About to make a purchase of a Villa

[B-flat]

Since renting a home as snowbirds this past January and February my wife and I have decided to purchase a home or villa. We are amazed at the speed Courtyard Villas are selling. WHOA, we've picked 3 since last weekend and they have been sold. This Monday I'll be making trip to look at courtyard and patio villas and possibly a free standing homes.

With that all said once we purchase and return north to our home for the better weather what is your experience having someone check on your home? I've found mom and pop type home watch/villages residents who offer these services. Can someone add some information as to what you do in your absence?

Thank you in advance.

Jack

[Barefoot]

With that all said once we purchase and return north to our home for the better weather what is your experience having someone check on your home?
Congratulations on your new home. You've made a great decision.
We are absent for long, long periods of time.
We have Village Watchdogs do weekly checks of our home.
They will check to make sure everything is OK, and email us if there is a problem.
And they will let us know if the lawn/weed/shrubs company under contract doesn't show up.

[B-flat]

Congratulations on your new home. You've made a great decision.
We are absent for long, long periods of time.
We have Village Watchdogs do weekly checks of our home.
They will check to make sure everything is OK, and email us if there is a problem.
And they will let us know if the lawn/weed/shrubs company under contract doesn't show up.

Thank you for your feedback and the congratulations. Do you happen to have a web address or contact info for Village Watchdogs?

[Barefoot]

Thank you for your feedback and the congratulations. Do you happen to have a web address or contact info for Village Watchdogs?

We use Falcon Lawn & Weed for our lawn, they offer one-stop shopping.
We use them for our trimming our shrubs, weeding, spraying for pests, and lawn cutting.
The Villages: 352-689-0050
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Village Watchdogs <thevillagewatchdogs@comcast.net> (thevillagewatchdogs@comcast.net)
352-430-3618

[JDIronton]

PRICE REDUCED !!

$ 249,000

Price reduced! Welcome to 2069 Ironton Place. Call The Villages at t3527536655 to see a tropical paradise. A beautiful 2 bedroom 2 bath courtyard villa located in the heart of The Villages, Florida. Built in 2014, this villa is located 1.8 miles by golf cart from Brownwood Paddock's Square where there is nightly entertainment, shopping, dining and a movie theatre. Bask in the glory of professionally installed landscaping as of January 2018 with professionally installed landscape lighting as well. The villa comes complete with all appliances including washer & dryer. Note the open floor plan and also a pocket door to give your guests more privacy. Solid oak cabinets and miles of counter top will provide more space then most gourmet cooks will ever need. A six foot sliding glass door opens into a private, beautiful lanai with a ceiling fan for those warm evenings. Beautifully enclosed garage area has plenty of room for your car, golf cart & plenty of toys. The Villages is a 55 and over gated community located in central Florida. Your amenities include over 700 holes of golf, 100+ swimming pools, pickle ball courts, tennis courts, entertainment nightly and so much more in 50 square miles to create the best place on earth.

Also check Homefinder - The Villages(R) Homes and Villas for Sale (https://www.thevillages.com/homefinder/#/S967.43?new&preowned&homesites&model=Durham&lng=-81.9751427471236&lat=28.90787802002569&lvl=2)


Thank you,
Jeff

[B-flat]

We use Falcon Lawn & Weed for our lawn, they offer one-stop shopping.
We use them for our trimming our shrubs, weeding, spraying for pests, and lawn cutting.
The Villages: 352-689-0050
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Village Watchdogs <thevillagewatchdogs@comcast.net> (thevillagewatchdogs@comcast.net)
352-430-3618


Thank you barefoot.

[eweissenbach]

Have you checked VillagersFSBO.com (http://www.villagersfsbo.com/pmr_fsbo_main/search.php?type=1)
?

[Fraugoofy]

Since renting a home as snowbirds this past January and February my wife and I have decided to purchase a home or villa. We are amazed at the speed Courtyard Villas are selling. WHOA, we've picked 3 since last weekend and they have been sold. This Monday I'll be making trip to look at courtyard and patio villas and possibly a free standing homes.

