Visit
 

I would like to visit The Villages in January. Any suggestions for me?

Great question.
Great place to ask.
I will start with a few.....

Hook up with a Villages Broker.
Get a golf cart.
Visit the town squares.
Before arrival determine your home preferences.
Enjoy the nightly music.
Play golf, swim, pickle ball, etc.
Talk to Villagers.
Get a Villages Map.

That's my jump-start..............more to come.

:coolsmiley:

Be prepared to be blown away. Than wonder "what's the catch". If you do a Lifestyle visit" and rent a home from the developer, the agent will NOT show you houses unless you ask and if they do they won't push.

See the sunset from the Morse Bridge. Enjoy the music at Lake Sumter Landing (my fave) Take the trolley ride and the boat ride and talk to everyone. Stop in at Laurel Manor rec center and ask to be shown around, and at Seabreeze rec center, and Colony Cottage and don't miss Eisenhower, especially if you are retired military. Talk to everyone. NO. We are not all Stepford Villagers, but most of us talk like we are.

Hurry. You will love it here.

You are so right Gracie about being 'blown away!' Husband & I retiring/moving to TV in 6 months, quick trip last wknd, stayed at an airbnb. I highly recommend! You're in a TV house, owners gave us tips about real estate/restaurants, ate outside at Cane Garden golf (their suggestion, wonderful!), and totally switched where we thought we wanted to buy to the area we stayed at. Drove all over, met w/MLS + VLS realtors who couldn't have been any nicer, crossed the street from Panera in Lake Sumter where we met a realtor to beers at Gators (2 beers = $4, really??, plenty of empty tables outside, stared at the water to unwind, then the free(!) live entertainment started at 3pm), ended at Spanish Springs for Scooter the DJ. The next morning looked at more neighborhoods, toured Eisenhower Rec Center, on the way back to the airport detoured over to the Lake Eustis Sailing Club (husband sails a Laser). Sorry if I went a bit off topic, but if you're coming from a city such as DC (crowded, high-priced), TV is something special.

Hi Jansmiles, If you are planning on doing a Lifestyle Preview Visit in January, you may want to call The Villages sales office soon to book the visit. I would bet my cat's last can of Fancy Feast that January is a high demand month for Lifestyle Preview Visits in The Villages.

True Dat Schaumburger. In fact I would be surprised to find out that there are any LSP slots available for this coming January. You also will probably not find a home available for short term in January as virtually every renter wants, and is able, to rent their home for Jan. thru Mar. There are several hotels to choose from in and around TV. Not trying to discourage you, and I may be wrong about LSP slots, but call TODAY!

Yes, do it! Plan some time, see some homes, get involved in a few activities, ride around, talk with people, etc.

1) Get a golf cart.
2) Get out of the house as much as you can and explore everything.
3) Go to a pool.
4) Go to a regional rec center.
5) Must go to a square at night. See Scooter the DJ if he is in town.

6) Don't hesitate to talk to Villagers. Ask, "How long have you lived here?" Then, "Are you tired of it yet?" Then be ready for a 10 minute conversation.

7) Have an ice cream. :)

I second Carpe Diem’s thoughts. Lots of good advice by other posters too.

We had a home in Ocala and visited the Villages a few times during our winter stays in Ocala. We decided we needed a change and sold the Ocala home. This past winter we rented a home and golf cart for 2 months to get the experience of living in the Villages. There’s nothing like it, visiting as an outsider only going to restaurants and the town squares does not give you the real experience of living here. Our only gotcha is due to a family situation we can’t be here more than a few months each year.

If you're thinking about buying *new* (as in, custom built just for you in a brand new area of the community) then ask for a Lifestyle visit in Brownwood, or Fenny if available. If you're hoping to buy either "pre-owned" or "in an established area with mature oaks and minimal new construction" then if you have a choice, ask for a rental in or near Sumter Landing.

We're at Brownwood for a few days, we leave tomorrow. Everything we wanted to see and experience between 40 and 60-minute golf-cart ride away, or a 20 minute drive. I really REALLY wanted to see a bunch of homes in Spanish Springs, some of the newer rehabilitated homes in Orange Blossom, and maybe a few things west of Buena Vista but north of 466. We were only able to see a few homes in 5 days because the back and forth was just too much. If we were able to stay near Sumter Landing, everything we would've wanted to do (including dinner and dancing in the Sumter Landing town square) would've been no more than 20 minutes by golf cart, no more than 5 minutes by car.

...and to those who remind me that there's dinner and dancing in Paddock Square yes, I know. But I wasn't interested in visiting Paddock Square, because if we move to TV it'll be north of 466 and I wanted to see what was in THAT area. Sort of like - if you're thinking of living in Boston, you don't rent a condo for a week in Framingham. Or if you want to consider life in Santa Fe, you don't spend a week visiting Albuquerque.

