[bdabob]

AAAAAArgh!!
Our Design Team meeting is scheduled for mid June. We have been trying for several months to get vital information about our various options, including pricing, so that we are fully prepared; the last thing we want is to be rushed into major design issues, we want to be ahead of the game.
Our sales rep has been outstanding and has genuinely tried to assist us. Unfortunately, we have continuely been told there can be no direct communication between us, the buyers, and the Design Team, the people with all the pertinent info, prior to our June meeting.
We have dozens of questions that could easily be dealt with in advance. For example, we want a counter depth fridge. We have asked if that's an option. If not, we will then proceed with an outside vendor for our appliances. We can't get an answer in advance to this simple question.
We have asked what the upgrade price is for granite counter tops; wait until June.
We have asked about pool/spa/paver pricing; wait until June.
This is very frustrating and sadly this method of sales makes no sense to us whatsoever.

[redwitch]

I think some reasons for not getting answers in advance is that things have a tendency to change here. If the builders discover certain items are frequently requested, they might be looking for those items to be offered as upgrades. The cost of upgrades might vary depending on what is available at any given time and if subcontractor are up for new contracts (and negotiations). It may be frustrating to you but imagine going into the meeting thinking you have answers and then discovering they are all wrong -- something tells me that TV has had angry purchasers in the past and this least keeps them from leaving a meeting really angry.

[shcisamax]

I found it to be really irritating as well. That said, when I arrived, my list of questions were answered in the first 10 minutes. It won't matter today if you don't know if you can get counter depth. I had my design meeting in March, am closing in a couple of weeks and just finally ordered my appliances. You will have time to figure out whether to go with what they have or order outside. The upgrade for granite will depend upon the grade of granite you choose and the style of house depending upon stretches and changes so it isn't really a good idea to say how much it would be prior to the meeting. T&D does the pool so TV can't answer that. And again, the pool, spa, birdcage issue with or without columns is way way too complicated to give a simple answer. If you put in the search bar pool costs perhaps you will get an idea as to the cost to build. The only thing I can tell you is that it actually will get done in an efficient way. I called the process "design on steroids." The designers as a whole are very good at this and will move you through the process well and you will not feel rushed. The best thing you can do at this point is figure out which model you want and what is your budget. Good luck and feel free to vent.

[aljetmet]

The week we picked our lot we viewed several models and our sales agent took note of what we liked. At the end she priced the house out with all the major options we wanted. Using options/upgrades from the various houses. Very clever way TV does this now.

No big deal and I can't believe your agent won't do this for you now. Takes about 15 minutes. To get individual pricing for each option is more difficult because of how their program is built.
I'm pretty sure this was done on purpose but that's my humble opinion.

We actually viewed two houses recently built on our visit and the owner mentioned that she wanted a fridge that came out to the counter. She could not get it through TV, but you can always ask.

You can buy the basic appliance package and sell off those appliances. There is a great demand in TV and you should get fair prices.

Good luck with your build! Just be prepared to have plan A, B and C in place and it should be a piece of cake. j/k

[applesoffh]

Another thing you can do is make a list of the options you may want, such as specific appliances, wood floors, crown moulding (which TV now offers in some models), etc., and ask for recommendations for flooring people, moulding people, appliance stores, etc. on TOTV, and come prepared with costs. Many contrators who do business in TV base their price on specific models, i.e., crown moulding, which some installers can give you prices for just by knowing what model you are building. I learned (after the fact, of course), that some things I wanted that the design team said were unavailable in the model we selected we very doable through outside contractors, and other options that we priced through the design team were much less expensive when done through outside contractors. Don't be discouraged, just be prepared. There are plenty of options you will be discussing with the design team, and specific costs won't be available until you decide on your model, your expansions, the kitchen/laundry options you may have, etc.

[jimbo2012]

I got the pricing, but it takes a bit of pushing.

If you ask more than twice, get another sales rep or ask to speak a sales manager tomorrow.

You'll get your info within minutes.

This is supposed to enjoyable not fustrating

[tag460]

You sales rep is you point of contact until you meet with the design team, have them price your house with and without granite. In the our model the price difference was approximate $10,000, we have decided to install laminate at this time. As soon as we close on our house, we will have granite installed for about half the price and a better selection. We have found talking to others who just built was very helpful they pointed out different options and gave us insight on the process.
If you need more time to work on you plans for you new house we are willing to trade our designer appointment with you, ours is in August.

[CarGuys]

I found our two day visit with the design team was more than adequate and that all our questions were answered.

Now some answeres were and some were not to our liking but it was a honest yea or nea!

I do believe that three years of visits to TV and looking at numerous open houses prepared us well.

