picking an Iris - advise?
 

My husband and I are coming in 2 weeks to meet with the Design team. We have a lot on the golf course in the village Fernandina, unit 206. We studied and took notes and visited spec homes and talked to friends so we know we want an Iris and would like to take the expensions. Would love to hear from other Iris owners about the must haves, nice to have, wish we had or don't need.
Thank you so much, can't wait !
Sara
Sterling, VA

You may get more feedback if you tell us what options you already have in mind.

thanks for your advise. So this is what we have so far

stretch lanai 4'4" to rear
extended 2 car & golf cart garage 4' to side , 2' to front, big garage door
tile floor - diagonal
carpet in bedrooms - worth to upgrade?
walk in shower in master bathroom
tub in 2nd bathroom
the standard kitchen/laundry room option - partial wall for the kitchen. In laundry room - washer & dryer hookups and sink on one side and room for a desk under the window on the other side
plan to get our own washer/dryer
granite in the kitchen, not in bathrooms or laundry room -
black appliances - regular stove
instant hot water faucet in kitchen ?
plumb & electric hookups in lanai
outside lanai electric hookup

cable plug in bedrooms, not in kitchen

no pool
no blinds

not sure about the windows - saw lots of postings about taking our a window in the nook and 2 in master bedroom?

thanks,
Sara Branscome

Food for thought...
 

Hi! We also have an Iris. One thing that I absolutely hate is my Whirlpool refrigerator. I bought the side by side, black, the one down from top of the line. It's noisy, makes ice at 1:00am and I can hear it from my bedroom, not much storage space and it makes a clicking noise every time we open the door. Had a tech out, fixed it and started making the noise once again by the time he drove away. Also, we personally like the bronze screens on the lanai. Doesn't show the dirt like the white, especially if you have new construction all around you. Personal preference there. We had tile in our last home and found it to be hard on your legs and also cracks with settlement. We're pretty young on The Villages spectrum and couldn't imagine constantly living with tile as we age. Again, personal preference. I also didn't purchase the blinds with our home. Penney's has great sales constantly on brand names and better quality than what is installed by The Villages. We are handy so installed them ourselves. Add extra shelving in all closets. Again, we did our own but by the end, the words coming from hubbys mouth were installer unfriendly. Gutters, get gutters if not all around, especially in the front and rear. The water will drip off the roof and quickly etch the concrete on the drive and walk-way. I recommend Hill's for gutters. We closed on our home and did alot of work prior to moving in. Painted the garage floor, interior walls, hung blinds and curtains, shelving. It makes it much easier if you can do this with nothing in your way.
Good luck, I love my Iris.

Iris
 

Phanatic Luvr - thank you for taking the time to share with us your info. We are also on the young side (it was fun to have to get "permission" to buy here). We will start out with the Iris being our vacation home and work our way to winter home, etc, and since we live in VA we will leave the painting and such to the future. We hope to do some more stuff everytime we come, but to also enjoy our vacations. It will be an interesting balance since my husband is an avid golfer.
Do you like your black appliances?
thanks again.
Sara

Get prices on granite from outside contractors & compare $$$
Take the carpet that comes upgrade later.

Instant hot water, there was a recent thread on this, it costs about .03 a day to let it run till hot with the benefit of flushing the line.

What is the deal on appliances?

Do you get a choice of black white or SS at no cost or is there a cost?

How much credit do you get if you opt out and buy your own?


.

Appliance cost...
 

Of course there is a cost attached. I believe the range for refrigerators went from approx. $800.00 for the least expensive to about $1,200.00. There is also a cost for dishwashers, microwaves, etc... These are all considered upgrades. I was told you HAD to purchase your appliances with your new home. I brought my own washer and dryer. Even the blinds, that many think come with the home, you are paying for. I was also told by someone who installs the blinds that what is put in these homes are the least expensive and will start to bow in a few years.
I also agree to take the standard carpet, counters, etc... and upgrade later. If you add to the original cost of the home, you will be also paying property taxes on the higher amount.

I read you can opt out except for the micro wave because it is vented.

It really sucks you can't get it nailed down exactly how they do it.

