Future newbie / prices of homes
 

Hi,

I am interested in TV and I visited in 2012. I would like info from the frogs or anyone about the prices of homes and the size I should buy. I say this because you have experience there and are more likely to know the reality of living there that a newbie.

I also like to know what upgrades I should get upfront compare to after I buy the home. Also, is there any negotiations with the developer as to price of a home.

Any info much appreciated as I think TV was a great experience when I visited it four years ago, but ready to make it a reality.

Thank you!

I am not sure anyone here can tell you the size home you should buy. there are way too many things to consider. IMHO, call one of the Village Realtors, we used Priscilla Hart, she was very helpful. You really need to see the houses, so that you get an idea of the size, layout, etc.
If you are lucky enough to buy a lot and build, then you can get various upgrades built in to your house. If you are buying "off the rack", then IMHO, move in get a fell for the house and the area, and then and only then start the upgrades. The exception to this is garage floor painting which is better done before anything is placed into the garage, and carpet upgrades for the same reason.
You can easily put several thousand to several tens of thousands of dollars into upgrades, that later you look back at and regret. We did almost nothing fro several months, then small projects. The major upgrade, a new birdcage and major landscaping was almost 2 years after we moved in and were sure what we wanted.
Hope this helps.

Rent several times before buying. See what fits your lifestyle and the add ins that seem appealing. Talk to lots of homeowners . I'm very happy here, but would have done several things differently if I had followed this advice.

It's possible your lot may be the most important part your purchasing decision. That you can't change no matter what size house or how many upgrades you get. I suggest going to many many open houses for ideas on how you feel about the different models and the lots they are on. Good luck.

TV has a "bunch" of model homes to look at and make a decision on which one suits your needs. If you want a new house your options are limited as TV is in its Final Phase. Houses are easy to purchase and I might add easy to sell in Thr Villages.

This is hard to answer because we do not know your current lifestyle and no one knows what it will be here. Thus I would lean toward a large garage for storage and consider increasing the size of the rooms. It seems that buying more than one home in TV is common so I would suggest that you try renting for a year.

:shrug::shrug: I am not sure anyone can answer what house to buy

I loved TV 4 years ago when I visited a friend for the first time. She had been renting various villas for 3 years prior and had finally decided she was ready to buy, so we went to open houses every day. She ended up buying a small 3/2 cottage style house. During those open house experiences, I began to develop very strong feelings about models I liked and those I didn't. Last spring I came to visit again to see what she had done with her house and get a better sense of how I reallyfelt about neighbors so close and other concerns. We went to more open houses, and by day 3 I had pretty much decided I needed more space around my house and TV wasn't for me. Then we were invited to a party at a house overlooking a pond and golf course - Eureka! - I went home and sold our house overlooking the Chesapeake Bay in one day!!! Having looked online for houses with water/golf views in our price range, I sent my friend to scout them out, made a purchase offer and ultimately bought the house we've been in since Sept. Couldn't be happier :) Take your time seeing what fits your aesthetic needs.

Thank you all! One more thing- what about privacy since the homes are so close to each other. Any problems with this proximity to each other?

This is a question only you can answer. :welcome:

I think the best answer was to rent at least a little while to get a sense of the areas and what you like. Many of us gave up bigger homes on huge lots to enjoy the amenities and friendliness of this place. Each village has something to offer and one may suit you more than another. Get to know some of the residents and really feel the areas out and then decide which area and house you want to live in. People here tend to move three times as selling is easy, so that's an option as well albeit IMHO a lesser one.

If you rented a patio villa you would know what it was like to have your lanai in the front of the house. If you rent a cottage or designer or ranch with the kissing lanai it would help you decide about who lives behind you. If you rent a home on the road then you would know if you would to tolerate the road noise. Then if you rented on the golf course with the mowing bother you and the golf carts. Then you can rent on a pond and see if that's much more quieter

There is much general information about homes here on line. One thing for sure they are more expensive than they were five years ago. What size home do YOU think would be comfortable and affordable? Cottages and patio villa's are the smallest. Designers go up to about 2300 square feet. Premiers range from 2500 to more than 3500 square feet.


View lots can up the price of any model by an easy 100k. Often more.


Modular homes on the historic side are available from about 100K. Some Premiers are listed for over a million.


