Stouffville Developments (Fieldgate, Opus, Deco, Mattamy, Sorbara, Starlane, etc.)

lovejones11 wrote: ↑ Can anyone post the price lists?

oasis100 wrote: ↑ there is pretty much nothing left for this phase

starlane just sold out
and deco has 3 towns left
fieldgate may have 1 detach

oasis100 wrote: ↑ there is pretty much nothing left for this phase

starlane just sold out
and deco has 3 towns left
fieldgate may have 1 detach

BatCountry wrote: ↑ Fieldgate makes a decent home relative to some of those listed...but like a lot of home developments a lot comes down to the local team running the building. The Fieldgate decor center prices, like most home builders, are stupidly priced. You may find the Fieldgate designs to be a little more "livable" then the designs from Starlane. Pay attention to the sizes of the rooms relative to the kind of furniture layouts you want to have...you'll notice some builders just simply have terrible layouts/dimensions. I've seen some almost unusable "living rooms", when it comes to laying out your furniture in the space, from some of the Starlane/Treasure Hill/Greenpark homes (not just in Stouffville - they are all linked to the same ownership I believe). Sorbara in Stouffville had built some pretty nice homes across the creek area next to that development...not sure how these ones will look. I had heard of a few buyers that were frustrated with their team a few years back - but the homes they built all looked darn nice with some solid finishes to me. The Cityside development seems to have a much different "look" then a lot of the homes that have gone up over the last decade in Stouffville. Not sure if that's good or bad...but it's still got a small town, a little more rural, vibe to it so why they are choosing some very modern looks for the new subdivision seems like a mistake from an eventual re-sale perspective in my opinion. Opus and Deco haven't really built much, if anything that I can recall, in Stouffville to this point...so for info on them you probably want to look at their other recent developments.

I bought Fieldgate and they dealt with all but one of my issues to my satisfaction...one was a design concern that we had no way of knowing about (a basement beam location). The site folks agreed it wasn't ideal but said there was no way around it. I ultimately gave up arguing as I just didn't care enough to see it through to what should have been their resolution...especially after they fixed the issue in future builds of my elevation. lol

In the end, the overall experience was fine...no other issues really. Spent limited dollars at the decor center and did a bunch of work myself over the first few years at a fraction of the expense. There ARE some things it's worth paying to have done out of the gate though.

Some small tips regardless of the builder:
- Tell them not to install towel bars, mirrors, toilet paper holders, soap dishes in the shower, etc...buy something nicer and put them up yourself.
- Pay attention to the location of light fixtures and where you will want things like your kitchen table or dining table relative to furniture...saves you from relocating when they make less then stellar choices.
- pay for extra outlets in the garage (ceiling for GD opener, maybe another on a wall). May want an extra in the porch canopy for christmas lights if that's your thing.
- I'd probably put in gas line options for the stove and backyard even if you don't need them right away. Same with a water line for the fridge - even if not needed right away.
- get extra tv outlets installed - better yet, get Cat6 cable throughout so you can wire in your internet to TV's, etc.
- seriously look at the upgrades to kitchen cabinets for taller uppers (particularly if you get 9' ceilings) and if they have a pantry option. Probably not worth spending on upgraded cabinet doors over the standards.
- upgrades to the flooring - depending on the standard - could be worth it.
- and, personally, I move laundry rooms to the basement - eventually you will have a leak and I don't like those on the 2nd floor. Also, they are utility rooms and I'd rather have main and 2nd floor living space as square footage that I can use for larger rooms/walk-ins, etc. But that's a personal choice - from a resale perspective I think a lot of folks may prefer it upstairs but I think it's a future regret and insurance claim waiting to happen.
- Tell them up-front you want the vent location over the stove to be CENTERED in case you ever want to remove the over-the-stove cupboards and install a decorative hood fan. They will have it off-center in the cupboard if you don't insist on it. And that becomes a PITA down the road if you ever want to put that hood in.
- Get them to leave some extra material that you can tuck away - some spare bricks/stone and of each tile used in case you need replacements. You want items from the same colour lot and in the event the items ever get discontinued and you need them down the road for repairs or as you do other upgrades/changes to your home.

Be ready to spend another $30K over the first couple years on appliances, window treatments, other small upgrades you want to do, fence, AC, landscaping, etc...more when you want to start doing the basement or if you want more "significant" upgrades - you could easily triple that number if you go all out and need/want to hire folks to do all the work.

Make a note and stick it somewhere on when you anticipate getting deposits back when the subdivision turns over to the town (usually a few years). Make a note to inquire with the builder at that time...most aren't diligent on releasing that back to homeowners.

Chickennbeans wrote: ↑ Lol at $1.2m being a steal in Stouffville.

I know buyer behaviour supports the pricing, but from a third party perspective, that's just insane.

BatCountry wrote: ↑
Make a note and stick it somewhere on when you anticipate getting deposits back when the subdivision turns over to the town (usually a few years). Make a note to inquire with the builder at that time...most aren't diligent on releasing that back to homeowners.