I hope your house is not in range of errant golf shots. Depends on where you are located on the golf course. If I had a choice of a golf course location I would opt for around the green of a par 3 hole. In that way you can sit on your lanai and watch people hitting to the green. However, you don't want to be too close to the green.

John

John,
I left that part to my husband. He has been golfing since he was a kid, for about 40 years now. He spent hours walking the lots and the golf course and consulted the pro at the country club. I hope for the best.
thanks.
BTW, I lived in Toms River, NJ in high school and went to Rutgers.

I have an Iris
 

We did not plan this house. Someone else planned this expensive house and had to back out. It had most of what I wanted and we wanted to be here ASAP so we bought it.
I agree on stretching lanai and garage. We have a stretched lanai. We do NOT have a stretched garage. Ours is so small I do not think 2 cars can really fit there. We do also have a golf cart garage. It is used for storage because these houses have very little storage pace. If there is any way you can stretch the front bedroom, do so. The 2 bedrooms are very small and problematic for furniture. I wanted the front room to be my guest bedroom. We are having problems finding a new bedroom set that will fit there with a dresser, night stands etc. Southern Lifestyles told me if I put in a dresser on the opposite wall of the bed, there will be only 2 feet of walking space between the bed and dresser. This is a work in progress. Take the kitchen configuration that gives you the largest kitchen. Choose the best flooring you can. You don't want to be ripping up flooring after you have placed your furniture.
The person who planned my house chose beautiful tile through out the house and showers. Love the walk in shower. She chose high end looking tile but put in the worst carpeting in the bedrooms. Looks like inexpensive shag. I guess I'll have to change that.
Try to get adequate lighting. I'm from NJ and we build houses for the light to come in. These houses are dark. It can be dim in my living room at 4 pm.
We have a pool and big lanai and side decking. I am glad it was here and I did not have to live through the construction.
There are upgraded SS Kitchen aid appliances here. I put a heavy cast iron pot in the wall oven and the metal grate was bending. So much for an upgrade!
Good Luck with the house. It will be wondeful in the end. Enjoy the journey.

Iris - Great house!
 

I have the Iris, Sara, and I love it!!! It's bright and cheerful...and open and welcoming. I strrrrretched everything I could. Garage and lanai a must, IMHO. I tried to tell you what I would suggest - above.

I had 48-Hour Blinds install plantation shutters throughout my house and I am very pleased with them. They allow sun to come in....yet afford privacy throughout. I do have verticals on the areas leading to the lanai and rarely use them.

I don't know who suggested to take out windows in the nook and bedroom but I don't agree. Keep the windows!

I am now in the process of having countertops and cabinets installed in the laundry room. There is wasted space in that area. Your idea of a desk is great!

Good luck with your Iris. I call the 2 front bedroom area my "Guest Suite". My guests close that front pocket door and they have total privacy from the rest of the house.

It's a great layout! Enjoy your Iris!

We are planning to build the Lily and add a golf cart garage to get the larger front BR. Of course this means a higher premium for the lot, but hopefully this will not be much more than stretching the garage and front bedroom. Can you give me an idea of the cost of stretching the Iris (lanai, garage & bedroom)? Even if we stay with the Lily we are considering stretching the lanai. Thanks.

You are so fortunate to be able to make choices. We bought in 2008 and had to take a pre-built home as is. And I mean as is. We were not even allowed to swap gas stove for electric. Now they don't even put gas in the homes. We do love our home though and our location. There are some things we would love to have but can be satisfied with what we have. Just to be in The Villages and enjoy the lifestyle is certainly a plus.

Congrats! I think you will love the Iris. I bought a much upgraded spec a year ago and can't be happier. The only regret I have is not having the desk area in the back hall. The current configuration laundry room is much too small - not that I plan on spending much time there, but it would be nice to have more storage room. Also, I have a cat and had to stack the washer and dryer in order to put her food and litter box back there.

One thing about a golf course lot I never thought about - they start mowing the grass in the predawn hours. Luckily I'm a morning person, but it does take some getting used to.

Since my house was a spec, I had no choices to make and now that I've been here a year I'm considering some changes. But usually, I end up sitting down on my Lanaii, watching the golfers go by and decide I'll think about it tomorrow.