Rye Ranch by D.R. Horton: A Nature Focused, Amenity Rich Community in Parrish, Florida

In this episode of Jim Sells the Suncoast, Jim speaks with Paul Kurpiewski and Nico from D.R. Horton about the newly launched Rye Ranch community in Parrish. With over 3,500 homes planned, modern amenities, abundant green space, and an emphasis on outdoor living, Rye Ranch promises to be a standout addition to Florida’s Suncoast.

Key Highlights

1. Community & Location
   • Massive Master Plan: Ultimately 3,500+ homes, with D.R. Horton building 1,700+ of them.
   • Convenient Access: Tucked in north Parrish near Rye Preserve, with plans for on-site shopping, dining, and even an elementary school by 2026.
2. Lifestyle & Amenities
   • Future Grange Center: Central gathering space for farmer’s markets, concerts, and community events, plus multiple amenity centers throughout Rye Ranch.
   • Nature & Trails: 10+ miles of walking/biking paths planned, along with lush landscaping and easy access to nearby preserve areas.
3. Home Options & Pricing
   • Varied Floor Plans: 20+ floor plans ranging from ~1,600 sq. ft. to nearly 5,000 sq. ft., including single-story, two-story, and attached villa options.
   • Pricing Range: Mid-$300Ks up to the high $600Ks, with most lots offering water or nature views. Lot premiums included in published home prices.
4. HOA & CDD
   • HOA Fees: Approximately $447/quarter (covers common-area maintenance, landscaping, and amenity upkeep).
   • CDD: Varies by lot (40’, 50’, 60’ widths) from $1,700–$2,500 annually, adding roughly $150–$200/month to your mortgage.
5. Warranty & Builder Support
   • 1-2-10 Coverage: One year for workmanship, two years on mechanicals (HVAC, plumbing, electrical), and ten years structural.
   • Preferred Partners: DHI Mortgage, DHI Insurance, and in-house title services streamline financing and reduce closing costs (with current incentives).
6. Future Growth & Timeline
   • Phase One: Expected build-out over two years, with the entire development taking at least five years to complete.
   • Equity Potential: Early-phase buyers often see significant increases in home value as the community matures and amenities expand.

What’s Next?

Intrigued by Rye Ranch’s nature-forward layout and extensive amenities? Reach out to Jim at jim.ahearn@gmail.com or visit Jim Sells the Suncoast. For details on available floor plans, quick move-ins, and current incentives, connect with Paul and Nico from D.R. Horton – and be among the first to call Rye Ranch home!

A Personal Note from Jim:

Hey there, I’m Jim Ahearn, your go-to real estate guide and host of Jim Sells The Suncoast podcast! 🎙️✨ Dreaming of Florida life? I’ve got you covered! As your dedicated buyer's agent, I’ll handle everything from walk-throughs to closing, making your home-buying journey as smooth as a Florida breeze.

Whether you're local or tuning in from afar, I’ll bring the Suncoast to you with virtual tours and expert advice. Let’s chat about your dream home and I'll connect you with all the right people to make it happen.

Ready to move to paradise? Drop me a line – I can’t wait to help! 🌴🏡

Transcript

Jim: 0:54

And welcome to Jim Sills of Suncoast. Today I am excited to have with me Paul Kurpiewski and Nico Ian from DR Horton and Rye Ranch, which is coming in right up the road in Parish. Huge community coming in. I know the area's. Excited for it. A lot going on. So welcome gentlemen. Thanks for being here.

Paul: 1:14

Thank you for having us, Jim. Super excited. Yeah.

Jim: 1:18

Yep. I know Nico, you've been in real estate for a couple of years. You joined Dr. Horton just this year and then Paul, you've been in real estate about five years. You got the experience general and coming over to Dr. Horton. So I think that speaks a little bit to the process and what they have that you were willing to make that transition.

Paul: 1:33

Yeah coming from general real estate, but the comradery and the teamwork here at DR Horton really drew me in and ever since I've been here, I've love every day,

Jim: 1:41

Fantastic. I'm excited. Ry Ranch. It's actually right down the road from my house, so seeing the development start from signs going up to ground, clearing to houses popping up now. Let's walk me through a little bit. When did it first really start settling up and tell me a little bit about Rye Ranch in general.

Paul: 2:01

By Rachel officially opened in February of this year. All the development of the roads and finalizing the floor plans and community layout. we officially opened in February, 2025, and we're excited to say there's gonna be over 3,500 homes total here in Rye Ranch. With modern amenities, really a big lifestyle community similar to your Lakewood Ranch community. DR Horton is gonna be building over 1700 homes. the majority of the homes here in Rye Ranch will be DR Horton. And we are gonna have every single product line of home except for town homes here. a big variety of homes, brand new elevations that are completely different than other communities. All of our homes are gonna have the black roofs, so very sleek looking designs as well.

