Designer home, 1800 to 1950 square feet, 3 br or 2 br/1den, open concept, 2 car garage plus golf cart garage, Roman shower, Master bedroom had to be large enough for all our bedroom furniture that we had purchased two years prior to moving here, small enough lot that watering, fertilizing, mowing, herbicide and insecticide treatments would not be costly or too time consuming. It had to fit into our predetermined cost.

Some of our must haves:
2 car plus golf cart garage because we have or primary car and a Miata convertible for a fun car plus a golf car
3 bedrooms for when family and friends visit
Gas stove because my wife hates cooking with electric
Larger kitchen because my wife likes to bake and cook
Nothing close to noisy areas (turnpike, rec centers with pickle ball, etc.). We looked at a house by the turnpike and the noise was very noticeable, even inside.

Some of our wants:
Fenced yard, but we ended up purchasing one without a fence.
No carpeting, we settled on one with carpeting in the bedrooms only
Front porch, which we got

We found by looking at several different models of homes we found the one we like the best that was in our price range and then it was just a matter of finding one with the upgrades we wanted and the area it was in. Our search was then focused on that model until we found the one we liked.

We managed to buy a lot and build the house we wanted (a Gardenia), with 3 stretches. We picked everything inside, so we were confident we would not have to do anything. REAL WORLD: we have completed 40 minor to major additions to our original dream house, we now have our real dream house. While the villages in general does a very good job of designing and building houses, there are some things they (in our humble opinion) miss. The big changes were landscaping (twice) and the birdcage which we decided not to get with the initial build. All of the items after that were more of the personal preference.
IMHO, do not skimp on cabinets, counter tops, these tend to be expensive to replace, we got these right. While I tend to agree with many of the previous comments, what is important to others may not be at all important to you, so look at your EXISTING house and see what you like and do not like, and use that as a list to start with.
Hope this helps.

We had been planning our move for several years and had a list of "must haves" and "would like to have".

We were able to find a newly constructed house that checked all of them, except for the 3 car garage.

Must haves:
view lot
at least 2200 s.f.
2+ garage
larger lanai
lanai not facing directly west
tile floor
walk-in shower
3BR min.
block and stucco exterior

Like to have:
tile laid diagonally
new construction
under cabinet lighting
3 car garage
oversized garage
granite or quartz countertops
lighter colored cabinets

Must have:
Gas appliances
Concrete and stucco
Bond Paid
Backyard Privacy
Golf cart ride to shopping and town center
Southern Exposure so the sun moves side to side not front to back

Wants:
Mostly cosmetic things that can be changed.
No carpet
Step in shower
Nice landscape

If building new the best lot with view you can afford, expect 75k-200K,
avoid kissing lanai
Tile in kit/bath
I'm in design phase now, we opted no flooring they only offer tile & vinyl plank at 16K & 25K respectively extra:ohdear:
We selected no cost sheet vinyl for now (they have very nice options) it cost way less to do after closing and I intend to use engineered wood cost about same a plank vinyl for materiel the choices are numerous HD sells Legend the #1 floor by CR
All walks & driveways rounded edges
lanai same level as main floor, both no extra cost
Lanai ceiling 10', stacked sliders 8' tall
Lanai open span 24' no column to block view
Bird cage with Panoramic view no cross or vertical beams.
Stretches several
My landscaping plan is being done with the build at great price then all sprinklers are designed around that plan, saves big time

about a zillion other mods to numerous we spent days with design taking our time being mindful that changes later are $500

.

We purchased our house when there was an empty lot behind us, our sales person told us the house would be put in at an angle since the lot was a corner lot, well he was wrong--ended up with a kissing lanai, solved the problem by putting in motorized shades inside the lanai--which are muti directional

whats important to you?
 

Besides price point, for me it was Location, location, location. I wanted to be away from a rec center, a postal station and a main thoroughfare. Some of the streets inside the village itself can be busy--it's something to consider.
For example a side street that has a golf cart path to Buena Vista Blvd or Morse Blvd will get a ton of golf cart traffic. (Until about 9 pm hahahah). Decide if that is important to you.

