Living in the Village of Pine Ridge
 

Will be retiring to The Villages in a few months. Like to get some thoughts and ideas on Pine Ridge and also if you are happy being in Lake County instead of Sumter County. Thanks for your help!!:BigApplause:

Pine Ridge
 

From what I've been told the bond and taxes are higher in Lake County than Sumter.

Here are some earlier threads that discuss your question.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...e+county+taxes

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...e+county+taxes

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...e+county+taxes

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/didnt-they-say-designer-homes-fruitland-park-would-would-$500k-152825/?highlight=lake+county+taxes

Have you considered a pre-owned home? If you live in the Lake Sumter region...many villages there, many choices of home styles. You will be roughly in the middle of The Villages, so you will have good access to any area in TV. We are in this region, & feel the Sumter County taxes are reasonable.

Pine Ridge is on on the outskirts of TV. Me, I'd rather be somewhere near the middle, closer to the squares. You would have a good sized trip to Brownwood or Lake Sumter. Consider pre owned.

A good sized trip is all relative....I live in Hillsborough, 25 minutes by cart to LSL, 40 minutes to SS and BW less than 10 minutes. Travel times and mode are personal, you might want to rent a cart when you visit and start exploring, then you can make up your mind with personal experience.

When our home was built, along with every other home TV built, we were on the edge/outskirts. Don't sweat the small stuff. Find a home you love, buy it, and enjoy your life here.

Everyone had his/her preferences. Find yours.

Well said!
 

Pine Ridge has it's advantages, closer by car to Colony and to Hwy 466A which will be a very nice divided landscaped highway when completed. Taking 466A to 441 from Pine Ridge would be much faster than from some of the other more central areas near Lake Sumter or south but off of Buena Vista. shorter trips to Sam's, Kohl's, Target, etc. The rec centers recently opened est of Morse are really nice. They are also close to Sarasota Golf Academy, driving range and the 4 new courses.

Your taxes will be DOUBLE that of Sumter County. Other than that, all Villages are desirable and subjectivity equal.

Dear OP: Do yourself a favor and fly down here hire a sales agent and make a wide sweep of the community . Only you know your true tastes, finance, etc.
This is just too important a decision. You may also want to compare TV with other retirement destinations?

My brother is buying in Pine Ridge. The taxes ARE NOT double. Let's share fact, not rumor.

Thank you
 

Unfortunately a lot of people post "facts" on here, which are far from the truth. Hopefully potential buyers will do their own research, and not count on advice from this forum.

The thing that scares me most about Pine Ridge is the smell from the land fill bad in the summer.

where is there a landfill? maybe we missed something.

Behind the fire house, on morse blvd. you know that hill by the golf course It's not a hill.

the taxes may not be double...but you do have a higher millage rate than Sumter and the added fruitland park extras.

the dump is south of pineridge. can't see it...but you can smell it...sometimes.

The thing that bothered us when we looked at the Pineridge courtyard villas was the noise from 44 and the huge smell of the BBQ place across the street. It was smokey and smelly...good for a moment... but when it lasts all day it gets obnoxious.

But this, like the dump is a wind changing thing. Sometimes worse than others, or so I am told.

Look up the mil rate for both Lake County and the City of Fruitland Park. Both of these together are double the mil rate of Sumter County. I've checked my facts.

Thanks for posting that info. Assuming we can sell our house in Virginia, we will be looking for a house in TV this summer, and posts like yours are very helpful.

In general, do you think it is a good idea to avoid houses that are on the edge of the development? You never can tell what will be built on the land in the future.

I think you really need to know what you enjoy doing based on what you have always enjoyed and also a little hoping of what you might enjoy. You also need to know what your budget and comfort zone is. You need to know if you will have guests frequently and how wealthy your guests might be. Wealthy relatives may prefer to sleep in their own rented space or nice hotel so why shop for a 3 or 4 bedroom place that will be filled up 2 days a year. If that's the case, spend your money on a view you will enjoy everyday.

Tell us what you enjoy doing.
[Here's a thought: many people who move close to a square get bored with it after a while.]

The dump/landfill noted above in reality is a construction debris landfill.
Yes, sometimes odor. As noted on another thread this may be coming from wet drywall.
Just providing clarity to the term "dump".

Before it was a construction debri landfill it was a municipal dump.

Like everything else, lifes a gamble...if its not the smell its the sink holes. If not any of those its the barking dogs or the rude neighbors. you just cant always win.

Find a street you like,then a home you like, and talk to the neighbors, and then you will know if its worth the risk to you. you can always change the colors or the yard, but never the location.

As far as growth...you can buy a beautiful lot, thats looks at the pastures and the owner can sell to a grocery store or whatever. you can buy on a retention pond, filled and beautiful today and empty the next....you just never know. at least if you buy a resale, you know whats around the corner.

good luck.....we are looking too...

Let's not forget to check the sexual predator list. Plenty of them around the Villages.

Don't be in a rush. Take your time. Maybe rent for a while.

Get a Villages sales rep AND an MLS Realtor. The MLS Realtors cannot sell the new homes in TV, nor can they sell the pre-owned homes listed with TV. TV does not share the action with the MLS........

