If you had to do it ALL OVER again ...
 

Ok, I know this is like asking, :wine:“What is your favorite Wine?”,:beer3: but here goes...

If you had to do it all over again, What are the TOP 3 things you would insist on having (including location within The Villages) for your your home?

Please don’t pick on others input, just tell me YOUR top 3 and WHY. I am hoping to sharpen my list (yes, I have my top 3, but YOU could change that!).

PS - My beautiful bride has her top 3 also, so we may be seeking our top 6!

Thank you!!:pray:

1. Bigger lanai
2. Bigger slab outside the lanai to cook
3.Bigger garage

Big Courtyard Villa
2 car garage
Location near LSL

These were our must haves

1. Bigger Garage
2. Bigger lanai
3. Bigger Garage

Location, enough room for a pool, and privacy in our back yard where the pool would go in. We did all three and are very happy with our choice. Would not do anything different given the budget we had to work within. If there is anything we would like to be better about our home it would be either a bigger garage or a separate golf cart garage. And don't underestimate the importance of the privacy in the back yard. I guess peoples home locations in their past life dictate this requirement. People who move from NYC might not be comfortable with privacy and prefer being next to a town square or on a busy road listening to sirens most of the day. Folks like us, who are from the country, value our privacy dearly, and one of the biggest problems finding the right home in the Villages is that almost all reasonably affordable homes are right on top of each other with back yards that literally kiss each other.

Location, Location, Location. I know the old saying but it is a little different here. You could have the perfect spot and if you like to have friendly neighbors and don't then your spot is a dud. Everyone wants to be close to the square. I think this is the most overly rated consideration that new people have. Once your here a week it doesn't really matter. Bigger, fancier is bettererer. Not a chance. We have a Manufactured Home that is about 1500 Sq Ft and it is much too big.

1) Friendly Neighborhood without being overbearing. (You can find this out B/4 buying)
2) Being Close to the Neighborhood Pool and Shopping turned out to be important although we didn't know it beforehand.
3) Something smaller than what you are accustomed to because the kids are not going to be hawking a meal from you on a constant basis. As you age
smaller is better.
4) Take your time but don't suffer from Analysation Paralyzation. Jump in. Chances are you will be alright. Check the neighborhood for undesirables thru the
Police Dept.
5) I always wondered what the unknown would be? You know the Dealkiller! After two years No surprises yet. (A little surprised at having no power for a
week after
Irma). I believe lessons were learned by everyone and next time (God Forbid) will be better.
6) We hope you guys move into our neighborhood. It's older and not for everyone but it is where we are going to stay. There was some talk of moving but
that has
seemed to have subsided. If we want a house we will build new over here In the Hysterical Section or buy a house a few years old. Keep in touch. Your
house is here.

1. CYV with either the back wall looking over a street instead of someone else's roof, or a view
2. No grass
3. Enclosed lanai leading to patio with awning.

I've found it, but the owner doesn't want to sell it yet.

1. Get a really fast Golf Cart. (30mph minimum)

2. Get a 'Special Person Pass' that lets me park anywhere, ignore stop signs, save seats on squares, and in general be a PIA..

3. Learn to smoke Humungous Cigars, so I can stink out the squares, whilst getting drunk and objectionable at City Fire bar.

Oh! and a bigger garage!

astro turf instead of grass

3 car garage-instead of 2 + golf cart

1. Separate golf cart garage.
2. Wider/deeper 2 car garage (if they make them bigger than my current 2 car garage).
3. No huge, moss-shedding oak in the yard. :censored:

Then again, more garage would probably just lead to more stuff...of which I already have enough. :oops:

I am one of the many who moved after buying here. And there were reasons why we did it. As all the above have already stated, a bigger garage. I now have a 3 car over 1000 sq ft and it's just about right. Neighborhood. Some are very active and some do nothing. Find out what the one you're planning to buy in does. We could stay busy 7 days a week just doing neighborhood things. Golf, Bocce, parties, travel, dinners, there are so many planned activities in our neighborhood it's mind boggling. But believe me that is a good thing. They are not all that way. Some it's hard to get anything going. Home space for the things you do. Could mean small or it could mean big. Think about what you want to do. Are you having lots of grandkids and guests? Do you have hobbies that need space? Or do you want to travel and never be home? Think all those things through before deciding what size home you want.

1. Garage size
2. Neighborhood
3. House size based for YOUR lifestyle

Things that you think are important but are not.
1. Being close to a square. Once your here full time you go maybe once a month.
2. Back yard privacy. Nice to have but a lower priority. You can landscape that issue away if necessary. Except backing to a busy street. And those are any street in bold print on the Villages map. That is an issue you can never fix. And the golf carts and dog walkers start at O dark 30.
3. Close to shopping. It's actually close almost everywhere. And you really only go once a week at most.
4. Close to decent medical care. If this is an issue, don't move here. It's poor here at best case. Worst of any place I have ever lived. Fortunately I don't need much yet, so it's OK.
5. Close to places to eat out. There is not a single eating place in the Villages worth being near. All are just OK at best.