As far as carpeting /tile/ etc all of those things can be modified. You cannot modify the location, size or orientation of your home. Decide what is important to you and then shop accordingly!! Even building a brand new home doesn't guarantee you will get all of your must-haves. You will need to make some compromises.

I wanted to be north of 466A, (all of the major shopping is here) and easy to get to either Lake Sumter landing or Spanish Springs in a golf cart. Backyard privacy wasn't too much of a concern as long as I didn't have a "kissing" lanai so that means either a cul-de-sac lot, or backing up to a cul-de-sac lot. Lots with water / golf/ preserve views are pricier. I wish we had a golf cart garage but life isn't about the "stuff" we have. We downsized and got rid of a lot of unnecessary stuff. My third must have was natural gas cooking--again a personal preference.

I downloaded a file I found on the internet of all the available home plans and reviewed them for those I could live with and those I didn't like. I crossed all Amarillo models and those related to it. I didn't want to walk into my living room. I wanted a foyer/entryway. My home even has a closet in the foyer!! I wanted a big kitchen with plenty of cabinets with either a pantry cabinet or pantry closet, and indoor laundry. Kitchen had to be away from the master bedroom. ( I wake up before hubby and I like to bake bread early in the morning--the noise of the Mixer would wake him otherwise). I also wanted an eat-in kitchen.

Orientation of your home is important. Our home faces south, with the master bedroom, dining room, large living room window and lanai facing north (and north east). Our lanai is comfortable even on the hottest days because it isn't in direct sunlight.

We ended up in Glenbrook, north of 466. We bought a 20 yr old home this past year that was in serious need of updating and the price reflected that--$25,000 less that our max. We replaced the flooring throughout the entire house; the roof was replaced by the sellers. We have painted most of the rooms (3 more to go -- hubby and I are doing it ourselves). We are still below our absolute top end price point but once we replace the kitchen counters and put on the bird cage this fall, we will hit it. We also will have to replace some of the appliances; most of what was here is original to the house. I am glad that I get to choose what goes in, rather than have to replace a brand new fridge or stove or dishwasher because I don't like it.

I hate to waste anything; I couldn't even consider some of the newer homes because I would hate to rip out brand new carpeting, etc. to put in what I wanted. I didn't mind ripping up 20 yr old ugly carpet!

Remember when looking at older homes, look BEYOND THE DECOR ... imagine the house empty and with a clean coat of new paint on the walls.


Good luck with your house hunting!

Please tell me if you were trained in use of Kepner Tregoe process. They were two guys from Princeton that I learned from in the 70's, also in NJ.
To answer your question, the most important aspect I think is privacy, regardless of what things you want the house to give you. We live in a villa, which are most private and lowest to maintain. We have a friend whose very nice designer house backed up to another house. The owner of the other house died and her fifty-something cigarette smoking kids moved into the house. They were on their lanai all the time smoking, talking, playing music, and drinking. Our friend's planting screen did not mitigate the annoyance and her own lanai became unusable. She ended up moving after four years.

love carpet 😍

Suggestions
 

If the back of the home faces a road, stay away from the gates- cars and trucks are noisy.
Stay away from Pickleball courts.
If you are here in the summer, a west facing lanai can get very hot in the afternoon.

Carpet in Fl is a mold and sand magnet

Most definitely a ROOF and DOORS. Hoping for WALLS also.

Block stucco with hip roof, flat driveway, check your back property line with the district to make sure your neighbor has not encroached with a patio. Make sure the floors and walls inside outside do not show signs of cracking which indicate structural damage. Make sure you read the rules governing your area before purchasing. Make sure permits have been Applied and final for all important additions such as air conditioning and a new roof and water heater.Do not depend on your real estate agent to tell you all the things that you need to know. Know where your property lines are and what the setbacks are. Good hunting!

No carpeting. We eliminated almost all of our landscaping that required trimming every three or four weeks. Most important to us though was having our lanai out of the afternoon sun so we could use it in the evenings