General questions on homes
 

I've been reviewing the models and can't figure out how they calcualate the Total vs Living sq ft. I assumed the Garage and Lanai were subtracted from the Total, but when I did the math there was a lot of space unaccounted for. Anyone know what the difference is?

I know MLS and Villages realtors don't work together, but I've seen a lot of 'New Construction' homes listed in Trulia. Where did these come from? I'm not seeing the same ones on the Villages website. Is this yet another path I have to follow to see all the homes available?

When you open the floor plans the true square footage is the second number listed and I think...it says " under heat/air".

Jim McLaughlin just took us to see new models.

He said that if the sales continue at the rate they are going that he thinks buildout could be in 2015. They will begin building across 466A I think he said in May of this year. Wow. I love to watch this process. I love to see new models.

Gracie....are there any new designer models you can tour yet????....where are the new premier models located???...thx

As many of the Village Properties agents only show the new homes as well as showing the empty lots in new sections, I stll advocate buying a re-sale.

Remember, in a new construction area, you will have construction going on around you for quite a while. This means lots of dust in the air as well as noise and construction workers.

The new designer homes and premier homes have very large bonds attached of at least $23,000 and up to about $50,000. The home prices are not negotiable with the builder. Re-sales have much lower or no bond at all and the price is negotiable with the seller.

But, like anything else, it is a personal choice everyone has to make for themself. No matter what you choose, you will love The Villages.

taylor111947- I've never heard of a village called "Trulia"- I could be wrong but maybe its outside of TV.

Ducati - Trulia is not a village, but a website similar to realtor.com. Not sure how they have any new construction there. THAT part may be outside of TV...

I've seen new construction TV homes on Trulia as well and wondered the same thing.

Interesting discovery. I see 141 New Construction on Trulia. The few that I checked I did not find on TV website. I would guess only a TV agent could explain. Let us know if you find out anything.

Here is the address of one listing, 1959 Harding Path. Nope THAT part is not outside of TV. It even says Village of Buttonwood. Just check Trulia.

I've already made reservations to come down at the end of March to start househunting - trying to leave all my options open.

A resale would be ideal. I think custom built is at the bottom of my list, but ready to move in new sounds interesting. I'm assuming they are in areas where most of the homes have already been built. But I'm still confused about the new construction houses listed on Trulia and the ones listed on the Villages website since they don't appear to be the same.

It sure seems like Trulia new construction is another place to look. There seems to be some questionable facts though. Found a new Mandivilla in Duval, it says built in 2011 but on Trulia for 143 days. TV is no longer building the Mandivilla.

http://www.trulia.com/property/30297...lages-FL-32162

The Premier models are in Pennecamp. The new Premier area of Laurel Valley(?) off 466 opened to be sold on Friday of this week. Seven lots already have holds on them. Jim showed us the plot map with the red circles.

I am sure the designer models are available to tour too. He took us through the three new Premier models ...all decorated beautifully of course.

I'm a sales representative with The Villages. The total under roof includes the lanai, garage, entry - anything under the eaves of the home that is not climate controlled.

Zillow
 

Actually Zillow.com is a pretty good website for home prices. Realtors hate Zillow because it gives a lower estimate of the home value than the realtors like to see - but it is a good negotiating tool to use with the sellers.

Scrolling down from a home address on Zillow, you can easily see the selling prices of the home in years past.

Good strategy is to find some homes for sale on Realtor.com or on some other realty site and then go to Zillow.com for their estimated worth.

It appears that the homes listed as "new" on Trulia are actually aggregated from a website crawler and put onto Trulia. They are not listed with any realtor. A few of the "new" homes are near me in Bonita - and there are no new homes here for sale.

If Russ reads this, he may be able to clue us in...