[coach]

Boomer,

I always enjoy your posts and hope you and Mr. Boomer make the decision that is best for you. While I have no inside information, my comments are based on five years as a villager and a lifetime of watching the phrase "follow the money" hold true in almost all decisions.

The Villages commercial property totals more than 2.7 million square ft. of commercial and retail space. Citizens First Bank and The Citizens First Wholesale Mortgage are family owned and very profitable. I say all this to make a point that long term success and the continuation of the lifestyle we enjoy makes financial sense to the owners. The owners want to rent buildings and make more money. And rightly they should!!

I understand that many developers buy a track of land, build houses, keep the pool clean until all the houses are sold and then walk away. I really don't think that is our fate. The CDD's will keep the pools open, the flowers planted and the residential portion of the Villages going for ever. It is the profit motive that will drive the town squares, nightly entertainment and the vast medical and commercial ventures.

I remember a professor years ago saying to an economics class I was in,
"It is not the benevolence of the butcher or the baker that we have bread and meat, it is their desire to make a profit."