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Looking to Build New Construction in Florida? You are going to want to know the differences being building with a Tract Home Builder Vs. a Private/Custom Home Builder because there is a MAJOR difference.
Depending where you plan on building your next home in Florida you will either be building on a lot within an HOA, a lot without an HOA or choosing to build within a community/development with a Tract Home Builder, such as Neal Communities, M/I Homes, Taylor Morrison, etc.
I have personally gone through the building process with a Tract Home Builder and will be providing you a little insight to how they build vs using a private builder, which is who we build with now for custom houses and our investors.
If you are looking to build a home in Florida and need some advice reach out to us as we are happy to provide you some insight and in some cases work with you to build your home.
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Noah Ward is a Licensed Florida Real Estate agent that specializes in New Construction and Real Estate Development. Over the past couple years he has grown a large social following by focusing on helping both future homeowners go through the new construction process and also investors with building houses at scale.
Noah is a Managing Partner at JN Development Group Inc, where the primary focus is providing the highest level of service for custom house builds and also helping real estate investors maximize their profits through real estate development.
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So you're looking to build new Construction in Florida but you're not Sure whether or not you want to build With a track home builder such as Neil Communties Taylor Morrison Toll Brothers Mi holes Lenard DR Horton or if you want To go the more custom House Route and Build with a private Builder welcome Everyone to the Florida real estate Guide where all we do in this podcast is Talk about real estate Florida real Estate real estate development and new Construction and I'm super excited to Bring this episode to you because I've Had a personal experience building with One of these track home builders here in Southwest Florida so I have a little bit Of some experience talking to and since I am a real estate agent I do go through This building process on both the Private side and more of the track home Side with many other clients as well so I'm going to outline the pros and cons Of different things and some things that You really need to be aware of um when You are choosing track home builder Versus a private Builder so if you guys Are new to the podcast don't forget to Give us a follow and also if you guys Want to see all the behind the scenes of What we are doing go check out our Social media and give us a follow there As well um but let's kick off this Episode talking about the first thing
Everyone needs when building a new Construction house and that is going to Be land so land is going to vary Depending on if you go with a track home Builder or a private Builder with a Track home builder they get their name Track home builder because they buy Large tracks of land large plots of land Then what they do is they subdivide it Into um probably about .15 to you know8 Acre lots at least here in Southwest Florida Sarasota specifically so these Lots are about 7,000 to about 9,000 ft Just depending on how big the house is Versus if you were to buy a private lot You know not within an HOA not with one Of these track home builders you're Probably going to be looking closer to Around the 10,000 11,000 ft range just Depends on the exact area that you are Looking to buy in so when you first go Into a track home Community your first Process is choosing a piece of land this Land comes at a little bit more of a Premium just because you're within this Community that they have created the Downside is that once you buy a piece of Land from them you have to build on it Right away it's set in the contract that You must start building as soon as Possible and you must use them as the Builder versus if you were to go with The private Builder route you would find A piece of land it wouldn't be within an
HOA or it could be within an HOA but Most likely it won't be within an HOA And then from there then then you can Buy the land with a real estate agent we Can help you with that and then from There that's when you can hire a a Custom house Builder a private Builder To design a house for that for you on That lot and most often and in most Cases there's not a time period when you Have to start building unless you're Within an HOA Community then there's Going to be some timelines put on there However if you're for example in Northport where there are no HOAs then You don't have to worry about that you Can just buy the lot and you can hold it For as long as you want before deciding To build so those are kind of the pros And cons of the land side of things um When you're doing a track Home Building Versus private building now let's talk About the next step which is choosing The floor plan so with track home Builders you have floor plan options to Choose from you they typically will give You about you know five to I would say Eight different options um depending on The series which is the size of the House um so to speak and so you'll have About five to eight options I would say Of different floor plans so let's just Say you have a floor plan and you really Like it but you want to change a wall
You you can't do that with track home Builders now they do have options saying Oh you can turn this bedroom into a Media room but that's it they give you Those kind of options but say you're Like hey I want this wall to be extended An extra foot they're not going to do That so that is the one downside with Track home builders but on the bright Side it's a lot simpler of a design Process because it's cut and dry you Either like the floor plan or you don't Like the floor plan right while with a Private Builder you work hand inand with The private Builder to either select one Of their floor plans that they have used In the past maybe you want to design Your VAR own floor plan they will work Hand inand with an engineer and you to Create a floor plan that works for you And your lifestyle so if you want walls Removed you they can remove it if you Want walls added they can add it if you Want the layout Chang they will change The layout you know there's a lot more Flexibility in floor plan options as Well and what we do with custom house Builds is we have our buyers um and Future homeowners they give us a couple Floor plan options that they really love Tell us what you know unique features They like about each floor plan we send It to our engineer and they combine all Three floor plans to kind of fit
