Questions from our Lifestyle Preview visit

[Boilerman]

Just returned from our first visit to TV, my wife and I are a couple years away from retiring and have started our search. I've been following this forum for a year or two and wanted to thank everyone for all the great information!

Our visit was wonderful. I will say that it is overwhelming to see all the villages, rec centers, pools, clubs, golf courses, activities. I'm sure everyone adjusts over time and narrows things down, although I talked to one man who said he was involved with 21 activities - wow!

A couple of questions:

1) If we were mostly interested in resales, are you better off with a non-Villages agent like ReMax? Can a ReMax agent show you any resale home including those that are marketed by the Villages? Can a Villages agent show you all resales or are they restricted to only showing homes marketed by the Villages? And even if they can, would they?

2) Is it difficult moving into an existing neighborhood, have the friendships already formed and become clique-ish? Particularly if you are under 60, would moving into a 15 or 20 year old neighborhood be difficult? Or are the established neighborhoods already accustomed to turnover and seeing new faces?

3) I didn't see any foreclosures during our drive around, not sure if you could even tell by looking. Have foreclosures been an issue?

Thanks in advance

[asianthree]

You need a mls agent and a villages rep.

[asianthree]

You will find some foreclosures but only with a mls agent. Moving into an older neighborhood should not be a problem

[njbchbum]

1. Villages shows Villages and Realtors show MLS. I suggest you look at the Lyle Gant realty website because he is a sponsor here, his website contains the best/most comprehensive info on a listing, and I am not affiliated with his business.

2. How friendly are you? If the neighbors don't rush to greet you - wallk the street and hand out a flyer inviting all to a get-to-know-us driveway party! Remind everyone to bring their own chair! We are the snowbirds on our block and also the young'uns. We all look out for each other.

3. How might foreclosures be an issue? Sorry I don't understand your question.

[mtdjed]

Regarding Age- My recommendation is to buy in new areas despite some nicer more central areas. We are in Caroline, about central and great area near Lake Sumter. Bought at age 62, now am 70 am in good health and love all my near 70 friends. Not much turnover since we moved in. You might find more commonality in newer areas. May not be universal but new will be younger.

[Boilerman]

You need a mls agent and a villages rep.

So that means the Villages pre-owned homes are not on the MLS? Does anyone know what percentage of resales are on MLS vs. Villages?

[Boilerman]

1. Villages shows Villages and Realtors show MLS. I suggest you look at the Lyle Gant realty website because he is a sponsor here, his website contains the best/most comprehensive info on a listing, and I am not affiliated with his business.

2. How friendly are you? If the neighbors don't rush to greet you - wallk the street and hand out a flyer inviting all to a get-to-know-us driveway party! Remind everyone to bring their own chair! We are the snowbirds on our block and also the young'uns. We all look out for each other.

3. How might foreclosures be an issue? Sorry I don't understand your question.

Thanks for your responses. I was asking about foreclosures to get a sense of whether there was/is a glut of foreclosures from the real estate bust a few years back. Florida was reported to be one of the worst states, not sure about the villages. Also might be interested in buying one if the price was right. If there are foreclosures, they'd be listed with MLS?

[Boilerman]

Regarding Age- My recommendation is to buy in new areas despite some nicer more central areas. We are in Caroline, about central and great area near Lake Sumter. Bought at age 62, now am 70 am in good health and love all my near 70 friends. Not much turnover since we moved in. You might find more commonality in newer areas. May not be universal but new will be younger.

Thanks that is helpful.

[CFrance]

1. Villages shows Villages and Realtors show MLS. I suggest you look at the Lyle Gant realty website because he is a sponsor here, his website contains the best/most comprehensive info on a listing, and I am not affiliated with his business.

2. How friendly are you? If the neighbors don't rush to greet you - wallk the street and hand out a flyer inviting all to a get-to-know-us driveway party! Remind everyone to bring their own chair! We are the snowbirds on our block and also the young'uns. We all look out for each other.

3. How might foreclosures be an issue? Sorry I don't understand your question.
Foreclosures would be an issue if the bank is not maintaining the property.

[Blessed2BNTV]

We bought in Duval 2 years ago while in our late 50's. We have met folks of all ages and have enjoyed them all!

We will be full time in 2 months (can't wait) and plan to join clubs where we will meet folks around our age. The 1970's music club sounds great.

While the area in Duval does not have an active street we are ok with that because we feel it will give us "quiet" time after a busy day.