Nico: 2:49

Okay.

Paul: 2:50

Yep.

Nico: 2:51

Yeah, just piggybacking what Paul was saying about the community, interestingly enough, the family that owns the land is now in development with us as well. So with that, there's a sense of pride to make sure that this is the exact vision that they have. And make sure that no one's neglecting that, so with that, lush landscaping packages, that would probably cost you around like 10 to 20 grand anywhere else just to get half of the stuff that we have here. As well as Paul was saying, like modern designs, different elevations things that just really set us apart from the other builders in the area as well,

Jim: 3:22

Fantastic. So what do you think is gonna set this development apart in terms of lifestyle and community? Compared to the others, maybe more in immediate area. We are north of Lakewood Ranch but it brings a lot of that community and a lot of those amenities to this area, which there, it really isn't here yet.

Paul: 3:40

What I think is gonna really set us apart from the other communities, like in Lakewood Ranch is here, they're very focused on a social lifestyle community. Like you mentioned, there will be the modern amenities, like you see other communities, there's gonna be multiple amenities centers. But there's gonna be a center for residents to join called the Grange which is super cool and unique to this area because it'll be an area where families are able to gather, play outdoor games. Eventually there will be farmer's markets. And concerts at the Grange as well. And it's really expected just to be an outdoor living social community, like I said. A little bit different than your Lakewood Ranch.

Nico: 4:22

Yes. I was able to essentially take the virtual tour, give it a test drive, try before you buy here, which was really insightful. Just like Paul was saying, it's really getting back to the community aspect, which I think we all can agree that certain aspects of the ranch has loss and become just a metropolis and all, Rye Ranch is gonna have its own app to where you will essentially be signed up, your neighbors will be signed up, you guys can go do social events outside. You guys can attend the amenities. No need for key fobs, everything is done from your phone. So it's supposed to be extremely user intuitive, nature focused and community driven

Jim: 4:53

When you have 3,500 versus 45,000. That's something that you're able to give that you can't quite get on something that scale.

Paul: 5:01

And also, you talked a

Jim: 5:02

Sorry, go ahead.

Paul: 5:03

I was gonna say also in this community there will be shopping and dining in the future as well. So you'll have everything really in your neighborhood. As well as an elementary school. So they're actually working on the elementary school to be open before the 2026 school year, and it's gonna be located in Rye Ranch. So with over 3,500 homes, that means there's gonna be a lot of families with kids that want to attend this school, and if kids would like to walk or take their bikes to school, they don't need to cross any major roads. It'd be going through the community. So a very safe path to school and back as well.

Jim: 5:39

That's a pretty good idea. Does that mean condos or villas too, or No, just single family homes.

Paul: 5:45

So villas as well? Yes. So we will have a section here in Rye Ranch that is gonna have our Freedom product line. Attached villa, so like a duplex. And there are also three single family floor plans in the freedom category. The Laurel, the Clifton, and the Delray, and this section of the community will be advertised more for active adults. that section will be gated and they will have their own amenity center as well. And it will be maintenance free. lawn care will be included in the freedom section here.

Jim: 6:20

All right. What, so tell me a little bit about the floor plans. What sizes and number of bedrooms are we starting at? What's the most we can get and maybe a ballpark or an approximate price. What we're looking at.

Paul: 6:33

Nico, do you wanna take over here?

Nico: 6:35

For single family, we're looking at 20 different floorplans. We're covering a wide variety of entry buyers, first time home buyers all the way up to your move up buyers. As liquid ranch other master plan communities. Folks tend to move up or upgrade after they get a certain amount of equity in their home. We offer everything from around 1600 square feet all the way, just shy of 5,000. We have two single story and two story options, as well as two car and three car garage options. To say we really cover all our bases, I really truly believe that we do from, the families that just needed a lot of space or, to the newlywed couple or, folks who are just, starting life together. We have everything that.

Jim: 7:15

So are most of these homes coming in? Are they gonna be custom bills? Are they gonna be inventory? what options and what control do people have on, the portions to go? Can they put a three car garage on? Is that the option?

