[TV MAN]

Hello to all you TOTVer's. A question----

For those of you that have purchased a new home in TV:

1) How smoothly did your closing go? ???
2) How about your walk thru with the builder, did you find any issues and how long before they were addressed?
3) Did you order furniture thru Southern Life Styles, how long did it take for delivery? ???
4) Do you need to arrange for trash pickup or is it part of your amenity fee? ???
5) When you had cable installed how close on time was the installer?
6) Do you know if each villiage has it's own web page, or is it just this one? (Which is great and very informative. Admins keep up the good work). :#1:

Well that's all the questions I have at the moment, will be closing at end of month and making sure I haven't forgoten anything.

Thanks
TV MAN

[kregski]

The Village of Duval has a page.Good luck in your search. and try to keep yor sanity... ;D

[villages07]

TV...congrats on buying a new home; what Village will you be in?

Most of your questions have been addressed on this board in the past...you can do a search. Here are a few quick answers...

1. Closing is a snap; they've got it down to a science
2. Builder walkthrough is most familiarization for you....anything really bad, they'll get someone out right away to fix; other stuff...gather your list; the warranty process throughout the first year is extremely efficient and responsive.
3. don't know
4. Trash is included in amenity....they'll tell you your pickup days
5. Comcast....I scheduled pretty far ahead for an appt day after closing; won't hurt to call them now; seems to me they book up fast; but, they did show up as promised.
6. Web sites per Village....many do; again, what Village will you move into?

Good luck...you'll love it.

[mrgumwood]

if you used the villages bank, citizens first, closing should take 30 minutes.

the builder walk thru was smooth. he appeared right on time, explained everything inside and outside and left paperwork and warranty material, etc.

i ordered some furniture from southern lifestyles during my visit 4 weeks prior. two bedrooms were delivered and set up the day before closing. dining table not yet ready so they supplied a loaner.

trash is included in amenities with each village having two pick up days which is explained during closing.

cable guys arrived the day after closing right at the appointment time. took 45 minutes.

good luck. don't get too nervous. tv has it all down to a science.

[TV MAN]

Thanks for all your replys, they are very helpful indeed.

How about dealing with the folks at property management?

[Cliff]

You are being given false information from some of your responders. The fee for trash pickup is listed on the same monthly bill as is the amenity charge. It is not a part of the amenity fee. It is a separate charge and is added onto the bill along with the separate water and sewer charges. New people who move to TV think the only charge they will be getting on a monthly basis is the amenity fee. Not so, folks.
Another thing to ask plenty of questions about is the Bond on your prospective home. Six years ago my bond on my designer home was less than 5K. New homes have bonds 6 to 8 times that figure or more. If it is not paid off in a lump sum, you will be paying it off for the rest of your life as most of your annual payments go to interest.
If you can afford the extra closing expense, think about hiring an independent inspector to inspect your prospective home. You might be very, very, surprised to hear what he may have to say about the brand new home.

[SteveFromNY]

Agree with Cliff above there are more fees than just the amenity fee. However, it was all disclosed by the sales folks. They had a paper that details what you can expect your fees to be.

We closed by mail, and had absolutely no problems. Our inspection was after closing, and there wasn't a thing I could find that was wrong. I did see the house a week or two prior and there were little red stickies on a bunch of places identifying small blemishes that were fixed before I saw the house. The team that did our house did a really good job.

We bought furniture from Southern Lifestyles, and had them supply all the other items needed for renting it (it's in TV Property Management program). Furniture was a package that varied in price and quality, depending on the size of the home. The list of items required by TV Prop Mgmt was exhaustive. I took the hundred plus items and laid them out on a spreadsheet and priced each one individually. I was a few dollars off what they were charging and they supplied all the labor for a reasonable fee. I did most of this over the phone, other than pick out the furniture package - we did see that in person. It couldn't have gone smoother.

Good luck.

[nanci2539]

Gee Cliff, did you have a bad experience? Are there other things we should look for?

So, what I think I understand is they bundle the other fees on your amenity fee bill?

Here in IL, we get separate bills for trash, water and waste. I would think no matter where you live, you'll be payhing for these services. I pay two fees here. One is a maintenance fee. Included is weekly lawn mowing; fertilizing, shrub and tree trimming, leaf removal and removal of snow (yuk). Then I pay a fee to live here. It's basically the same as the fee in TV but it does not include amenities! If you want to play golf,. it's $45,000 a year for membership. This fee comes in every three months and it's for the maintenance of the country club.

The other services, water, waste, trash are billed quarterly.

[villages07]

mea culpa, Cliff....I was one who erroneously answered that trash was part of amenity. Guess I was so focused on advising original poster they did not have to arrange for trash that I misplaced where it is billed.

The amenity fee is paid separately and includes pools, rec centers, exec golf; For newer neighborhoods it is about $130 per month.

In newer neighborhoods, you get a monthly bill that bundles water (potable and irrigation) and trash services. Trash services are approx $15/month; water is variable based on your usage.

Other monthly bills are Gas (if you have it), Electric, Phone (if you have a landline), TV (Comcast or Sat provider); other common services are Lawn Maintenance; Weed/Pest Control; Internet;

[swrinfla]

TV MAN:
Point of reference - I built my own home (something you can't do any more > , closed late Jan'05, moved in late Feb'05.
Most of what villages07 and mrgumwood have posted agree with what follows.
1) Closing like clockwork - less than 2 hours.
2) Builder's rep and I walked thru on the fifth day after closing. I had fewer than a dozen "issues" with him. All but one of them were addressed within 2-3 hours (he got on his "walkie-talkie" and contacted the appropriate individuals who appeared almost immediately). The one exception was the plumber who didn't happen to have the shower extra in his truck - he appeared before the day was over!
3) I ordered quite a few things from Southern Lifestyles (as well as other places) about a month before closing, specifying delivery for the day after closing. All of these places were here before 10am on the specified day, S.L. at 8am sharp!
4) Trash is essentially automatic. Pay on your North Sumter Utility Co. bill, along with water charges. $15.45/month, at this writing.
5) Comcast and the telephone were pre-arranged just like furniture, etc. They came early on the specified day and were both gone within an hour!
6) I know that some villages have their own sites, some (probably most) don't. My own village (Sunset Pointe) does not, so far as I know.
Whatever happens, you will love it here!

[darbyduff]

We just purchased in TV and will be closing on 9-26. We live in Colorado and are doing a lot of things via the phone. We were just down to TV for 4 days to take care of some of the items on our "to do" list - furniture, dish, etc but everything has been so smooth. Like someone said- they have all this down to a science. I anticipate our closing will be just as smooth as all the other stuff has been. Even found a doctor and dentist close by that takes our insurance! (Over the phone)

Good luck