Are you lovin' it here???? I love it when a new person comes to The Villages. Isn't it great???

We've visited before (for vacation) a couple of times. Though Florida isn't my first choice of a part of the country to live in (it's actually not even on my top 10 list), I absolutely LOVE the Villages.

Our visit was stressful, in part cause the parental units were with us a couple of days of the trip. They are not "active" seniors and get winded after walking around the corner, and get sore sitting in cars for any length of time.

So trying to see ANY homes near where we actually would want to live, was nearly impossible. We did get a rundown on the actual cost of living in TV (over and above the cost of the house itself), and were able to see what our home-buying dollars might pay for, if we were in a position to make an offer this week.

I"ll post a new thread on our thoughts, since it's off topic :)

OP didn't say anything about buying, so I won't waste your time talking about realtors.
Be sure and visit each town square. If you stay somewhere central, like the Waterfront, it won't be too bad of a trip. But I wouldn't necessarily do it by golf cart because it's pretty confusing to a newcomer.

Here is my advice - Come in December instead - it will cost you half as much, if you can find something in January at all.
I have a rental available in December for 1900 for the month.
PM me if you are interested

If you come in December the rates are much cheaper, like Packerfan indicated. Text me if you are interested in renting in December... Rae 920-265-8425

Sent from my SM-N920R4 using Tapatalk

:agree: Strongly agree with getting a Villages map especially before you arrive in TV. TV is a very big place.

I would add:
1. Visit Eisenhower Rec Center.
2. Trolley ride.

Don't be disappointed when you visit ends because the first visits, seems to go by in the blink of an eye. :smiley:

TV is kept in immaculate condition. Be prepared to be amazed at it's beauty.

Where can I purchase a map?
Someone said they were available at the Mercantile Store, but I can't seem to find a good phone number.
Thanks,

Yes, at the Mercantile Stores (at each Square) or at the Sales Offices.


(352) 753-6655

Go to any of the country clubs pro shops, I believe we have 12 now, or to any of the sales offices, which are located at each square. Tell them you want the $5 map, if you have a salesman, they will usually give you one for free if you ask.

You didn't say how long.

Lifestyle program is nice however if you are using it as a vacation then you really are screwing over the realtor. It isn't here as vacation homes and the person is trying to make a living.

Also, if you use the lifestyle program and you later decide you want to come back to look for a home, then you will not be allowed to do the lifestyle program again.

It you are only staying for a few days to a week, get a hotel at LSL. Rent a cart, and go to the town square at night. Since you will be walking distance to the hotel, it will be fine if you partake in a few (many) adult beverages.

If you are just about vacationing in The Villages and you use the lifestyle program, remember you will be taking food out of a family's mouth. I couldn't live with that but looks like others can.

I had three (3) LifeStyle stays prior to purchasing.

Then I was told wrong. I stand corrected, good sir.

IMHO: I still wouldn't use it as a vacation though.

The Lifestyle Preview Program is a marketing program by the developer. They encourage people to use it as a way to showcase the development and offer perks designed to get people to experience the best the place has to offer. The developer makes it financially attractive so that people will take advantage of it because (he/she) thinks correctly, that many of the attendees will ultimately buy a home in TV. Most people, including my spouse and I, come to an LSP to see what all the hubbub is about and to see if this is a place that might be a logical place for their retirement years. No one is being taken advantage of if someone takes the LSP and does not buy, any more than someone who goes to an open house and doesn't buy the house was taking advantage of the realtor at the open house. In conclusion; IT'S A MARKETING PROGRAM!!

A rep for the Villages called us and offered us a 2nd LSP over a year after the first visit, if we were still interested. By that time, we had already made the decision to move to TV and had secured a long term lease on a property.
As far as "screwing" a realtor, on our first LSP, we saw the realtor/rep for TV for a total of about two hours. Mostly to see three homes. Outside of that, we saw him for maybe 30 minutes when we first arrived. I don't feel like we "screwed" him because we didn't buy.

We were on the LSP this past week, and our sales agent spent several hours with us throughout the visit, including over 3 hours in a sit-down to answer questions from me, hubby, and my parents who came for 2 days out of the 5-day trip.

I feel that his time was well-spent with us because even though we didn't buy, we plan to (assuming we can afford it when the time comes, next year). And we plan on this specific sales agent to help us make that deal, at that time. Whether it's one of his own listings, or some other agent's VLS, he will be our "buying agent." So he'll either get the full commission (if he's the one representing the seller) or he'll get a piece of another selling agent's commission.

He also convinced me that sticking with the VLS agents as opposed to MLS agents is definitely the way to go.