With that all said once we purchase and return north to our home for the better weather what is your experience having someone check on your home? I've found mom and pop type home watch/villages residents who offer these services. Can someone add some information as to what you do in your absence?

Thank you in advance.

JackYou play the clarinet?

Sent from my SM-N920R4 using Tapatalk

[BRN_RI_FL]

We have been happy with our guy.
Jeff Halstead
The Home Watch
352-409-6733
TheHomeWatch@mobileitfl.com

We bought a new courtyard villa in Phillips Villas and had a heat pump problem where Jeff met the guy at the villa for the repair ($10 each time he visits your house). We also had a water leak outside the house (bill was higher than expected) where our neighbor met the repair person. The neighbor took pictures of the the repair and sent to me. I suggest in addition to a home watch guy you get friendly with your neighbor and give them a key.

[Sgroemm]

Been there...done that! I visited the villages April 2016 viewed 11 CYV and 2 patio villas for sale. I decided the CYV was my choice. Headed back to NJ and continued to look online each day for a CYV that fit my wants/needs list. ERA Grizzard has an easy to use website that sends you properties that fit your budget and home style, daily. They are MLS and I also looked at new/used properties for sale by Realty Executives in the villages (these two don't share so you need to check both and FSBO) I did put bids on homes from NJ with the help of a combination of online photos, my agent who gladly went and looked at the property for me and a contingency of a professional property inspection (Boutwell Home Inspections, Ocala). I hit the jackpot with the 3rd property I bid on...and now I am glad the first two were snatched up by other buyers.

So, until I retire I manage the CYV from NJ with visits every couple months when I can vacation. No grass....I will say that is key! I pay someone to do weeds and trim the bushes because things grow and grow here (about $30 per month) My realtor has a key and checks for me if I request it (i.e., after Irma) and my neighbor across the street also keeps an eye out for me and will call me if needed. I shut the water in the house off, cover the sink and shower drains, leave the a/c on low and heat on low in the winter and have an alarm on (but it is not a necessity). You can monitor the utilities use by watching the bills monthly too, but a home watch would also assure you catch problems quickly. Most neighbors in TV are so helpful and friendly, you will make friends fast once you buy. You can introduce yourself and give them your phone number to call if they see a problem. During hurricane season you must bring in anything that the wind will pick up. This is so important if you will not be here. It can be done from afar, just cover all your bases and enlist the help of a few others.

[John_W]

Here's how things can change, and sometimes in a matter of minutes. In April 2011 we were on a LSV and looked at several new CYV's in Amberjack Villas off St. Charles in Pennecamp and new patio villas in Buttonwood. We went home and three weeks later in May we listed our home in Baltimore. The next morning the first family to view our home, made an offer and bought the home. She was the new manager of the Wegmans Grocery Store they were building. So they had a letter from the Wegman's Corp guaranteeing the funds for the purchase.

Since everything was cool, I called my salesman Tony Trussler in TV, who had taken me around just 3 weeks earlier. He said, all the CYV's in Amberjack are sold, and the next villa community Southern Star, which we didn't even look at, there are only 5 homes left out of 80. I said I was only interested in the 2BR Woodlawn, he said the next CYV community Montbrook they were changing the name to a Durham and they were going up $20,000. So now I was trying to decide between a new masonry 2BR CYV in Southern Star, a new masonry CYV in Montbrook or a new 2BR patio villa in Buttonwood. The CYV in Southern Star had been reduced $5,000 and I looked up Montbrook on the website while we were talking, and they had gone up $20,000 more as he said. Then Tony said, the Woodlawn in Southern Star was just reduced another $5,000. Needless to say, I bought the CYV because it wasn't that much more than the patio villa. Yes, homes and villas sell fast. I just had the home appraised and it is now worth $85K more than I paid.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k241/9234gypsy/3ced_zpskbigljl4.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k241/9234gypsy/a6d769e5-0c07-4ce8-9d95-80486d43cbc3_zpsly6rrmxq.jpg

[B-flat]

You play the clarinet?

