How do we know what village is right for us?

[mgman]

We are selling our house right now and plan to move to TV. After selling, we will move to Lady Lake area and live in our trailer while we find a home. Problem is that we have no idea which village would be the best for us. How do we start our search? I have read "north of some road" or "south of something" but how do we learn about the areas before we start the real search. WE don't want to live in the trailer too long.

[chuckinca]

TV is bisected East/West by Hwy 466

North of 466 has been built out for around 5 years or so. Only resales available.

South of 466 has both new and resales - close to 466 are only resales and further south are new and resales.

Spanish Springs Town Square is North of 466; while Lake Sumter Landing Town Square is South (and adjacent) to 466. The yet to be built third Town Square, Brownwood, will be at the (probably) far south end of TV.

See TV area maps at this site: http://www.virginiatrace.com/ Look at the Map titled "The Villages" for an overview of the area




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[Bryan]

Here's the way I would do it. First, sign up for the Trolly Tour (free) of TV and look around, listen to their speil. That will give you some ideas. Then decide on your requirements (ranch, premier home, corner lot, golf course lot, water lot, 2 BR, 3 BR, 2 car garage, etc.) When you have a good idea what you wnat and how much you can afford, get two - YES, TWO - real estate agents. One will work for TV and will show you only properties listed with TV, The other will be independent (ReMax, Century 21, or whatever you prefer) who will show you all the other properties not listed with TV. Meantime you are looking at TV and deciding where to live (which village) based on intangibles only you can imagine (maturity of landscaping, closeness to a church or a town square, attitude of neighbors, etc). You will eventually find one you want, make an offer, and hopefully become a true Villager. I would say under a month is a reasonable time to do all this but three months may not be unreasonable either, depending on how "picky" you are.

[RVRoadie]

We did the same thing you are going to do. We stayed at Southern Oaks RV Park in Summerfield where the rates are a little better. However, Recreation Plantation is closer and more convenient. We probably would have saved enough in gas money to pay the higher rates of Recreation Plantation.

It only took us 3 days to find the house we wanted through a TV agent. We had an appointment with an outside Realtor, but never kept it. The point is that when you see the perfect house, you will know it. Whether it is 3 days or 3 months of looking.

Our experience buying a new house was that everyone else on the street is new to The Villages also. Very easy to meet your neighbors and since you are all new you have a lot in common already.

[graciegirl]

All of the information above is correct. It won't take you long to get the hang of it, especially if you take the Trolly Tour first.

And if you ask any villager "Which village is the best?" They will almost certainly answer with the village THEY live in.

BUT Me, Kathie, F16, Johnny M, Donna, Coconuts, Handieman, and many others will tell you it is Hadley. Which it is.

[Donna]

I have to agree with GG...:thumbup:

Hadley is the BEST!!!:mornincoffee:

[mhorsman]

We are selling our house right now and plan to move to TV. After selling, we will move to Lady Lake area and live in our trailer while we find a home. Problem is that we have no idea which village would be the best for us. How do we start our search? I have read "north of some road" or "south of something" but how do we learn about the areas before we start the real search. WE don't want to live in the trailer too long.
You are doing it the right way, living in your trailer and looking in all the Village areas. You have to consider many things when you buy, #1 location, location, location. What I mean by that is what do you and your wife like to do? Do you want a large, small or no bond to pay? If you like living in the middle of TV then you should look at PoloRidge, Summerhill,Glenbrook,Bonnybrook,Ashland to name a few. Living in the middle is great because it takes the same amount of time to get to either square for the all the dancing. These areas are close to the softball fields, polo field and a goodmix of pools, family and adult. Lots of great restaurants and of course the new Wal-Mart and you have an Ace hardware store close by. Another item to factor in is where do your friends live and why do they like living where they are? The bond is also a consideration, can be from 0 to $12,000.00 depending on where you live. I hope taht I have not confused you but lots of things to consider.

[katezbox]

Mhorsman makes a good point about living in the middle - but remember the middle today will not be the middle when TV is completed. In an article in The Sun a few months back, it stated that Largo is the geographic center of TV. And really, none of the villages are too far away from one of the squires.

I would add two additional suggestions.
1. Talk to the folks at TV Golf Cars or another cart dealer close to where your trailer is about doing a couple of daily rentals. The absolute best way to see TV is by golf cart.

2. Be sure to talk to people on the squares, in the Country Club restaurants, etc. Villagers are (usually) happy to share their experiences with you.

Good luck and welcome,

Kate

[otherbruddaDarrell]

When I have new guests come visit I go with them on the trolley tour and it has changed.
The trolley no longer takes you to Spanish Springs or the Historic side. They want to show the new areas and homes.
I am not saying that is bad, but it does not give you a good idea of TV as a whole.
Take the tour and also check out the other areas that it does not cover.
We wanted a block/stucco Spanish style CYV close to both squares and found what we wanted at Rio Grande.
5 minutes to Spanish Springs and 7 or 8 to Sumter by golf cart.
If you are looking for more pools and golf courses then look to south of 466.
If you are looking for being close to shopping and Spanish Springs, look North of 466.
Bring GPS...it will really help locate open houses.

