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08-23-2013, 11:26 PM
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45 posts, read 238,649 times
Reputation: 43
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We are getting ready to sign documents with the builder to build a new house. Most of our life we've lived in apartments/condos. We are now moving to Florida and trying to visualize our dream house 
I'm looking for advise of what we must consider and include when talking to the builder. What things do you consider important, and what were a total waste of your money? What makes sense to be done by builder and what can be done as a Do It Yourself (or hire somebody to do it later 
Thanks!!! |
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08-24-2013, 12:53 AM
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Location: Los Angeles
252 posts, read 562,821 times
Reputation: 80
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a nice set of investment for my house was the security system.. 
The thing i hate is the location .. I am soon going to shift. |
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08-24-2013, 01:36 AM
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Location: California
36,110 posts, read 39,837,211 times
Reputation: 33654
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You absolutely MUST have a functional, logical floorplan. You can pretty it up with whatever later on down the line but if you don't get that right you are doomed.
Try to get windows in every room, bathrooms included. Situate the house so the sun doesn't beat into a large slider or something similar. Keep the roof line simple or you will be plagued with leaks that you will never find. Covered patios are nice no matter where you live. Think about the future if you are planning to stay long term, that doesn't always mean go bigger either...sometimes it means go smaller and on fewer levels. You don't want to be hiking up and down stairs to do whatever you do multiple times a day. Work with a kitchen designer if one is available to you so you aren't forever thinking "why is the sink over here and the stove over there????" for the next 10 years. GRADING!!
That's off the top of my head. I love much of my house for the reasons above, and hate a little of it for the reasons above. LOL.
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08-24-2013, 04:22 AM
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Location: Spring Hill, Florida
3,163 posts, read 6,331,798 times
Reputation: 3575
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Prewiring... Two coax (think cable tv) drops and two ethernet (computer) drops per room in different locations (on different walls). That way you have options where to put televisions, computers, and such. It's much easier having this done now as opposed to later. I purchased an existing home and it's my biggest complaint/issue.
If you want a pool, you can probably do better on your own after you are living there in terms of cost and options since you can shop around.
Outdoor lighting. It's nice having motion lights or flood lights all around the perimeter outside.
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08-24-2013, 06:25 AM
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Location: Southwest Arkansas
807 posts, read 766,320 times
Reputation: 881
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Love: I have a over my head
Hate: still 17 years until it's paid off
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2
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08-24-2013, 07:22 AM
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Location: southwestern PA
20,416 posts, read 44,004,303 times
Reputation: 40054
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"What do you love and hate about your house?"
LOVE the location.
DISLIKE that the dining room is too small.
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08-24-2013, 09:44 AM
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2,495 posts, read 4,208,005 times
Reputation: 4931
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Love the flow of the house...almost everything in the house is the way we want (except kitchen cabinets/bathroom tiles)
Hate the fact that the back and front yard are flipped. Have more front yard space than back yard. cant move the house around but it works...
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08-24-2013, 10:20 AM
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43,011 posts, read 104,129,461 times
Reputation: 30666
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Love:
nine foot high ceilings
huge windows
big rooms
large yard
great neighbors
Hate:
not enough closet space
one more common room would be ideal
house is located on the far side of the property (3' from property line) instead of the middle. This isn't normally a problem because I don't have neighbors houses nearby, but it does cause a problem with providing shade on the West side of the house because I can't plant trees in my neighbor's yard.
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08-24-2013, 10:31 AM
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2,349 posts, read 5,197,434 times
Reputation: 3045
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Good orientation: Lots of windows on the south side (assuming Northern Hemisphere); fewer windows on east and west side.
If you have the ability, make the house rectangular with the long end facing south.
Lack of redundancy: Many people rarely used their formal living rooms and formal dining rooms
Street water pressure in the back yard. Many back yard bibs are house pressure (60 psi). I PVC routed street pressure (upstream of the pressure regulator, 135 psi) to the backyard for garden and patio use.
Outside air conditioner units placed so they don't annoy due to sound
Central vac is nice
Two microwaves is nice (yes, two microwaves)
Trash Compactor is a MUST
Double ovens are a waste
Wine cooler probably a waste
Ground floor master bedroom is very popular with those over 50.
Wood burning fireplace
In FLorida, I'd pay up for the higher end heat pumps or air conditioners with high SEER (not sure what your electric rates are though - the higher the electric rates, the stronger argument for paying for high SEER).
Deep bathtubs
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08-24-2013, 10:54 AM
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Location: here
24,865 posts, read 34,629,424 times
Reputation: 32706
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Hate having to walk through the kitchen to get to the family room. Hate the small walk-through laundry room. Hate that it lacks a linen closet.
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