They try to gouge you on some things. I asked for quotes on the appliances we wanted. They quoted me prices almost double what I could get the same items for at Lowes or Best Buy.

The reason we came in under budget was I overestimated how much they do gouge you.. :1rotfl:

Begonia Pantry
 

In the Begonia where did you add the walk in pantry? Did you take garage space off the nook?

We did a very cool (at least in my opinion) redesign to the begonia.
We enclosed the existing lanai. A piece of that became the new master closet. The rest became part of the living room.
So, then we had the two walk in closets in the original design to play with. One closet turned into the walk in pantry with its entrance obviously switched to the kitchen side rather than the bedroom side.
The other walk in closets space added to the master bath - where we added a lovely jacuzzi and linen closet and turned the shower into a roman one.
I would be happy to share the plans.
Our new lanai now comes off the side of the house instead of the rear.
We did the basics and Traci in the design center blew the bathroom design out of the park.
The nook did not change.
We did a 6 foot stretch on the garage just because - nothing added to the house from there.
The house is now 2160 sf livable area

Thank you!

You are on an escalator when your design meetings start. They allow 4 to 5 days with appointments every day. It is fast and stressful so best to have a pretty good idea of what you want. We just did this in Sept and close in Feb. They set up pool meeting ...about 1 to 2 hrs, closets and smart wiring and shutters if you want. They set up landscaping meeting and all of it happens that week. Selections are limited and pricing is sketchy until you see your contract so that is when you can ask questions, check for errors and make cuts. It is stressful but we survived and house almost done. We bought LG appliances on sale at Home Depot, and capped off most o the lighting so we will buy our own. Got master closets only custom and plantation shutters just to get it done as we moving from northeast. Good luck

So did you get the pushed out sewing room like I did on my woodside? With stretches we are at 2452 under air...almost done...we close in Feb and people have sent photos...we are in NH and won't be there til the closing. We capped off all lighting/ fans except for the lanai and will shop when we get there. What other changes did you make? We also got flooring throughout and LG appliances thru Home Depot. Getting excited....

I think one point to consider when building your own model in TV, will you be in the area for the coordination / you being the general contractor for your additions, vs having it done by TV builders. We were not there, so we had everything selected through the design process. . . The pricing or margin on construction items are generally highest with skilled labor and smaller priced items, electrical etc, being the obvious one. . . however, there are also items that one should consider having installed at time of construction which are big items in a home renovation or can go wrong or difficult as an addon..

Our list of "do it right the first time" were stretches, legal bedroom count, floor types and countertops, electrical and smart (internet/ethernet) home wiring, including switch control locations, under counter lighting, and solar tubes. After that, the builder's choice was fine, and we will replace when we live there.

The pieces we missed was installing the home re-circulating hot water because we didn't realize the amount of heat loss in the foundation during the winter, as well as thinking about a pantry in the begonia's kitchen side of the walking closet.

I wrote up a small "home internet and electrical wiring design" somewhere here, you can search for it.

But suggestions on this site are the best to consider, and I would recommend moving down prior to close, and renting for a month or two to have everything in order prior to closing. . . a lot easier than doing everything at once.

What is this 'discussion with landscapers' people are referring to? We basically were told the standard package is a tree in front and small plantings around. You were able to pick things?
Closets were discussed with the designer and took maybe 5 minutes....

Hi - I have a quick lot question, are the floorplans already determined on which lots they are available or do you buy the lot and have an option of a couple of floor plan choices? Thanks

If you're buying a lot you have a lot of choices.
Some floorplans are too big for certain lots. Pick your floorplan first then have your sales agent show you only lots that will accommodate it. Or if there's a lot you just can't live without, you'll have to find a floorplan that will fit.

Thanks, so it seems that series and lot size are the only two guiding factors? I ask because I've noticed that some of the new areas seem to have specific floor plans. We are coming down for our lifestyle visit in early April :) yea! we can't wait!

I "think" if you want to pick a lot and build you have to build a Designer home. But Designer homes can vary greatly in footprint and square footage.

Also when choosing your lot consider any stretches to the house and/or garage that you want to make. If you're going to want a pool add that to the equation as well.

Yes we had a budget of1000 for landscape. I hate those scruffy bushes they plant so we chose our own design and plants. Fox tail ferns, and palm type plants so very little upkeep. Our closet design appt was custom for the 2 master closets and took a while to get it just right for us.

Thanks - we are planning on putting a palm in the back angle and redoing the front, but thats down the road.
Our closets were easy - we were going to do our own since we have done it before and are pretty handy, but it was so inexpensive to say put 6 feet of rod at 40 inches and 80 inches and shelving starting at 30 inches it seemed not worth it.
One thing i forgot to mention - Concrete pads are cheap, cheap, cheap. If you are thinking about a grill pad or an outside area, add it now.

And new build is typically less than resale? Kinda hard to believe.