But do not limit yourself. The MLS has many lovely pre-owned homes for sale. And many of those homes have lots of upgrades added.

When you go into a neighborhood that is under construction, there are a couple of things that you might need to accept. One is how you feel about being surrounded by construction for a while. Lots of dust and empty space. But I guess it moves along -- though our recent ride through Pine Ridge looked like there is quite a way to go. -- But TV can move fast. The other thing is that in the newer neighborhoods you might find yourself on a street where people have bought their homes before they have retired and plan to rent them for a while. If you will be here full time and want year-round neighbors, you might want to find out how established the street is.

We bought pre-owned and we have wonderful neighbors who welcomed us into their established neighborhood. I think the good neighbors thing is mostly the luck of the draw, whether you buy new or pre-owned. But you can drive through an established neighborhood and get a better feel for things than you can when driving through a neighborhood under construction.

I wish you the best, no matter where you choose to buy. And may I suggest that you not allow yourself to be catapulted into a sense of urgency to buy. There will always be another house in TV.

.....PS: Whoops. You asked for the time and I built you a clock......Paragraph 4 applies to your actual question. I just got carried away and had to throw in all that do-not-limit-your-options stuff. Oh well, no extra charge. :)

There is an advantage to being in a new village. Everyone is looking to make friends so it's easier to get into golf, or other groups. In a established village in may be harder to break into established groups.

Just don't forget:
Let's not forget to check the sexual predator list. Plenty of them around the Villages.


Have a nice day.

Attachment 57525

Just a few.

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Although better then the surrounding areas.

It is quite an eye opener for someone as naive as me.

We have done a lot of research these past few days and spoken to quite a few people in the area of Labelle, and the new Pine Ridge Villas. We also went up the hill and spoke with the people working at the "dump" and had a peek at what's around there. The people at the dump were very welcoming and had nothing to hide. They were happy we came and asked them and said they are tired of the complaints about the smell. Remember, they butt right up to the golf courses there and they confirmed a lot of the smell comes from the courses. It's what they spray to fertilize and even the water. I've smelled it myself from the golf courses and retention ponds near where I live in Gilchrist...nowhere near the "dump". I have friends that live in Sanibel on the golf course, and they get the same smell...from the golf course. The gentleman we spoke with at the dump said he had been there for 10 years working in the trailer there. Our thoughts were, he had nothing to gain by being truthful with us. He does not own the dump, simply works there. Anyway, the villa is lovely, the tax rate is NOT double, albeit it IS more than ours, everyone I have met in the area is very kind and nice, and my brother has decided to go ahead with the deal. Prospective buyers: keep in mind...you get a lot of "opinion" here. Come down and do your own research, talk to the neighbors where you're looking, and make your own decisions. While it's good to gather info here, be careful the source.

Glad you and your brother did the research Lovey2! Its a very nice area and a decision that I'm sure he'll be happy with.

Hope all works out for you. And your brother.

Thanks, Kazmi and birdawg! It will be a few years before they are here full time. I've been in Florida without my siblings since 1989! Although I go up north frequently and they visit me, it will be nice to have a sib in the same state, and especially in this fabulous place!!

That will be a treat! I'm happy for you and bet you can't wait. Congrats!! By the time he's down fulltime Pine Ridge/Hills will be done and he'll have a great area to settle in to.

Easier said than done. I tried doing a web search on "mil rate fruitland park" and I could not make any sense out of the results.

On a $400K house, how much property would a person pay in Labelle versus Pine Ridge?

The mil rate for Pine Ridge is 19.5, Sumter 12.25
Labelle $ 4,900
Pine Ridge 7,800

https://www.lakecopropappr.com/pdfs/...ison_Sheet.pdf

Thanks for the info. I looked at the link you gave and I still did not see a 19.5 mil rate for Pine Ridge, which I guess is part of the Fruitland Park district. Did you actually add up all of the individual mil rates to get the 19.5 figure? Very impressive.

Anyway, the taxes for Lake County seem very high to me. They are almost double of the amount we would pay for a $400K house in the Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C.

No Lovey.....we don't get any smell on this golf course if it was us you were talking about. In our almost 4 years here I have never smelled anything on this course.....Fort Walton. I guess we are lucky because when drive down Pinellas towards Braydenton, I smell some pretty foul stuff in the summer. I guess it may be the fertilizer....I don't know. Glad your brother found a home he loves!! It will be nice to have him here. 😀

The odor comes from the dump that has been disguised and looks like a weird looking plateau. The developer has admitted the odor comes from the dump. Do a TOTV search on this subject.

I simply added the general fund, water, school & Fruitland Park. You can extrapolate the rest. Not sure which fire district, hospital etc. A call to the county assessor would be helpful if someone were considering a move. Me, I'd stay out of this area for several financial reasons. It won't be long before it will become common knowledge that the taxes are much higher which will affect resale value as well as ongoing monthly expenses. After all, most of us will be living on a fixed income. The power lines are the demarcation line and as such people being people will form opinions and attitudes which eventually will affect values. This is my opinion based on several conversations I've had with sales reps and people looking in both LaBelle & Pine Hills.