T-Minus 231 Days: 30 Home Builder Questions

 We are preparing for our November Florida trip where we will be talking with several new home builders. In preparation, we have assembled the following 30 home builder questions:

1.      What makes you different from all the other builders?

2.      Do you only build from existing floorplans, can I modify your floorplans, or can I provide my own set of plans?

3.      What features are standard in the homes you build? What are the upgrade options? What is included in the price?

• Plumbing for appliances
• HVAC
• Electrical
• Cabinets
• Tile
• Countertops
• TRAX bug repellent

 

4.      When and how can I make changes or upgrades throughout the building process? Do all decisions need to be finalized before construction begins? What is the change control process? What is the charge for a change?

5.      What are the energy-saving features of the homes you build?

6.      Who will be overseeing the construction of my home? Who can I reach out to with questions as they arise, and how can I contact them?

7.      How do you ensure quality construction: What is your process for inspections throughout construction, final walk-through, and to address any matters that need to be corrected or finalized? Process for getting my home inspector to look at the house during construction?

8.      How long will it take to build my home?

9.      How and when will the final cost of my home be determined?

10.  Can I view a current project you’re working on? (Homes in the works are a great way to check for workmanship and material quality.)

11.  Can you provide me with references or testimonials from previous home buyers?

12.  What are the lot costs/lot premiums?

13.  Second floor framed with wood? If yes, 4” walls or 6” walls? If 6”, does that include more insulation?

14.  What is done to make the house be energy efficient?

15.  Resistance to storms: How is the roof attached/protected from hurricane winds

16.  What is your warranty? What is the process for warranty issues? How quickly will issues be fixed? What are we allowed to do that won’t break the warranty?

17.  Is Landscaping included? Is the landscaping part of the warranty?

18.  Process for getting an enclosed pool added?

19.  How is water run-off handled?

20.  What can to tell us about the design center?

21. Are you experiencing delays in materials or appliances due to COVID?

22.  What if the build is delayed extensively?

23.   What difference does it make when selecting which direction the house should face?

24.  Have there been soil quality tests? Tests for sink holes?

25.  Are there HOA and CDD feeds? What are the HOA rules?

26.  What are the steps in the process/what is a typical timeline?

27.  Schedule for when money is needed? When will I get the final quote? What are the assurances it won’t exceed my budget? Is there cost escalation protection?

28.  What are the estimated taxes on the completed house?

29.  Preferred borrower benefits?

30.  End of the year discounts?

T-Minus 232 Days: Planning the November Trip to Florida

 Video Link

The properties we hope to see:

Builder/Existing	Model/Address	Community	City
hibiscus	Venetian	cherry lake oaks	Minneola
hibiscus	belagio	cherry lake oaks	Minneola
hisbiscus	verona	cherry lake oaks	Minneola
hisbiscus	Bordeaux	cherry lake oaks	Minneola
Existing	Lake Douglas Dr 714	?	Groveland
KB Home	Plan 3203	Carriage Hill	Apopka
KB Home	Plan 3530	Trivoli Reserve	Loughman
KB Home	Plan 3016	Wilson Estates	Minneola
Taylor Morrison	Sandkey	Lakeside	Apopka
Taylor Morrison	Bonaire	Lakeside	Apopka
Taylor Morrison	Amelia	Lakeside	Apopka
Ryan Homes	Lynn Haven	Grassy Lake	Minneola
Highland Homes	Wayfair	Highland Meadows	Haines City
Dr Horton	Elle	Sereno	Loughman
Maronda Homes	Baymont	North Ridge Reserve	Davenport
Maronda Homes	Baybury	North Ridge Reserve	Davenport
Maronda Homes	Carlisle	North Ridge Reserve	Davenport
Dream Finders	Avalon 2 with Bonus	Adamore Reserve	Loughman
Lennar	Peabody	Providence	Loughman
Existing	Oakburn Ave 5184, 5221, or 5384	SolTerra	Davenort

T-Minus 234 Days: Florida Floring

 Every place we have rented has had tile floors for all the common areas, and rugs for the bedrooms. I don't like rugs in Florida because it hides all the bugs and I assumed tile was the standard. However, as I have looked through houses, I have seen many people using a wood look vinyl. 

I asked one of the Florida Move Groups which flooring was better and I want to share the results.

You might notice that I didn't mention wood laminate as an option to consider. I am not a flooring expert, but, I'll tell you what my uninformed option is about wood and wood laminate flooring. I believe the humidity in Florida would cause it to buckle. Also, Florida has a horrible problem with termites, so, I can't imagine what would happen if you put wood on the floor of your house. Therefore, I won't even consider wood flooring.