Um you know all three different aspects That the buyer really likes right then The other thing that comes along with The floor plans are changes so when you When you sign the contract when you go Through the design process when you do Everything with a track home builder There are no change modification options That you can you sign the contract on Design day when you're done saying that There will not be any change orders made Unless there is a shortage of that Product then the Builder will substitute It with the next best thing basically is What they're saying so there's no change Orders however when you are building With private you have change orders you Have change options so let's just say You're in the build process say you Already decide you want this kind of Flooring however the Builder hasn't Ordered the flooring yet but you you Have a change of heart and you want to Change it you go to the Builder you tell The Builder hey hey Builder I would like This changed they will be more than Happy to change it most likely they will Charge you a little bit of an Inconvenience fee that they call it um But there is a possibility to change Different things of the house now that's Different than engine ing of a flooor Plan once the final permits are you know Approved for the engineering of the
Floor plan it's going to be very hard to Change different things now you can make Some small cosmetic updates and stuff Like that but once the final plans are Kind of created for your specific house They will be a little bit more difficult To change but not necessarily impossible So after we talk about the floor plan Options now let's discuss about upgrades Right so I get this question a lot being A real estate agent people ask me since Sarasota is very popular with track home Builders that what what about upgrades What does the upgrades look like so for Track home builders I will tell you this So when you go into like for example Mi Homes Taylor Morris and Neil communities What you do there is you go into their Design Center and you pick out all the Options so they have a whole laundry List a checklist of different things Such as flooring paint color walls you Know color schemes everything like that Cabinet colors what level cabinets so You go through and let's just say There's seven different levels let's Just say there's seven levels of Countertops right so you can choose Grand quarts um anything like that that They have options for you you go there And you look at all the options they Have levels of you know seven levels of Quartz or 10 levels of quartz you go Through choose which level you want and
Then choose the color the downside on That is you know even though it's very Nice to just walk in and pick from their Selection of colors but let's just say You really love this quartz countertop That you saw at a local uh wholesaler or A granite shop you're like I really love This unfortunately track home builders Are only going to use the products that They have on their selection in the Design center they won't make any Changes personalized changes you can't Do any of that so that is the one Downside with them but on the other side It is very simple um even though the Process is about a 5 to 8 Hour process Of Designing I would say they took us About 5 to 8 hours to design our house You get it knocked down knocked done in In one day so it's it's nice um for that Respect um is that you do have just you Know these selections and that's how you Can choose from so it's nice if you are A wander that you know goes from idea to Idea um but if you want more flexibility In choosing what you really want you Want to go with a private Builder like The private Builder I'm partnered with With our development company is that for Our custom house builds he owns his own Granite shop and he also owns his own Cabinet line so we have the flexibility To get whatever kind of countertops that You need for a custom house and he
Fabricates them no problem we also have A cabinet line that you know if you love The cabinets great we have different Color options color schemes you know you Know different cabinet you know uh Styles everything like that that you can Choose from so it's a little bit more Personalized approach um versus a track Home builder but once again there are Endless selections when you are going The private route because you can go Anywhere we will send you to our Granite Wholesaler you can go there to the Warehouse check out all the quartz and Granite slabs that you really want Marble slabs um and pick out whatever You want and then we can mark it and Hold it so there are a little bit more Options when it comes to upgrades for Private builds versus track home builds Now let's talk about the warranties um With each Builder each kind of Builder I Should say so these warranties are you Know its standard all across Florida That you have a one-year Builder Warranty whether it's a track home Builder or a private Builder so if Anything were to go wrong within the First year that's a defect from the Construction of the house the Builder is Obligated to fix it now they're Obligated to repair it some track home Builders are good enough to where they Will just completely replace something
Like for example like we had door Handles and hinges that had paint on Them when we first moved in now that's Not uh that's nothing that's going to Hinder our closing date because it's all Cosmetic so during the first year CU We're still within the first year period Ourselves is that you know the Builder That we went was fortunate we were Fortunate enough to where we had all the Handles and all the hinges rep placed in The house instead of just scraped off You know where we would scratch the Black handles and black hinges we just Had them all replaced the Builder did That no problem so that was nice but Other things around the house you know If it's a builder issue they will fix it It's going to be the same with the Private Builder SE sector as well However it's going to be very different Just because you are going to you know You're working with a personality of a Private Builder and what their Definition of you know of fixing is Right so some of these private Builders They're good enough to where they're Like yep I will just replace that others Will be like you know I'm going to try Fixing this you know uh sanding it out Buffing it out whatever that may be um Just to make it to resolve the issue or To make a solution I should say out of It right um so that's that's that's one
Topic um is that it all depends on the Private Builder that's why you want to Use a private Builder that has a a Successful um reputation and that's why I chose to partner with the builder I'm Partnered with because he has a huge you Know recommendation list he works with High-end um clients for high-end luxury Remodels so I know that he's a very Trustworthy person I've done many builds With him um and very satisfied with what He is doing so the other thing about Warranties is that you know with track Homes track home builders you are going Through their warranty department and Since they have an influx of houses that They are building cuz you know these Communities are closing out five to six Houses a month um with these houses so There's a lot of warranty items that Need to be fixed and we are still within The first year ourselves and we still Have a laundry list of items to be Completed so the warranty department may Be a little bit more backed up with the Track homes um versus a private Builder Which may be able to get out there a Little bit sooner and fix whatever Issues that you are having obviously if It's like a water leak or something like That that that's a first priority and Emergency response that any kind of Builder will go there and fix that right Away and then the other part of the
