We are finally coming down to puchase a home!!!!!
 

:pepper2:We are leaving this Friday to travel to TV. We are going to buy a home while we are there. I have a few questions and I know I will get good advise here.
:pepper2::a040::clap2::coolsmiley::sing::crap2:
First, what are the pros and cons of Siding vs Stucco. We are leaning to Stucco but there are sure some cute homestyles in siding. What is needed for maintenance on each type. What are the drawbacks. I have heard there is a problem with siding. Does it still exist. I once got lactic acidosis and only had a 1/3 million chance of getting it. If I purchase siding, my house would probably be the one effected. IS this still an issue?

Since our friends are all south of 466 we will probably go that route. I thought it might be advantageous to stay close to Canal Street. Yes or no...or does it matter? Where is the New town square located. I am sure it is on here somewhere but can't seem to find it.

Is there anything I can't live without... or will be sorry I did? Golf cart garage or no? Anything I am not thinking of? Thanks in advance. If you see a short, pleasing but quite plump, medium blonde grinning from ear to ear this weekend and the next week, it will be me, Say HI. Sally:wave:

We moved in to the Village of Bonita in January - into a vinyl sided home. I liked the looks of stucco, but the budget wouldn't expand that far! Our siding appears straight and well put up.
We feel we're centrally located - about 10 minutes to Lake Sumter for the music, 25 minutes to Walmart, and 10 minutes to 466A for food shopping (all times are by golf car).
The new town square is south on Buena Vista near SR 44- maybe 20 minutes by golf car????
We don't hava a GC Garage, but since we only have one car down here, it hasn't been a problem.
Good luck in your search - and I heard prices on new homes are going up as of May 18th.

mary ann

Congradulations and Good Luck. :coolsmiley:

Hi there Sal!

There was a problem with a bad lot of siding but it has all been removed and replaced. On a sided house you need to have it powerwashed once or twice a year for less than fifty dollars. Stucco houses need to be painted.

Brownwood Paddock is far from being done, but it looks like they are working on it. It is at what will be the southernmost part of The Villages, south of 466A. Not a single home has been built there yet, but the roads are in and they are working on the golf courses.

I wish I could be there to personally welcome you Salybow. My advice is to get as much room as you can afford. We did and now that we plan to live there full time we feel we need more. People have so many activities that they must have equipment for; golf, pickleball, art, guesting friends and family....space is important.

Ty ty ty
 

Thanks for the info. We Cincinnati Folk must think alike. I never thought about the painting aspect. It is comforting to lnow the siding issue has been corrected. That just expanded my horizons. Are you in West Chester or TV right now? Sally

we know how you feel!
 

We just moved here 4-4-10, rented for a month and will close on our new home on 5-6-10. Can't wait!! We looked at so many houses, both stucco and siding and ended up going with siding. It wasn't so much a choice between the two, as it just happened to be on the house we fell in love with!! It only took us four days to find it.

Good luck with the trip down here, finding a house and getting settled in! You'll love it here!!!!!!

Stucco / Vinyl
 

I thought of the big bad wolf, I was able to buy stucco so I did. I have a Jasmine but we expanded everything including the garage. did not add golf cart garage but was able to add 4' on side plus 2' on the front. Very happy indeed.I think being near Canal is good it goes nort & south but doesn't go past the square on the North End. We like where we are because we're far enough away but close enough for everything. Do what your budget can afford. When you get here you'll find your spending way more time outside your home then inside including meals and get togethers. It's a real great lifestyle and a great place for your 2nd childhood. Don't stress just relax, do what you feel comfortable with and be happy with your decissions.

:welcome:Salybow,

As others have mentioned, stucco is purdier, vinyl less expensive to buy and maintain-- no wrong choice. More home means more storage and room for company; less home means less upkeep and more time and $ for activities -- no wrong choice. Whether you choice the southside or northside, vinyl or stucco, premiere or cottage, you are still going to find yorself in Lower Paradise!

Gee, it's not hard to tell from your post to tell how excited you are. I'm excited for you and dfjcschaich and others on their way too.

:pepper2::a040::clap2::coolsmiley::sing::crap2:

All the very best to you!

My congratulations to you. I too will be looking for a home in June. I'd love to talk with you to share this journey. There is so much to consider.
email me -pj477@comcast.net

We Did it. We are Villagers in training!!!!!!!
 