Played golf with 83 wife and 86 husband that was such a delight! Went to lunch afterwards and enjoyed their wisdom and zest for life! BTW they played better than we did.

Find a home you love and meet your needs, and friendships will follow.

[jimmemac]

In general I would say the newer the house the younger the neighbors

[MSGirl]

We bought new and in a new area. My thoughts were if we did this, we would all have at least one thing in common and we would all be about the same age. Not necessarily true. We also ended up with a Villages agent for the obvious reason. I was too overwhelmed to get 2 different agents...but that's me. The first visit is a bit overwhelming. Once you're here, you have the rest of your life to do whatever. You can try everything at once or pace yourself.
I did a lot of research on the different models before we came down here. Once I decided which models I was interested in, it narrowed my search.

[Villager Dude]

I would let the location within TV dictate where you want to live. There is a place for everyone here. We are in Amelia which is centrally located and we like being near Lake Sumter Landing. The demographics of the specific village is changing all the time. I would say that established neighborhoods have people that do not have the time to cultivate new friends and if that is extremely important I would move to a very new village where everyone I new but as I said before I would zero in on location 1st.

Good Luck

About 1/3 of all listings are MLS I have been told.

[Carpe Diem]

The vast majority of the resales are listed by the Villages on its website. Start with a Villages agent. Follow MLS listings on Zillow.com and if you see one you like find an MLS agent at that time.

There's always an element of randomness regarding your neighbors. It doesn't matter what village or part of the country. In general, people in the Villages are outgoing and friendly. If you're not absolutely stuck on moving to a young neighborhood, I think you should just pick the area and the house you like the most. There's enough turnover to bring younger retirees to every Village. The activity at pickleball courts at all rec centers suggests you'll meet people anywhere.

[Wandatime]

I live in Collier. Two of my neighbors are tough old birds . . . very reserved and I can see the blinds twitching and feel their lips pursing when I walk my dog down the street. Another couple in the neighborhood are clearly hoarders and complain about everything, and I mean everything. That leaves at least 698 people in Collier that seem to be as easygoing, nice and normal as I require in a mutual friendship. Pretty darned good odds. :thumbup:

[Boilerman]

The vast majority of the resales are listed by the Villages on its website. Start with a Villages agent. Follow MLS listings on Zillow.com and if you see one you like find an MLS agent at that time.

There's always an element of randomness regarding your neighbors. It doesn't matter what village or part of the country. In general, people in the Villages are outgoing and friendly. If you're not absolutely stuck on moving to a young neighborhood, I think you should just pick the area and the house you like the most. There's enough turnover to bring younger retirees to every Village. The activity at pickleball courts at all rec centers suggests you'll meet people anywhere.

I agree that everyone we met during our visit was friendly and helpful. Our first night there, we got lost in our cart and got our map out (as instructed by others here) and within 10 seconds a nice couple stopped and had us follow them to the grocery store.

Thanks to everyone for their comments. We'll probably pick a newer neighborhood mostly because we want a newer house and I agree that the odds are stacked in our favor that we will have nice neighbors.

[Boilerman]

About 1/3 of all listings are MLS I have been told.

That's interesting - I've never heard of an area where resales are not all listed on the MLS. Good to know, we will probably work with 2 agents.

[Bonanza]

That's interesting - I've never heard of an area where resales are not all listed on the MLS. Good to know, we will probably work with 2 agents.

The reason that more resales are not listed in the MLS is because agents in The Villages are not Realtors and do not cooperate with other brokers. They do not belong to any Board of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors and do not have to abide by their Code of Ethics. The Villages' agents are licensed by the state to sell real estate but that's the beginning and end of it.

As I mentioned above, they do not cooperate with outside brokers nor do they show other brokers' listings.

[Schaumburger]

1. Villages shows Villages and Realtors show MLS. I suggest you look at the Lyle Gant realty website because he is a sponsor here, his website contains the best/most comprehensive info on a listing, and I am not affiliated with his business.

2. How friendly are you? If the neighbors don't rush to greet you - wallk the street and hand out a flyer inviting all to a get-to-know-us driveway party! Remind everyone to bring their own chair! We are the snowbirds on our block and also the young'uns. We all look out for each other.

