[idrivea55]

We ae considering building a new home in the villages in the future. We have heard from sales people how easy it is to build and design a home using the Villages design team. We would like to hear opinions from owners not just sales people on the process. Also is it possible to see the design team before purchasing.

[VApeople]

It was a real pleasure working with the Design Team when we were building our new house.

Of course, we chose our lot and one of the common floor plans (Laurel Oak) and only made a few modifications. We made a lot of decisions (color of house and trim, type of outside light, type of counter tops, type of cabinets, etc) before we even met with the designer.

In other words, we knew what we were doing. Don't expect a realtor or the designer to baby you.

Before we met with the designer, we only had to put down $10K. After we finished the design process and approved the plan, we had to cough up 20% of the value of the house.

[villagetinker]

We did the design team, back in 2013, worked very well, bought a lot, applied 3 stretches to our Gardenia, could not get the 4th, we hit the build lines...., got all of the stuff we wanted, and of course in hindsight, missed a couple of items, but overall a very positive experience.

[Altavia]

This is my 4th custom home build. Overall positive design experience as the others have stated. Options are broad but highly standardized, They will do anything you want as long as it is something they do ;-)

There was a lot of reluctance to provide incremental cost differences between selections. They steer you to focus on what you want. If you go over budget, then go back and cross things off the bottom of your list. However, base level quality of materials was more midrange (not junk contractor grade) compared to other builders I've worked with. Many things that are optional/higher cost with other builders are included (e.g. irrigation system). Overall upgrade costs were lower than previous builds I've done.

Spent two days making selections. While they were updating contracts/ drawings, on the third day visited homes with the same major selections ( cabinets, countertops, flooring, home/shingle color.) Had Thursday off. Contract was signed just after lunch on Friday. Changes after that point require a $500 change fee on top of the change.

Construction starts a few weeks later and moves super fast, almost like a factory production line in the field.. I'm told they never miss a closing date (and I now believe it).

Each home has an on site construction supervisor. Large teams work on groups of homes simultaneously. Fabrication is standardized and highly optimized. Quality is maintained using many speciality crews (like a factory) who do just one job fast and well. The building sites are kept well organized and clean.

The contruction teams work very hard, long days -sometimes 6, even 7 days a week. Workers I spoke with are very proud of their work and appreciate the continued stream of employment The Villages offers. Higher experienced/skilled workers are used for final finish/pre-inspection.

The construction supervisors do group walk throughs of each other's homes during construction to maintain consistancy and quality.

[dewilson58]

Design Team was great.


Sometimes, you don't know what you don't know.........the Design Team will let you know if you can do something or not. The Team can't list all the options...........so look around and know what you would like to do to a base design.


Sometimes, it's cheaper to do improvements after-the-fact. Summer kitchens by TV are ~$30k. Can be done much cheaper after.



Good Luck.