:agree: but, the logic also applies to lower priced home owners as well, not just Premiers..... i.e. Manufactured Home Owner may feel the same if they were looking to spend $225K-300K on a Designer. they would like some say in it's design as well.

to each his own! i have watched my friends and family go through the trials and tribulations of building their custom homes and would NEVER embark on such a project myself!

my husband and i have bought a number of homes and each time we went looking we adhered to our 3D plan - death, divorce or destitution. we always purchased the house that gave us the greatest bang for our buck at the time - knowing full well that we could 'make it our own' over time.

it has worked out well for us to be able to purchase properties where others had done the work and we had only had to tweak. with each house we bought we held our open house for friends the same day we moved in, set the furniture in place and hung up our clothes and toothbrushes! easy peasy!

more power to those who have the stamina to start from the ground and go up!

Just purchased a Custom home in May 2013......Closing next month........there was life after December 2012.

I agree. Our first house in Winter Springs was a "spec". We loved it! We added a pool and lived there for 2 years til we moved to Hunters Creek.

I do see a problem for anyone who has any kind of disability.....I guess they'll either have to buy a preowned home and tear out the inside to accommodate or live somewhere else.

The local contractors will love this. Lots of changes to be made after purchase. I believe when you buy a new home you should get what you want. We could not find that in any of the spec homes we visited so we went custom and do not regret it. Move in ready and no after purchase renovations or changes.

We just closed on our "spec" Begonia on Tuesday. We had almost 25 Begonias to choose from and got just about everything we would have done ourselves except for the Mohawk carpet (I work for Shaw!) and no french door refrigerator. The house is on a corner lot, stretched side and back.

I have built from scratch 3 times and swore I would never do that again. We fully expected to buy a resale, but after finding the selection of new "specs" we realized we could have a new home without the hassle. We could not be happier!

How About 3 hours, that is what we had at the end of 2005!!!!

With a spec house, does that mean a pool and/or birdcage would have to be added after closing? Or could that still be added before?

Usually, when they say "spec", it's move in ready.

No changes at all are allowed before closing. What you see is what you get at the price quoted, period.

We found a gem if a house online a couple of years ago and had 2 hours to decide the next morning. Our agent said afterward they could have sold the house four or five times that day.

Bottom line be ready to act when you find what you want with a 20% payment ready. Sleeping on it a few days or needing to line up the money isn't an option if you want a desirable house.

After

Some will be built with pools and bird cages.

The one thing you can add to a "spec" house before closing, if it does not have them already, is blinds. We did that and they were installed between our signing the contract and closing.

I think you can also add a washer/dryer but the deals at Lowe's are better than the available options.

Some spec homes come with blinds and a washer and dryer. Some come without.

It was so interesting the different kinds of upgrades or lack of them that were in the same models available when we were house looking in 2007 when only specs were available and no building to suit was going on..

Our neighbors bought a spec Lantana on the golf course in 2008, with a HUGE back yard and linoleum, not tile in the kitchen and entry for $325.

We bought a new spec Camellia with a refrigerator with no icemaker and asked to trade up and pay for an upgrade. No deal.

That is when I learned that the developer does business a LITTLE differently than this old girl is used to.

I have seen many spec homes that are gorgeous. After all decorators are the people who choose the details that complete them with an eye to beauty and price and spec homes offer a wide variety of choices.

I do sound like I work for the developer don't I?

I DON'T.