Nico: 7:29

So with us, we are production builder. We're a largest builder in America, and with that, we found what really works best for us is essentially specking everything out. And what is what you get. That way there are no change orders, there are no mix up. You have that ability to interpret it as your own. Once you close, you can go as crazy as you want within the law, right? But we give you a blank canvas to start from. So if it's a two car, it's a two car, if it's a single

Jim: 7:52

Okay,

Nico: 7:53

A single story,

Jim: 7:54

you know what, and you know what you're cutting it into. But I, somebody mentioned it to me and I've loved it after that, is it's not a customized home, but it's a personalized home. You can come in, you can change the floor, you can change the paint on the walls. You can do some things like that. But at least when you come in, you're gonna get what you were planning on and there aren't gonna be changes, and you're not gonna be surprised by something that you weren't expecting. Correct.

Paul: 8:15

Exactly. And it also helps keeps the cost of the home down as well. So right when we show you our models or when we go walking finish home, you see exactly how your home is gonna look. There's not additional features that would up the cost of your home. And all of our lot premiums are already included in the price as well. When we go out on site and we show you a home and tell you what the price is, we don't have to also attack on the lot premium.

Jim: 8:38

Yeah, that can sometimes be a little bit of a sticker shock.

Paul: 8:41

that, right?

Jim: 8:41

And so if somebody convinces, Hey, I want the 4,000 square foot with a three car garage, you say that's gonna be available in these locations. We can go look at those locations.

Paul: 8:50

Yes. Okay. And what's great especially right now is typically we have a start date on every single lot. But if a lot is very attractive to somebody, we can tell them what home is gonna be there, and then we can instantly start building it for them as well. Bill time as of today, is around three to four months. So from start to finish very quick here in Rye Ranch.

Jim: 9:11

Yeah, that's not bad.

Paul: 9:12

yep.

Jim: 9:14

So beyond the home purchase, what additional fees are there? What else should we be aware of?

Paul: 9:20

So there is a HOA and CDD like most of our communities, The HOA for our Express and Traditions homes is 4 47 quarterly. Okay? So just shy of$150 a month for the HOA, and that will include your common area maintenance. You are maintaining the amenities And maintaining just the neighborhood in general because we will have a lot of extensive landscaping in the common areas that really are gonna make this community different than the rest. Around our, all of our ponds, we're planting extensive trees and beautiful shrubs around to really give it that effect when you're in your backyard, that you're in this nature setting as well. Now for CDD, we have the CDD varies between product size. So we have 40 foot lots, 50 foot lots, and 60 foot lots. Our forties start at right around$1,700 annually for the CDD jumping up to 2100 for our fifties and 2,500 for our 60 foot lots.

Jim: 10:24

Yeah, so that's. 150 to just over$200 a month.

Paul: 10:27

Okay.

Jim: 10:27

So you talked a little bit about the amenity centers. Tell me more about what's gonna be involved in and how many, and then is it pools, gyms, community centers, parks, we talked about concerts.

Paul: 10:38

Nico?

Nico: 10:40

Forry Ranch, I believe there's gonna be four, two confirmed us being one of them. Possibly another national brand getting in here as well. So for our community, the Dr. Horton side, we're looking at a pool, clubhouse, gym. Dog park a tot lot as we call it. And then there'll be nature trails as well. We're looking at about, I wanna say like 10 miles to start. Speaking with Variety Ranch, they said that we will have access to rye Preserve. So that will be like access on the bottom of the community so that folks can essentially leave their community, go straight to the preserve. Biking, walking, enjoying nature is your kind of thing. This is the perfect area for you. Now, rye Ranch as a whole, the entire community amenities, that's still to be determined. The one we've heard the most of so far would be the Grange, like Paul was talking about, meeting area place for, outdoor concerts, food trucks open fields to host events as well for the season, right? So thinking, for folks who may not be familiar with the parish area, something similar to waterside. Is what we could be looking at essentially.

Jim: 11:43

Oh, that's nice. Can you outline your long-term construction timeline? We've just opened, we're not even 60 days in. Is this a five year window that we're looking at roughly?

Paul: 11:57

Yeah, so we are looking for a minimum five year construction timeline here, just because there is a lot more land in the future that could be developed and we're planning on, we just haven't started any of that yet. So with this community being how big it is, at least five years for construction time, what's nice is the phases that we're building in phase one should be finished within two years. after phase one is done, you're not gonna have all those construction trucks driving through your neighborhood.'cause we're gonna have multiple entrances here as well.

Jim: 12:27

Okay. how is he supporting homeowners after the sale? What kind of warranties are ongoing?

Paul: 12:31

Nico, you wanna take that one?

