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As I look back over the years that we’ve
been living in a Pringle home, it seems hard to believe that it has been
12 years since we moved to Florida from up north. We had some
reservations about leaving our previous home of 30 years in the New York
City area. We also had doubts as to where to settle, what builders to
consider, what size home to build, and how far from our grown-up
children and grandchildren we should be living. A lot had to be
considered before we could be sure that Florida living was right for us.
Our first introduction to Pringle
Development was through a relative who had already compared several
Central Florida developers before deciding to invest in a Pringle home.
During a brief vacation, we visited their empty lot before construction
had begun. We then decided to take a closer look at the area to see if
we wanted to follow suit. To avoid being influenced by our relative’s
decision, we decided to study other developers in the area before
looking at any Pringle homes.
We were surprised to find that many
developers only build “stock homes”, or homes that are built from
standard floorplans with no design flexibility. One developer wouldn’t
even consider the addition of a skylight to their plans. Some developers
used low quality materials, such as particleboard in the walls, while
others showed signs of poor craftsmanship.
 After several
disappointments, we finally toured a Pringle community and found that
their construction techniques and materials were top-shelf. We were also
assured that we would be able to make custom changes, as long as our
requests were architecturally sound. After finding a nice lot on a lake,
we made our purchase and returned home.
In the process of finalizing our design
choices, we found the design staff at Pringle to be very friendly and
helpful. For example, we found a magazine article with a unique glass
block shower in a large bathroom. After sending the article to the
Pringle design team, we were told that “they could build it as
requested”. The specific blue color was not in stock, so they had a tile
man produce a sample for our approval. In our living room, we wanted an
enclosed area for our TV, along with several bookshelves to accommodate
all of our books. We drew an elaborate design that included many
shelves, glass doors, corner shelves, and special lighting. It was sent
to the Design Center, approved, and today, we are enjoying our custom
cabinets and our beautiful glass block shower.
But there were other pleasant surprises that
assured us that we had made the right decision. Closing on our old home
involved a meeting with about 10 people, all wanting a check for their
services. The final walkthrough and closing for our Pringle home was
much easier. When we spoke with a local bank about a mortgage, we were
told that, “we would have no trouble with a mortgage for a Pringle
home”. At our closing, we expected that we would need a local attorney
as we did in New York, but the attorney that we contacted said that, “he
did not have to attend the closing for a Pringle home. Just call me if
you need me.”
Our community has developed into a
beautifully maintained neighborhood, with friendly neighbors and plenty
of activities. Of course, we still make frequent trips up north to see
our children and grandchildren. But we’ve also learned that it doesn’t
take a lot of arm-twisting to encourage friends and relatives to visit
us in sunny Central Florida - especially in the winter!
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