Would this hold true in The Villages?

[upstate]

New owner doesn (http://www.dailyitem.com/news/lifestyles/article_633b553c-2f97-11e4-9e00-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=jqm)

[Barefoot]

New owner doesn (http://www.dailyitem.com/news/lifestyles/article_633b553c-2f97-11e4-9e00-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=jqm)

The referenced article is about condominiums.
Villages houses aren't condos.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

According to the article, when a sale takes place because of a legal action the community rules do not have to be followed. As it also states 20% of the homes do not have to have an occupant over the age of 55. I don't believe that our rules stipulate who may own a home here, only who can occupy it.

I believe that anyone in The Villages can sell their home to whoever they want as long as we are still under the 20% cap. There are many homes here that are occupied by people under age 55. In fact, if you do the math you'll find that only about 20% of the residents here would need to be over 55.

To make things simple, I'll round off the numbers. Assuming that there are 60,000 homes, we could have an average of four people living in each home for a total of 240,000 residents. Only 80% of those homes would have to have ONE PERSON over the age of 55 for the community to fall under the guidelines. All the rest, including spouses, adult children and whoever could be under 55 and we'd still qualify under the guidelines. That would be 48,000 residents out of 240,000 or 20%. These are rough figures so please don't nit pick them. Just think of it this way. If you are over 55 and your spouse is under 55, you could live here with your two adult children. That would be one in four in your house. And yes, the scenario is highly unlikely. It just represents the extreme case.

Now, the problem I see in the story linked to the OP is that these people had children under the age of 19. The article doesn't mention whether the condo association has any rules about minor children living with parents. I'm not sure how that might work here in The Villages. It could be that the couple may be told that the children are not allowed to live there.

Other questions arise as well. Can I rent my house out to an under 55 couple if we are at or over the 20%? Does anyone know the exact wording of this law?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The referenced article is about condominiums.
Villages houses aren't condos.

With all due respect, I don't think that's relevant. The article is about age restricted communities. And I do believe that we might have some condos in The Villages. I think that they're called Sonoma Vista just behind Spanish Springs Town Square.

[Moderator]

We generally delete threads that start with just a link and no member question, analysis, or point for discussion in the original post.

However, this has already generated some replies that seem to address the topic of an over 55 community selling to a younger couple with minor children.

Moderator

[TheVillageChicken]

Seriously, do you think the realtors and closing law firms check to see what the ratio of over 55s to under 55s is before finalizing a sale? If there is such a data base, I wonder what the current ratio is.

[janmcn]

With all due respect, I don't think that's relevant. The article is about age restricted communities. And I do believe that we might have some condos in The Villages. I think that they're called Sonoma Vista just behind Spanish Springs Town Square.

You are correct about Sonoma Vista. The townhouses next to Glenview are also condos.

[upstate]

The referenced article is about condominiums.
Villages houses aren't condos.

I understand TV are not condos, but it is a 55 and over community as has been noted. Have a good day.

[Barefoot]

I understand TV are not condos, but it is a 55 and over community as has been noted. Have a good day.

I thought the conditions imposed by a Condominium Board were a different kettle of fish than the Villages Restrictions Agreement
that we sign when we buy a detached home.
And now I know that there are apparently are some condominium in The Villages of which I was unaware.
I spoke too soon without adequate information. Me bad. Sorry.

[sunnyatlast]

Q: I live in a 55-and-over condominium. A neighboring property recently was sold at a foreclosure auction to a young couple who moved in with their small children. This goes against the rules of our community. Is there anything we can do?

The key criterion in that example is that the couple "moved in with their small children".

Apart from the federal law allowing for 20% to be under 55, the law also allows for the community to set other rules, such as the one The Villages has for no children under age 19 may LIVE in TV.

A person under age 19 could own a home or condo here, but they could not reside in it.

Therefore it's not the same situation as the linked article question.

[Bonanza]

Seriously, do you think the realtors and closing law firms check to see what the ratio of over 55s to under 55s is before finalizing a sale? If there is such a data base, I wonder what the current ratio is.

It is not the job of a Realtor to know what the statistics are concerning the 55 age and the 80/20 percentages in an adult community. It is also not the job of whomever it is that does the closing to know what these ratios are. Lawyers are not the only ones who do closings.

It is up to the condo itself to accept or reject someone who is not the proper age. Usually, there is an interview followed by acceptance (with a letter which must be provided before closing), which is required for the closing. Without that letter, the property will not close.

[llaran]

The town houses mentioned are not condo - also resales are not asked about their age and there is no tally , I'm not even sure "the villages" keeps track of ages. you can also rent to any age over 19. There are some under 19 who live here and the neighbors keep quiet, they are driven to school outside of the villages.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Is I'm not mistaken, the 80% over 55 rule is a federal law. It seems to me that The Villages would be pretty stupid not to keep some kind of tally of who is living here. If the feds were to call them on it and they didn't have the numbers, they could lose their over 55 status.

Like I said only 20% of the residents have to be over 55 in order to comply.

[rjm1cc]

Anyone can buy. I think approval has to be obtained if under 55 to live in the home. Children can not liven in the home for more than x months. Just opinion. I did not research.

[sunnyatlast]

The town houses mentioned are not condo - also resales are not asked about their age and there is no tally , I'm not even sure "the villages" keeps track of ages. you can also rent to any age over 19. There are some under 19 who live here and the neighbors keep quiet, they are driven to school outside of the villages.

"resales are not asked about their age and there is no tally"

This is not true. We bought a resale from owners and at closing (by McLin & Burnsed, "Closing Dept"), we had to sign a form stating at least one of us on the deed was 55.

[Bryan]

Someone is keeping track of the 80% numbers. It came up at the POA meeting last night (9/16/2014). I forget the exact percentage that was reported but I believe it was around 96%.

As far as I know, there are only two age restrictions to living in TV: No one under 19 can live here at all and 80% of the homes have to have one person over 55 living in them. Other than that, residents can be any age from 19 to infinity.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Someone is keeping track of the 80% numbers. It came up at the POA meeting last night (9/16/2014). I forget the exact percentage that was reported but I believe it was around 96%.

As far as I know, there are only two age restrictions to living in TV: No one under 19 can live here at all and 80% of the homes have to have one person over 55 living in them. Other than that, residents can be any age from 19 to infinity.

That is how I understand it. But getting back to the scenario in the OP, it was stated that if a property is sold because of a legal matter such as a bank repo the rules of the community do not apply. Is that true of The Villages? Could someone have children under the age of 19 living here legally?

The other question that I have is; if we are right at the 20% maximum and the spouse of an under 55 resident dies, would the under 55 spouse be able to stay?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Anyone can buy in The Villages, but 80% of at least one RESIDENT must be 55 or older. http://fchr.state.fl.us/resources/55_housing/requirements (http://fchr.state.fl.us/resources/55_housing/requirements)

80% of of at least one resident? Is that by weight, volume or body parts? If my legs are under 55 years old but the rest of me is 60 plus would I be OK to live here?