Nico: 12:33

Yeah, so we offer a 1 2 10. one year is gonna be workmanship defects. That goes into any kind of imperfections with the home. Two years is gonna be for your mechanical, electrical, plumbing. So pretty much anything in the walls or above you in the ceiling. And then we do a 10 year structural warranty as well. A great thing about it too is that it is transferable coming from other builders, that wasn't the case. So let's say you're in your home for not even a year. You need to leave you sell the home. All of that transfers into your new homeowner as well So they still get the remainder of the one year, the two years, and the 10 years.

Jim: 13:08

Okay. One of the questions I want to ask, and you already touched on it a little bit, was. What were the environmental considerations that were prioritized during the planning and construction phase? How did that develop? Do you know the background of that or what drove them?

Paul: 13:22

Correct.

Nico: 13:24

Yeah, I would say the relationship with the developer is he's here on site, if not every day, every other day. It's very distinct, stops by inspects, what he expects kind of deal. Coming from a military background, I was in the Marine Corps for six years. That's something that touches me to the soul that someone truly cares enough to take the time outta their day, even though they're at the top of the totem pole to see what's going on at the operational level. And so with that too, there's a lot of guidelines that have been passed down, but also things that we just do as a company. So we do Bora Care, which is like the termite treatment. And so that has nothing to do with any water runoff. It's spraying onto the studs of the home, once, we have structure up above. It permeates that creates this essential perimeter around the entire house that kills termites on contact and keeps them away. Whereas, some other folks might be doing something with a ground treatment that causes some, chemicals and things to run off into the water. The whole name of the game here is nature. Preserving that as much as we can. If we're taking trees away, you best believe we're putting in two times more trees to make up for it. And I think it'll show, especially within the next couple months.

Jim: 14:25

Nice. I really like that idea of being tied into rye preserve, being able to address that without going on the main road. Sounds. Like a great draw. Yeah, absolutely. What financing options are available? Does Dr. Horton have a preferred lender or a preferred insurance preferred title that can it be a one-stop shop for someone who's out looking?

Paul: 14:47

Yeah, so we actually have all three of those things. We have our preferred lender, preferred title, and preferred insurance. What we usually do is we ask buyers to do an application with our DHI mortgage company. This way if they are approved, we can get them the most incentives possible. Our standard is up to$10,000 towards closing costs. Using our preferred lender, and that is with financing of course. On top of our other incentives, like for example, in March we were doing specifically in R Ranch, 3.99% FHA or VA interest rates on Quick Move and ready homes. So this could save you between five to$600 on your monthly payments compared to the current. rates now. This really helped with people that are payment sensitive. And didn't have too much to put down. They think they could never afford a home in this market. And when they came here, it turns out they could afford a lot more than what they expected after doing a pre-qual with us here. Now for insurance we also have DHI insurance. Which usually gets you the best rates and premiums compared to any other insurance company in the area just because they know our products so well and how energy efficient our homes are too.

Jim: 16:03

What are any specific restrictions homeowners should be aware of? Such as pet policies or rental regulations.

Paul: 16:12

Nico,

Nico: 16:13

I would say PET policies. That is your home. I've seen some, and it varies community. I think the most outrageous one I've seen is no chickens. So just knowing that somebody prompted somebody had some, Yeah. Someone's raising a farm. I don't know. I hate to be those neighbors, but so that's what we're looking at. As far as like breed restrictions for dogs, that's like an archaic thing that I think a lot of builders are moving away from personally and I've never heard of one of our communities having a dog restriction. It is your home. As long as you have 200 dogs or something. I would say that's the extent of that. And then for rental restrictions typically we're looking at six months minimum one time a year. We're really trying to get away from having a community that's almost like an Airbnb or a. You have a revolving door of folks coming in all the time. So that's why we have our minimums at six months. Not to say we aren't investor friendly, we do work with a plethora of investors. I would say it's more long-term investors as well. But that's where we're at with both of those things.

Jim: 17:09

That's an option.

Nico: 17:10

It is. So we're still working through with the developer to finalize there's a fence. To see, are we doing privacy fences? Looks right and we have uniformity.

Jim: 17:21

Yeah. A little consistency goes a long

Nico: 17:22

Correct. And it helps with homeowners values too. without an HOA, then you're gonna get, depreciating assets instead of appreciating ones.

Jim: 17:29

We talked a little earlier but the local real estate market influencing sales and pricing trends with the development. Is that impacting you all? And what is the starting point for Rye Ranch and then what's the top end?