:a040::faint::MOJE_whot: We did it. I am in an airplane :plane:flying home to Cincinnati to await the building of our new home. We signed a contract to build an Iris on Valley Oak St. in Buttonwood. Right now we own a large sandbox; but they promise that on July 23 we will be closing. I can't wait. Now for the real fun, deciding what we will need and disposing of the rest. It should be fun.
See you all in July!

OMIGOSH. You did it. Now if we could get Boomer to do it. Let's see, so far from Cincinnati, we have us G's, Karen 83, F16, You, Wolf, no Hawk....and who else?

Salybow, I am so thrilled to hear this. An Iris is a LOVELY model and I hope you will love everyday in Buttonwood, the NEWEST Village of them all...right now.

Even I'm excited that there's another Cincinnitian on the way! Don't know what it is about Cincinnati, but I sure do love the Cinci TOTVers-- most especially the ones I've met!! (Truth be know, I aspire to be an Honorary TV Cincinnitian.)

So Salybow, I too am thrilled for you-- and us, that you are coming.

Now, if we could only get Boomer to do it!

:wine::wine::wine:

Another couple from Cincinnati
 

:wave:Hey...don't forget us! We're from Cincinnati, too.

Except we're still TV wannabes, but we WILL be there!


Gene & Kathy :wave:

:wave: Gene & Kathy,

See what I mean, y'all? 'bout Cincinnitians.

Just curious......did you purchase a home?
We are coming down in 6 days to hopefully purchase a lot, house ? We did research in March. Today they opened some new models & changes to the models. I am so anxious to see them. We will be on the life syles for 6 nights.

We're Coming Too!
 

Time to add two more to the Cincinnati Train. School is out on Friday and we are leaving at noon. We will close on our a Pre-owned home in Caroline on Monday. We've been checking out TV for over 5 years, and reading all the terrific information on TOTV since I found the site in January. In fact, we came down and bought a piece sand on Triggerfish Run last March, but it didn't seem just right. Saw this preowned on my daily Village check in and had to have it! We have one more year to work, but couldn't wait any longer.

Thank you all for your informative dialogue. I've been glued to my computer learning and "listening" to your chatter about Paridise. Count us in and wish us luck owning from a distance.

It's not the way we planned it, but since I've read some sad tales about getting rid of the home up north, I really can't compalin. We put our house on the mark to test the waters and sold in 2 days. Teaching school by day and packing up at night made for a difficult 6 weeks, but we moved into a high rise in Mt Adams and we are having a ball "living on the hill."

Thanks again for the support and all the inside information!
See you on Saturday

PS Where is the spell check?

OMIGOSH. Congratulations Memosmom!!! Another Cincinnatian heading toward Paradise. Whoever is last to leave, turn the lights off.:shrug:

We are having things made spiffy to put our home on the market soon. AND as soon as this mess is cleaned up from the workers and painters, Memosmom and Salybow and Gigene and Kathy and Boomer will be invited to come to West Chester to our house for lunch. :pepper2:

Anyone else hiding out there from Ohio making plans? You are invited too!

Should i bring a st. Joseph statue
 

Gracie, When I come for lunch should I bring St. Joseph with me. We actually have two friends down there who are from Greater Cincinnati also. How fun!!! Sally

Well, I USED to live in greater Cincinnati (Fairfield) in the 1970s and one of my children is a Cincinnati native (born at Christ Hospital). Does that count? And we are on our way down to be Florida residents and snowbirds this fall.

I am actually coming down this weekend for a quick 2 week visit to get some more things done to our courtyard villa - mostly thanks to all I've learned on TOTV.

This time we're going to have cabinets installed in the laundry room, change out the bi-fold door on the pantry to a regular one so I can put shelving on the inside of the door (and I hate bi-fold doors), get an estimate from IES for some window tinting film, and the usual - a/c check up, pressure wash siding, probably replace plants that I planted in April to replace ones that died this past winter and have now probably died from the heat and lack of rain (for some reason I can't seem to wait until I move).

Sounds like there will be some additions to the Ohio club, perhaps.

Question...
Did you have to get a larger lot to accommodate your lanai extention?

I've been to Cincinnati. I'm sure that's where I'd be from if I weren't from ATL. :D

It sure does count. As soon as the ladders leave, I'll issue an invitation. What do you drink?

not too picky
 

pretty much anything with ice cubes, this time of year . . .

stucco is cooler in the summer, easier to maintain temp, it does need paint over time but the semi-annual powerwashing costs of siding are roughly equal

ummm............:shocked: power washing costs $35 to $50 bucks a crack.

We just had our house painted up north and it's beans and weenies for awhile!