[Villageshooter]

You can never lose sight of one thing anything they do has one goal and that is to get into your pocketbook taking as much money from you as they can! you can never lose sight of that! The goal is for you to think you can buy happiness by spending more money on the upgrades

[CraigAC]

It sounds like your frustration is with your sales rep. They are the ones that should be preparing you for your design meeting.

We picked out our lot in December 2011 and scheduled our design meeting for last week. In the 5 months leading up to our design meeting our sales rep provided us pricing for at least 9 different combinations of options for the model we picked out.

We started with a base unit, and kept adding and subtracting options until we came up with the combination of options and final price we were comfortable with.

Our rep was very clear with us – he couldn’t supply us with a price list of the different options, but he could supply us with a total price for the home with the options we were considering – and he never turned down my request to provide a price for a new combination of options.

By the time we arrived last week we were ready to approve our final decisions with our designer. All she had to do was take us around to the various models so we could see the options we picked out in an actual home. We also spent about 90 minutes at the granite yard to pick out the 4 slabs they’ll be using in our home.

We started at 1pm on Thursday and were completely finished with the paperwork by 5pm on Friday.

I suggest you ask your sales rep to price out your model with a couple of different option combinations. You’ll be able to work the numbers to see what each of the major options are going to cost you.

The more you prepare prior to the designer meeting, the smoother it will go.
Good Luck to you…

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Villageshooter

You can never lose sight of one thing anything they do has one goal and that is to get into your pocketbook taking as much money from you as they can! you can never lose sight of that! The goal is for you to think you can buy happiness by spending more money on the upgrades

Villageshooter? Please tell us if you have gone through the building process.

I found that NO ONE...repeat...NO ONE pushes anything including upgrades. They listen to what you want and show you the choices. We didn't have time for the design team and showed them the model we liked and found a lot we liked and asked them how much that would be. We are very satisfied. We bought a new spec house the first time and were very satisfied with warranty. That was just four years ago and building wasn't an option at that time. Now all kinds of choices are available but it is STILL not like a custom builder back North. It is what it is, but there isn't any...pressure to upgrade that we encountered at ALL.

One of the things that most sold me about this place is the lack of pressure about anything to do with selling you a house or upgrading choices.

They just simply don't have to sell anything.

[jimbo2012]

Originally Posted by AlanC

It sounds like your frustration is with your sales rep. They are the ones that should be preparing you for your design meeting.

I agree totally!

We picked out our lot in December 2011 and scheduled our design meeting for last week. In the 5 months leading up to our design meeting our sales rep provided us pricing for at least 9 different combinations of options for the model we picked out.
We started with a base unit, and kept adding and subtracting options until we came up with the combination of options and final price we were comfortable with.
Our rep was very clear with us – he couldn’t supply us with a price list of the different options, but he could supply us with a total price for the home with the options we were considering – and he never turned down my request to provide a price for a new combination of options.

I was told that also, I told him that was unacceptable if I couldn't get the costs individually of I think it was 8 or 9 options I was not going to make the trip to select a lot. Had the numbers the next day.

Now I'm just waiting for a new Cottage section to open and we're on our way.

[bonrich]

I understand about not getting pricing prior to the design team meeting since costs do change, how quickly not sure, but what I wanted to have was a list of options, upgrades, stretches, etc. that was available for the model we were considering before our design team meeting. If a person knew what to ask for, and what was available it would make the process so much easier. Pricing? That can be handled at the meeting with your choice of options, of what to keep and what was not necessary due to costs.

[bdabob]

Many thanks for all the responses. Our rep has been very good at trying to assist us. We have chatted with several non TV suppliers for items such as granite, appliances & pools, but we can't even gwet ballpark figures from TV to compare.
We would prefer to one-stop-shop and have TV do everything but we need to research and compare to ensure we get the most for our dollars.
We are also from overseas so there is an aditional learning curve. We will be in town for 4 days so that doesn't leave us much time to coordinate with outside suppliers, if necessary.
If I knew in advance that the grade granite we want is approx. a $10K upgrade from TV, and our outside source is quoting a similar price, then I can tick that off as a TV supplied item. The pool is going to be the most expensive option but we can't even get a ballpark even after submitting sketches of our ideas.
I guess I'll have to bring a flask of Dark n' Stormies to help me through the process!

[Bonny]

We have built 2 houses here. The Villages really doesn't make money on the upgrades. For instance, every plug in my house I marked where I wanted it. It's really a pain in the butt for them. That's why for a long time they stopped letting people make many changes. If you go through the models, you can look at everything & keep a list of all the things you liked & didn't like. Also a list of your own of things that might be important to you. There are so many options that it would be impossible to try & tell everyone everything. Things change. Items change as far as what they can get, who the vendor is, what the prices will be.
You many be frustrated now, but you will be amazed how well it goes with the design team. They are all very knowledgeable about everything & will really help you.