Sent from my SM-N920R4 using Tapatalk

No but I’m a keyboard musician/pianist. someone gave me a T-shirt that reads “without music life would B-Flat.” That’s where the idea for B-flat came from.

[B-flat]

Thank you Oldcoach Ed, Brucernelson, JohnW and Sgroemm for your comments and suggestions. We are using thevillages.com and am meeting with a rep tomorrow to look at different villas. I had no idea until I watched a YouTube video that you should have both an MLS and TLS sales rep because they cannot sell the same properties.

Sgroemm, I know Kevin Boutwell of Boutwell home inspections. He’s from our same home state Rhode Island well his wife is but his from a neighboring Massachusetts town, we used him several times when we were looking for a home in Oak Run in Ocala. I also used him to asses the condition of my late aunt and uncle’s home in On top of the World Ocala.

[Fraugoofy]

No but I’m a keyboard musician/pianist. someone gave me a T-shirt that reads “without music life would B-Flat.” That’s where the idea for B-flat came from.Love it! Welcome!

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[JDIronton]

As I mentioned , check out our villa on The Villages website, it is very nice and we love it. My mom is coming to live with us so we needed to move to get something more suitable to handle the move. Would never have moved , the location is wonderful, and the neighborhood is awesome.


Thank you ,
Jeff

Price reduced! Welcome to 2069 Ironton Place. A beautiful 2 bedroom 2 bath courtyard villa located in the heart of The Villages, Florida. Built in 2014, this villa is located 1.8 miles by golf cart from Brownwood Paddock's Square where there is nightly entertainment, shopping, dining and a movie theatre. Bask in the glory of professionally installed landscaping as of January 2018 with professionally installed landscape lighting as well. The villa comes complete with all appliances including washer & dryer. Note the open floor plan and also a pocket door to give your guests more privacy. Solid oak cabinets and miles of counter top will provide more space then most gourmet cooks will ever need. A six foot sliding glass door opens into a private, beautiful lanai with a ceiling fan for those warm evenings. Beautifully enclosed garage area has plenty of room for your car, golf cart & plenty of toys. The Villages is a 55 and over gated community located in central Florida. Your amenities include over 700 holes of golf, 100+ swimming pools, pickle ball courts, tennis courts, entertainment nightly and so much more in 50 square miles to create the best place on earth.

[EviesGP]

It sure would be nice if those CYVs had larger garages or AT LEAST adequate driveways? I'm assuming trying to expand either is not allowed?

[John_W]

It sure would be nice if those CYVs had larger garages or AT LEAST adequate driveways? I'm assuming trying to expand either is not allowed?

You just named the #1 reason people move from a CYV. Since 2011 we just had our 4th neighbor move in next door in the same unit, the last owner just bought a designer in St. Charles. On the otherside, they are the original owners like we are. Of the 13 CYV's on our street, besides next door, three others moved to larger homes, one to Sanibel, one to Lake Deaton, one to Lakeside Landing.

If you notice in the new homes of Fenney, that last batch of patio villas many had 2 car garages. They might of realized competing with resales in the established villages, they needed an extra boost that a 2 car garage can add. I had just traded my Camaro that did fit, but I had to back in my golf cart to work. Now I'm back to a 5" narrower car.

[Barefoot]

It sure would be nice if those CYVs had larger garages or AT LEAST adequate driveways? We had a CYV from 2007 to 2010, which I loved for our dogs.
We moved because our CYV had a small garage.
Fireboy is a remote-controlled aircraft enthusiast, and that hobby doesn't work if you have a small garage.
Now our garage looks like an airplane hangar. :shrug:

[EviesGP]

So, you now mixed feelings about the expansion? :) Unfortunately, I just invested in a full-size truck, ONLY so I/we can haul a camper and possibly a boat when we make trips back up here(north). Hoping I don't regret it, as it will be the quickest sale ever. Regardless, I thought I could possibly live with it in the driveway, with carts in the garage, but now I'm sure I can't. Thanks all!