[gomsiepop]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

What is fairly annoying to me is that you can't design your house BEFORE you buy the lot. That way you would know exactly what it cost, and how big a lot you would need. In my case, I would want to do this in anticipation of when the lots open up just south of Brownwood. However, I have been told you have to buy the lot first. Kind of stupid if you ask me. It sounds like several of you have bought a lot slightly smaller than you actually needed to get all the bumpouts.

If you work with a really good salesperson you can find out how much your home will cost with the upgrades you desire. All you need to do is make an appointment with your salesperson and he/she can give you an estimate (really close) of everything you want. He/she can tell you the size of the lot you would need with the stretches of the home you want. I know because I am in the process of doing it now.

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

What is fairly annoying to me is that you can't design your house BEFORE you buy the lot. That way you would know exactly what it cost, and how big a lot you would need. In my case, I would want to do this in anticipation of when the lots open up just south of Brownwood. However, I have been told you have to buy the lot first. Kind of stupid if you ask me. It sounds like several of you have bought a lot slightly smaller than you actually needed to get all the bumpouts.

Packer fan, sorry for your experience, we had the opposite experience. Our sales agent knew the style house we wanted, found a suitable lot, then we built the largest version of that house we could, hit the build lines in 2 opposing corners. We did try to have the house rotated 5 degrees to get the last stretch, but that was refused.

[AlohaMaui]

Thank you for your recommendation and the contact information. We really appreciate it.

[Joeg180]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

What is fairly annoying to me is that you can't design your house BEFORE you buy the lot. That way you would know exactly what it cost, and how big a lot you would need. In my case, I would want to do this in anticipation of when the lots open up just south of Brownwood. However, I have been told you have to buy the lot first. Kind of stupid if you ask me. It sounds like several of you have bought a lot slightly smaller than you actually needed to get all the bumpouts.

Our agent had a overlay of the model we were interested in so we could fit the house to the lot. The only thing we could do was have the driveway/garage on the left. Everything else was possible. Our agent was able to build out the model get a price, then remove a stretch so we would have a sense of the the costs involved. No disappointments at all.

[AlohaMaui]

That is great that your sales agent is knowledgeable about upgrade costs. It certainly gives you a peace of mind if he/she can give you a sense of what your dream house will cost in advance. We are still in the process of choosing all the materials and hoping that we won’t get a heartattack when we get the estimate.

[Packer Fan]

Originally Posted by gomsiepop

If you work with a really good salesperson you can find out how much your home will cost with the upgrades you desire. All you need to do is make an appointment with your salesperson and he/she can give you an estimate (really close) of everything you want. He/she can tell you the size of the lot you would need with the stretches of the home you want. I know because I am in the process of doing it now.

Wow, thanks for the advice, when we are about a year out I will do that. I had no idea they would. I had never asked Michael about that! I am sure it will be 2 years before they will be in the area we are thinking about....

[Aloha1]

Originally Posted by AlohaMaui

That is great that your sales agent is knowledgeable about upgrade costs. It certainly gives you a peace of mind if he/she can give you a sense of what your dream house will cost in advance. We are still in the process of choosing all the materials and hoping that we won’t get a heartattack when we get the estimate.

Are you coming here from Maui?

[Brandigirl]

The Villages will not put in solar tubes for new construction homes. We asked. Anything structural, let TV do it. Expand garage length and width if you can. The way TV build the garage, you cannot get standard, free standing shelves against the walls without it encroaching into the garage space. We put in the cheapest carpet (must have some type of flooring. TV will not let it stay as concrete) and then we ripped it out and put in Luxury Vinyl Plank . TV wanted a lot more for this. We put in our own back splash into kitchen, under cabinet lights. We expanded the house so we could have a walk in pantry in the kitchen. We left the closets bare because we didn't want to pull out the cheap wire shelving and have to repair/paint the walls again. Put in custom closets. We added his/her closets in master bedroom. Who wants to share a clothes closet! Didn't want an outdoor lanai so expanded back and enclosed as a Florida room under air. This all adds to the cost of the house and thus your property taxes too so be aware of that. We just put caps on every room that had a ceiling fan and since my husband is handy, we were able to get the ceiling fans we wanted and he installed them. Much less expensive doing it this way if you are handy. Had TV make a recess area into wall in laundry room and then added a fold out ironing board in that spot ourselves.

[AlohaMaui]

Yes, we moved from Maui. It was a hard decision to make to leave Maui after living there so long but we feel good about our move so far as we feel being welcomed at the Villages.

[AlohaMaui]

Thank you for the very useful information. If you don’t mind me asking how much you saved when you put the floor in by yourselves after the house was built? Any custom closet company you recommend?

[AlohaMaui]

Thank you for explaining my questions. You made it easier for everyone to understand what I wanted to ask.

[HoosierPa]

Originally Posted by AlohaMaui

Hi,
We bought a lot and now we are in the process of designing our new home with the Villages. What would you suggest to be the best way to compare prices between the villages and outside contractors not connected to the villages? Do you recommend the Villages or the outside contractors to do non structural work such as solar tubes, molding, recess lighting etc if we have a budget? Any outside contractors you recommend?

I understand what you are asking. We went through the same process.

In general, all upgrades you do with TV will be at full retail price. You never pay full retail when you shop around with multiple contractors. You also have to consider convenience and what that is worth to you.

Personally, I would do the following non structural upgrades with TV and everything else after closing:
base boards upgrade width, possibly cabinets, recessed lighting (you don’t need as many as you might think)

[AlohaMaui]

Thank you for your helpful inputs. We really appreciate it. Are you going to get your own appliances and install them after market? If so, what appliances (brand and model) are you getting?

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by HoosierPa

I understand what you are asking. We went through the same process.

In general, all upgrades you do with TV will be at full retail price. You never pay full retail when you shop around with multiple contractors. You also have to consider convenience and what that is worth to you.

Personally, I would do the following non structural upgrades with TV and everything else after closing:
base boards upgrade width, possibly cabinets, recessed lighting (you don’t need as many as you might think)

???? I don't understand what you mean by full retail price. It is cheaper to add square footage when building. We have done this many times with many different builders over the course of our lifetime.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by AlohaMaui

Thank you for your helpful inputs. We really appreciate it. Are you going to get your own appliances and install them after market? If so, what appliances (brand and model) are you getting?

Did you check.............My understanding (which means nothing) Is TV will not sell a new home without an appliance package. Maybe it has changed.