[pauld315]

Originally Posted by Carla B

We with stucco homes are told to paint the exterior every five years. We waited longer because it looked fine but it wasn't. The stucco on block house ends where a gable begins, and then it is stucco on wood. The gables on the front of the house cracked and blistered and we had to have the stucco removed and reapplied over steel mesh at our cost. We were told it failed because we didn't repaint in five years.

We then painted the exterior after the stucco repair. Our contractor used a good quality paint from Sherwin Williams, who then inspected it and guaranteed the paint for 25 years, so long as the house and windows are washed with Simple Green! So I have to conclude the builder doesn't use good quality paints.
Another thing...our builder installed a 150-amp service while the house next door, the same size and floor plan, got a 200-amp service.

Most builders use contractor paint (which is cheap) when building new non-custom homes, unless you ask for and pay for better paint. This is especially true when they are building a large amount of spec homes. I am not sure what cleaning your windows with Simple Green has to do with a paint warranty unless they painted over your windows

[hulahips]

Originally Posted by rhood

They did good because you were watching them !

Unfortunately we could not be here the whole time the home was being built and you wouldn't believe the mistakes that were made. Beyond belief

[The Chipster]

Interesting thread. We have been in the newer Village of Dunedin for about 1.5 years. What we have noticed is the developer putting a lot of thought and $$$ into some aspects of the house, such as interior finishes, front entryways, kitchen cabinets and bathroom fixtures, while going ultra cheap on things like extremely low-end and noisy garage door openers, horrible landscaping plants that almost always need to be replaced, unsealed lanai ceilings, no rough flooring or pull down stairs in the small attics over the garage, etc. Rather strange execution priorities that are probably just a sign of hyper growth.

[hulahips]

Not the best windows, appliances and yes even upgrade your garbage disposal if you can

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by suesiegel

Our previous home was built in 1948 and was up north.
We had copper pipe not the plastic we now have but copper is not only far more expensive it does not last here due to the water. You cannot even buy the materials our previous home was built from. Even 2x4 lumber is smaller than it used to be.

Oh and as to tornadoes. I don't think any house will stand up to a tornado if it directly hits your house. They can and do lift cars. You could go down your basement. OOPS
if you had a basement it would surely fill with water.

As to Minneapolis. While I did not take it, I will bet even my snow blower would be happier in the Villages.

suesigel: I really, truly miss my snowblower it was such a great toy

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Robinson

If my husband and I had it to do over, we would not have built; we would have purchased a resale. Then we would have made changes within the home that we wanted. It would be a lot less expensive than buying new and paying The Villages for some of the upgrades you might want as long as you find a floor plan you like. They charge too much and their selection is limited.

The Villages builds "cookie cutter" houses. The driveways are the same shape, the landscaping and its shape is virtually the same. Even within premier houses, the look is pretty much the same unless a homeowner makes changes.

The quality is average. Having been in real estate in Florida for over 30 years, having worked with various developers and having houses built at a personal level, I can say without compunction that the products they offer are pretty much builders grade items which are inexpensive.

Yes, the houses here must be built to code, but it would be interesting to know exactly what the code is because it does differ within the three counties. The Villages builds all their houses with metal studs in the walls (unless you pay additional for wood studs). There is a significant difference in price and strength. Yes -- in a fire wood burns and metal doesn't, but what's the difference when the entire house is gone! The roof overhang is very skimpy and should be much wider because of the sun in Florida. The premier houses' overhang is slightly wider but still not wide enough for Florida. They blow in insulation in the roof instead of installing batting; another cheap builders' choice.

And then there's the contract . . . Realtors in Florida usually use either their Board of Realtors contract or the Florida Association of Realtors contract (commonly call the FARBAR contract). These contracts basically protect both the buyer and seller. While there are things which are fair, The Villages' contract primarily protects them. It is a very tight contract with virtually no way out! Ask to see a copy and read it thoroughly. A Villages agent can only show you properties listed through The Villages. They are not Realtors. To see Multi-Listed resales, you must deal with a Realtor.

There are many good things about living in The Villages. If you can overlook things regarding the houses and the rules, you will be happy here.

presented well. thank you

[biker1]

I am pretty sure that wood studs are used for the load bearing walls and metal studs are used elsewhere. An advantage of metal studs is they are true. I don't see this as any sort of compromise or disadvantage.

There are a number of areas where they could have built a better house for a relatively small incremental cost. We have done a couple of custom homes where I specified most of the materials/systems that were used and I totally agree with you that the houses are average and are built to code and not a bit more.

Originally Posted by Mrs. Robinson

If my husband and I had it to do over, we would not have built; we would have purchased a resale. Then we would have made changes within the home that we wanted. It would be a lot less expensive than buying new and paying The Villages for some of the upgrades you might want as long as you find a floor plan you like. They charge too much and their selection is limited.