Almost all homes have three bedrooms, two baths with the kitchen open to the living area with a screened in lanai.


We made a list of the things we absolutely had to have. We looked at the Villages site every day for months and at the MLS listings as well. We decided that we wanted a used courtyard villa and came down and bought a new designer. (With absolutely NO pressure from the sales person)


Good luck. We are so happy here that people accuse me of working for the developer.

TV is an adjustment for most people that requires examination of many options beforehand. Friends who introduced us to TV several years ago just sold their one year old home in TV in one day to rethink their timing in moving down here fulltime. We purchase a house with a small lanai which could be a mistake in the long run. As we are still snow birds, we have options. If you have the time, take your time in the purchase of a home in TV. However, houses still move quickly if priced right to enable changes to be made.

If you like the Bridgeport design home and have the money, this seems to be a good deal as its being sold for a lot less than what the owner has in it. As good deals come up quite frequently on preowned homes, keep an eye on what is currently listed for sale and then offer less if you must. For new, you must pay the developer the listed price.

The Villages - POH Flyer

storage and a big garage helps. The further north in TV the quieter.

Minus of course, the train.

Excellent feedback, thank you!

BTW - I am from Columbus, Ohio (retired). Living temporarily in Miami, FL with my wife. Love golf and very social.

We lived in Upper Arlington after college until our move down here. We would be happy to meet you when you are down. The Villages is one of the best decisions we made. Been here 8 years. There is a very active Buckeye Club and we are also members of the OSU alumni association. Just PM.

We wanted some amount of privacy and a small house. We found the perfect corner lot patio villa that was for sale by owner in 2013. LOVE the villa! We sold or gave away almost everything and live VERY simply in the 6 months we are in TV. We like having the flexibility of living in Florida and in Wisconsin. I love snow!

Sent from my SM-N910R4 using Tapatalk

No disrespect intended, you love snow? I always love what you post but loving snow? See what you said about living very simply...that is our hope...that we don't go into the accumulation mode. Easy and simple. No NO NO 85" television forgetaboutit. Patio Villa sound perfect. Historic Area sounds fantastic also. We shall see. :clap2:

Yes. Snow means change of seasons and change of activities. Snow means cold and I like cold. I like having a change of weather and I like snow. I like snow shoeing and snowmobiling. I like walking in the snow and hearing the sound of the crunch under my boots. I like Christmas when it is white outside my window. Yep, I like snow!

We will attempt to horn in on this because we are from Columbus too, and we are proud to call Mr. and Mrs.jojo friends and especially her amazing mom too.

We have a modest home in TV in mid Villages. We also live simply.
We purchased most of our furniture at the consignment store, Bargains and Treasures (we bought new mattresses).
We have a view lot because privacy is important to us.
I love the four seasons; well, three of them at least. We spend winters in The Bubble to avoid snow and ice. :cold:

I graduated from OSU, Buckeye here!

That is what makes the world go round. I understand your point. I think its the shoveling and driving that I dislike the most. Point well taken...my mom felt the same way you do.

We have 2 dogs and Do not want our life to revolve around walking dogs so a CYV was our only option. We wanted privacy and did not want to backup to another house. We found a corner lot with plenty of space and grass. We are so happy with what we found but it really depends on your situation.

So many great suggestions to think about.

I would like to add that we had many of the upgrades built when we built... Our neighbor did not. They built with the the cheapest builder grade on everything in their home. CHEAP!!! CHEAP!!! CHEAP!!!!

THEN.... they had people come in and put in EXACTLY what they wanted! The have a top of the line home for probably less than our home and more adds. And you know what... They will only pay taxes on the base price of their home.

Smart neighbors.

Just something to think about.

For those of you looking for privacy, especially with a pet and you don't want a Courtyard Villa Nash Loop in the Village of Hemingway are individual ranch homes with 6 foot fenced in backyards. My Corpus Christie ranch is currently for sale.

Be aware that on new homes there are no negotiations with the developer. The contract for purchase has no contingencies. No financing contingency, no inspection contingency. If you require financing. They do not accept FHA financing or VA financing. They only accept conventional financing.
If you purchase pre owned than all of the above is moot. If you purchase pre owned you will need a MLS Realtor and a Villages realty rep. In the pre owned market The Villages lists about 50 percent and all othe companies list the other 50 percent and they do not cooperate.
I am not saying this is good or bad it's just how it is and different than any place I have purchased a property.