1. Designer home around 1800 to 1900 sq ft of living space in Sumter County on a basic lot with at least offset lanais with the house behind us.
2. Had to have a two car and a golf cart garage even though we only have one car. But we have two golf carts.
3. After looking at many different designer homes at open houses, we had to have a certain open floor plan in the living/dining area like was in the Sunflower/Begonia series and a Roman shower in the master bath.
4. A slightly enlarged lanai and three foot expansion on the den/third bedroom.

Rear view is a Championship GC between SS and LSL and no further south than Miona.

A 3/2 ranch which you have re-designed to suit YOU. The ranch has no wasted space.

Oversized sun room overlooking GC.

I have all of that and I am not moving.

Bigger garage!

Since our purchase, we have:

1) Expanded our three stall garage into four stall.

2) Put on a birdcage, out door kitchen and a bar area.

3) Crown molding, driveway & landscaping.

Now all that said..........we did this intentionally. It is much cheaper to do this after-market and we had a much better variety of improvement options to choose from.

Sooooooooooo, if we did it All Over??.......we would change NOTHING.
(whoops, wrong thread)

1. Larger lot with privacy.
2. Minimum two and a half car garage
3. Additional 300 sq. ft added on to my 1400 sq. ft home.

Bigger garage seems to be the most popular response and one that you cannot always do later

It’s a guy thing


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Nobody behind me or further away, not being on a cut through street so people can go around the red light, and a little more room definitely at least a golf cart garage.

Pool
Privacy
NO western facing lanai

Got all 3 and wouldn't change a thing.

Yeah, maybe a guy thing, but not entirely. My home in KC has an oversized three car garage and another garage door in the walkout basement with 800 sq ft of storage. If I were to move permanently to TV I would be unable to get anywhere near that kind of storage space, workshop space, parking space, etc. And most things cannot be stored in the oven, err attic. I would not need anywhere near that much storage space, but going from that to a 500 square foot garage would require some serious downsizing decisions. The size of the house itself would actually be far less of a concern to us, we could get by nicely with half the 3000 sf we currently have.

Top 3
 

1. Better quality appliances than the builder installed.
2. Better carpeting than the builder installed.
3. Enclosed lanai with AC.

Side walk out door in the garage, 4 car garage stretched in length, a third bathroom or at least 1/2 bath. Except for those 3 items our home is perfect for us.

Happy with the first home and neighborhood in TV.

Happy with the second home and neighborhood in TV.

Was happy in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Columbus.

Happier even here in The Villages.

WOW! Terrific responses, all of them! THANK YOU!

Time to unveil my top 3 (remember this is a WISH LIST... just think Santa time when you were 7 years old)

1) I have a hobby that takes one garage stall, so the 2+cart garage is a minimum for us (we will have one car and one or two golf carts)

2) We both like being outside, but will not be accustomed to the heat. We want outdoor cooking and a pool inside a birdcage (and I guess it is best that it not be facing west from results here and from what I have seen on other postings.

3) We do want quiet privacy and a view (I know that is many times contradictory). The best I have been able to describe is on a lake with a golf course beyond. I have looked at a home in the past that was on the cart-side of a golf course, located very near the T-Box of a Par 3. Just looking at the house I got an ear full from the golfers waiting. They were not talking to me, just to each other. Let me just say that they were not using their "inside voices". Each had a story to tell and they all were telling them at the same time and each was trying to out talk the other... you know how it goes - they were enjoying themselves and that was great! I just know that is not what I want in my back yard (ideally), so I have a note - Find a place that the backyard is not near a T-Box and preferably on the non-cart side of the course.

My beautiful wife has her three... we will go there next time as I have written enough for now.

Tom

Oh Tom, it may have been better to start with the wife's wish list because well you know. And don't blow by that comment about the heat. Before you go onward with anything else try to come to grips with moving into an Inferno, which we happen to love. It won't be the fun and experience you have had described to you over the last couple of threads unless you acknowledge the heat, rain, storms and the Jurrasic Park aspects of living here. We don't mind anything except the Major Storms.

Don't want to be a Buzz Killer but what kind of friend wouldn't address these issues up front? I'm totally on your side just keeping it real. :wave:

We are very happy with the designer home we purchased. Have family down here already and they gave me tips of what to look for in a house. One of which was get a north or east facing lanai. Which we did. Next tip was look for a home on a cul-de-sac. We couldn't afford a premium lot on a golf course or lake. But the cul-de-sac lots are usually pretty much the same as other regular lots. We also knew ahead of time that being close to a town square was overrated. We chose the northern section because it would be quieter when the snow birds are here.
If I had to choose three it would be:
1/Wood floor instead of carpet
2/ Nicer fridge and gas stove
3/ Golf cart garage

Happier to see you back and active.

