Ed, I'm surely not trying to insult anyone's intelligence.

To use your numbers that the cost of interest is 6% on 20K that's 23K in interest over 30 years, but if I'm figuring correctly and it's 3% more than if was a tax deductible interest like a mortgage, that's only about $300 more a year over the term to pay 6%, or $25 a month in extra interest.
I think now I saw it was now 5.5%.

They use
FLORIDA BUILDING CODE 2007 REV 2009.

We always buy resales. Having been a real estate broker for 20 years, we look for bargains. Low list price, low bond, motivated to sell, lots of extras and upgrades, central location, golf course view.

Although I can totally understand why purchasers are attracted to new homes, pristine homes. An opportunity to totally personalize what may be a final home. For me, I love renovating.

Maybe too much time on their hands? Spending the day on the computer instaed of the golf course? Or just staying up late to research things for us lazy folks? I bet they don't get as much sleep as some of us do.
Don

Maybe Bill & I are not yet retired.

I work online all day.........will have more time for golf soooooon

Having bought a new At Ease last year, (which we love), I can tell you there are several options that can dramatically influence the price (and IMHO livability) of this and really any model. We found prices ranged from $160k to $205K for new At Ease homes. Prices will depend on whether you have a volume ceiling or lower ceilings, what type of kitchen and upgrades you have. Add more money to the price for an extended lanai or garage and a golf cart garage. Of course the lot and location will significantly impact prices as well. Upgrades add 10s of thousands of dollars to any model in TV. You really have to decide what model AND upgrades are important to you and then compare prices.

Your subscription to Earthcam really scares me!:22yikes:

:a20:

Bill :wave:

In general I find re-sale homes cheaper then new. You can't just look and make a determination. You have to do an actual comparison. Look at everything. When looking at a new home price you say "I can buy an XYZ model for $XXX. And a resale just like it is $XX more"

But always consider these things. Did you look at the lot and lot premium for both the new and re-sale? Did you look at the list of options on both homes? Did you consider the bond balance on both homes? Did you consider what you will need to spend the day you move in on both? Attic stairs, landscaping, curtains and blinds, painting, all the cost to get settled in that home?

When I do that kind of detailed comparison, build a spread sheet with all the items and a fair cost for every item (except those I would never do or pay for) and consider that most re-sales sell for on average 96% of list price, then in almost every case the re-sale is cheaper. Then as Bare suggested, find a lower competitive priced home with a motivated seller and you will get a re-sale much cheaper then new.

Real estate is all about location. This holds true in The Villages as well. Where is that lot located, what is it near, does it have a view, back to a busy street, near or under the power line, pickle ball in your back yard, (they start batting that ball real early), and many other things to consider. They ALL impact the value and re-sale value of that home. You can't compare a new home on an interior lot against a resale home on a cul-de-sac and say they are equal. Take that new home and build it on a cul-de-sac and you will add $18,000 to $26,000 lot premium. Try as best as possible to compare apples to apples.

I agree.......

If you really want to make an apples to apples comparison of relative prices , you need to do an analysis of the remaining useful life for all of the systems in a resale , ie: the roof on a new home may have a useful life of 15 years. If the resale is 5 years old then 33% of the useful life has passed. If the cost of replacement is $7500 , you have bought a future expenditure of $2500 -or more. This computation applies to virtually all appliances, windows ,painting ,plumbing , electrical systems etc. and can be a major hidden cost for the resale. To ignor this process is hiding from reality.

Challenger, other than the roof, most things you've listed will last more than 15 years. Since most of us are on the 20-25 year plan at this point, why worry about one's house after one's demise? If a house is 5 years or more old, the price normally reflects that after the nice upgrades have been calculated in to the sale price. :shrug:

I agree Challenger. You should factor some $$ amount for wear and useful life based on the age of the re-sale. I have used $1000 to $2000 a year based on the size of the home. A good rule of thumb is $1 per square foot per year if you have no other yard stick. Also a good home inspection is a cost with a re-sale that probably is not used on most new homes. Taking all these into account, I still find re-sale less then new.

Can anyone tell me where I can buy an extended warranty to extend the 20-25 year plan? :a20:

For us, there were so many pre-owned that had lavender, or pink, or red, or you name it colored walls that we just could not begin to put up with. Even for a week or three until they could be painted. Then throw in the wallpaper or those top-o-the-wall trim thingies that look like wallpaper and we were going buggy.
So, throw into this mix that you're buying the previous owners decorating. If you like/love it, then that is a big bonus.
Don & Kaz