Change to buying lot/build time line
 

I heard that they changed the rules on buying a lot and building a new home. You used to have one year after lot selection to start building and now they have moved it to three months. It this true or a rumor?

When we purchased our lot in January of 2011, we had 1 year, however, if you changed your lot to another, you then had to start your build-out within 3 months from the time you changed. Check with The Villages to be certain.

I believe that in new neighborhoods you get up to a year, but if you want a lot in a neighborhood that is almost built out, you get less time to start building. Your agent can explain this.

What I heard was that at a sales meeting last Friday this was changed for all lots going forward. If you already had signed up for a lot with one year you are OK, but if you sign up today you only have three months.

Just trying to verify this before calling an agent.

oh, that would not be good news, if true :ohdear:

Why would that be bad news?

I think that at anytime here, you can find a variety of lots and views and prices and places and sizes of lots to buy That would be pretty much the same. Sometimes view lots are less available is the only change I can see. But they are opening up areas all of the time. This week it is Charlotte, next month or two and it will be another village, and there will be cul de sac lots and water lots and lots that back on the road and lots big enough for a lantana and lots that are JUST like the lots available today. So if you are trying to make future plans to sell your house and move here, you could probably get just the same choices today that you would have had if you reserved a lot. We sold both of our places, were homeless, found a lot, and built. We had to be out of our homes, we rented and stored our stuff... and had our choice of a lot of people to move it in...cheaply. It is MUCH less expensive to move stuff here than it is up north.

We didn't reserve a lot and I know Keithwand didn't and a lot of people don't. We were ready to move forward after selling and we rented and built on a lot that we chose.

I am NOT trying to argue, RichieB...I am really asking why you think that would be bad news. If you have a lot your plans would be the same. They are not running out of lots, they have all kinds now and next week and next month more and more and more choices will be there.

Don't worry RichieB.

I am certainly not a mind reader. However, perhaps he and others who might have bought lots or are thinking of buying lots for "future" building of a home, are feeling that they don't have as long a time to save and plan now. Or, enough time to arrange and accomplish the sale of their northern home?
Just a guess on my part.

Well, you pretty much read MY mind, senior. Your post sums up my thoughts, in a nutshell.

RichieB and Senior Citizen, you are "Spot On". There are many who will find this troublesome!

Great minds think alike. I knew what you meant.

Not everyone can build a home without first selling their northern home.

A first step might be to purchase the building site and sit on it for awhile.

Actually, there are so many choices and so very many options, it is MIND BOGGLING to rush into building what supposedly might very well be your last residence. TV is huge. The choices are tremendously huge. Why rush?

I give up. I still don't know the facts. I thought someone on here would know the answer. I will call an agent and get the facts.

Going a little further, someone who is a few years away from retirement might want to purchase a lot ahead of time. For them, even a year would not be a good period of time.

With "buildout" on the horizon - 5 years (?) - they have to be running out of lots at some time.

And Gracie - I'm not worried.............

Thank you kindly. Appreciate your comment.

From my own personal experience, even with extensive research in the past, we moved twice to Florida and returned back to Vermont twice........so anyone contemplating a building project should do the research and consider apples vs. oranges plus the lot's location, size of home they want so that they don't end up rebuilding a smaller or larger home in another neighborhood or "wish" they had this or that.

They say the third time's the charm. No sense in rushing into anything.

Even if one found the perfect location, it would be nice to dream about it for awhile and really plan out the home that will sit on that perfect homesite.

A whirlwind trip to The Villages is not the answer. I don't think it would be easy to do it in one day, that's for sure. We were there five weeks and flipped and flopped.

It wasn't until we came back north that we began reminiscing about "how nice" this or that truly was. Rome wasn't built in a day.

We didn't want to be locked in until we SOLD our property. Then if you didn't...in say a years time........Having the lot and KNOWING we had to sell would have been far more worrisome to us. We sold, had the same choices for lots that we would have had really if we had reserved one, and had no problems. We didn't want to own TWO properties. You know you have to PAY on the lot after you put the hold on it.

While all these things were unfolding, we were making plans and choices, and had narrowed down the choice for our final home to two models and then had the choice to build in either Pennecamp or Laurel Valley or if we had waited two weeks in McClinney. So three areas were available with a variety of lots and choices when we sold. We had already decided what we wanted in a lot and in a house. We pulled the trigger, easily found a rental...and here we are.

The prime and expensive view lots are the only ones that if they are on your plans need to be bought...they go fast.

If this idea was just discussed at a meeting on Friday, maybe it hasn't "hit the streets" yet. A question to an agent might be the next logical step.

Just sayin'.........