Vinny
06-04-2010, 11:16 PM
I started posting on this forum many months ago as I struggled to sell my house in a bad housing and mortgage market. Finally after 7 months we closed on our NJ home and headed to TV. I had bought my new home in TV over the internet so we only had pictures to see what we were moving into.
We ended up with an Anna Maria CYV on an oversized corner lot that has lots of room for a bird cage and/or pool. We had to wait an agonizing two weeks after arriving in Florida before we could move in because I had built in a two week cushion to allow for any problems with my closing in NJ,which almost did occur. OK, first impressions:
- the house was much nicer, larger and well built than we expected. All name brand appliciances. Big kitchen and living room in our model.
- as my wife said, after 8 homes this is the first one that we moved into that she did not have to clean first. It was spotless when we moved in.
- Builder was extremely responsive when asked to fix some very small things. Today we had 8 contractors show up to each repair something. When I say repair, I mean some pretty small stuff.
- Everyone we have met so far is friendly.
- Post office was accommodating about giving us a lower mail box due to my wife's height and condition.
- despite not previously finding a reason to buy a golf cart; we bought one. I still do not know why but everyone else moving onto our block did, and we did not want to be considered freaks. :laugh:
- bought a Star electric cart with extended range primarily due to the adjustable bucket seats he came with. My wife tried about 4 other brands and could not comfortably sit and reach the pedals. The Star easily adjusts her seat so she can sit back and drive comfortably. I work full time so the cart will only be used occassionally.
- Today we drove our cart for the first time after first getting proper insurance for about $136 a year. My impression is that it is pleasant to ride the cart paths, avoid the roundabouts, and find close by parking. However, right now with many lots having lots of parking spaces my car with air conditioning and premium sound system is our first choice. I see no ajor benefit in using a cart right now other than the fun factor. We do not golf and only eat out once in a while. The ride with my car is much smoother and comfortable and a tank of gas lasts many weeks so we will continue to use the car primarily until parking becomes a problem in winter. We are aware that this will change as we reduce our work hours each year.
- the use of straw for landscaping is a cost cutting method I do not like at all. Today we replaced it with many tons of stone.
- We have to wait a week to get approval to install a plain white screen door. I am for architectualy reviews but for a generic screen door it is overkill.
- For all of you CYV buyers, be aware that some lawn maintenance people do not have mowers small enough to fit through the back yard gates. Make sure that you tell them about this first to save needless visits.
- We miss not having knobs on our kitchen cabinets.
- We need to put on sunglasses when we turn on the 6 or 8 high hat lights in the Kitchen. Dimmer switches should be standard.
- Love the master bedroom shower. Floors are not slippery and hand bars and sitting area are welcome features.
- Southern Lifestyles at Sumter Landing has some great furniture and if it is in stock they will deliver and set it up for you the day before you move in. the best part is that they have the exact floor plans for all Village home styles and can play around with furniture placement with you. Great service from Martin there.
- We installed gutters after the first rain storm. Not too noisey but it left a black ring around the house on our patio. We went out to eat and came back to find gutters on the whole house for under $400.
- We drove from Belleview to TV every day for two weeks before we moved in and in three weeks we are now using shortcuts and learning how to get from here to there quicker or easier. It was daunting at first.
- the roundabouts were stressful at first but I found chanting "Please don't kill me" as I drove through them worked for me. :laugh:
- Found a mobile vet and groomer for our Yorkies. Much easier than bringing them one by one.
- Been here 1 1/2 weeks and still no desire to golf. :evil6:
- Snowbirds make great neighbors, especially when they take good care of their homes. We love our snow bird and only neighbor.
- The garages are like saunas. If you can, get a house with the washer/drawer in an air conditioned room.
- Two car garages with a golf cart addtion with door are the best if you can swing it.
- Drinking your morning coffee on the lanai with your dog curled up besides you is one of life's little pleasures.
- Love all the electrical outlets every few feet.
- Am still puzzled as why I have two sliding glass doors to my lanai right next to each other. Kills a whole wall in the living room .
- We find Sumter Landing more appealing than Spanish Springs.
- Being treated as a senior citizen is new to us but we like the discounts.
- Was happy to learn that dodging bullets in Vietnam ended up getting me a 10% discount at Lowes.
- Still feel strange living with people our own age after many years of being surrounded by young families. Everyone drives like old men and forgets things like Ido. ;)
- Comcast was a pain to deal with.
- Dogs love it!
- We are very pleased with our decission to move to TV even though I am not retired although my wife is. :sad:
- working with Citizen's bank for our mortgage and banking greatly simplified things. Great people work there who bend over backwards for you.
- I change shirts 2-3 times a day and shower as much. Accepted the humidity and learned to live with it. Much better than snow and cold weather.
