[stings]

We are planning on buying a house in TV this fall after our house here is sold. In looking at homes for sale in TV I noticed that there's often references to upgraded AC, water treatment, tankless water heaters etc. My question to all of you is, what upgrades would you have made to your home knowing what you know now? Are there some that you think are more necessary than others? Thanks for any insight you can give me.

[Jima64]

Tankless water heater.

[stings]

Thank you for the quick response.

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by stings

We are planning on buying a house in TV this fall after our house here is sold. In looking at homes for sale in TV I noticed that there's often references to upgraded AC, water treatment, tankless water heaters etc. My question to all of you is, what upgrades would you have made to your home knowing what you know now? Are there some that you think are more necessary than others? Thanks for any insight you can give me.

It all depends if you are buying new or not. If new, no need to upgrade AC. We also didn't get water purifier, as we find nothing wrong with the taste of the water here. Also, if you are buying a new home here, you will not have natural gas, it'll be all electric, so a tankless water heater is not an option. Solar tubes are a nice addition, more so from an aesthetic point of view, as you will never recoup the energy savings as opposed to using a light.

[Carla B]

Attic stairs, preferably aluminum, epoxy on the garage floor.

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by Carla B

Attic stairs, preferably aluminum, epoxy on the garage floor.

[graciegirl]

It is my opinion that the one thing most people move to another home here for, because they do NOT have it in their present one, is a golf cart garage or a bigger garage. Remember for not just your vehicles, but for other storage and projects. It is in essence your basement.

[stings]

A golf cart garage along with a two car garage is one of the things on our wish list. Thank you for the advice.

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by stings

We are planning on buying a house in TV this fall after our house here is sold. In looking at homes for sale in TV I noticed that there's often references to upgraded AC, water treatment, tankless water heaters etc. My question to all of you is, what upgrades would you have made to your home knowing what you know now? Are there some that you think are more necessary than others? Thanks for any insight you can give me.

Stings,
IMHO, move in, get a feel for the area, your new home, and your neighbors, etc. Do NOTHING for a few months, talk to everyone, get information, then and only then start to make changes.
We feel the water here is hard, this is a matter of opinion. There will be at least 3 or 4 water quality people stopping by your house, ignore ALL of them. You will save hundreds or thousands going with Sears, Home Depot, or Lowes.
Painting the garage floor is a good idea, BEFORE it gets loaded up. We used a clear coating, but the epoxy with or without flakes is very nice, expect to spent well over a $1000.
I agree with the solar tubes, we installed LED lights, and consider this a much better solution, these work at night and when it is cloudy.
There are lots of other upgrades that you will discover as you live here for a while, each has good points and bad points.

Above all, you are moving to a really nice location, with very nice people. Relax, take it in, and please DO NOT TRY TO DO EVERYTHING AT ONCE, remember you are retired.
Hope this helps.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by stings

We are planning on buying a house in TV this fall after our house here is sold. In looking at homes for sale in TV I noticed that there's often references to upgraded AC, water treatment, tankless water heaters etc. My question to all of you is, what upgrades would you have made to your home knowing what you know now? Are there some that you think are more necessary than others? Thanks for any insight you can give me.

I would put location first and upgrades second. When we bought our spec home, it was our second home. Soon we tired of driving back and forth to Michigan, and this has become our permanent home. As a permanent home, we would have spent more on the view.

Also, I would, if building, put the least upgrades in (except for expanded space), as the quality of materials they use is not the best. Our home had carpeting in the living area, which we ripped out in favor of tile (two hairy dogs), and corian countertops that scratched like crazy, which we replaced with a better grade of granite than was available in a custom home. Neighbors who built put the least in as possible (lower taxes), and then moved in and replaced carpeting with hardwood floors and laminate with granite or quartz.

We tiled our lanai because the cement had so many cracks in it, and home warranty/builder wouldn't do anything about it other than offer to paint it and charge us $200. It looks beautiful, and we're so happy with it. (dark red with black grout). We installed coolaroos shades on the lanai to control the sunlight.

Later we had the garage covered with that thick speckled paint stuff. It looks terrific and is so easy to clean.

Our next plan is to address the water situation with whole house filter, recarpet the bedrooms with a better quality carpet, and finally, paint, if we ever settle on colors.

Many people have sun tubes installed to bring in light.

[asianthree]

You don't know how much a big garage is important till you move in

[Villager Joyce]

I wish we had removed all carpeting and replaced with laminate before we moved in. New house, but cheap cheap cheap carpet. Thinking about doing it now exhausts me.

[jebartle]

make sure light switches are on all walls needed....or on floor to accommodate table lamps.

and my number one suggestion:

Make sure the toilet position accommodates the width of a vacuum.

Get stainless appliances that do not leave fingerprints.

I love the new security doorbells.

If you add a lanai screen make sure installer does not leave collection areas for leaves etc.

Line one of your closets with cedar if you have need for protection.

love built-ins (book-shelves, wine rack, pantry.

Plantation shutters are great here in Florida, helps with utility bill as a bonus.

a pasta faucet near stove is nice but not necessary.

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

It is my opinion that the one thing most people move to another home here for, because they do NOT have it in their present one, is a golf cart garage or a bigger garage. Remember for not just your vehicles, but for other storage and projects. It is in essence your basement.

[stings]

All these suggestions are just what we hoped for. If anyone has any other ideas we would like to hear them.

As an aside when we were at TV last summer we met many great people. We can't wait to get there.

We have a three car garage in our house here and at least a third is used for stuff!

Thanks again!