Toll Brothers Questions answered

I have been asked several questions about certain issues pertaining to Toll Brothers. I feel that others could potentially benefit from the answers to these questions whether they are purchasing a home from Toll Brothers, or some other builder. The questions were posted in the comments section and I will answer them here, based on my personal experiences.

First question/topic:
Dee, did you negotiate the price of your home or the price of additions? I've heard it's hard to negotiate with TB. Also, how much do additions cost relative to base home price? would you say 15-20% of price is a reasonable expectation? 

Answer:
The day of contract signing the Toll Brothers sales manager made it very clear that Toll Brothers does not negotiate on the price of homes. Period. She said that they do not take any amount off of the sales price after options are added. The base price of my home included 5 bedrooms 4.5 baths with a game room and formal dining room. I chose the following options - media room, interior wet bar, alternate fireplace location and chose an open area where a Butler's pantry can later be placed rather than having a closet in that location. These options totaled 4.1% of the base price. 

There are plenty of other options that could quickly get someone to the 15-20% of the base price. Some of those options include: Additional garage bay ($10,500), covered porch addition ($9,900), Master bath luxury package ($16,900), open beam ceiling for Two-story family/great room ($6,900), Butler pantry ($3,450), etc., etc., etc.

Second question/topic:
Are you saying the title insurance was not included as part of the closing cost in your original GFE and this came as a complete shock? Or was it included and you just assumed TB would cover this? I have a GFE from TB that includes the title insurance charges for settlement services. 

Answer:
Since I am still a little over one month away from closing, I have not yet been given a GFE as we are awaiting the final numbers from the title company. At contract signing the sales manager made it very clear that Toll Brothers does not pay for the title policy. This fact was not hidden, but it was rather shocking that this is their common practice. My realtor was almost flabbergasted when the sales manager made that statement. In almost all cases the seller pays for the title policy. In my case the title insurance is estimated to cost $4,187. Yes, $4,187 on top of down payment and expected closing costs.

Even worse than the fact that Toll Brothers does not cover the title policy is the fact that despite paying for the policy myself, I have no choice when it comes to the Title company or the location of closing. Now, by law, builders are not allowed to dictate which Title company is used for closing and the paying party (buyer vs seller) is negotiable. Toll Brothers gets around this by place including in Section 5 of the contract which states "If buyer fails to select a title company within thirty (30) days of the date of Buyer's execution of this Agreement, or if Buyer's title company is unwilling to ensure title as good and marketable, then, in order to facilitate the preparation of closing documents, Seller is authorized to obtain title insurance for Buyer at Buyer's expense at prevailing rates in the amount of the purchase price."

This was not explained well during signing of the contract, but regardless I agreed to it by signing the contract. And with Toll Brothers, it's take it or leave it. However, I think it is safe to say that most people building homes with estimated construction times of 6-8 months do NOT  immediately leave the sales office and start Google-ing title companies. Yes, Toll Brothers is slick and love to dictate things.

Since Toll Brothers will be so kind to obtain title insurance for me at my expense, OF COURSE THEY CHOSE THEIR OWN TITLE COMPANY!!!