Bungalow vs Cabana Villas

[msendo]

We have been following the sales of Courtyard Villas (preowned and new), but still have lots of questions. Besides frame vs concrete, we are looking for input from anyone who has given serious consideration to, or has purchased any such home. In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of each type, and what lead you to pick one over the other. Knowing what you know now, what do you think are some important considerations when purchasing this type of home?

When we last visited TV, from what we saw, Cabana Villas seemed to be uniform in appearance and color. Does this still stand true for the newer villages?

We would appreciate your insight.

[bonrich]

We owned a CYV in Pennecamp about 2 plus years ago and sold it to build a home in Sanibel. We liked it, first one, very nice, 1350 sq ft, 3/2 with inside laundry. But one day as I was having my morning coffee on the lanai, I could hear neighbors talking, but could not see them. Surrounded by vinyl walls does not allow any intermingling of neighbors. Felt like Tim Allen in Tool Time. Where we are now is a neighborhood, where you can see the homes, and the residents and get to know one another. Not so easy in CYV's. Many like the privacy, but as time went along for us, that was not as important vs the openness of a house with no walls.

Can't wave a hello to someone you cannot see...........
PS: just enough room in garage for a car and cart, parking carefully.

[asianthree]

felt the same changed form CYV to PV

[Paperboy]

felt the same changed form CYV to PV

Check out cottage homes. We closed 11/18/11, no walls & we know all the neighbors.

[Skybo]

I’m very happy with my CYV. In our case, we find it provides the best of both worlds...privacy in the back, but still plenty of opportunity to meet and chat with neighbors out front. Everyone in our villa neighborhood knows one another and we have frequent drive-way parties. Personally, I don’t wish to see or chat with my neighbors when I’m relaxing, entertaining or eating on my lanai. Of course, that was what I was already use to as we always had privacy fences around the back of our previous homes. With the right landscaping you can turn your back/side yards into your own personal Shangri-La and you won’t feel so “walled-in”.

Anyway, we chose the concrete/stucco because we liked the look better than the vinyl. It seems to be very tight, secure, energy efficient and sound proof. I’d say the main drawback of the stucco is the need to repaint every few years. You also have to keep a lookout for hairline cracks, which when found, must be sealed and spot painted. Not a big deal though. Nothing wrong with vinyl either. I have friends who have them and they are perfectly happy and the vinyl homes generally cost several thousands less than stucco. Both exteriors need periodic cleaning.

[dkrhardy]

We have a CYV, 1700 sq ft, 3 bd 2 ba, inside laundry, corner lot. Our lot walls are not vinyl, but a nice stacked block ... very high. No neighbor on the lanai side, very, very quiet. Larger lot than inside lots, and FAR larger than PV's have. Very open floor plan, it even feels as larger, or larger, than the 2800 sq ft home that we sold before moving here. The concrete exteriors .... watch some of them and you'll see that folks are patching and painting them fairly often, they seem prone to cracking. As far as safety in storms, all of the roofs are wood and shingles, and what comes off first? The roof. So, IMHO I see no real reason to expect the concrete/stucco/block walls to be a whole lot safer. Roof gone is roof gone.
Bottom line .... choose carefully what you will be warm and fuzzy with. We don't like the idea of a neighbor's lanai being 15' away ... we go out for morning coffee, in robes, with pillow perms! But be sure you're not so close, in any home, that you hear things you don't want to hear. Good luck with your search.
Don

edit : skybo beat me to it! But, I'll leave my post intact.

[msendo]

Thanks for all your input. I failed to mention that part of our consideration to purchase a CYV is because we have two large dogs -behaved as far as barking goes. Nevertheless, we are happy to hear both sides.

One thing that I do know dkrhardy, I love drinking my coffee in the am on my tiny porch, wearing my warm fuzzy slippers and robe. That will never change!

[looneycat]

Thanks for all your input. I failed to mention that part of our consideration to purchase a CYV is because we have two large dogs -behaved as far as barking goes. Nevertheless, we are happy to hear both sides.

One thing that I do know dkrhardy, I love drinking my coffee in the am on my tiny porch, wearing my warm fuzzy slippers and robe. That will never change!

CYV's are very convenient when you have dogs, allows them more unleashed freedom. There are lots of dog owners in the villas and even though I don't own a dog there is no noise problem here.