Your Villages Building Experience..
 

Since it looks like we're going to be choosing a homesite and building a house, I'd love to hear from those of you that went through the process.

Your overall impression of the process. What is the process? How long did it take from start to finish? How long to pick all your finishes? How flexible are they to customization? What were some of your concerns during the process?
Granite during the build or after? Appliances? Window coverings?

Let me hear it all. I love details. :coolsmiley:

We did this 7 years ago, I imagine the process has changed a lot. Basically, we bought a lot, were informed that we had to start building within 6 months. We decided to start immediately, met with our sales rep to go over details and pick specifics for our house. Approved a set of preliminary plans (we had requested 4 stretches, could only get 3). 80 days from ground breaking to completion. Since we were not in the area, we were sent electronic photos of the process of the build.
What went wrong, we missed getting upgraded carpet, will be doing this shortly. We did not have tile laid on the diagonal (additional cost), in hindsight it probably would look better. there were a few other small items that there was no way to predict until after we lived in the house. Good luck with your project, hope this helps.

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Ditto to all for us - we designed/built 6 years ago. SO agree re diagonal tile - I balked due to cost 25% upcharge - I balked as our tile was $$$$. Every day now, I kick myself - not literally. Overall we did a good job with our design (a Holly model). Stretched as much as we could (smaller lot). We did make quite a few changes - biggest was have the builder make our lanai into a Florida Room - same level floor, HVAC in etc etc. We use it every day. And we optd for the color interior paint rather than white - wise choice for small $$. Back 6 years ago what we DID NOT LIKE about the process was that the Designer would/could not tell us the $$$$ charge for line items ie cost difference between this cabinet vs another... hopefully that's changed now.

In the end BE VERY CAREFUL regarding choices that may be very costly to change later such as tile, any stretches or changes to things as interior wall moves, outlet positioning, water spigot positions outside, etc etc.

We optd out of all appliances and bought a complete set of high-end LG stainless from Home Depot for a bit more $$ than our credit. Same for ceiling fans. We also had low-end cheap light fixtuures installed (had to have to close), but got much nicer ones around the house and I installed - sold the originals online.

Looking back, the one 'major' item I would change is the diagonal tile. oh well.
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We have seen built 11 of our homes. We are no stranger to it. This was the smoothest of them all.

We were here renting so we were at the site every night. Things were always prepared for the next day. Materials ready etc. The "boss" builder would occasionally leave notes for the subs, for example; "Remove all end caps in the kitchen and do it again right. " When it was time for the roof, on a very hot August day, 14 people arrived at seven and stayed until dark. When it was time to caulk the baseboards etc, three women did it expertly. When they were digging at the very first, they had a digging team. Teams for framing, teams for plumbing. Worked like clockwork.

This is now nine years ago. I am spending every day in this house during the last six months and sometimes I would like to hunt the builder down and tell him what a great house it is, what a good job and how much we enjoy it. I can't say enough good about this home. Please come to our house, O.P. and look around. Right now we won't invite you in but as soon as this virus thing is over you are very welcome.

P.S. On our choices, We saw a Seabrook model home finished and decorated and asked for every finish choice to be duplicated. Tiles were neutral. Good idea to choose neutrals in case you want to sell and go smaller or bigger later on. I know, I know, but neutral choices in tiles is always a good choice.

built a year plus ago. First, spent your money on the permanent items which you don't want to replace because that is expensive and disruptive , ie, tile, electrical, air conditioning, stretching, counter tops. Replacing these items are expensive, do it right the first time. Stretch first, ask questions later, see point one. Stretching is not that expensive vs what you get. If you want like natural light, get light tubes in strategic places. Small one in the bathroom, large one in the kitchen. If you want natural light in the garage, put in clear blocks or a light tube or two. If you are internet inclined, get the house ethernet wired for flexibility. Wired is faster, more secure and better for streaming. Have galaxy do the specs, NAT router and a gigabyte switch in addition to the modem in the wiring closet, I have two wiring closets as just one isn't big enough. At least one ethernet outlet in each room, forget the phone outlets, really!. You can still get wireless, and you can place the wifi modem in better places for better coverage or put in individual access points in the ceiling. Convert 2 gang outlets to 4 gang outlets near each rooms' entertainment center, to eliminate power strips. Get a whole house surge protector. don't skimp on air conditioning quality, go at least mid range. If gas, be sure to get an outlet outside where a bbq grille will go. Much better than tanks, and less danger. The standard appliances package is adequate, but better to get your preference at a box store. get gutters all around. Air condition the garage if you spend alot of time in the garage with a work bench added later.