3. How might foreclosures be an issue? Sorry I don't understand your question.

I will agree about looking at Lyle Gant's web site (and I am not affiliated with him; I am just another TV wannabee). I get MLS listings for TV resale homes e-mailed to me about twice a week from him, which is something I signed up for. If a listing is in foreclosure, the listing will say "REO/bank owned" in the description. I also go one the The Villages web site on a regular basis to look at resale homes in my price range.

If you can rent a home in TV for a couple of weeks or a month if you have the time, you might have a better idea of what it is like living in a particular village. I have been able to rent in several different villages over the past few years, and it has helped me to see which areas of TV I prefer, although all areas of TV I have rented in have been great. Good luck with your search.

[2BNTV]

Just returned from our first visit to TV, my wife and I are a couple years away from retiring and have started our search. I've been following this forum for a year or two and wanted to thank everyone for all the great information!

Our visit was wonderful. I will say that it is overwhelming to see all the villages, rec centers, pools, clubs, golf courses, activities. I'm sure everyone adjusts over time and narrows things down, although I talked to one man who said he was involved with 21 activities - wow!

A couple of questions:

1) If we were mostly interested in resales, are you better off with a non-Villages agent like ReMax? Can a ReMax agent show you any resale home including those that are marketed by the Villages? Can a Villages agent show you all resales or are they restricted to only showing homes marketed by the Villages? And even if they can, would they?

2) Is it difficult moving into an existing neighborhood, have the friendships already formed and become clique-ish? Particularly if you are under 60, would moving into a 15 or 20 year old neighborhood be difficult? Or are the established neighborhoods already accustomed to turnover and seeing new faces?

3) I didn't see any foreclosures during our drive around, not sure if you could even tell by looking. Have foreclosures been an issue?

Thanks in advance

B- man:

1. You need both VLS and MLS agents to see all the homes that are available.
Just tell the VLS you are only interested in resales, (preferably, the ones with the bonds paid off).
2. New homes is mostly a younger crowd. You will find you will meet people when you are out and about so I wouldn't be too concerned that your next door neighbor has to be your best friend.
3. Very few foreclosures but i wouldn't buy a home next to one, especially if it is owned by the bank, and not being taken care.

My advice is to study the map and see where you think you might want to live. Try to come down as many times as you can and rent, to see what areas are preferable to live. There is no bad area, but some areas are more perferable, depending on your likes and needs. Make a list of what is important to you and decide, based on that list. A lot of decisions are to be made, so it helps to keep focused on the list. The same goes for the type of house you want to buy. A list of "must haves", as opposed to, "would like to have", is important.

[Boilerman]

If you can rent a home in TV for a couple of weeks or a month if you have the time, you might have a better idea of what it is like living in a particular village. I have been able to rent in several different villages over the past few years, and it has helped me to see which areas of TV I prefer, although all areas of TV I have rented in have been great. Good luck with your search.

We would like to rent a few times the next few years before we move down. If you rent a house, can you get a pass that allows use of the pools, golf courses, etc.? If you stay in a hotel, can you do the same?

[Boilerman]

If you can rent a home in TV for a couple of weeks or a month if you have the time, you might have a better idea of what it is like living in a particular village. I have been able to rent in several different villages over the past few years, and it has helped me to see which areas of TV I prefer, although all areas of TV I have rented in have been great. Good luck with your search.

We would like to rent a few times to help decide. If you rent a house can you get access to the pools, golf courses, etc? How about if you in a local hotel?

[rjm1cc]

Since you are looking to buy a resale I would look for a long term rental in the area you would like to purchase.

[asianthree]

We would like to rent a few times to help decide. If you rent a house can you get access to the pools, golf courses, etc? How about if you in a local hotel?

Come off season rent month at a time in different villages different house designs, you can get residents passes and use the pools and golf courses just like owners.

[Schaumburger]

We would like to rent a few times to help decide. If you rent a house can you get access to the pools, golf courses, etc? How about if you in a local hotel?

I have rented in The Villages in the off season in May, June, July and October in homes I found on thevillages4rent.com, TOTV and v r b o.com. Since I still work full time, I have only been able to rent for one or two weeks at a time, but it is pretty easy to find one and two week rentals in the off season. In all of my rentals, I have been given guest passes so that I can use the pools and the rec centers. And I did take the opportunity to attend a few classes at the rec centers while renting. I do not golf, so I did not need a pass that enabled me to use a golf course. All of the homes I have rented had golf carts that I could use while renting. And after renting a few times I know which kind of golf cart I prefer, but that is a subject for another time.