[BobKat1]

Do the trolleys still have residents narrating the tour, or is it pre-recorded? Just curious, it's been several years since we went on one, and back then there weren't so many tours, it was by appointment I think.

[Bettiboop]

When I have new guests come visit I go with them on the trolley tour and it has changed.
The trolley no longer takes you to Spanish Springs or the Historic side. They want to show the new areas and homes.
I am not saying that is bad, but it does not give you a good idea of TV as a whole.


I'm glad you said this because when we took the tour a couple of months back we were disappointed in it. I was expecting to see a lot more based upon posts I had read. It would be hard to get an impression of TV - one way or the other - based upon what we saw on the tour.

On a positive note....the tour guide was a delightful lady...and the A/C on the trolley made it a nice respite from the heat. :coolsmiley:

[otherbruddaDarrell]

They have real live people that live in TV doing the tour.
One thing that we have always liked was the fact that no sales people are on the trolley and no one is trying to sell anything. The trolley just shows what the Villages has and all the styles of homes.
You do not have to make an appointment, just go to the sales area at Sumter landing and sign in for the free tour.
:coolsmiley::welcome:

[Russ_Boston]

One note of correction - the bond on homes could be higher than the 12K mentioned.

[katezbox]

One note of correction - the bond on homes could be higher than the 12K mentioned.

Good point Russ. For premiere homes in Pennecamp the bond is nearly $50,000.

[joannej]

If the sound of train whistles annoy you, stay away from areas near Rte. 301 (the western part of TV). You can do a search on TOTV to get more info about this. Good luck!

[philnpat]

Oh, oh...Hadley's the place to be??!!...We just bought in Duval!:22yikes:

[ejp52]

Oh, oh...Hadley's the place to be??!!...We just bought in Duval!:22yikes:
The train is a non issue on our street,you might hear it faintly late at night if you happen to be up.
On the rare occasion I hear it in the night it sounds kind of cool in the distance.
:welcome:

[Eve2278]

Do the trolleys still have residents narrating the tour, or is it pre-recorded? Just curious, it's been several years since we went on one, and back then there weren't so many tours, it was by appointment I think.

We went a few months ago just to see what was new and there is still a "person" giving the tour. We still found it very interesting

[Eve2278]

Good point Russ. For premiere homes in Pennecamp the bond is nearly $50,000.

Your are exactly right, we have a premier home and the bond is 50,000. I think tho on the smaller homes, even if new, it would be less..

[downeaster]

We are selling our house right now and plan to move to TV. After selling, we will move to Lady Lake area and live in our trailer while we find a home. Problem is that we have no idea which village would be the best for us. How do we start our search? I have read "north of some road" or "south of something" but how do we learn about the areas before we start the real search. WE don't want to live in the trailer too long.

There are so many choices here you don't have to settle on one that isn't to your liking. So, if you find what you think is your dream house and discover it is located near an annoyance, move on to another area. There are lots of dream houses in The Villages.
So, what are annoyances? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but here are some that might be considered (Some already mentioned).

Train noise.
Traffic noise.
Sewage treatment plant odors.
Golf course maintenance equipment. (Might be music to some ears).
Barking dogs.
Traffic in general. (Busy through street versus cul de sac.)
Is it within golf ball range? (Broken windows, etc.)
Closeness to back door neighbor.
Proximity to pickle ball courts. (Not a big issue but up close those balls popping of the paddles could be annoying. But, music to some ears.)
Downwind from a restaurant. (This would affect very few homes).
Friendliness of neighbors. This depends on you. If you are a friendly neighbor you can count on a friendly neighborhood here. Friendly is what we do best.

Best Village? There's no such thing. They are all best.

I think it a real plus to live in a trailer while looking for your home here.

[NJblue]

The very first decision that you must make is, do you want to live in a new neighborhood where all the people are just moving in and getting to know one another or an established neighborhood. There are certain pluses and minuses to each. If you want new it will have to be in the (current) south end of TV - but note that in a few years this will no longer be the south end as all of the last development phases will be even more south.

If new is not a requirement, then I would seriously look at the areas mentioned above that are on either side of 466. They are very conveniently located to all of the major shopping, dining and banking establishments that are along 466. They are also convenient to both town squares as well as the major shopping areas along 441/27.

We live in one of the new areas in the south and enjoy the aspects of meeting new neighbors, etc, but, with the exception of a few stores in Colony Plaza, we find ourselves travelling up to 441/27/466 very often and sometimes wish it were a bit closer. While there are plans for another small shopping area along 466A, it will never be what the other highways are. (Of course this also has a positive aspect since it keeps the hustle and bustle down.)

[Pturner]

Hi mgman,

I'm new to TV so we just went through the process of looking. A few thoughts in addition to what's been said:

When we looked at new houses, I believe that all of the bonds were $20,000 and up. Be sure to ask about the bond on both new or resales.

