[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by dittofred

Hi, Phil,

My husband and I moved into Pine Ridge two months ago. We have been looking at homes in the Villages since October of 2014. We chose Pine Ridge because of the price of the home and the location. We wanted to buy an inexpensive home and do the upgrades ourselves (it's a lot less expensive that way). We LOVE the location. By car, we are ten minutes from Brownwood, ten minutes from Sumter Landing, and fifteen minutes from Spanish Springs! There is grocery shopping just five minutes away (when our front entrance is open). We are thrilled with the area we chose.

There are several downsides, but we know they will go away with time. When we moved in (7/10/15), the houses across the street from us were under construction and, as you can imagine, there was noise, dust, and trash everywhere. But it take the Villages 45 days to build a house. We have been here about 64 days and those houses are all complete and our area looks like a nice, clean neighborhood. The houses all have nice landscaping. While it's all immature, some neighbors have chosen to upgrade theirs and planted larger palms. We know almost everyone on the street and we are all pretty comfortable with each other. Our pool is completed and its a nice place to meet and chat.

Our taxes will be minimal this year because you will only be paying on the land. Next year will be a full tax year. It shouldn't be too bad. I'm guessing for my home the taxes will be about $2,500. Don't forget to apply for the homestead. Also, don't forget about the bond that is assessed on each home. It is a one-time assessment, based on the size of the home, that pays for the infrastructure of the community. It can be paid over a 30-year period of time with a 6% interest rate. Many people prefer to pay it off sooner rather than later. I believe ours is about $25,000. We also pay $145 per month fee for amenities.

There are so very many activities here, that we are always on the go. Its quite an experience. We are loving it.

If you have any other questions, please let me know or feel free to email us at fredandjanc@centurylink.net.

Nice first post.
Welcome to posting on TOTV. I hope you enjoy it.