Patio Villas

[Pmount]

Please tell me about Patio Villas. I seem to have a love hate feeling about them. Never been in one but comparing them to ranches or Cottages they seem small. Do many start out in a PV and then move to larger, retaining these as rentals? Are they large enough for full time living or do soon become small? They look like an affordable way to get started, are they easy to sell when the time comes? Any insight would be appreciated!

Thanks

Phil

[stevebotts]

We rented a furnished villa for two years and love it. I am not interested in cleaning a big house with so many fun things to do here. We are in a great location. Many villas are winter homes but we do have neighbors year round too. Had a block party for our villas in May with 45 people. 85 in Feb. Just depends how much stuff you want to hold onto when u move.

[Pmount]

Thanks. Are the 1 1/2 garages really able to hold a car and golf cart and not have to squeeze by everything? Can anyone comment on resale? There are some new cottages going up way way South that look like good deals but of course new home have many extra expenses that must be added.

[greg&sueby]

My wife and i have lived in one for 2/12 years, and find it very comfortable, We have the cabot cove model, which has a smaller kitchen, not eat in, but a very large dinning room and living room. The square footage is 1190 sq. feet. Our living room , dinning room, are actually bigger than a lot of the 3 bedroom ranches, as is our master bedroom and huge walk in closet. The houses look small because they arrange them on the lots with the width of the house in front, and the longer side, you do not see. The 1 1/2 car garage holds our car and golf cart, a roll around toolbox, 3, 6ft by 3ft cabinets, and 2, 3ft wide shelves, plus a 16cubic ft freezer with no problem. Another huge plus to us, is the lanai is on the front, so you can watch the people go by in the front, but have none of the kissing lanai problems. The closest linia you see is across the street. Less property to take care of, lower bond, less work all around makes it perfect for both of us. We downsized from a 1800 sq ft ranch in michigan, and do not miss the unneeded space. We also do not plan to move. :a040::a040::a040:

[vorage]

We had a patio villa for many years, until we decided to sell the house up north and purchase a larger home here. They are extremely livable and as roomy as many of the smaller ranch homes. The garage offered plenty of space for both the car and cart, but we drove a Prius; it could be a problem for a full size SUV. Ours had the laundry in the garage (some are inside) and we put cabinets above the washer/dryer, with a wall-mounted, fold-up tool storage/workbench on another wall. You have to be creative and efficient. It does have a nice pantry, but for me, the biggest downside was storage and usable space in the kitchen. Pullouts would help that - we just never got around to it. We landscaped well and by the time we sold, we had upgraded to tile and carpet flooring, added solar tubes and lanai surfacing. We priced it well and got our asking price the same day it went on the market. Had we not sold the other home and wanted more space, we would still be there.
You should look at them - you might be surprised.

[justjim]

Our first home in TV was a neighborhood Patio Villa and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It all depends on how much space you need or want.

As a general rule you won't find a better more friendly neighborhood.

[Pmount]

Thank you all! That is just what I wanted to know and hear. I think the PV will be added to our list to look at when we come down. For some reason the front lania bother us but it actually could give you more privacy according to you who live in them. Many Thanks!

[asianthree]

You can start with a PV and move along from there. We owned ours for 4years

[Steve & Deanna]

We enjoy our patio villa as it is the right size for us now. We do own another home and that said, if and when we are full time, we will purchase a 3bd or 2bd/den designer. We really lucked out with location; no homes behind us. The garage is a bit tight with a van and golf cart. We purchased the house absolutely empty so we are still a work in progress between play times. The only drawback is that part of your landscaping is also your neighbor's and vice versa. When we first bought, our neighbor was using a villa as a rental and you could constantly here her palms going across our roof. When I asked her if she could have them trimmed, she seemed annoyed. It took a couple more calls to get her to take some action. Fortunately, she sold and now we have a wonderful and considerate neighbor now. All in all, we are quite happy.

[theorem painter]

A patio villa with volume ceilings makes a huge difference. We are very lucky to be on a large corner lot with a side lanai. I have enough room for everything that is important to me.

[Fraugoofy]

Our patio villa has volume ceilings, solar tubes, and we are on a corner lot. It is our first and last purchase. We are VERY happy in our established Village of Lynnhaven. We don't need to upgrade just to downsize later. Our villa is for rent in September if you want to give it a try. Rae

[2BNTV]

I have a 2b/2b patio villa on a corner lot. As a single person, I find it roomy enough for me. I don't believe in clutter so it all depends on how much stuff you need in your home. The garage is a 1 1/2, so it fits the car and golf cart.

I am not going to move so it's more than fine, for me. My neighbors are hardly home, so it feels very secluded. I tell my friends that complain they feel their house is "too small", that when they get to be my age, they won't jump out of bed on Saturday and say, "great, I get to clean this big house again"!!!!

Too much fun stuff to do and not be burdened, by a bigger house. IMHO

[Pmount]

Well from all the public and private posts a Patio Villa will be on our list to look at late summer early Fall. House goes on market here in MN in July so getting closer!

[2newyorkers]

Love our patio villa, love our location, love all the improvements we have made. We are snowbirds and have owned our home for 10 years. But, the garage is way too small for a car (Camry) and a golf cart. If we were to live here full time we would buy a larger home, not for the living space but with at least a 2 car garage. I also think that the patio villa areas tend to have more snow birds and renters.

[Pmount]

Thanks 2newyorkers, a am afraid of the garage situation. This begs the question, are all 1 1/2 car garages the same size in all homes that have them?

[obxgal]

We stayed in a patio villa when we were on vacation and hubby had no problem with the garage being to small for the golf cart and our durango. The washer and dryer were also in the garage.

We went with a courtyard villa only because of the privacy, and it also has the 1 1/2 car garage. We now down to a jeep compass and the golf cart.

[Pmount]

We have 2 bikes also, when we did the LSP the CYV had 2 bikes included and it seemed to work but it was for a short period and all new to us so I just don't remember the space. Thanks again for all the help. Garage sale this coming Sat!

[festusrules]

Probably going to be a Snowbird for many years. Cabot Cove has enough room for us. Garage seemed tight so I bought a smaller car. Have considered a larger home, but we like our location (great proximity to Executive GC's and our REC Center) and it meets our needs. Bought in TV for the weather and activities not to get a large home.

[festusrules]

!.5 garages are the same size, but driveways are curved for Courtyard Villas and are straight for Patio Villas. We did not like the combo of small garage and curved entrance/exit.

[jpvillager]

May be just our old Santiago PV neighborhood but it seams to us that patio villa neighborhoods are more friendly. Ie neighborhood driveway party one a month. Nice to sit on the patio with a cocktail and say hi to neighbors walking by or invite them in. Patio villas are very energy efficient.

[Ohiogirl]

if you can. Summer rentals are quite reasonable - try a couple of different styles of homes. We know more than 1 couple who has sold their designer and moved to a villa - patio or courtyard, and vice versa. Try to know thyself.

If you are a garage putterer, you probably won't like the 1-1/2 car garage. If you can't back up a car very well, you probably won't like a curved CYV driveway (there are a few straight ones, sometimes the ones with 2 car garages). If you like to entertain large groups and not have to depend on the weather, then you probably want one of the larger CYVs or a larger designer, at least. But be sure you can afford whatever house you buy. Consider the upkeep when you can no longer do it yourself.

Also consider if your surviving spouse can afford to stay there in future, or will want to. Everyone is different. And maybe you will just plan to move when/if your circumstances change - but remember that real estate markets tend to be cyclical and you cannot guarantee appreciation or have the energy for another move in your sunset years. Moving is a bigger deal to some than others.


That said, I think that in The Villages, with the houses so close together, if you end up with very annoying neighbors, that might be worth another move. This is probably in anything except maybe designers on large cul-de-sac lots or premier homes, and you pay for that large lot (both in purchase price and upkeep).

[HimandMe]

Patio Villas - the Colony patio villa has a large open kitchen. Spacious living and dining area, good size bedrooms and closets. Many enclose the lanai for additional room and lots of outside patio room for entertaining. With the front veranda, you easily meet your neighbors. We loved it.

[Barboza]

We had a PV for 11 years: Cabot Cove model. We had a Crown Victoria car, Golf cart , a whole wall full of cabinets & on the other side my husbands work bench, although he would move cart out when he was working at bench. The laundry was inside in it's own area along with large pantry.
When we moved South (something I thought I would never do, I still say that "even though I love our new neighbourhood and have lovely neighbours, my heart is still back with the friends that all moved into the Villages together 15 yrs ago" ) We only moved as we were spending so much of our time at Rec centres & pools "down South" that in order to spend less time travelling it was prudent to go.Our new home a Sand Dollar Cottage is very little larger than our PV & we had to stretch the 1 1/2 car garage to give us the same area that we had previously. I would highly recommend a PV to anyone whether Snowbird or permanent Florida resident (most of my neighbours were full time "Floridians") and they are very easy to sell & much sought after.
Happy house hunting, wherever you buy you will find wonderful people!

[Pmount]

Ohiogirl, him and me and Barbados, all thanks! It seems most folks just love these PV.,will be coming down forr 2 months in early Fall and staying in friends brand new CV . Then the fun begins! I'm lease don't use it all up before we get there!