Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

We will finally (it's only been a month!) be closing on our new home in Mallory Square on Friday.

We can't wait to join you!

I KNOW that there are pitfalls, suggestions, "shoulda-dids", etc. that some of you have regarding
closing on a new home, based upon your experiences.

Not wishing to make those same mistakes and then some, I am requesting your comments and advice
on things to watch for, things to ask for, etc.

Any replies will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

If you would prefer not to post on this board, feel free to e-mail me at AKenM@netscape.net

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

Our closing went very smoothly. I can't think of any "shoulda dones".
It was such a fun day. When you do your walk through, evaluate the plants on the outside. They will take notes. If they die later, you are on record. Make a note of the people you need to call for orientation. (Sprinkler people, A/C people, etc) They will tell you who to contact. This should be a very fun day for you. Enjoy!

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

Two Suggestions...One Before And One After Closing
 

Before your closing I would write down every single question I could think of regarding your new house. If you have time, send it to your builder thru the Sales Department so he can have a look at it before your walk-thru. There's a lot to learn about Florida building codes and construction. It's not at all similar to what you may be used to "up north". You get one shot at the guy that actually built your house during the walk-thru. After that, you'll be heavily reliant on asking neighbors about things, most of whom don't know any more about things than you do. If you do that, you'll find the builder very cooperative at the walk-thru and you'll learn a lot about how your now home was built.

Then after closing, be very certain you understand the terms of your home warranty. As an example, be sure you examine your house for paint flaws, nail pops, etc. before you move in. The paint repair part of the warranty has a very short time frame--a few days after closing as I recall--and definitely doesn't apply after you have moved in.

Then, one last suggestion for your closing day--chill a good bottle of champagne for your evening enjoyment in anticipation of a great new lifestyle in THe Villages!

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

:bigthumbsup: My thanks to you all for responding! I will take the suggestions to heart! (But if others choose to reply, I'll :welcome: their advice too!)

Ken

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

Ken, We will be closing on our house on August 30, Let us know how everything went. the notes about paint and plants were interesting. Plants are not cheap Good Luck. Hope the champagne is good

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

My experience is now a year old, but, this is how it was done.

The irrigation system is only guaranteed for 30 days after closing...be sure to schedule the orientation with the installation company and learn about its operation and maintenance.

Get donuts (concrete rings) around each head to keep your lawn service company from running over them. There are outfits that will install donuts if you don't want to do it. I believe the landscaping and sod has a very short warranty too...so, if you see any flaws in the lawn or plants, point those out immediately.

As far as paint and nail pops.... during your one year warranty period, they will come out one time for caulking and painting touchup. Best advice is to live in the house for a few months (unless it is something really ugly out of the gate) and accumulate your list and have them do it all at once. Give the house time to settle. In my experience, you did not have to point out paint and nail pops in the first weeks.

Even then, when we had our end of year punchlist addressed, they still dispatched the painters to come in behind any other workers who disrupted the paint job. All in all, it is a very smooth, responsive, efficient process. Enjoy your new house!!!

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

:2cool: :hot:
Thanks so much for the advice - we are really looking forward to this - as we have been since making the decision to come to TV.

You have mentioned some things that I had not thought of - and will be sure to check.

I prepared a checklist of things to check, by area and item -
for example: Kitchen; each appliance, countertops, caulking, drawers, cabinets (open/close/align, etc.) Tile: grout lines. cracks, etc. Electrical:
check each outlet, fans, lights, etc. - I wanted to post this in case anyone in our situation wanted it, but I cannot see how to upload an Excel
spreadsheet from my PC to a posted message... I have it, and if anyone wants it, send me an e-mail and I will attach it in a reply. It may be a good "starting point" for going through your walk-through. I will modify it to include your items, and add any others that are brought up that are not presently included in my list.

Thanks again (to all who have responded)!! :beer2:

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

There is nothing to worry about.. ALL COST FOR THE CLOSSING ARE ON THE BUYERS SIDE. so no mistakes can be made. GOOD LUCK :)

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

KenMac and other new home owners....another common item that comes up is need to balance the ceiling fans. If you kick them on at low and medium speeds and they wobble, then they are out of balance. We had to have all of ours rebalanced as did our neighbors. The company rep came in a spent quite a bit of time getting them right. Especially important for fan on pole extensions (i.e. not mounted flat to the ceiling)

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

I've never had a problem with ceiling fan balance. How is this problem fixed?

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

they put metal disks on top of the fan blades (weights)

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

My PC bombed! I lost the spreadsheet, as well as everything else (apparently, possibly, hopefully NOT) - anyway, I received e-mails from two people asking for the spreadsheet, which I no longer have - but based upon my closing experience, I did not need. Sorry to those who e-mailed me!

Our "builder" was Sissy (?), and she had no interest in doing a "walk-through" - she just told us to go through the house and note things that needed attention, and let them know inside of five days ("or so") - there were so few items that a spreadsheet was a giant OVERKILL! I hope that everyone has the same experience! Not that there were not things wrong, but there were only a few, and we noted them on a small paper for the folks who do the "correcting" (the word I want is locked in my brain, and will not be retrieved until the second I hit "POST")

Re: Closing Friday... Requesting your advice
 

Keep a journal from the day you get there on things that need fixing. It does not matter if they are minuscule. You paid for a new house. you will get a questionnaire about a week out asking you for the problems. Give them a complete list (and make sure you keep a copy for yourself). I did not and am still looking at a problem that I know I had on the list. Don't be shy when they come out to make the repairs. Stick to your guns to get the items fixed.