As Bryan advised, we used one TV and one independent agent. A unique thing about TV is that the TV real estate office does not share listings with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that outside agents use, and vise versa. So, your TV real estate agent and your outside agent will show you completely different sets of houses. TV shows only new homes and re-sales listed with the TV office. Outside agents show only resales listed on MLS. We ended up buying a MLS re-sale because we found the perfect house for us.

Another factor is whether you want to furnish everything from scratch or not. Many resales are sold completely furnished and decorated, many even turnkey (pots and pans, dishes, sheets, towels, etc.) If you want add-ons such as a glassed-in or extended lanai, a birdcage, etc., a resale with those additions might be the best bet.

We just closed on our house this month. Buying in the same market that you will be buying in, we found re-sales to be a better dollar value at this time. Then again, dollars are not the only values any of us consider when buying a home.

Even though we bought a beautifully furnished and decorated resale that we fell in love with, we found it invaluable to look at new homes. It gave us a chance to see all available floorplans.

There probably is much to be said for moving into a brand new neighborhood where all your neighbors are also new, and there is that bond. In defense of moving into an established neighborhood, we have found our established neighbors to be welcoming and wonderful. In fact, everyone we have met at TV, no matter where we go, has been friendly, helpful and welcoming. The slogan, "Florida's friendliest hometown," surely rings true.

Happy house hunting. I wish you all the luck in the world in finding your dream home and becoming a TVer!

:coolsmiley:

[gerryann]

The bond is also a consideration, can be from 0 to $12,000.00 depending on where you live.
I'm new to this forum. I live in another area of Florida, but have been thinking about making a trip to TV to check it out as a possible place to retire. I came across this post regarding a bond and I am not sure what this is?? I also have been trying to find information about HOA fees?? I haven't been in touch with a realtor as of yet, because I want to visit first. Can anyone help me with these questions? Thanks so much.

[Bogie Shooter]

I'm new to this forum. I live in another area of Florida, but have been thinking about making a trip to TV to check it out as a possible place to retire. I came across this post regarding a bond and I am not sure what this is?? I also have been trying to find information about HOA fees?? I haven't been in touch with a realtor as of yet, because I want to visit first. Can anyone help me with these questions? Thanks so much.

Look at the "nuts and bolts" section on this site. It has the answeres to your questions plus many more. Go to The Villages. com and request a video.

[gerryann]

Thank you

[Dirigo]

The absolute best way to see TV is by golf cart.

We found that riding around in a golf cart allows for the most intimate look at a village.

But the ride to and from those villages more distant from our lodgings got old pretty quick. We switched to our rental car after a couple of days of village hopping in our golf cart as it offered AC, shade, and more workspace.

Also, we had a gas cart and the noise and smell got old pretty quick and convinced us we would be prefer an electric cart when the time comes to buy a cart.

A laptop with wireless internet connection would be a great help when looking at houses.

Dirigo

[Dirigo]

The trolley no longer takes you to Spanish Springs or the Historic side.

When we started out LSP last Feb/Mar we went straight to the Historic Side to understand the beginnings of TV. From there, we went all around SS area, then up to Glenview and Lopez areas and to the tippy top of TV. Then made our way south of 466 over, under, around, and through the LSL section then all the way down to 466A and the Colony area. When you do that you see how TV grew and transformed into what it is today...a pretty fantastic place.

TV is full of micro-villages, little "pocket" villages within villages. They all have their pros and cons.

[73Goat]

Hard to say how you 'know'. In our case we took a 'whirlwind' tour of a lot of 'retirement' communities in and around the Ocala area one weekend in 2006 and my wife had previously found 'The Villages' in her Internet wanderings. We did not even have it on our 'tour' plan but my wife decided we should look around on the way back to the Orlando airport. We had less than 45 minutes the first visit. As soon as we drove in to the Spanish Springs area my wife exclaimed, "I love it, this is it." Maybe it was the comparison between The Villages and the other 'active retirement' communities, which, in our minds, there isn't much of a comparison. It happened fast for us tho.

[Avista]

Knowing everything we know now, making a location decision would be interesting. We are very satisfied with our home (Stoneybrook) Court Yard Villa. As far as location, we like being near Pulblix and the Fitness Center at Colony Cottage--could even be a little closer. Since we go to the fitness center daily, would not want to be too far from one. Once Buena Vista south opens we will be near 42 and get to 75 very easily. We like that. We take our golf cart to church. Seems we are there at least 2-3 times a week for something. It is just north of 466. Could be a little closer for us, but actually it is a beautiful golf cart ride.
Many of our friends have moved at least once and also have friends who are in their 3d house in The Villages. We are very satisfied where our location is. Could be a little closer to church, but then we would be further from our Publix and Fitness Center. It is all a give and take.

[mgman]

Thanks to all for all this great information. We cannot wait to get the search started.