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We had been negotiating long distance from Michigan with two homebuilders for four or five months and were not making any real progress. It seemed every request we made was either not possible or was excessively expensive. Finally, out of frustration, we got on the Internet and looked for homebuilders in both Marion and Citrus counties, one of which was Gold Crest. A sketch of our basic design was e-mailed to Gold Crest and two other builders inquiring whether they had similar designs and web sites where the designs could be reviewed. Instead of the expected e-mail response, a Gold Crest sales representative telephoned us. After describing the Gold Crest building process, she went on to answer our questions that resulted in our learning that many of the things other builders could not or would not do were common practices at Gold Crest. |
Since my wife is an interior decorator, we wanted to use some suppliers with whom we were familiar and with whom we had established a relationship. Not a problem at Gold Crest. We were also amazed to learn that we would not be expected to sign a contract until the design was completed and we were fully satisfied with it. Shortly thereafter we took a long weekend and visited Gold Crest and their model homes. During this visit, we spent several hours with Greg Conard, the owner and one of the sales representatives discussing the models and changes we would like to make. Greg even joined us in a visit to the lot we had purchased two years earlier to get an estimate of clearing and preparation issues. By the end of that one weekend we had firmed up the basic home design, determined the houses orientation on the lot, had a good grasp of what our builder would do and what we, the homeowners could do ourselves. During this one weekend, we made more progress towards getting our dream home than we had with other builders over several months. We were elated. Over the next several weeks, while Gold Crest developed the detailed design and we applied for our construction loan. Before we knew it we were ready to begin construction. During this time we also sold our home in Michigan and moved into a rental property near our new home. And, then construction began. This home is our 14th since getting married in 1964, the eighth home we have owned and the fifth we have either built or purchased while being built. By far this was the most pleasant experience. That is not to say there were no problems, you cannot build a home without encountering some problems and we had our share, but the difference is that the problems never became confrontational, we and our builder working together, resolved them all. The bottom line is that we have no reservation in recommending Gold Crest to friends and family, more importantly, should we ever build another home here, it will be with Gold Crest. -- Charles and Dee Gilmor |