Upgrading my Villages Home
 

Please help me improve my property, lol. How many ideas can you give me that either you or your friends have done to improve their Village Home. I will start with the first one that I did. I added a large solar light for my living room. Wow does it make a difference! Next up may be small windows on my garage door as it is so dark in there with door down! Help me spend my money! You must have hundreds of ideas! Perhaps approx. cost would be helpful to anyone reading this post. My large solar light was around $500 bucks installed. I think garage windows will cost me $190 to 220 bucks.

Upgrades
 

Hi Plex,

I did some upgrades, We had three solar tubes put in, a large one in the kitchen, and two smaller ones in each bathroom..

We added rock to the flower beds, brought in from Pennsylvania..That nuts you don't want to get! lol We had a professional landscaper do the beds, and added Palm Trees..

We had the driveway, walkway, lanai and garage painted..
Painted the interior custom colors..Had curbing put all around the flower beds..

Had attic fans put in..Put donuts all around the sprinkler heads..

Gutters all around.

Retractable Attic stairs.

Alarm System.

Murphy Bed (the first thing we bought - for our 3rd BR)

Plantation Shutters.

Chattahoochee River Rock coating on the driveway.

Custom Paint interior (nine painters came in and did it in two days)

Ceiling Fans in all bedrooms.

If you had to rank them, what was the one best thing you did that added real value to your home? I also have done many and my number one which I would always do in the next home is the solar attic fan. Makes a huge difference in how long it takes to change temperature in the home. I just bought my second Villages home and it does not have it. It will get added real soon.

As with anything I am sure everyone has a view, so what was your number one?

If I could I would rip off the siding and put those new shingles that some of the newer homes have on them.

If your home is more than two years old, replace ALL of the lighting fixtures.

Additional ideas....
 

Retractable screen door for front door (to allow air flow in cooler months) ... approx $350.

Add insulation over garage ($350)

We concreted in small landscaped area near front door and constructed 2 waist size walls to create a courtyard area near our entrance.

Not an improvement, but ... paid $600 for 10 year extended warranty on the heating/AC system.

Numerous shelves/storage areas for laundry room and garage.

Outdoor LED type solar lights to accent landscaping (new LED style lights last all night long) ($70)

Removeable, palm-themed opaque decal for shower door ($20)

Whole house surge protection (about $200)

Custom Door glass insert (Perry's door glass) for front door and sidelights (aprpox $1,000)

Metal wall sculpture art for stucco walls at entrance.

Plus all the other stuff Donna and Chuck suggested.

For L2's question, our best (top 3 improvements) were add on birdcage, landscape, and entry courtyard. "Top" based on our enjoyment of them.

Upgrading my villages Home
 

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Because most of them are too small, outdated in appearance and don't have the pizazz you find in "showcase" homes. If you wanted to sell, it makes a huge difference in overall appearance to the home. If you want to stay, it makes a huge difference in the home.

In the last couple of years the new homes have had nicer dining room and entry way fixtures. The bathrooms, not so much.

07? Can I please come over and see your house when we get there in a couple of weeks? I knew just by looking at your golf cart (and YOU) that you had good taste. (OH and Guenther too of course)

I am intrigued by your filling in with concrete and creating a retaining wall in front. I think we could do that with our Camellia!

Quote

Not an improvement, but ... paid $600 for 10 year extended warranty on the heating/AC system.


We are just now deciding if we should take this warranty. Would appreciate any comments on why and why not to take it.

Thanks

Mom....

Why??? A/C in FL gets quite a workout; $600 for 10 years (I recall it was 10 but I could be wrong) seemed like a good investment; something will probably go wrong in that time. One hefty repair bill could pay for it. Also, there were a spate of problems with the AC coils on Trane systems. Only requirement is you have to do annual maintenance visit at your cost, but, that probably makes sense too.

Why not... if you don't plan to keep the house (although the warranty is transferrable and would make a selling feature) why pay for it; some parts are already warranteed beyond the initial year/2 years.

If you wait til after your first year is up, I understand the cost is higher.

I would recommend you contact Omar Villeda at Central FL Countertops & More (phone number: (352) 307-2333 or (352) 307-1460 (toll free: 866-443-9484) to have your countertops changed to granite if you haven't already done so. We upgraded our gray kitchen countertops & island to granite. What a difference it makes! We paid $54/sq ft. to have it done. The plumber's cost was a little over $100. The nice thing is that we could look at our granite pieces in advance at their showroom. Their web address is: www.centralfloridacountertops.com.

I love my granite in my kitchen and bathrooms here in Ohio, BUT, It is black galaxy and it shows everything. I spend more time wiping off those (censored) countertops!!! It is sort of a vacation to come to our home in Hadley where you can't see anything much on the laminate...Which is pretty too.. (Now no one will want to eat at my house)

Probably a good bet with the humidity issues.


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In the first 2.5 years of ownership we:

1. Added slide outs to kitchen cabinets - a wonderful improvement.
2. Added 2 Solar-tubes 1 in kitchen and 1 in master bath.
3. Fans in bedrooms
4. Exhaust Fan in Attic
5. Considering closing in the Lani to make a Florida Room.
6. Added storage cabinets in the garage
7. Added a security system
8. Added a sound system in 4 rooms
9. Murphy bed in the Den
10. Replaced counter tops in kitchen with Granite
11. Upgraded kitchen stove, fridge, microwave and dishwasher.
12. Best of all, I reduced by Golf Score by an average of 5 strokes-priceless :a040: