Needed Information.

[billcolley]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions before my Lifestyle Preview visit this coming Monday.
1. Is this website run by The Villages, meaning you have to watch what you say about The Villages or can people answer honestly questions asked be it good and/or bad about life in The Villages?
2. I have seen mentioned different costs for living in TV.
Some houses have a Bond to be paid off.
The homeowers fees which I believe is $135 a month which includes the golf and I am not sure what else.
I have also seen a Maintenance Fee mentioned on some houses per month which I think is different from the $135. Can somebody explain this to me.
3. Are their any other fees that I should be aware of?
4. How is the local government as far as each county is concerned? Is one county better to live in over the other counties. And how does TV work with the local governments.
5. Do I really need 2 different real estate agents, one for houses listed with TV and one for those that have an out side agent list them?
That is enough for now. I might think of somemore latter or as I see the answers.

WildBill
In Colorado.

[Bogie Shooter]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions before my Lifestyle Preview visit this coming Monday.
1. Is this website run by The Villages, meaning you have to watch what you say about The Villages or can people answer honestly questions asked be it good and/or bad about life in The Villages?
2. I have seen mentioned different costs for living in TV.
Some houses have a Bond to be paid off.
The homeowers fees which I believe is $135 a month which includes the golf and I am not sure what else.
I have also seen a Maintenance Fee mentioned on some houses per month which I think is different from the $135. Can somebody explain this to me.
3. Are their any other fees that I should be aware of?
4. How is the local government as far as each county is concerned? Is one county better to live in over the other counties. And how does TV work with the local governments.
5. Do I really need 2 different real estate agents, one for houses listed with TV and one for those that have an out side agent list them?
That is enough for now. I might think of somemore latter or as I see the answers.

WildBill
In Colorado.
Go to the nuts and bolts section of this forum....most questions will be answered.
BTW This site is not run by The Villages.

[Barefoot]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions before my Lifestyle Preview visit this coming Monday.
1. Is this website run by The Villages, meaning you have to watch what you say about The Villages or can people answer honestly questions asked be it good and/or bad about life in The Villages?
2. I have seen mentioned different costs for living in TV.
Some houses have a Bond to be paid off.
The homeowers fees which I believe is $135 a month which includes the golf and I am not sure what else.
I have also seen a Maintenance Fee mentioned on some houses per month which I think is different from the $135. Can somebody explain this to me.
3. Are their any other fees that I should be aware of?
4. How is the local government as far as each county is concerned? Is one county better to live in over the other counties. And how does TV work with the local governments.
5. Do I really need 2 different real estate agents, one for houses listed with TV and one for those that have an out side agent list them?
That is enough for now. I might think of somemore latter or as I see the answers.

WildBill
In Colorado.

Re Question 5:

Yes, you need two real estate agents if you want to see a whole lot of listings. VLS and MLS.

The Villages Real Estate System does not co-operate with outside realtors.
They have a large portion of listings, I'd guess at 60 to 70%.

There are many listings with MLS (multiple listing service) which is a whole separate entity from VLS.

If you would like agent suggestions, some have been made in previous threads (search button is on blue line above). Or I'd be happy to give you some suggestions if you send me a PM.

[Bryan]

Lots of questions - some answers depend on your likes and dislikes. Here goes a shot at most of them:

1. Say what you want (within bounds for polite society) as this site is not run by TV in any shape, form or fashion.

2. Someone said the Nuts N Bolts Section - good suggestion. Costs are very dependent on what you want/do/subscribe to. Every house built in TV had a bond. The newer the house, the bigger the bond. Sometimes a selling point for a pre-owned home is that the bond has been paid off. Bond is not a part of the purchase price. Make sure you understand the bond balance on any home you plan to purchase, payoff methods, etc. Sometimes (not very often) this can be a deal maker or breaker.

3. Really depends on what you do. The Amenity Fee is the $135/mo you mentioned. Yes, you get "free" golf included with that ON SOME GOLF COURSES AND IF YOU WALK THE COURSE. Trail fees for a gold cart are extra as are greens fees for the "better" courses. Join some groups or clubs, they may have a membership fee. Want to take some classes at the Life Long Learning Center, there is a cost. Some people have complained that they feel "nickled and dimed" to death with small fees, charges, etc. nearly every time they want to do something. I guess that depends on your perspective.

4. Relations with all three country (Lake, Marion and Sumter) governments are generally pretty good as they are with the two towns involved (Lady Lake and Wildwood). The vast majority of TV (and the voters) are in Sumter County. Sumter County maintains a "government annex" in TV where you can do most anything government thing (tags, taxes, register to vote, pay traffic tickets, get a homestead exemption, etc). Marion and Lake have those facilities nearby but not necessarily in TV. Unless you have some special reason to live in a certain county, don't be too concerned with it. Most of Lake County/Lady Lake is the older section of TV (sometimes called the "Historical District"). The Marion County portion is on the north side of TV around the Nancy Lopez Golf Courses. The rest is Sumter County.

5. Yes.

[llaran]

this site is pretty open, so within reason, say what you want.

the lake county homes never had a bond. the bonds have gone up as you go south. the 18 hole courses have a fee, based on time of year and course; you can pick up a fee sheet at any of the 18 hole clubs. Cart fee is $142.
the maintense fee is approx $500/$ 600 and will be on you tax bill as will the bond in if don't pay it at purchase. so the tax bill will consist of tax,bond,maintenance,fire (about $100)

the county gov.in sumter is pretty much controaled by the villages. sumter out of the villages is very poor.

the wellness ctr is another fee as is the fitness center, which is a seperate group. some exercise class are free at the rec centers but get crowed.

you do need 2 real estates if you want to see all homes forsale.