- Lost 5 pounds.
That is about it after 9 days in TV. Hope this helps others.
-
We ended up with an Anna Maria CYV on an oversized corner lot that has lots of room for a bird cage and/or pool. We had to wait an agonizing two weeks after arriving in Florida before we could move in because I had built in a two week cushion to allow for any problems with my closing in NJ,which almost did occur. OK, first impressions:
- the house was much nicer, larger and well built than we expected. All name brand appliciances. Big kitchen and living room in our model.
- as my wife said, after 8 homes this is the first one that we moved into that she did not have to clean first. It was spotless when we moved in.
- Builder was extremely responsive when asked to fix some very small things. Today we had 8 contractors show up to each repair something. When I say repair, I mean some pretty small stuff.
- Everyone we have met so far is friendly.
- Post office was accommodating about giving us a lower mail box due to my wife's height and condition.
- despite not previously finding a reason to buy a golf cart; we bought one. I still do not know why but everyone else moving onto our block did, and we did not want to be considered freaks. :laugh:
- bought a Star electric cart with extended range primarily due to the adjustable bucket seats he came with. My wife tried about 4 other brands and could not comfortably sit and reach the pedals. The Star easily adjusts her seat so she can sit back and drive comfortably. I work full time so the cart will only be used occassionally.
- Today we drove our cart for the first time after first getting proper insurance for about $136 a year. My impression is that it is pleasant to ride the cart paths, avoid the roundabouts, and find close by parking. However, right now with many lots having lots of parking spaces my car with air conditioning and premium sound system is our first choice. I see no ajor benefit in using a cart right now other than the fun factor. We do not golf and only eat out once in a while. The ride with my car is much smoother and comfortable and a tank of gas lasts many weeks so we will continue to use the car primarily until parking becomes a problem in winter. We are aware that this will change as we reduce our work hours each year.
- the use of straw for landscaping is a cost cutting method I do not like at all. Today we replaced it with many tons of stone.
- We have to wait a week to get approval to install a plain white screen door. I am for architectualy reviews but for a generic screen door it is overkill.
- For all of you CYV buyers, be aware that some lawn maintenance people do not have mowers small enough to fit through the back yard gates. Make sure that you tell them about this first to save needless visits.
- We miss not having knobs on our kitchen cabinets.
- We need to put on sunglasses when we turn on the 6 or 8 high hat lights in the Kitchen. Dimmer switches should be standard.
- Love the master bedroom shower. Floors are not slippery and hand bars and sitting area are welcome features.
- Southern Lifestyles at Sumter Landing has some great furniture and if it is in stock they will deliver and set it up for you the day before you move in. the best part is that they have the exact floor plans for all Village home styles and can play around with furniture placement with you. Great service from Martin there.
- We installed gutters after the first rain storm. Not too noisey but it left a black ring around the house on our patio. We went out to eat and came back to find gutters on the whole house for under $400.
- We drove from Belleview to TV every day for two weeks before we moved in and in three weeks we are now using shortcuts and learning how to get from here to there quicker or easier. It was daunting at first.
- the roundabouts were stressful at first but I found chanting "Please don't kill me" as I drove through them worked for me. :laugh:
- Found a mobile vet and groomer for our Yorkies. Much easier than bringing them one by one.
- Been here 1 1/2 weeks and still no desire to golf. :evil6:
- Snowbirds make great neighbors, especially when they take good care of their homes. We love our snow bird and only neighbor.
- The garages are like saunas. If you can, get a house with the washer/drawer in an air conditioned room.
- Two car garages with a golf cart addtion with door are the best if you can swing it.
- Drinking your morning coffee on the lanai with your dog curled up besides you is one of life's little pleasures.
- Love all the electrical outlets every few feet.
- Am still puzzled as why I have two sliding glass doors to my lanai right next to each other. Kills a whole wall in the living room .
- We find Sumter Landing more appealing than Spanish Springs.
- Being treated as a senior citizen is new to us but we like the discounts.
- Was happy to learn that dodging bullets in Vietnam ended up getting me a 10% discount at Lowes.
- Still feel strange living with people our own age after many years of being surrounded by young families. Everyone drives like old men and forgets things like Ido. ;)
- Comcast was a pain to deal with.
- Dogs love it!
- We are very pleased with our decission to move to TV even though I am not retired although my wife is. :sad:
- working with Citizen's bank for our mortgage and banking greatly simplified things. Great people work there who bend over backwards for you.
- I change shirts 2-3 times a day and shower as much. Accepted the humidity and learned to live with it. Much better than snow and cold weather.
- Lost 5 pounds.
That is about it after 9 days in TV. Hope this helps others.
-