Warranty section is all the extended Warranties that come along with new Construction so whether you buy it with A track home builder or private Builder You can get extended warranties for Let's just say appliances GE is a great Appliance company that has extended Warranties you know there's extended Warranties through the companies that Install the air handlers the air Conditioners ACS water heaters Everything like that you can get Extended warranties for either free or Very cheap because they are partnered up With the builders themselves so that's Also a thing that I highly recommend Once you close on the house sign up for As many extended warranties as you can That are free because it is 100% worth It so now now that we talked about Warranties upgrades floor plans land Let's discuss the overall building time Frame right so I would say you know just Looking at it from personal experience Track home builders and private Builders Are pretty much equal in terms of time Frame track home builders depending I Should say depending on what kind of Materials you are using for a private Builder if you're using just standard Materials then it's going to be pretty Much the same as a track home builder However if you're looking for more Exotic kind of you know finishes it
Maybe take you a little bit longer to Get um the interior finished just Because the products are a little bit Harder to get so I would say time frames Are pretty much the same track home Builders they have a lot of their Products held at the warehouses so they Can get those a little bit sooner some Track home builders like Neil Communities they own their own trust Manufacturer so they can produce their Own Trust for their own houses that's Not to say they don't get backed up but They are obviously a first priority Since Neil communities owns them as well So that's another thing to keep in mind But at the end of the day both time Frames are the same realistically you're Looking at right now about a 10 to 12 Month build time a little bit less just Depending on how far along they are for The track home building process um but Yeah 10 to 12 months now finally we are Going to talk about the final sales Price so with track home builders you Are pretty much locked in at a price you Sign a contract you know 10 months Earlier 10 months prior and you say this House is you know we signed the contract For $600,000 you know they're not going to Market up for you unless there was a Significant material shortage that cost Them a lot of money there is a
Escalation clause in the contract saying That if material prices do increase we Are obligated to increase your price of The house as well so that's one Escalation clause and one Clause to look Out for in the contract when you are are Uh reading them out but for the most Part track home builders lock in the Price however what's not locked in is The interest rate so for the 10 months You are floating around just watching The interest rates if they go up they go Up if they go down they go down great Right right now it's a balancing act We're hovering between 6.6% to about 7% We're bouncing around there uh just Bending on the day and the week um and Then with private Builders they have a Couple different models they have the Cost Plus model which I really like cuz It's a lot more transparent and then There's the locked in contract and a lot Of people think the locked in contract Is on honestly the better roow to go um However Builders lock in the contract But they also Elevate the price a lot Higher because if there are price Material increases they have to make Sure they have that extra cushion in There for that but if they don't Increase they still get that price so It's an extra little bonus quote unquote That they get at the end of the build While Cost Plus is typical cost plus is
About Cost Plus 20% right a lot of Builders do 30% too but uh many Builders Here in Sarasota my Builder included Does 20% how that work works is you know Let's just say let's just say this whole Product package cost about $100,000 then you add 20% on top of that For the management fee or the con the Contractor fee so that's $20,000 so Everything with the Cost Plus model is Very transparent you see all the Receipts you know exactly what you are Paying for at the time of delivery and The time of ordering all those products Versus a locked in contract they kind of Lump it all in together so that some Costs are hidden so that they can make a More profit at the end of the day that's Why I like the Cost Plus model it's a Lot more transparent than the regular Model um and plus if material prices go Down you're actually saving money Because you're not locked into a price Contract where you know price Fluctuations doesn't matter if your Materials go down on a locked in Contract the Builder still going to make That extra profit you know while with a A Cost Plus model you are going to be um You know if prices go down you are going To save a little bit little bit more Money at the end of the day so that was A little bit long-winded of an episode But I hope you guys found a lot of value
In track home builders versus private Builders and kind of the direction that I lean is kind of more towards the Private Builder sector um after going Through the track home building process Myself um but if you guys want to know More about what's going on with the real Estate market here in Florida you know New construction and real estate Development in Southwest Florida Definitely go and check out our YouTube Instagram and Tik Tok where we post Content on a daily basis for you guys to See you know a little bit behind the Scenes of what is exactly going on and If you guys want to know more about a Specific topic that we talk about on one Of our podcast episodes feel free to Reach out to us on our Instagram and We'd be more than happy to go more in Depth and create a new podcast episode Specifically for you guys as well but if You are looking to build a house Anywhere in Florida especially in Southwest Florida give us a phone call Or reach out to us on Instagram I'm more Than happy to see how we can best help You like I said we are partnered with Some amazing custom home builders in Southwest Florida and all across Florida So if you want a trusted Source in terms Of selecting a quality Builder Definitely reach out to us and we'd be More than happy to help
