Talk of The Villages Florida - Construction Details

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Construction Details (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/construction-details-320206/)

The OTOTW salesman cannot sell you on activities, amenities, or clubs. Bragging about supposed better home quality is all he can do to get your sale. I've never looked there and don't know if there are major home quality differences. I don't care, as I moved here for the whole lifestyle package.

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Originally Posted by Packer Fan (Post 1953713)

Interesting read through this forum. I know a bit about building. I have been in charge of many commercial construction projects up to 10 Million dollars. I have owned about 10 homes in my life of various types and have an engineering degree. I know enough to be dangerous. I own 2 homes in the villages, one is 9 years old (stick built) and 1 is 6 years old (block and stucco). Let's be honest, these are mostly spec built homes that follow similar plans. they have about 30 plans or so they repeat over and over. These are NOT custom built homes with huge amounts of "craftsmanship" whatever that is. In manufacturing, we would call it "mass customization".
So that being said, would you rather buy a Toyota or a custom built car from a "craftsman". I will take the Toyota. That is what these houses are - because they build so many they have Quality control and they have perfected the process. Repitition and continuous improvement. My 2 houses, after 6 and 9 years and MANY renters, look like the day I bought them for the most part. No cracked concrete, no settling despite being built on sand. No window issues, leaks. NOTHING. If you look at the progression of the Jasmine for instance from North to South, they keep improving them but they are the same layout. Very consistent quality.
So my opinion is that the villages builds a quality house for a fair price. Each house IS unique, and you can even have one built just the way you like it, but it has to be one of their models. Mass customization. You are buying a Toyota, but one that comes with an amazing lifestyle. Sure, you can buy cheaper somewhere else and maybe get more "craftsmanship", but you KNOW what you are getting in TV - a good Quality home that will last. I do believe the houses south of 466 are better built than those closer to Spanish Springs - practice makes perfect and you can see it when you walk through the houses.
That's my opinion - take it for what it is worth.

I was on site daily during the construction of mine and agree with this assessment.

Many of the workers had been building homes 20+ years for the Villages, were very proud of their work and happy to have a constant stream of employment.

Call the warranty Dept. I'm guessing they can point you in the right direction. A HOME here is much more than the bricks and mortar, it is the lifestyle. My home was almost 20 years with NO significant issues and only routine maintenance. It passed the pre-sale inspection, including the roof, with no real issues.

I'm sure there are better built homes around but you don't get the lifestyle.

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Originally Posted by Packer Fan (Post 1953713)

When Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1992, it revealed the shoddy construction methods that had been used for a generation down there. For example, roof sheathing that was inadequately attached to the roof trusses and roof trusses inadequately attached to the top plates and walls inadequately attached to foundations. So much of the damage could have been avoided if the houses were well made. Miami took this very seriously and put in place big changes that led to buildings with a good chance of surviving a similar storm. The state building code was also revised shortly thereafter to incorporate some of the Miami requirements. My home is one block from 466 and was built in 1998, shortly after the new codes went into place. The roof trusses are adequately strapped to the walls, and most of the nails in the roof sheathing actually entered the roof trusses. This “hurricane mitigation” saves me a LOT of money every year in home insurance. It’s not up to Miami standards, of course, because we don’t get Category 5 hurricanes here, but it’s much better than what was built before. Your explanation of how building methods mature with experience on building the same model hundreds of times is a good one. It’s not that the houses before that were poorly built, but that the code is now more stringent.

First off, ask The Villages about current building practices
Second, if OTOTW is so much better then why did you buy in The Villages?

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Originally Posted by wlasowicz (Post 1953409)

But if a builder exceeds the code requirement than a builder who just meets the code for equal or less money which would you choose? I be curious to see what the warranty claims are for the villages but you and I will never see that. I'm sure you would not buy a car that has a lot of warranty claim versus aa competitor car for equal value

I bought a spec designer home in 2011. At closing only one thing needed to be adjusted. At 1 year, a professional home inspector made a 2 page list of corrections. The worst thing on the list was the top of the interior doors was not painted. TV required (then) all contractors for corrections contact us and make appointment within 72 hours. When one contractor (concrete) came to correct a broken corner of sidewalk, he also saw a small void near the house that needed additional concrete to be filled and did it with out being asked. All of the contractors were very responsive, coordial, and efficient. Yes, I don't have crown molding (many add afterwards), nor do I have high end windows (which I don't open anyways), however I do have the view of golf course & lake that I wanted and more importantly, the Villages lifestyle. I have played golf at OTOTW and the course is very nice (but also costs annually), however even during high season on a nice day, it was surprisingly obvious how 'dead' the atmosphere there was. I hardly saw any people walking, or driving around in golf carts. Very few were even playing golf. If you want more for your home money....move to OTOTW....however if you want to enjoy retirement to it's fullest, The Villages is the only place to be.

I was told the opposite, the homes north of 466 are much better built then the newer ones. How did you come to your conclusion?

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Originally Posted by Dilligas (Post 1953911)

LOL. The worst defect was that the top of the interior doors were not painted? They come already primed, so who cares, unless you are 8 foot tall?

Just a general comment. The housing market in The Villages is so hot.

A house came on the market in our neighborhood and it was pending in the first hour.

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Originally Posted by newgirl (Post 1953956)

I was told the opposite, the homes north of 466 are much better built then the newer ones. How did you come to your conclusion?

"I was told..." Give me a break.

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Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 1954019)

Just a general comment. The housing market in The Villages is so hot.

A house came on the market in our neighborhood and it was pending in the first hour.

Same South of 44, inventory was under 80 homes last week.

Less than 2 year old Waterview designer homes are going for +250K over purchase price.

This forum is going in way different direction from the original question. I am looking for what feature or details that builder offers in their material and construction methods. I have not seen thru the years that the villages provide any specific details. Like for example we put re-rod every 24" from the fountain up thru the block for added strength. or steel lintel for window and door frames on block construction. stick built houses we use 20 gauge versus 28 gauge steel studding pressure treated for the sill plate. or what steps we take to meet make sure your home are energy efficient. Home builder here at my main home up north and some in Fl. . do describe the features they build into their homes.

zip code 32163 - 7 avail for saleccording to zillow

don't think you will other than what tink posted,,, they sell lifestyle in tvnot quality constdetails that builder offers in their material and construction methods. as attested by those wdo admittedly bought same- preesent bldg code' much better/strnger since new codewas adopted
I have not seen thru the years that the villages provide any specific details.nor will you Like for example we put re-rod every 24" from the fountain up thru the block for added strength. or steel lintel for window and door frames on block construction. stick built houses we use 20 gauge versus 28 gauge steel studding pressure treated for the sill plate. or what steps we take to meet make sure your home are energy efficient. Home builder here at my main home up north and some in Fl. . personally id on't understand why no icf insulated concrete forms here lessexpensive to operate quieter stronger rcomparatively lower initial investment)[/QUOTE]

doubtful as new southern bldg code's more stringent/stronger