Paul: 17:44

our home start right in the mid three hundreds, all the way to the high six hundreds. So we really have that entry level starting point here as well. And me and Nico were speaking earlier today. With all the incentives that we are giving along with other builders in the area or in the nation. We actually did some research ourselves and we found out that we're actually at the peak of builder incentives since 2009. With all this sitting inventory right now, are giving away everything they possibly can, which makes it really a great time to purchase a home. Compared to a few years ago when it was a really hot sellers market, it was a great time to sell your home, but you'd have to bid over asking just to get a home. Here, with all these incentives, we're almost giving them to you, so it's really a great time to buy, especially in a brand new community where you can get in right around three 50 in a single family home.

Jim: 18:40

Yeah. There's so many options now to not take advantage of some of these. Options, you're missing the boat on being able to get into a home that you want, whether you're that first time home buyer or that move up buyer. Absolutely.

Paul: 18:52

Yeah.

Jim: 18:53

Can you share any stories or testimonials from current residents that highlight their positive experiences and satisfaction?

Paul: 19:01

Because we just opened we have four homes under contract right now. We're about to have our first closing on April 8th. the home just got finished. They just did their final walk with their builder. The home just got cleaned out and we're just waiting on closing right now.

Jim: 19:16

So we just

Paul: 19:17

final CLS on all of our homes.

Jim: 19:19

I think that's amazing that it goes that quick. One day it's a scrub field. The next day somebody's closing on a house in there, right?

Paul: 19:27

Yeah.

Jim: 19:28

what else do you wanna tell me about rye rants that might influence somebody to come check it out?

Paul: 19:33

One thing I would like to say that really differentiates us from other builders and even other communities by Dr. Horton is when you come to this community, I've invited a lot of realtors and just a lot of. Potential buyers out here to view our community and they can't believe that it is a Dr. Horton community. All of our homes with this extensive landscaping, the upgraded elevations and even the home sites, just make it super attractive to buyers'cause you're not buying just a cookie cutter home with all these different elevations and even color schemes. it looks like a very unique neighborhood, different than any other community nearby here as well. And especially knowing that in this community there will be shopping and dining and modern amenities. People are just blown away by the size and. The cool features here that they won't find anywhere else, as well as the home sites. So here, most of our home sites either sit on a beautiful big pond or nature preserve, so you're not just gonna be backing up to homes right off the bat. In our phase one you have beautiful home sites with a lot of space between your homes and behind your home for that privacy to fence in or build a pool in the future. That's what makes it really special to me as well.

Nico: 20:47

Yeah, I would say this is a especially unique community for this area. Because of the growth that we've seen just in the last two, three years. Jim, you live there so you can see what's happening

Paul: 20:57

your

Nico: 20:57

You guys are gonna be having a Publix out here, in a matter of time.'cause they're in the business of real estate just as much as we are. And where they go, they anticipate, people to go as well. But at specific time in this market it's a great investment opportunity. Not if you're just an investor, but as a homeownership. Paying a landlord and, filling their playbook or paycheck, right? Instead of filling your own building up equity with these new home communities. You get in phase one, by the time phase three is around, you've already made a couple tens of thousands of dollars in equity, and that's in a steady market. If we get another boom, you can possibly goodbye. And that's what happened with a lot of folks on Lakewood Ranch. That's why our same floor plans that may have little bit less features, that might have concrete driveways, that might have, standard solid doors, they're$200,000 more for the exact same house with less features because of the desirability of period. And I think once people start seeing that, then we'll even more influx of folks coming in here. But I would say for folks come out here, see it for yourself. See it in the early stages. Everyone loves to see a project go from, concept to actualization, right? Whether it's a home, whether it's art. my wife and I like watching this dude who molds chocolate and stuff and the guy is fantastic at it, but it's like how you can take your vision and see it, come out, gonna be something parish area. Especially for folks who are getting priced outta Riverview even, because. Five in 10 minutes. Just seeing the growth there, it's exciting. I think we have great leadership in place to make sure that this, becomes what they're visioning.

Jim: 22:33

I think there's something to be said for being one of those first in a neighborhood. wife and I built a house a couple years ago. We were first a hundred out of 800 or something. So as more came in, we felt like ambassadors. Going out, talking to people, having some fun. Wow. We've been here, three months longer. Woo. We're old hats at this. But it was fun. So build that sense of community and that comradery and that's where you want your home to be. That's truly home and I, yeah. I love watching it take off. Nico Paul, thank you for joining me today. I appreciate it. We will have information in the show notes, so anybody wants to reach out. Absolutely. Call these guys. Go visit, stop by and say, Hey, thanks for coming out.

Paul: 23:15

Thank you so much, Jim.

Nico: 23:16

Thank you, Jim.