If you are in a local hotel, I do not believe you would not be able to use the pools and rec centers, but when I have stayed in hotels in TV, I always saw a few golf carts in the parking lots of the hotels; but I don't know if the golf carts were being used by guests or hotel employees who lived in TV.

And 2BNTV is so right about developing a list of "must haves" and a list of "nice to have but not deal breakers" when you are looking at homes. For me, a lanai in a home is a "must have." One home I rented in TV, although it is a great home, did not have a lanai. Another item I would probably put on my "must have" list would be a home with a bond balance of no more than $6,000, which means I would have to look at only resale homes. Lots to think about, but that is why TOTV is such a good resource for those considering a move to The Villages.

[Bonanza]

B- man:

1. You need both VLS and MLS agents to see all the homes that are available.
Just tell the VLS you are only interested in resales, (preferably, the ones with the bonds paid off).
2. New homes is mostly a younger crowd. You will find you will meet people when you are out and about so I wouldn't be too concerned that your next door neighbor has to be your best friend.
3. Very few foreclosures but i wouldn't buy a home next to one, especially if it is owned by the bank, and not being taken care.

My advice is to study the map and see where you think you might want to live. Try to come down as many times as you can and rent, to see what areas are preferable to live. There is no bad area, but some areas are more perferable, depending on your likes and needs. Make a list of what is important to you and decide, based on that list. A lot of decisions are to be made, so it helps to keep focused on the list. The same goes for the type of house you want to buy. A list of "must haves", as opposed to, "would like to have", is important.

I have to disagree with you on two points:

There are probably more foreclosures than you realize. Just because a property is in foreclosure doesn't mean they all look abandoned. Many homes are in foreclosure and still occupied. If someone loves a house and floorplan and sees potential in it for making in their own, even if it's a foreclosure, they should go for it! A foreclosure is a temporary thing anyway.

Secondly, not necessarily true. We are in a new area. Our next door neighbors are 60ish and next to them the latter 60s as are our neighbors on the other side of us. A few houses away some of the couples are in their 70s. The friends and good acquaintences newcomers make probably won't be neighbors. New friends are generally made from joining various groups, from golf, etc.

[robertj1954]

Good questions and no surprise to view good answers. I can only ad we moved into a wonderful neighborhood that was quite established. In a short time we became a part of their family beginning with knocks on the door right after moving into our new home. Many of the residents brought cookies and other baked items along with warm welcomes. After 3 plus years living in The Villages, we see some gradual change as residents move away for various reasons. New residents are younger Boomers who reached retirement. So a cycle is taking place, but the friendly culture passed on is keeping our Village a great place to live. Good luck with your decision.

[Madelaine Amee]

Much is made of moving into an established neighborhood and it being too cliquish etc., but I don't think that is really the case. From my perspective, my neighbors (and us) have settled into a normal way of living. We don't pop in and out of each others homes, but we all know each other and are there to help when needed. I got a call at 3:00am one night when my neighbor had to call 911 and he wanted someone to let the dog out in the morning! Now that is being a good neighbor. I am more friendly with some of my neighbors than others, simply because we seem to have more in common with some than others.

Ask yourself this - when you were younger and raising a family would you have been concerned about how friendly the neighborhood was? In my case, NO. We would find a home in an area we liked and live in it. If we were compatible with the neighbors that was an additional plus. We have met many people here who have become good friends and we socialize at their home or ours. Give it time, everything always works out one way or the other.

[Boilerman]

I have rented in The Villages in the off season in May, June, July and October in homes I found on thevillages4rent.com, TOTV and v r b o.com. Since I still work full time, I have only been able to rent for one or two weeks at a time, but it is pretty easy to find one and two week rentals in the off season. In all of my rentals, I have been given guest passes so that I can use the pools and the rec centers.

Thanks this is also our situation, we are both still working full time and live a 3 hour plane ride away. We'd like to take a week long vacation a couple of time between now and retirement. Then maybe a month or so stay after retirement.

Sounds like we'll need to do the week long trips during off season. I'll look on the web sites you mention, thanks for you help!

[rjm1cc]

For rentals try The Villages 4 Rent, Rentals in The Villages (http://villages4rent.com/)

[Bavarian]

The whole idea of moving here is to get away from friendships based on children's friendships. Here we can make our own friends. It is best to move to a newer village as then the neighbors are closer to your age and are more likely to be friendly.

has monthly socials to get together. If your eventual place of residences has none, start them!