Considering building new
 

Hey all:

After years of looking for the right house we might actually build instead. Any advise, tips, comments, lessons learned, etc. about the process will be appreciated.

Thanks

You will enjoy the process. They know what they are doing. They will start and be finished at the time they tell you.


Go through as many model homes as you can and realize that your choices will not be as broad here as in other places. They don't build custom homes, but they do build good homes. I have found that choosing tile in neutral colors is a good plan.

The builders and the subcontractors have all worked here for many years and there are many teams that you cannot choose. When and where you build will dictate who your builder is.

Resist buying/building to suit/fit your current furniture.

Design and build without hesitation for something you would like to do.

Get rid of your "old" furniture and not deal with shipping it all. Buy new for your new house.

Many of us made the mistake of bringing our existing furniture only to get rid of it and go "Florida-ish".

Until you sign a contract keep your eye out for re-sales....the one you want may come up on the market.

Good luck.

I have many decades of experience in construction, and here is my two cents worth.

A lot of people build because they think they know what they want, but after it is built, they realize that they didn't. If you are concerned about value, you will get a better deal buying a house that is already built, either pre-owned or new. Yes, The Villages builders are very good and the quality control is very good. But, after you sign a contract to build a house, human nature and business sense dictates that the builder does not need to make the house perfect or put his best people on it because the house is already sold. Also, you have no negotiating leverage when you decide to make changes.

If you do decide to build, take advantage of the opportunity to put things in to it that "spec" houses don't have, like tile floors throughout the house, high quality windows and exterior doors, upgraded cabinets, countertops and plumbing fixtures, extra insulation, and other features that the builder would never install in a spec house because they cannot recover the cost.

Take advantage of being able to select a great premium lot that you probably could not get in a new spec house because of the high demand. Also, realize that, if your house is located in Lake County, your property taxes will be significantly higher than in Sumter County. A $500K house in Lake County will have a property tax of about $4,000 more per year than the same house in Sumter County.

Good luck.

I might disagree with part of the above, especially in regards to counter tops and flooring. Many people I know who built put the least quality flooring and counters into their homes, which brought the price down for tax purposes. They then moved in and upgraded to hardwood/tile/upgraded counters. Some of the upgrades The Villages provides are not excellent quality, especially their granite choices offered. If you build, you are limited to whatever they offer. This is not the same as going out and finding a builder and choosing your very own upgrades. You are limited to what they offer.

We built, picked out everything we wanted, and ended up with excellent results. In hind sight (always 20/20), we missed a couple of items. There were items that I agree with previous comments. The under counter light option was $2000, way too high, I did my own, for under $200, and got exactly what I wanted. We do not get the birdcage with the initial build, but added it 1.5 years later, along with the upgraded landscaping. Out agent was very helpful with picking the tile, cabinets, etc. The one item we missed was the carpeting, really should have gone with a much better grade.

We were very happy with the overall results, and have made very few changes since moving in.

some items to think about:
We had the whole house wired for an alarm system, and video monitoring, then used the wiring for a system I installed, huge savings.
We had the living room and lanai wired for surround sound (my wife hates seeing wires), then had the speakers installed later.
We tried to get an additional dedicated receptacle in the garage but this was confused with the standard golf cart charger receptacle.
We had a second niche installed in the master shower.
We also got every stretch we could get on then house, ended up with 3 out of 4, the lot was too small for the 4th stretch.

Hope this helps, send me a PM if you would like to discuss further.

Building will be a lot more expensive than buying an existing home. If you want to save money I would buy an existing home.
Having said that every home I bought I built.

We decided to buy a spec home in Fenney just last Thursday and we close on it tomorrow morning. The re-sale homes all were missing something we wanted so we decided on new. We thought about building but could not visualize how exactly it would turn out, on the spec homes we looked at you know exactly what you're getting, we found one that met most of our requirements and the pricing was well below used homes of similar design. Having a warranty and everything being new was also attractive to us. I suppose we could have built one and been happy with it but sure as heck we would have forgotten to add something. Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

We built and after the fact realized that we should have purchased an existing home.
If you find a floor plan you like, it will be a lot less expensive making changes and doing the upgrades you want, including adding on if you have the room.
You will then get more choices and better quality than what The Villages offer. In addition, TV upgrade prices are very high.

I also disagree with the #3 comment regarding getting rid of your current furniture. An "all Florida" look can get old very quickly as well as look boring.
Keep the things you enjoy and cherish; they will look great here and there is nothing more charming and comfortable than an eclectic look.
I've been in Florida since 1983 and never once regretted keeping most of my furniture.

In addition to other good suggestions already posted,

I would include an extra hose bib- installed on one of the walls INSIDE the lanai/birdcage- to hose the deck, water potted plants, rinse off outdoor furniture, screen ledges, etc.
:thumbup:

How true.....have a few friends who did this. Find 80% of what you like and add/change the rest to get what you love. Plans look great on paper but unless you are very experienced, consider something built.