any time

We also were down and selected our options on April 5. We did exactly what you stated. i was truly tired. But our sales rep. Bryan Thrayer was very helpful and offered many great ideas. I think it did help us that for the last year I have done a lot of reasearch on TOTV. I do like the idea how everything is a package. We never felt rushed. Our closing date is June 24.
:ho:

BookBarb - we built our designer home in Buttonwood last summer. Contracted in mid April, closed near the end of June. There was even a glitch that the builder had to correct during the building process and I was concerned about meeting the agreed upon closing date - but the builder said "No worries; we can build one of these homes in 30 days." :shocked: And it's quality construction, too. My husband went to our lot early one morning and said that around 10 minutes to 7am the stream of contractors came up the road. They swarm workers onto a home site like an Amish barn-raising. And they've kinda done it a few times, so I think they've got it down to a science. :thumbup:

Current policy on deposit
 

Hi Russ, Policy has changed according to our agent. No longer can you deposit your "deposit" with TV. You must build or buy new construction or lose your deposit. My husband saw your earlier posts on this policy and questioned our agent on this very thing. No can do...
Went by your home (we think) during our month's stay in March and it's lovely!
Corner lot from previous posts, right? Hope to meet you someday. We're trying for Sanibel lots as soon as they are released. BUT still also have the anxiety of selling in CT!

Also..
 

As I'm sure Russ can testify, I believe build time is 70 DAYS!

Yes, that was my experience in January.

Yes ,you can't deposit with TV any anything but new construction.

Thanks so much for easing my concerns. I feel so much better now knowing that we will be moving before the holidays. We are so looking forward to be residents of TV.

Or shorter
 

Our house was built in 57 days. What's this design team people are mentioning. We didn't have a design team! However, our home is beautiful.:thumbup:

Just think positive and the right buyers will buy your home. We put our home on the market in mid-December and then left for TV until April 1. Our "friends" and family said there is no way our home would sell in this market and particulary near the resort area in which we live. We returned from TV without placing a deposit down on the lot as we were told the "rules" had changed and no longer could we "transfer" the money to another lot or home after one year. So, being conservative as we are, we wanted money in hand before we contracted or put a reserve on a lot. That, it appears, will happen in 45 days as our house sold 6 days after we came home, so TV here we come too! My only, unsolicited comment, is to make sure the home is priced properly and you have a good agent. There are many homes in our area still for sale as they are sticking with prices that were good several years ago and will not accept the downturn in value of homes in the U.S. All the very best of success to you. We reduced our home as we added great value on the other end for us to be in TV for lifestyle and quality of life reasons.

On the Villages web site under "Build your Dream home" it says you will be "assigned someone in our professional design team" free of charge to help you make selections. When I asked my realtor he said I make selections with him. Maybe they had a design team at one point, but from the posts it does not sound like they did. There is also a video of a lovely couple building in St. James so it is current. Maybe they are planning to have one in the future and that is why the web site says what it does. A bit confusing but we will work it all out.

Same boat here
 

We put down a deposit in March and have had some anxious moments, also. Keep telling ourselves things will work out. I guess I'll check with our agent, but i think if we don't start building or buy an existing house in a year, we lose the deposit...

thanks,

Wayne

I read a post on here that said that due to an unexpected turn of events that a person who had put a deposit down had to delay building for a couple of years, close to three. The developers worked with them and they didn't lose their deposit. I never once read that anyone lost their deposit. I am an avid reader of this forum as anyone can complain. I have never heard of a deposit being lost.

If you feel insecure don't move on a lot yet. If you have placed money down, please don't worry. They run things so carefully in that department.

I feel SURE you won't lose your money. VERY sure. Time to worry about the flooding. Or the unrest in the middle east. Or getting shingles, or something else.

Go get your Zostavax GG!

Gonna do that.

Can I borrow $250 bucks 'til Tuesday, Russ???

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We'll have a Benefit for you, Gracie. Bring on that shingles vac! :)

Just put it on my platinum card:)

Deposit and now on hold
 

Gracie I hope you are right..We have a deposit on Odessa Drive in Tamarind Grove...We must build by September...we just had an inspection today..I hope all goes well and we will be down soon to join our new family in TV..We are bring our friends with us and they are having a cottage buildt up by the Tamarind grove pool.. We are all so excited bu so worried about not selling..Things have been pretty low here on Long Island where houses are concerned...Hope to see you all soon...thanks for keeping our sprite up..:

I love your description of the swarm of contractors. I can see them streaming down the road! I can see them swarming the house. Great visual!
:BigApplause:

Hi neighbor! Can't wait to meet you and your friends at the Tamarind Grove pool. In August we plan to start building east of the TG pool in the cul-de-sac.

First time post
 

My wife and I visited, on a reccomendation from a friend who is a full-timer in TV, in Jan. We had done all of our research and were over expecting on our first visit. Two days into our trip, we new we wanted to be part of this lifestyle. Two days after that, I finally could see us actually being part of this. A a result, we told my wife's sister about our experience and she got excited. Cutting to the chase, the three of us have put a deposit on a lot. We will be arriving Friday to attend our friend's wedding and start selecting our options for our house that we are having TV buid. This story sounds like something that is in a movie, but, every time during our planning process that a potential problem arises, the answer is provided within days. Some things are mention to happen. We will be building in Tamarind Grove where the three of us will be living together. We chose to build so we could make the adjustments to our Iris to have two master suites. Looking forward to meeting all of our new neighbors. We will be building with the end result of our move towards the end of the year. Thank all of you for all of your valuable info.
B&BTexas