Plantation Estates

[JMMH]

I didn't really look at other neighborhoods as I rented in Plantation Estates for a year while my house was being built. The draw for this neighborhood was the location on Race Track, being in a gated community, and being able to build the size of house that we did.

[Robyn55]

This is the CDD website you might have been thinking of:

Florida Community Development Districts

I have no idea how accurate it is. But spending $25 or so to find out potentially useful things about a large investment seems reasonable IMO. Robyn

[Bangolufsen]

We are very disappointed with out new ICI house. Very poor finish quality, windows not straight, and 2 months later, still trying to get the punch items finished. Very big mistake

[TricepsandBiceps]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

This is the CDD website you might have been thinking of:

Florida Community Development Districts

I have no idea how accurate it is. But spending $25 or so to find out potentially useful things about a large investment seems reasonable IMO. Robyn

This is it! Thank you! And to everyone else who has replied to this thread, I appreciate the input. It turns out the house I wanted to offer on (ICI) is now listed as active/contingent so it's back to square one of trying to find a place. Architecturally the home had everything I wanted size, location, extra features like a large yard, outdoor kitchen, wood burning fireplace, etc, but after doing some research about ICI it sounds like I averted a major headache. I can see using them if I could monitor construction as it's being built but for resale purposes...best to look elsewhere. Thanks again!

PS: Home was at 1928 Starboard Way 32259 if anyone knows of anything comparable on the market?

1928 Starboard Way, Jacksonville, FL 32259 | MLS #801031 | Zillow

[JMMH]

There were some finish issues with our house as well. However, ICI was very responsive on fixing our punch items both at closing and before the one year warranty was up.

We were lucky in that ICI hired an employee specifically who deals with warranty issues in the neighborhood. Once he was hired, the responsiveness of house issues increased quite a bit.

We also had an issue where one of our smoke alarms went haywire long after our home warranty was over and was constantly alarming, of course on the 20' ceiling. I called ICI and they had an electrician out to my house within two hours to fix it.

ICI has different people associated with different neighborhoods, but my experiences with the people associated with Plantation Estates has been positive.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by JMMH

There were some finish issues with our house as well. However, ICI was very responsive on fixing our punch items both at closing and before the one year warranty was up.

We were lucky in that ICI hired an employee specifically who deals with warranty issues in the neighborhood. Once he was hired, the responsiveness of house issues increased quite a bit.

We also had an issue where one of our smoke alarms went haywire long after our home warranty was over and was constantly alarming, of course on the 20' ceiling. I called ICI and they had an electrician out to my house within two hours to fix it.

ICI has different people associated with different neighborhoods, but my experiences with the people associated with Plantation Estates has been positive.

Again - the implied warranty you have under Florida law for a new house is a lot longer than the 1 year in the standard builder's express warranty. Robyn

[Bangolufsen]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

Again - the implied warranty you have under Florida law for a new house is a lot longer than the 1 year in the standard builder's express warranty. Robyn

That doesn't mean you won't have to chase them to get anything done or that it will be done right. Unless the punch list is completed prior to closing, prepare to wait many months with ICI Homes to get things fixed. Very aggravated with this company. Substandard workmanship, cheap materials, and molasses slow service getting things fixed correctly. The paint and drywall is particularly bad. Some of the fixtures look like they were bought in a dollar store.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Bangolufsen

That doesn't mean you won't have to chase them to get anything done or that it will be done right. Unless the punch list is completed prior to closing, prepare to wait many months with ICI Homes to get things fixed. Very aggravated with this company. Substandard workmanship, cheap materials, and molasses slow service getting things fixed correctly. The paint and drywall is particularly bad. Some of the fixtures look like they were bought in a dollar store.

The first sentence is true a lot of the time - when it comes to most builders. Note that we do have small claims court in Florida - and it is very user friendly for people who don't have have lawyers. But the maximum jurisdictional amount is $5000. Navigating your way around the Circuit Court (claims over $5k) without a lawyer can be more difficult.

Also - it's entirely possible that your contract has an arbitration clause. Which means you can't go to court - and have to go through arbitration. Big corporations tend to think that arbitration favors them - but I have found that not to be true a lot of the time.

Whatever problems you have - and whatever you wind up doing - remember to document things along the way (with a written history and pictures). Robyn