I am also not mentioning cement floors. One option is to not put anything on your cement pad except a glossy epoxy coating. I understand the benefits but I think that look is just for the rare few.

TILE VOTES:28

VINYL Votes: 9

Tile Wins! Here are some of the comments and recommendations.

TILE

• Tile can get sandy.
• Just replaced manufactured hardwood with tile and I love it!
• Tile is way too cold and you have to keep the grout clean. Too much work!
• Tile will be colder (maybe not an issue in Florida) and possibly more difficult to replace if damaged.. but it should be more resistant to scratches and scuffs. Will also have a firmer and more solider/higher quality feel
• Tile is cooler in the summer, and easier to take care of.
• For Floirda weather, Tile is the best. Tile for bathrooms for sure
• Had hardwood floors in the first Floirda home, honestly I was always worried about them scratching from sand. Always worried about them scratching from sand. Always worried about the humidity levels with them. With this house, new build, we picked a neutral wood look tile, wide plank. Love it. Nothing scratches, no problems with water or humidity, looks gorgeous, super easy to care for and cool under foot which is so appreciated here. 
• Tile is definitely better than vinyl. Longer life. 
• If you want something nice looking without worrying about maintenance then go with tile
• Tile hurts my feet and back so bad
• Porcelain tile, have a sealer put over the group, and buy a roomba with the floor washer + vacuum.
• Tile is substantially tougher than vinyl

VINYL

• In a way it is like laminate wood flooring but at the same time it is waterproof, looks like wood, and no issues with scratches
• I love mine. It has a ceramic core, no wood products in it
• We are laying luxury vinyl plank in our first floor condo. Love it so far. 
• Vinyl (assuming LVP or LVT) will be softer, so more comfortable to walk on and less likely to break stuff (dishes or the bones of hyperactive children)
• I installed LVP in my kitchen a couple years ago, and even though it has "superior scratch resistance", it still gets scratched... so I will likely go with something more durable/hard surface floor in the next house.
• Laminate is much cleaner! Grout holds all kinds of dirt.
• I have a house with both and I definitely prefer the vinyl. It's easier to keep clean, it's warmer and it just looks better!
• I think about what's easier for ME to clean and let me tell you that the vinyl has been easier than all. No cracks, no grouts to clean, no worries about scratching the floors. 
• So loved my vinyl floors, now I have ceramic tile, not liking it so much!
• Laminate and LVP scratch very easily, the planks can separate or buckle, and it is prone to mold if it gets water or moisture under it

T-Minus 235 Days: Crime Rate in Orlando Area

 We have been spending a lot of time looking at towns and neighborhoods in the west side of Greater Orlando. I thought it should be important to pay attention to crime rates. Crime can turn paradise into hell, so, we want to make sure we understand the crime rates of the areas we are considering - from Apopka and all along Rt 27 from Clermont to Haines City. The following are the crime rates as reported by Neighborhood Scout. The darker the color, the higher the crime.

Most of the areas we are looking at have less crime. I was surprised, however, to see how dark the east side of Apopka was, so, I looked at the area more closely (again, darker the color the higher the crime)

One of the hottest spots for crime to the north side of Lake Apopka.

Gotha toward Windermere is high, and the Paradise Heights area is medium high.

The map shows Clermont to be relatively low with crime. The worse area is known as "South Clermont, just north of Lake Louisa. This area runs to the west of Rt. 27. Regardless, overall, this area would fall to a medium/low danger.

Further south is the very popular area of Davenport, which happens to be one of the lowest crime areas in this area. We drove through the town of Davenport and it is no surprise to me that the crime in this area is focused on the town because it seemed fairly run down. The new developments along Rt 27 stand in stark contrast to the town. 

South and West of Davenport is Haines City, which can be loosely described as the intersection of Rt. 27 and Rt. 17. While this area is generally low crime to begin with, it is pleasant to see some of the sections we are considering are the lowest of this low area. 

That is a quick analysis of crime in the areas we are considering. It would appear the growing area of Davenport is the safest among all the communities we are considering.

T-Minus 236 Days: Searching for New Builds Part II

 In August, I searched the west side of Greater Orlando for new home builders. I thought I was very thorough. Regardless, we decided to give it one more look because we are traveling to Florida next week and have to figure out what we want to see. On one day, my wife and I went through every builder from Minneola to the Rt27/Rt192 intersection (Four Corners region). The next task was to continue down Rt. 27 toward Haines City. On another day, we are going to look at everything around Apopka Lake. 

