Talk of The Villages Florida - Do they cut a lot of corners with these houses?

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/)

- - Do they cut a lot of corners with these houses? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/do-they-cut-lot-corners-these-houses-241182/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by dietpepsi (Post 1400146)

this is a very interesting topic I can tell you as a licensed electrician these are all built to the code but pushed to the absolute max limit of cheapness, these homes are built on moving sand a woodframe home will absorb that moving somewhat and not crack in the foundation however when a tornado comes through here you will be like one of the three little pigs at huffed and puffed! good block homes will still be standing however your roof would most likely be gone and cracks developed because of the rigidness of the walls, these pass the safety code if not they could not get homeowners insurance , as far as quality of workmanship well let's just say it is the absolute most lipstick that can be put on a pig! but it is still a pig ! The thing that scares me is the people to tell you what a great quality workmanship in a great home they are absolutely being fooled and drinking the Kool-Aid,, be very leery do not let the Disney dust get in your eyes. the is fact all of us will never really live long enough to see how this all turns out ,, these are just my opinions as a licensed electrician of 35 years I have almost completely rewired are home. One less thing ::you ask about cutting corners, some of these homes are so out of square they do not have corners!

:agree:

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.

did you get 150 amp panel and your neighbor got a 200 amp panel or were the service wires rated for those different amperage ? you should be fine with 150 amp service unless you're planning on growing marijuana , having a kiln in your garage or doing some welding. same floor plan however does your neighbor have electric heat ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dietpepsi (Post 1400146)

For what its worth. This would happen to any home when hit by a tornado............................in or out of The Villages

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter (Post 1400197)

For what its worth. This would happen to any home when hit by a tornado............................in or out of The Villages

Yes, but the block home will only be spread out over 3 square miles:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

do they cut a lot of corners............

Depends. A Statute of Repose in most states runs 10 years and so Developers build so that ( the structure)will normally withstand 10 years.

Variances in building here can run from who build your home to the period in time to which it was built.

the majority of homes are basic in design and offer little in the way of extras, unless of course you had the opportunity to have say in what you wanted and even that has been limited. Premier homes offer more but there is a hefty price to be paid.

Go back over a number of past threads and you will find many complaints about home disappointments here.

A village employee once remarked to me about building my dream house in The villages and my reply to her was I left my dream house southwest of Minneapolis with its winding staircase

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carla B (Post 1400191)

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.

I don't know who told you that your problem with the stucco over wood failed because you didn't paint within five years, but that is complete bull $**t.

I've never heard of anything so ridiculous. Your problem was because there was something wrong with the original work, i.e., the mesh, stucco or both. The workmanship in that area was faulty.

What a shame you had to pay to have it redone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dietpepsi (Post 1400194)

It is 150-amp service that had only one spare breaker. We installed an additional panel with extra breakers. The houses in this area are all-electric.

Some Salient Facts

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucernelson (Post 1400018)

My wife are in the process of going back to the Villages for our second trip and probably buying. We did the lifestyle preview visit last month where we stayed at the Alden Bungalows which we really liked. The villa we stayed in I'm sure was a very expensive home and we will not be able to afford anything as nice. What really surprised us, however, was the granite countertops in the kitchen. At the sink, they butted two pieces of granite up again each other using some colored caulking. It wasn't that obvious as we saw it on the second or third day but after seeing it, it looked like hell. The fact that that they would allow such poor quality on an expensive villa got me thinking of what else they may be letting slide. Any thoughts on what I need to be on the lookout for when buying here?

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.

[QUOTE=Carla B;1400261]It is 150-amp service that had only one spare breaker. We installed an additional panel with extra breakers. The houses in this area are all-electric.[/QUOTE

I have no idea how old your home is however I would think you would have recourse with the Almighty developer as to why you have 150 amp panel,, do you know what size conductors that you have coming into your home from the transformer , that would be very key in your argument if you have same size conductor your neighbors, that they have a 200 panel , sounds to me like there's a possibility that you might've been the unlucky one that was at the end of the day and that's what they had left so they shoved it in is a very very telling signs of quality of the workmanship that they don't do!I always say if they do things like this that you can see what's behind the walls , if they don't care what's up front, you can bet they don't care what's behind the walls! however the lipstick on a pig looks good !
btw : 200 amp service would use 2/0 copper, or 4/0 aluminum,, I would bet yours is aluminum they surely didn't spend the additional money and use copper----- 150 amp would use #1 copper and 2/0 aluminum,,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs. Robinson (Post 1400224)

Well, the painting company who originally painted the house came to look at repairing the stucco, which they couldn't do, and they said that. Having to repaint stucco houses is also part of Villages' lore, i.e., "Vinyl-sided houses need to be washed regularly, stucco/block houses need to be repainted every five years or so."

Ironically, at that time we also owned a 38-year-old CBS house outside of TV and the stucco hadn't been painted in many years. The stucco on it was just fine. That small tract house also had a 200-amp service, one of the other complaints we have.

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time”. All represented here on TOTV.

They just don't build them like they used to

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubicon (Post 1400212)

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.

Yes. You will need to upgrade many items. You will also want to watch if possible as home is being built

Quote:

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 1400156)

Pictures showing green wash which is ten year termite treatment and woman painting baseboards. We watched every step of the process and they did good.

They did good because you were watching them !