The Villages builds "cookie cutter" houses. The driveways are the same shape, the landscaping and its shape is virtually the same. Even within premier houses, the look is pretty much the same unless a homeowner makes changes.

The quality is average. Having been in real estate in Florida for over 30 years, having worked with various developers and having houses built at a personal level, I can say without compunction that the products they offer are pretty much builders grade items which are inexpensive.

Yes, the houses here must be built to code, but it would be interesting to know exactly what the code is because it does differ within the three counties. The Villages builds all their houses with metal studs in the walls (unless you pay additional for wood studs). There is a significant difference in price and strength. Yes -- in a fire wood burns and metal doesn't, but what's the difference when the entire house is gone! The roof overhang is very skimpy and should be much wider because of the sun in Florida. The premier houses' overhang is slightly wider but still not wide enough for Florida. They blow in insulation in the roof instead of installing batting; another cheap builders' choice.

And then there's the contract . . . Realtors in Florida usually use either their Board of Realtors contract or the Florida Association of Realtors contract (commonly call the FARBAR contract). These contracts basically protect both the buyer and seller. While there are things which are fair, The Villages' contract primarily protects them. It is a very tight contract with virtually no way out! Ask to see a copy and read it thoroughly. A Villages agent can only show you properties listed through The Villages. They are not Realtors. To see Multi-Listed resales, you must deal with a Realtor.

There are many good things about living in The Villages. If you can overlook things regarding the houses and the rules, you will be happy here.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by The Chipster

Interesting thread. We have been in the newer Village of Dunedin for about 1.5 years. What we have noticed is the developer putting a lot of thought and $$$ into some aspects of the house, such as interior finishes, front entryways, kitchen cabinets and bathroom fixtures, while going ultra cheap on things like extremely low-end and noisy garage door openers, horrible landscaping plants that almost always need to be replaced, unsealed lanai ceilings, no rough flooring or pull down stairs in the small attics over the garage, etc. Rather strange execution priorities that are probably just a sign of hyper growth.

I disagree. The plants the developer's landscapers plant are hardy and will withstand the seasons and although small, don't stay that way very long. Most people who have lived in Florida for a long time will not choose to plant palms. They attract palm rats, have to be trimmed and maintained and grow too tall over too short a time. The garage door openers are just as noisy as the ones we have always had. The lanai ceilings do separate at the seams and I am not sure how that can be fixed. The expansion and contractions due to temperature is a challenge. We are thinking of using beadboard to replace the lanai ceilings. Any one have a good answer???

I am not sure that pull down stairs garage stairs have EVER been installed in these homes. They have not as long as we have lived here.

[rivaridger1]

We had a home in KY with two covered porches equivalent to lanais. Both had stained beadboard ceilings and were exposed to temperature variations but not directly to the elements. Two coats of polyurethane kept them pretty much pristine for 15 years. I'd imagine top quality outside enamel would do the same in Florida.

[thelegges]

When we had our two homes built up north, we bought the property hired rough contractors, drywallers, roofing, electrical, heating and cooling and, plumbers. We knew who worked on our homes personally. My dad was a rough contractor and watched our homes built.

Building a house in TV does not allow you to do that, so of course you will get a variation on how your home is built but still up to code. It would be tough for us to have our home built in TV since I have no Florida connection to hire People I know personally. Still except for a few things we are happy with the homes we have bought in TV.

[ggnlars]

Having just gone through the design phase for a house, I was pleasantly surprised at the overall quality and flexibility of the process. There are a large number of base models which they are willing to stretch and add rooms as desired. The limits are cost and lot size. We have built five houses previously. So far this experience would rank second. The only one better was a totally custom home that took 2 years to design and 18 months to build.

It is clear that the developer is very cost sensitive. The designer homes on a nominal lot cost just under $300K. That nominal lot is likely to back right up to your neighbor, but you can get in for that price point. It is hard to get a 2500 sq ft new home up north for that amount. In order to stay at that level, they have to continuously cut fat out of the design. However, they are happy to add and up grade features in the home. This includes, number of outlets, dedicated electrical runs to a given room, HVAC system, water heater size and on and on. Clearly these up grades add cost. I checked this very closely and the net cost increase was better having it done up front. Interior elements like paint, tile and cabinets had better options available. Again for an added cost.

The things we were interested in that we are waiting on we're things that required more than we wanted for them to do the change.

Having owned property in Florida for twenty years, I can tell you the building codes are in a constant state of change. Particularly windows and roof construction. The environment is also much harder on structures. Look at guarantees with a skeptical eye. Be prepared to do normal maintanence at more frequent intervals.

We will be renting a home near where ours is being built. I will be checking theme progress frequently and take by lots of pix. I never know when I will need to know what is in that wall.