Search and I have a post on how to internet wire a house.

sportsguy

Great stuff. Thanks everyone.

We plan on postponing the actual build by a couple of months after we choose the lot. When we come back to pick our finishes how much time should we allot? We plan on having a pool built too so I'm sure that will add to the time required.

Thanks again!

One thing our neighbors missed and regret 7 years later.........expanding the house with moving the INSIDE walls. Most expansions only move the external walls, our neighbor wish they knew the option of expanding the size of the house and moving the internal wall so the living room (which is placed between a bedroom & kitchen) would be larger.

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a bit off topic, but>

Our Holly designer house in Glichrist is now 6.5 years old. We designed the home thru TV Builders (not a Spec home). I was in Leesburg, she Lake Mary FL before moving to TV together. Being local, I came out a few times per week to watch construction, take photos etc. Was extremely pleased with all SubContractors and Head Builder.

So 6.5 years later.
Before the warranty expired we had a reputable home inspector check the entire house out - clean bill of health. Over those years, we have had>

2 nail pops in drywall (my fix)
1 little 'stairstep' slight crack in exterior stucco (my fix)
Master shower tile floor not draining properly (warranty)
A few grout cracks in kitchen tile floor (warranty)
Door entry side window not set properly (warranty)
Exterior drainage issue on home side (warranty)

That truly is about it for going on 7 years.
Overall the quality of our build was wonderful. Kudos+
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They give you a closing date on the day you begin building and in our case they were finished a week ahead and we would have had to pay a fine to change the closing date. I am thinking the build was just over three months.

Thanks. I'm a big proponent of doing it right the first time. I've never regretted spending the extra money doing it how we wanted it but I've certainly regretted cheaping out and wishing we had done something different.

Since you are the most recent to have built, how long did you spend with the design people picking your finishes and choosing what stretches you wanted?

We built 3 years ago. Flew in from out of state and spent 5 days here selecting finishes, hardware, etc. it really only took us 2 days selecting because we had a very good idea of what we wanted but everything had to be reviewed by architects which ate up 2 days (this was over a weekend so maybe you could shave a day off there). House was ready approx 80 days after we signed contract. We bought lot in Nov and did the design trip in January.

Agree with poster who suggested getting WiFi outlets in multiple rooms. Don’t need phone jacks- who needs landline anymore? Also agree that better to buy all your own appliances. We bought our own washer and dryer but went with builder provided for the rest. Even tho we upgraded they are still crap. Best to buy all your own and take the credit.

The phone jacks in my 7 year old house are all Cat 5 so they can be used for ethernet use. Only problem is the irrigation stuff takes up most of the low voltage cabinet.

First be sure you will be available for the required design time frame which starts ticking when you put down the deposit. We had 45 days and flights got cancelled the day we were scheduled to depart. Two-three days for selections. One day for architects to price out and one day to review for moves/adds/changes. Don’t forget central vacuum

Spent time looking at pre-owned houses for sale to get ideas. Go to a tile store at home to get ideas.

Select a house model you like and then be sure to have plot dimensions to check the stretch amount front to back and sideways.

CoachKandSportsguy

Wow! 11 homes. Bet you’ve set a record. How many in TV?

We built less than a year ago and we were pleased with the process. We were assigned a designer who we met us at The Street of Dreams and guided us through the process. We were done in less than 5 days (not full days). Make sure you have your model picked out and decide if you want to do any stretches. As far as interior and exterior finishes go, tour as many models and open houses as you can and write down your favorite things in each. The designer can look that up and do the same for you. You may even find one that you want to copy completely and that really speeds things up. We were pleased and impressed with the abundance of selections and the overall knowledge of our designer. Relax and have fun. You’ll be in your new house before you know it!