You crack me up! "...it's beans and weenies for a while" - I'm still laughing!!! Funny stuff! :1rotfl:

Bill

Sally, they got off your original question, but that's easy to do here! :D We were thinking stucco at first, but I'm not as concerned about that. Now that I have my favorite courses (Hacienda, Tierra, Mallory, Havana) we are looking for something on Morse, either North or just South of 466. We have stayed off Canal, and to get to Morse we had to go South to Odell, which was out of the way, or go North to Stillwater, but you have to go left and under the tunnel on Buena Vista and then back to Morse (another out of the way). So we are looking at location first, then hopefully something in our price range. Would love a golf cart garage for the added space, but that is down on the list.

Brownwood will be a good ways away from most everyone now, except Hemingway and maybe Duval or those back towards 466A.

We have heard multiple times that the average Villager moves 3 times. My guess is once they developed favorite courses, friends, or activities they decided to move closer or more convenient to those things. IMHO.

SO, I would suggest finding a house or villa in your price range, keeping in mind the ease of getting to your priority places, i.e. friends, squares, golf, etc.

Just my "2-cents"!! I'm envious that you are closer to being permanent than we are, but I'm still excited for you nevertheless!!!:clap2::clap2:

This thread came back today and I was reading through it again. I came across this one and thought, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" Memason's not from Cinnci and he didn't buy a pre-owned home in Caroline.

Then I noticed it said "memosmom" not memason. :oops:

I hear you but how do you know that your favorite course is even built yet? There are three more regulation and 8? more execs to be built south of 466A.

Good luck with your search.

WHEW..... that was close! :D

Sally,
Make sure you checkout the Buttonwood Social Club at www.buttonwoodsocial.com
Chris

Witness Protection Program isn't doing a very good job, it seems............. :shocked:

Bill :)

Now you are complicating things for me! LOL I'm flexible though so we'll see where things stand in a year!

Are you going to use the Relocation service for the Villages?
 

:duck:

Salybow is HERE...living right here, now, and that is just great with me 'cause I like her a lot.
:MOJE_whot::clap2:

We used the relocation service last year when we were evaluating putting our Cincinnati home on the market. It didn't work out, we weren't prepared for how much our home had dropped in value because of this awful recession and just couldn't bring ourselves to list it.... and the two Realtors they picked were great, but not all that happy about splitting commission with The Villages relocation service.

I think we are going to list it anyway soon, and take the loss, because we want to be in TV full time, but we won't ask help from the relocation service. We just didn't see that using them gave us an advantage and sort of deflated our potential Realtors..

Gracie:

I am so glad you had this experience with the relocation service as the same thing happened to me. Realtors were great but didn't get the job done, (selling market is bad).

I am now with a local realtor who is charging a lower commission, (1% less), as times are rough for the real estate industry, (there is plenty of competetion).

I have an open house this weekend and I am hoping it sells this time.

Gracie,

Just to let you know we also used TV relo service and we not pleased with the realtors they recomended. Being a mortgage loan officer for 28 years I am very familiar with local realtors in the area and just wanted to see what TV could do for me. Three realtors called me, non from my town, I did meet with them but they were all over the place with a price. Had no clue as to my neighborhood. As you, I did not go with any of them.

So I paid for a "market value" appraisal to get a true value of our home and used that value. Plan was to put our home on the market "For Sale By Owner" for a month or two then if that did not work to put it with a realtor..local that knows the area and sucessful.

The good news is....ta da...I put our lovely home of 19 years on Zillow and Owners .com AND most important a "House For Sale" sign in my window (our kids had a fit saying the sign looked like a condemed sign). Had a contract in 3 days. I did co-op with a realtor. Buyer seen the house on Zillow called her realtor to call me and the story ends CLOSED.

Best news of all we will be in TV on Easter Sunday with a rented 22' truck that will hold all of our wordly goods. Renting for 3 months while our Begonia is being built in St. James and you know the rest. Happily Ever After. And I wish this wish for you and yours.

Congratulations Ceegeo,

What wonderful news!
:MOJE_whot::highfive::wine:

ceego is another Ohio "deserter". Congrats!! :MOJE_whot:

You're next, gracie! :)

Bill

We are also from Cincinnati (N. KY) and have purchased a lot in Tamarind Grove. Can't wait to get down there. We are putting our house up on the market on Monday (Apr 18). We have to start building by August. As soon as we close here we will be traveling down to TV to start the build!

They advertise 60 days to build a house...your date of Jul 23 is a bit longer than that...what did they tell you the real story on how long to build? Also, how was the experience selling your house in Cincinnati?

Thanks. :)