Curious as to how he convinced you that sticking with the VLS agents was the way to go? You are aware that, if you are looking at preowned homes, they have a completely different inventory. If you don't use both a VLS and MLS agent there will be listed homes that may be just what you are looking for, that you will not see. You also need to check out the fsbo sites (Zillow - VillageRsfsbo) to see everything. Good luck (and I am not affiliated with any realtor though I recommend Tony Trussler with TV and Lyle Gant with MLS.) FWIW I bought my villa FSBO..

Don't try to mix a winter vacation with a real chance to see if you want to move here. They are two different things.

If you want a vacation, then come down Jan to March.

If you really want time to see if the place is for you, then come down any other month of the year when you will have time to see what the place is really like.

Much more time for you and the realtor and the places to eat and everything else to show you what TV has to offer if you come in December or May or something like that.

I would also not do the Lifestyle Visit, but simply rent a place for 2 to 4 weeks when it is cheap and get a real feel for the place.

I'd add to that - have a few visits, not just one. Go different times of the year. The last visit should be the Lifestyle Visit since theoretically you'd only "allowed" to have one of those (though apparently you actually can have more than one - the old brochures that came with the old CD sales package said you could only do it once).

If you go at least once when the Snowbirds are there, and at least once during the summer when the hot climate is even hotter, you'll have a more well-rounded perception of what it's "like" to live in this enormous, primarily fun but occasionally congested community.

I agree. January is not a fun month here in my opinion. It is crowded and generally too chilly to swim and feel the warmth of Florida.

But much, much better than the North and snow.

:clap2:

No worries if you don't buy at the time of your LSP.
You may well buy later after you get home and think about what a fabulous life style The Villages offers.
We had a LSP in 2007, and we bought sight unseen a few months later. We knew exactly what we wanted from the LSP.

What? Food out of a family’s mouth? What?

This is good advice, and I would advise taking it. Of course, a Villages agent is going to try to talk you into just using them, and maybe a MLS agent would do the same. But the wise option is to use them both plus for sale by owner, to see all that is available.

So first visit, play some golf, try couple of rounds. Go to couple of different pools, relax, you are on vacation. Drive around to see how well kept this place is, pretty, and you can relax or be as busy as you want, kind of like Disney.

You do not need to run around to look at houses, there will always be something available. First see if you would love TV, then start making smart decisions.

PLS RECONSIDER advice on just going with a VLS agent .. ESPECIALLY if you're not interested in being down further south in new construction .. MLS agents have a very good pulse on resales .. Most folks recommend using one of each .. which is what we did

I took a look on a couple of MLS agent websites. After a few views, one required me to register to see any more. The other required me to register to see the details on the very first home I wanted to look at.

The first one started pestering me the same day with spam e-mails, welcoming me to his site, offering to help me buy a new home, telling me to fill out my profile (all of these were separate e-mails) - and then the next day I started getting daily "new homes" e-mails, many of which weren't even in the Villages. I tried filtering out how many e-mails I get from them, and it just sent me MORE e-mails.

I responded to one asking him to stop, and telling him I didn't appreciate being trolled by a bot when I'm not even in a position to buy anything, and have zero interest in anything outside the Villages.

He responded, insisting that he answers all of these personally, and he doesn't bot.

And then I started getting MORE e-mails.

I had to unsubscribe and clear my cookies just to get rid of him.

The second one sent my info to its finance company, which started pestering me to get a loan from them.

So no thanks. If that's what I can expect from going MLS in your area, I'll take my chances with the VLS services.

Interesting! I worked with Lyle Gant for 8 years. I signed up and set the parameters of what I was looking for on his website. I got an email from his anytime a new listing fitting my specs hit the MLS market, and about once monthly with everything in the MLS inventory within my specs. He never called, and never got mass emails from him. When I looked at properties with him, he never pestered me afterword, and was always courteous, never pushy, and a fine representative. I never bought from him as I finally bought directly from an owner, but I would use him again in a heartbeat. I could say the same for Tony Trussler, our Villages rep.

That's the thing. I'm not looking FOR anything, at the moment. I'm looking AT. I'm looking at pictures on websites. If any of them seem to look interesting enough to me, at a price I can afford, I'll look at the details for that home. I don't want strangers on the internet selecting things "based on my interests." I'll speak with someone in person, when I'm ready for that.

[QUOTE=Jazuela;1586208]That's the thing. I'm not looking FOR anything, at the moment. I'm looking AT. I'm looking at pictures on websites. If any of them seem to look interesting enough to me, at a price I can afford, I'll look at the details for that home. I don't want strangers on the internet selecting things "based on my interests." I'll speak with someone in person, when I'm ready for that.[/QUOTES]

So go to Zillow.com