LWR - new home construction and other questions

[bbronston]

Originally Posted by Floridaa

Our home has been vastly depreciated since we came here.
I have visited some model homes in LWR out of curiosity and the homes are very nice BUT,I think since house prices have come down so much,they are asking too much.
Also ask about their CCD,if you are not familiar with them.

My personal opinion is,go look at resales of homes in the area.I feel you will get a better deal this way. Plus you will already have your window blinds etc,in the resale.


Just be careful of homes that are in the time period of Chinese Dry Wall.
If we were buying a home now,I can't imagine what we would get today,at the price we payed.
Also beware that homes bought before 2003 are not up to code and you house insurance will be much higher.

Good Luck.

Chinese Drywall isn't really much of an issue here at this point but you are right, there are trade-offs for both. In some cases, you can get much more for the money with a resale but, on the other hand, you can have exactly what you want, with a full warranty, if you go with new and new tends to be more efficient and,as you noted, up to or surpassing the latest codes and research. We sell both because there's a call for both.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by bbronston

LOL...I cracked up when I read this...my wife asked me what was so funny?!! They work at the visitor centers and their role is to take new build visitors to the various builders. They give tours of the ranch but their main job is to help sell lots since they work for SMR and that is SMR's main focus as far as LWR goes. By the way, SoFLGal, if you ever bring a buyer up here to see new construction, you'll want to register them at the central registration desk in the visitor center. That way, you'll be registered as their Realtor with all of the builders on the ranch.

Thanks for the heads up BBronston! I've had a few sales in LWR but I'm by no means the expert. I'll tell you what, I'll march them over to your front door and let you show them around.

Google is my friend. I typed in the Ambassador of LWR and came up with the answer. Never heard of anything like that before. I'm picturing this guy in a long read coat with a crown walking the trails of LWR. I just had to know what the deal was with the Ambassador stuff.

[movingnearthebeach]

I'm glad I was able to give folks a good laugh. I m sorry, I should have been more clear. But google is awesome isn't it?

The crown free ambassador did know a lot about lakewood ranch. He was super helpful in terms of helping to figure out the different villages.

I agree that I could probably get more of a home if I bought existing. But the codes, warranties, etc are enticing in new as well. And given the fact that building is fun for me . . . Just want to make sure I make a wise choice in builder and location.

[NYPhinfan13]

Why are taxes so high in LWR?

[bbronston]

Actually, Ad Valorem taxes (taxes based on the value of the property as determined by the county tax appraiser less any exemptions that might apply) in LWR are the same as other parts of the county (unless you are talking about special taxing districts within the county) but our Non Ad Valorem taxes (taxes that are not based on the value of the property) include a payment for a Community Development District or CDD charge along with our fire taxes. LWR is certainly not alone in having a CDD...there are many developments that have them.

The CDD fee is often shown on the tax bill as two charges. The first is to pay off a bond that is used to finance the infrastructure costs of the development and those are typically spread over a 30 year period although there are exceptions. A buyer/homeowner does have the option of paying the bond amount off as a lump sum and although I occassionally run across that situation, I'd say it's rare. The second part of the CDD is the maintenance cost of keeping the district....well, maintained. That can be the roads, the watering, the landscaping, the lights, etc. I tell people it's the cost of making LWR look the way it does and there is no doubt that LWR has its own look.

Each neighborhood has its own maintenance component so the CDD charge varies a bit depending on the costs and the number of homes in the neighborhood. The maintenance cost of the CDD should not be confused with the cost associated with maintenance-free neighborhoods. Completely different thing.

[bbronston]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

I'm picturing this guy in a long read coat with a crown walking the trails of LWR.

Hey, my wife is a "princess" so I don't see why I can't dress up as royalty! Hmmm...king of LWR...I like the sound of that...

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by bbronston

Hey, my wife is a "princess" so I don't see why I can't dress up as royalty! Hmmm...king of LWR...I like the sound of that...

Ambassador Bronston....kind of has a ring to it

[Pgiavan]

It's amazing how John Cannon – chief thief and scam artist, fooled so many people. You need to investigate on how many customers got ripped off by him. The houses he build have great facades but are little better than ginger bread houses. He starts with what appears to be a decent price, then he kills you with 1,000’s of change orders after you sign his so-called “iron-clad” contract. If you pay $800K for initial base price be ready to fork out another $400K- $500K in upgrades!!! As for the quality- my oh my, you will find out soon after closing. Things will just start falling apart and he will NOT stand by his warranties, he will just RIP YOU OFF, get you hard earned money and laugh at you after.....This man is on DRUGS as well. Please- DO NOT BUILD with John Cannon Homes- you will REGRET IT!!!

[nikkimamma]

Originally Posted by movingnearthebeach

I'm glad I was able to give folks a good laugh. I m sorry, I should have been more clear. But google is awesome isn't it?

The crown free ambassador did know a lot about lakewood ranch. He was super helpful in terms of helping to figure out the different villages.

I agree that I could probably get more of a home if I bought existing. But the codes, warranties, etc are enticing in new as well. And given the fact that building is fun for me . . . Just want to make sure I make a wise choice in builder and location.

Hi moving - i recently built the Serazzo with Lee Wetherington (finished and moved in this June) in the Greenbrook area of LWR. They are a wonderful company to deal with and had a great experience. I was here for the whole building process - you can pm me if you would like.

We looked at many, many resales but were not happy with location (we wanted water and preserve, not fishbowl) or the layout (do not need a formal living room - wasted sq ft to us). We were able to get exactly what we wanted by building!
We are extremely happy with the neighborhood, schools and our home.