Our Agent and Annie

Here’s the overview of our trip down to Legacy, at the end of September ’04, trying to get the process under way.

As you might remember, we had decided on Legacy sight unseen, test untested.  This was very scary and more so since we had no fall back plan.  If Legacy turned out to be something we didn’t like, or we couldn’t find a lot that suited, we were pretty well screwed for a while.

So we flew down with trepidation.  It was nice walking into the sales office and seeing our names on the board.  We met with our sales agent, Betty Davis, and she went over all the advantages Pringle homes have.  We were impressed, but still worried about finding a lot, particularly since the model home we had chosen required a lot size they had very few of left. 

So we drove out to the area, which wasn’t yet platted (graded and recorded to the city) due to the storms that had hit the area.  The first lot we looked at backed up into a pond and seemed reasonable, if rather small.  But when we got back to the office we found that a pool would not fit onto it, so we went off looking again.

There were only two other lots that would work, and the first one backed up onto the highway (well, not directly onto the highway, as there were a row of trees behind it, but close enough that we thought it wouldn’t be a good idea).  The second was very unusual, a lot that was nearly twice the size of all the other lots in this category.  It was a corner lot, and had several other lots coming to it at an odd angle, but it had tons of room for our pool and anything else we wanted.

It was also cheaper than other lots, probably because it had neighbors behind (but not to one side due to it being on the street).  Since our backyard “view” isn’t significant (we will have a birdcage surrounding our pool and patio area) this seemed like a terrific deal and became our lot, number 365.  It was a bonus but the area we are in is served by a power company whose power to the homes never went out during all the storms there – at least a generator will be something we don’t have to worry about!

There are actually three neighbors that touch the lot -- one to the rear and side, and a third that has a sliver of a corner that touches.  However, there are two trees that shield the rest of the property, which is even bigger than our own and so far back we'll never see them.

So we had our lot, a considerably larger lot than we ever would have thought we could afford there, and life was looking good.  But one more problem loomed.

Because Pringle was quoted up to 10 months for a build, in order for us to complete our home by next September (we’re in a rental that would have to be renewed for a year at that time) we needed to get into the design studio as soon as possible.  The earliest appointment they had was December, which would have pushed us out of luck.  To complicate matters we also needed to do the pool, which required even more design studio time, as well as a custom fee.

They waved the fee, but studio time was a problem, even after Betty’s boss called them to try and be persuasive.  Finally, after we signed the contracts she called one more time and they agreed to try and work with us – I spoke with them personally and got an appointment for the end of October for both the home and the pool.

This should get us into the home by August, but we have some wiggle room now (they are even saying June or July but I’ll believe it when I see it). 

We spent the night with our host couple, Al and Sherry Meyer, who took us to Dead River Rick’s, a very atmospheric restaurant.  We learned a lot more about Legacy and then they took us to their home, which was the same model we’ll be building.  Coincidentally they even lived on a corner lot!    Once more we were impressed by how wonderful the Pringle homes are built, and started getting even more excited.

The next day we met with a banker in Leesburg that specialized in construction loans at Legacy.  She was terrific, and after filling out our papers she didn’t see any problems with our financing, and locked us in at a great interest rate, so I became much less worried about things.  While we still need to get final approval I’m pretty confident of the process at this point.  At the bank we met someone who lives in Legacy and said she wouldn’t live anywhere else, even after checking out Plantation and the other communities.

The rest of the day we drove around the area, stopping at a terrific little bakery a couple of miles from Legacy. Two workers there both lived in Legacy, and once again, had high praise for it. After tasting the delicious bread I realized I will weigh about 300 lbs once I retire, since I will visit the bakery at least once a week.

Back here I’ve visited the Legacy forums, a nice little place where residents and future residents can share information.  After reading and contributing there I’m more convinced than ever we made the right decision.

Does that mean I don’t have second thoughts?  Of course not.  You always wonder if perhaps you should have tried another place (within Pringle it even occurs to me that Royal Harbor would have been a good choice).  I go back and forth on the lot – while it’s huge and something I probably couldn’t have afforded elsewhere I also wonder if it will bother me to have a neighbor at the rear

Next up: The Design Center