Considering buying in Riverstone...Relocating from NY (maintenance, prices)

[nyflbound]

Curious about pavers - a paver driveway and paver lanai was standard with my build. I ended up extending an extra 20' giving me around 2000 sq ft of caged living space outside which is great when the weather cooperates.[/quote]

In Riverstone pavers are standard but you can upgrade them to more attractive pavers.

[InPlaneSight]

Riverstone is selling its furnished model homes Saturday, 06/20/2015. The estimated closing for the models is June/July 2016.

Gorgeous Decorated Models for Sale at Riverstone

[Sandsam]

The models for sale have crazy-high prices. I've been in them. They aren't that nice, IMHO!

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Sandsam

The models for sale have crazy-high prices. I've been in them. They aren't that nice, IMHO!

All furnished models in any development seem to be very highly-priced. I suspect it's because the designer made expensive choices. I was surprised that the highest one in Riverstone was nearly $1.2M though. Where does the $500K come from between upgrades and furnishings?!?

[blu_lem0n]

Pricing is a bit crazy right now across the board. People who bought last year at Riverstone and other communities are trying to flip one year later at a 150-200k profit. That is just crazy. I mean kudos to them if they can get it...but wow.

[movin1]

We moved in about 10 weeks ago. Prices for upgrades on some things are not too bad and some you must do to get them done:

Major appliances in kitchen, laundry
Adding recessed lights in ceiling
Faucet and shower hardware in bathrooms - i.e. you do not want to tear out showers to change from Moen to Kohler
Have your kitchen hood vent out of the house if you cook.

Do not pay for:

Crown molding trim
Grohe faucet in kitchen-they charge double what it costs
The crappy piece of plywood they put in the wall to hang your TV in the living room. I had Criteria (Criteria of Naples) help me hang my TV's in the living room and master bedroom-they said they could have done it for a fraction of the price and were appalled at how poorly it was done by GL.
Backsplash in kitchen unless you use the same material you use for your countertop (a look I wish we had done). The tile work (grout especially) was done so poorly we had to rip it out and have it redone.

We had GL put in our pool and cage. They use "The Pool People" and they did a good job.

We have seen people putting in pools after closing. It is a mess and you pay to clean it up and redo the landscaping.

Asking prices for finished homes here seem to be out of line, but the market is way up. Prices for new construction have gone up since we purchased, so that is a factor.

Unless you find what you want for a good price, I would build to get exactly what you want. It is a long and frustrating process, but worth it in the long run to get what you want re: interior design. Spend a lot of time working out your choices before your design meeting. Choosing cabinets (kitchen and bathrooms), countertops, kitchen appliances, flooring etc can be overwhelming if you have not built a house before or done much interior design work.

We continued to rent for a few weeks after we closed so we could paint (accent colors, bedrooms, bathrooms etc), do window treatment and install built in closets and office cabinets.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by movin1

Backsplash in kitchen unless you use the same material you use for your countertop (a look I wish we had done). The tile work (grout especially) was done so poorly we had to rip it out and have it redone.

When you say "we had to rip it out and have it redone" I'm assuming that GL took care of it for you at no cost, right?

If it was done poorly wasn't it caught before (or during) the walkthrough?

[movin1]

Originally Posted by markjames68

When you say "we had to rip it out and have it redone" I'm assuming that GL took care of it for you at no cost, right?

If it was done poorly wasn't it caught before (or during) the walk through?

We complained about the backsplash when it first went in. Project manager said it was a punch list item and would be taken care of. As it progressed in stages, each chunk looked different, some worse, some way better. It looked like a patch work quilt and a lot of the grout work was horrible, a small bit of it looked perfect.

We got close to closing and we said we were not happy with it. They looked closer at it and agreed it was not up to par and had to be replaced. We opted for a different tile and it was out of stock. Ultimately, it was torn out and replaced after we moved in. It was a mess, drywall dust everywhere.

But, GL did the work and it turned out OK. In retrospect, it should have been taken care of much sooner, but we had to push a bit harder to get them to agree to it.

We have had a lot of little issues taken care of via the GL warranty process. It's a bit of a pain, but they do get it right sooner or later.

I feel sorry for all the builders here-it's hard to get good workers. Too many of the guys are not really qualified to be doing the jobs they have been hired to do.

This is the third house we have built and the first one by a big corporate builder. Our other houses were built by smaller builders who only had a few houses going up at one time. The general contractor was on the job every day. A lot of issues in Riverstone are because of the amount of new housing starts here. Too many houses being built at one time in the area and not enough qualified subcontractors.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by movin1

We complained about the backsplash when it first went in. Project manager said it was a punch list item and would be taken care of. As it progressed in stages, each chunk looked different, some worse, some way better. It looked like a patch work quilt and a lot of the grout work was horrible, a small bit of it looked perfect.

We got close to closing and we said we were not happy with it. They looked closer at it and agreed it was not up to par and had to be replaced. We opted for a different tile and it was out of stock. Ultimately, it was torn out and replaced after we moved in. It was a mess, drywall dust everywhere.

But, GL did the work and it turned out OK. In retrospect, it should have been taken care of much sooner, but we had to push a bit harder to get them to agree to it.

We have had a lot of little issues taken care of via the GL warranty process. It's a bit of a pain, but they do get it right sooner or later.

I feel sorry for all the builders here-it's hard to get good workers. Too many of the guys are not really qualified to be doing the jobs they have been hired to do.

This is the third house we have built and the first one by a big corporate builder. Our other houses were built by smaller builders who only had a few houses going up at one time. The general contractor was on the job every day. A lot of issues in Riverstone are because of the amount of new housing starts here. Too many houses being built at one time in the area and not enough qualified subcontractors.

Interesting. I've had some minor things with Stock (as you say, punch list items) but they took care of things like this before closing and I had no problem reaching the construction managers via phone or e-mail at any time. Stock is known for "making it right" and perhaps because they're a local builder it makes a difference.

I do agree with the state of subcontractors, it's hard for any builder. I suspect because some of these guys are paid by the job that their attitude is that the quicker it's done the quicker they get paid...and hopefully nobody will catch the rework needed.

[Naplesorbust]

Great help, appreciate your (and others) insights!

Originally Posted by nyflbound

I live here now and love it here! Resales typically go for more than new construction in my experience because you are paying for the upgrades, lot and the convenience of not having to go through the construction process and wait the amount of time it takes to build a new home. I know others that have built in Naples and there experiences have been similar. Actually in NY too. It is a pain to wait for new construction and the process is stressful. I kept going back and forth with colors and things and would have made some choices differently had I already seen the finished product. Also it's easy to go crazy on upgrades that really don't make a difference once you're in. On the other hand if you're very clear in what you want it may not be as stressful a process as it was for me!

I like Laurel Oak. My daughter is doing very well there. I've considered switching her to private school but it's not a reflection on the school. Her teachers have been good and the class size is reasonable. Positives: Nice teachers and staff, nice kids, good academics (my daughter's teacher this year was especially good) and good school spirit! It seems to be one of the best public elementary schools in Naples. Negatives: Nothing particular to this school that I've seen with any other public schools my kids attended in NY. Oh and the kids and parents at the bus stop in riverstone are very nice.

I had my pool put in at the same time the house was built.
Pros: I didn't have the mess of the construction after I moved in. Anything that goes wrong is covered under warranty and is already permitted. I know someone that had to have a pool that was put in afterwards fixed multiple times and the pavers had to be removed and replaced. Since it wasn't put in during construction the cost of the patio was on them.

Cons: It does cost more but the difference in price to me wasn't significant considering the time, mess, and risk.