On new homes an impact & utility fee to the tune of 7K will be tacked on. Although the full tax bill won't be charged for the first year.

Rickey, I don't know what you mean by an impact and utility fee. I thought that meant the cost of the infrastructure, the laying and positioning of sewer lines, water and electricity etc.


Here on new homes we have "The Bond" which is the money the developer used to do all of those things with the golf courses and the rec centers thrown in. Perhaps I don't understand what you meant.


On new homes as I last heard was; The bond cost


About 13K for cottages and patio villas
About 25K for designers
About 50k for premiers.


This is not added to the price of a home if it is new, but a separate expense that is payable along with property taxes or can be paid all at once.

On the settlement statement two line items totaling 7K for utility & impact are levied apart from the bond.

I don't know a thing about this and Sweetie says he doesn't recall it at either closing of new homes here.


I will have to ask Jim McLaughlin to tell us about it.

Please do, maybe they'll realize their mistake and issue me a refund [emoji848]

Where in TV did you buy? These could be City charges. Parts of TV are in Fruitland Park, Wildwood, And Lady Lake. Each has the ability to charge its own taxes and fees

We came down and rented in three places, one month in each, and I would recommend that to anyone considering. Takes some effort to arrange though. As others have mentioned we had a Villages realtor showing us various models in various villages. So we got to know what a patio villa, a courtyard villa and free standing homes looked like. Even what model of each we liked or disliked. Any house of slight interest we would drive around and find the closest rec centers and pools. Also considered how far from a town square and shopping, and road traffic and golf cart access to things. Eventually we saw and bought a house we really loved. We also looked at houses being sold outside realtors (Village realtors can only show you homes being sold through the Villages, but many homes are sold outside this system). And I think we had enough information to be secure in our decision. There is a "rumor" that people in the Villages move within the villages, by another house, up to 3 times. So over time your desires might change, and that apparently is normal.

60% of the resale market and 100% of the new is controlled by the Villages sales staff. As such, anyone would be foolish not to work with then as well as independent sales agents. Our Village sales agent showed us both new and resale. On the face of things, the prices of new look much better then resale until you consider the bond, upgrades and other amenities added to a resale. However, we did purchase a new house.

And the following from page 43 of the SLCDD 9/10/2015 Agenda PDF


The information appearing herein regarding The Villages and the Developer has been furnished by the Developer.
..............

Historical annual home closings and historical annual average sales prices (home and lot) in The
Villages are as follows:

Year Homes Sold (Home and Lot) Average Sale Price
1986 511 *
1987 543 *
1988 517 *
1989 542 $ 74,000
1990 502 79,000
1991 430 81,000
1992 562 87,000
1993 567 93,000
1994 686 98,000
1995 700 106,000
1996 753 115,000
1997 1,054 119,000
1998 1,321 129,000
1999 1,544 139,000
2000 1,776 151,000
2001 2,074 156,000
2002 2,260 163,000
2003 3,329 168,000
2004 3,955 204,000
2005 4,263 232,000
2006 3,935 257,000
2007 2,403 251,000
2008 2,236 231,000
2009 2,115 229,000
2010 2,208 231,000
2011 2,307 241,000
2012 2,850 244,000
2013 3,419 271,000
2014 2,601 304,000
2015** 1,319 304,000

___________________________
* Not applicable.
**Seven months ending July 31, 2015.
The Developer employs six general contractors who subcontract all of the home construction of the single-family, site-built homes. The Developer also supervises outside engineering firms and contracts all of the development site work.

On average, the Developer believes that approximately five percent of the existing homes in The Villages resell in any given year. The resale of existing homesites are facilitated by a real estate brokerage firm affiliated with the Developer and other unaffiliated realtors and are not included in the above table. The Developer believes that this real estate brokerage firm has an approximately 60% market share. As of July 31, 2015, the real estate brokerage firm affiliated with the Developer had approximately 352 resale home listings.

Lake Deaton, not within a city.

Could this be the difference between a home purchased with a loan and one not purchased with a loan?