New Home Costs
 

MY wife and I have visited twice and are planning to but in April.Im kind of interested in the new homes that are showing up in LaBelle, but wonder what is the cost of "finishing" a new house...ie ceiling fans.window blinds/shades. privacy landscaping.gutters etc. Seems it would add a considerable amount to what seems to be a reasonable purchase price.

It depends on what size house you're looking at as to how many ceiling fan she'll need any blinds that you will need and such.

We spent 3K on shutters, 3K on drapes, 4K on landscaping, 700 on an attic fan, 700 on a new front door, 200 on attic stairs, 200 on gutters, 0 on fans, 200 on under cabinet lights and 100 on a humidistadt. This was in a 2000 square foot designer. Some are now sold with shutters or blinds. We really did not need the landscaping. Would recommend gutters, attic stairs, humidistadt, and attic fan, all else is personal choice. Water is on the hard side so a water softener if your wife needs it.

Our new home came with a thermostat that included a humidistat. It is one of the "Edge" thermostats from Carrier. Munns did the install of the system but the person who did the walk through wasn't aware that there was a humidity sensor in the thermostat.

it was another consideration when I chose to buy a resale. the new homes of the type I was interested in did not have blinds, ceiling fans, washer and dryer....I got all those with my resale plus a painted garage floor, upgraded stove, and a french door lower freezer drawer refrigerator

And don't forget the golf cart!!

Who did your attic stairs?

If you buy a CYV (courtyard villa), it will come with blinds on every window, a fan in the living room, all the bedrooms and the lanai. The front and back will have basic landscaping, which can get you by for several years. You can always add a palm tree or something a little at a time. Also, you'll have a private walled backyard that only CYV's have. Here's how a new CYV backyard will appear. Also if you decide to limit your maintenance, many CYV owners will have the grass removed and replaced with rocks. It makes it a lot easier, especially if you're away a lot.

http://imagesus.homeaway.com/mda01/4...466fe07373.1.6

P.S. for the person for garage stairs, I would highly recommend Tim Miller or 'Tim the Toolman' as he is known around the Villages. Go to the button at the top of the page and do a search. You'll find about 50 glowing reviews for Tim and his phone number. In fact, you can do that for painters, landscapers and just about any job you need done, and you'll save yourself a lot of problems and money.

1800 sq foot designer - 1700 for window treatments, and 1500 for a washer dryer, Golf cart of course is a cost if you want one. Other than furniture and household stuff, that is all you NEED. The landscaping is there, you can add to it if you want. We were told by the builder and others that gutters were not only not needed, they were detrimental since the water bounces off the gutters up under the shingles, not good. With the sandy soil, and no basement - gutters are really not necessary.

To be honest, I was surprised how cheap it was (we bought all new furniture from Showcase also btw, very happy). The only surprise was the water bill that comes as part of the Amenity fee, we knew about it, but it can by 60 bucks a month or more. Everything else is not bad. I would recommend a new home actually.

BTW, don't forget there is a BOND on a new home, that is about $23000 or more, add that to the price they tell you and that is the ACTUAL price of a new house

Or you can just pay off monthly, as part of your mortgage. NOTE: new homes in the Fruitland area apparently do NOT have bonds, as they are not allowed in that area. Good question to ask when you talk to sales rep.

In the Designers they come with fans, lights (Foyer, dining and kitchen),
And all appliances except washer/dryer.

We put in attic fan, attic stairs, water filter, window treatments,
Tiled lanai, kitchen undercounter lights, pullouts in kitchen and
Baths. Also had custom closet organizer for the master closet.
Also added security system and bought a new golf cart.

I can see where a resale might be easier.

Yep, in my opinion, a resale is the way to go. Do not forget besides seeing the finished product, you can negotiate price with a resale AND the bond will be less than on a new house.

I agree about the resale, just make sure you can purchase sinkhole insurance. It has been mentioned on other threads that it's not always available on resales.

Who did you get your gutters from?