Quote:
Originally Posted by OutsiderWithInterest
Thanks Bogie. I am still considering it and have been for over a year. I don't have the specific rules in front of me either, but I have been told that Bison Valley owners can do some things but not others.
By reading these boards though, one senses an undercurrent of unhappiness in some Villagers. Yes, I realize that no community is perfect, and it's a very small percentage, but it will probably be enough to keep me away in the end. I am used to living in A-1 surroundings where the "rules" fit on a single page. Before that I lived in a neighborhood with pretty loose restrictions, and it was nice. The more I learn about the Villages though, the more uncomfortable I become. It's not the restrictions that bother me so much as it is the volume of the self-appointed "cops" that trouble me. The last thing I want to do is keep an attorney on retainer to explain to me what I can and cannot do with my life.
Back to the specific issue of pools and rec centers, it is my understanding that, by law, it is impossible to keep the general public out of these facilities, that is, non-amenity paying people. I forgot the specifics, but I do remember it having to do with public access, highways, or some such thing.
I will say this to everyone though: If I could do it all over again, I would have become a lawyer. A person could make a killing in the Villages. Where there's a perpetual stack of rules and money flowing, there is ripe opportunity to skim a percentage off the top.
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Don't be put off by what you read here. There is a fund of misinformation here.
The restrictions here are no more onerous than the last two sub-divisions where I lived. ( Both had their share of self appointed "cops". ) I was in real estate prior to moving here and I can attest rules are better than no rules.
Amenities supported by residents are
NOT open to the public. They are the property of the CDD (that's us).
Bison Valley is a very small village. Somewhere in this thread the number is mentioned but I believe it is less than 200 homes. The population here is pushing 80,000 so Bison Valley is a drop in the bucket. Evidently, for whatever reason, the developer gave those residence some or all of the priviledges of the rest of us. Some are not happy with this. I am not happy with it on principle but it is his/her prerogative. If I were buying here now knowing what I know I would not consider it a deal breaker. In fact, I wouldn't even consider it.
I am going to borrow from Ella Fitzgerald who is supposed to have said " I have been rich and I have been poor, rich is better". My version is " I have lived all over the US and I have live here eight years, here is better".