In August, I put an "X" on the map for every builder I checked. This time, I put more information on the map, such as, are the houses too small for what we need? Are they too expensive? Is the development full or sold out? Or, is there a building plan in that subdivision that might meet our needs? Typically, anything that is too small is 2500sqft feet or less - or - up to 2800sqft with a building plan that doesn't meet our needs. Too expensive is anything that is outside of our Financial Advisor's budget (remembering that we need to add a pool).

The following are maps start at Four Corners (the first map) and go southward to the top of Haines City (the last map)

The next map is where I4 meets Rt. 27 in the Champion's Gate area. 

The next map is to the east of the I4/Rt27 intersection that was shown in the map above. The map shows the areas around Rt.17. Route27 and Rt 17 meet in Haines City.

For a little perspective on the next map: Rt 27 is running down the left side of the map. Rt. 17 is on the right side, coming in at an angle. 

Again, Rt. 27 is on the left side of the map, and Rt. 17 is on the right side of the map. 

If I continued south from this point, I would get deeper into Haines City, and there isn't really any new building happening. Besides, we don't want to go that far south. 

There are several promising house designs, unfortunately they are pretty far south and/or in the middle or no where. That is the end of the tour. The next area we'll look at is the area around the east side of Lake Apopka.

T-Minus 236 Days: Sand Key by Taylor Morrison

 We are going through new home plans in attempt to find something we really like. Today, I am going to review the Sand Key plan by Taylor Morrison.

If you have read my previous reviews, you know we are interested in "The Cluster". When we stand in the kitchen, we want to see the breakfast nook and the living room. The Breakfast Nook and living room should look out over the pool. The Sand Key provides the cluster.

I would like a lanai that stretches across the back of the house. The Sand key doesn't provide for it, nevertheless, a 36' x 10' lanai is very nice.

We would like a first floor master bedroom and office. The Sand Key provides for that. The Master Bedroom is 100 sqft larger than ours in New York. The dinning room is nearly the same size as our New York dinning room.

What don't we like? We don't like the idea that we have to walk through the bathroom to get to the walk in closet, but that is a minor inconvenience. 

We are brining our adult sons and want to make sure they have their own bathrooms and they can share a living room that is away from us. The second floor of the Sand Key would work perfectly for this. The second floor living room is slightly larger than our New York living room! The smallest bedroom is larger than our largest New York bedroom.

The problem with the Sand Key? By the time we add a pool to the base configuration we will be  almost 10% over budget - which is not where we want to be. While the Sand Key does look great, it is out of our price range.

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T-Minus 237: Wayfair by Highland Homes

 We are searching through many new home building designs and we came across the Wayfair by Highland Homes.

It is important to note that these home designs can not be customized. The builders are building these houses as fast as they can and they don't have time to move a wall or do something different. If we wait until the house is finished and make changes? We'll break the house warranty. Many of these home designs are "Take it or leave it". 

If you read my review of the Bonaire, you know about "The Cluster". From the kitchen we want to see the breakfast nook and the living room. We want the breakfast nook and living room to overlook the pool. The Wafair has the cluster we are looking for.

We also want a lanai that can go across the back of the house. This design can support that. Next, we like the size of all the rooms. The rooms are at least the size of the rooms in our New York home, and sometimes larger.

Next, we prefer the master bedroom and an office to be on the first floor. While the master bedroom is on the first floor, the office is not (unless we converted the dinning room into an office). The walk-in closet is huge, but, unfortunately, it is on the other side of the bathroom. If someone is taking a shower, for example, you wouldn't be able to get to the closet. Finally, the laundry is on the second floor and we need it on the first floor.

The second floor has what we are looking for: we want our adult sons to have a place in the house for themselves that is away from us. They will have their own living room and each will have their own bathroom. Most of the bedrooms are larger than our New York home. With 4 or 5 bedrooms we'll have room for an office and a guest bedroom.

The downside, as mentioned, is the office would be on the second floor instead of the first floor. 

Another huge problem with the Wayfair is the location where Highland Homes is building it. There are two communities (one with quarter acre lots and one with half acre lots) and they are both in the northern part of Haines City. They are pretty far away from Orlando, Disney, and many of the places we want to be. 

In summary, we like the layout, the size of the rooms, and the base price of the house. However, we are disappointed the laundry and office would be on the second floor, and the location of the Highland Homes community is not optimal.