The place is not as good without you Mrs. Gracie! :wave::angel:

If you had to do it ALL OVER again ...
 

My 560 sq ft garage walls are completely covered with shelving. Not the crappy baker racks people assemble, industrial duty wire shelving screwed to 2x4’s lagged into the concrete block. I have everything that was in my basement and garage here minus the crap I would never need again. I store stuff I’ll use once per year in the attic and it’s not an oven since we have a radiant barrier on the roof sheathing. The attic temperature never exceeds the outside ambient. I don’t know why they are not constructing with radiant sheathing anymore, it’s a huge energy saver.
BTW, I also store a pickup truck, Corvette, golf car, work bench, tool chests,2 hybrid bikes, 2 trash cans, 8K generator, 6 & 8’ ladders, 2 commercial car jacks, etc. etc. in my tiny garage with plenty of room to work and move around. It’s all about making use of the available wall space up to within 18” of the ceiling.
Forgot to mention, a lawn mower, all landscape tools and a dry food pantry.


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:BigApplause:

1. Whatever your wife wants!!!
2. Whatever your wife wants!!!
3. Whatever your wife wants!!!

My three are:
1. Close to doctors
2. Close two shopping.
3. Would prefer all floors to be tiled.

Just remember, as one gets older, someone won't be jumping up out of bed in the morning and saying, "great, I get to clean a big house"!!! :smiley:

3 car garage instead of 2 car plus golf cart.
Bigger lanai and birdcage
We back to a road with a pond view not a problem for us, but would not be on a corner lot to deal with those who cut thru the lawn. Nothing like looking out your window to see some weird guy walking past it

I love to move so my goal is to try as many houses as I can here! Our pool, 3/2 courtyard villa is for sale.....we are not selling because we are unhappy, we actually really like the home. It is an end unit so we do have the open view on one side, this is very nice (as someone had mentioned). The pool is a gift to ourselves. Can not really say we what we would get next, if there is a next time. If we don't sell this home, that's OK too, life is an adventure and wonderful!!! So I guess I might change one thing to answer your question, maybe a two car garage but that is not a deal breaker because we are not clutter people. Good luck with your search, enjoy the process.

Do it all over.??? Stayed where I was? Had the big yard, had the big garage full of tools, had the truck, had the classic car. As far as the villages, I'm happy where I brought, corner lot, no kissing lani's, great neighbors. The grass is not always greener :22yikes:

For me, for the house, its much as others have said...

1. Bigger garage.
2. Enclosed Hurricane-proof back lanai.
3. Zero landscaping.

How can you find out about "Friendly Neighbor's" before you buy?

You really cannot find out about a neighborhood before you move in. If it is an older established neighborhood the residents wonder what the new person will be like and if they will fit in, so people basically wait to see to form an opinion. Things usually work out.

Always the voice of reason Joe ----- I think when we first move here, people don't think far into the future. When you have lived here for a time you do begin to think about how you will manage here when you are elderly and need doctors and shopping within golf cart reach.

If you are a young retiree then definitely be a pioneer and go out to the outlying villages, but if you are more mature you might be better off closer to the established areas.

At this point we are closing on a CYV. I’m sure a bigger garage would have been a plus however and it’s a little off topic in sense but here’s what we wanted a were able to buy.’

1. No grass
2. Tile floors throughout ( we have 2 dogs and sometimes one has accidents)
3. In the North End in either Chatam or a neighborhood nearby ( we rented in Chatam this past winter) We were able to buy in Calumet Grove

I’m sure once we start using the CYV as our winter home we may find 3 things we wish we had. If we were to move the Villages full time I know we would prefer a home not a Villa. Yard work? I enjoy for a couple of hours per week. We had the choice of a very nice home on a corner lot with lots of grass, the reason we didn’t choose it we will be seasonal residents and we did not want the concern of having someone cut the lawn in our absence.

I think 2BNTV said it best:
1. What the wife wants
2. What the wife wants
3. What the wife wants. LOL:wave:

Just so happens that’s about what happened with our purchase.

For us, it had to be a concrete wall CYV for the privacy and the safety from hurricanes. Once we established that, our top 3 were:

1. Minimum 2 car garage
2. No carpet ANYWHERE
3. No grass ANYWHERE

It took 2 tries, but we got it right!

Supplemental list:

4. Room for a big birdcage - possibility for a pool
5. Close to shopping and community pool
6. NOT close to a square - traffic is horrendous during snowbird season