What happens during a Lifestyle Visit?
 

If we schedule a Lifestyle Visit, I'm curious to know what we can expect from it and I would love to hear your experiences.

You will be assigned a Villages' Broker.
Time spend with him/her is up to you.
Use them as much as you want.
Obviously, they will get you into home of interest to you.
(you should define prior to arrival)


Then free-time.
Get on the golf cart, get on the bike, take walks and explore TV.

Couple sites for information.
Golf The Villages. Golf info
Village Community Development Districts. Checkout Recreation dept. for other recreation.
Enjoy your visit.....

It was surprisingly a minimally sales-oriented experience. In fact, if you want to meet with your sales agent to tour properties or take the trolley tour or do anything else, you will probably have to pursue them. I traveled with a friend who was just going along as a good sport but she was shocked at how low-key & welcoming it was. No pressure. The Villages sells itself. They don’t have to try to make you want to buy. The sales agents don’t try to hard-sell you since there are plenty of other willing buyers.

A virtual video tour of a sample Lifestyle villa is available online & the one we stayed in was identical to the one shown.

One tip: it’s a BIG place with a lot to see & do so try to decide what you want take in before you come. You won’t have time for everything.
Enjoy!

Our lifestyle visit was less than 2 years ago. We stayed a week, a couple of blocks away from Brownwood Town Square in a lovely courtyard villa. My parents came for 2 nights during that week as well.

We wanted input from the sales agent assigned to us, so we set up an appointment on a day when my parents were there. We sat in the living room and asked tons of questions for an hour or so. Then we asked him to help us look at some of the open houses. He made some appointments at homes that didn't have open houses too, which was pretty awesome.

One of the days we did nothing but see properties we'd selected to look at. The rest of the time was spent riding around, enjoying the town squares, doing a little shopping, dining out and cooking in, and basically enjoying a week vacation. We -could- have done that the entire time if we wanted, but we were serious about moving to the Villages and it was time to discuss details with someone who could help us best.

We ended up buying a house March 2019, and we moved in last November after our house in the north finally sold and closed. Being with the agent really helped us hone in on the area we wanted, the type of house we wanted, the type of house we'd "settle for" if the house we wanted was over our budget, etc. etc.

Even though this was long after our visit, we asked our Lifestyle agent to help us with the purchase of our new home, since most of it would be done remotely and we needed someone in Florida to represent our interests regarding any repairs needed (it was pre-owned), problems needing solved, utility companies contacted, contractors informed, etc. etc. til we could get down there for the closing date and final walk-through.

In all, I'd say - even though you -can- do nothing on your Lifestyle Visit other than relax and enjoy your stay, I highly recommend taking advantage of the assigned agent, and letting him/her guide you on the costs, areas, answering any questions, addressing concerns, etc.

Bring your check book.

:coolsmiley:

When we did ours we opted not to tie up our assigned agent since all we wanted to do was pretty much just look around.

When he took us to our villa he went through the layout of the place, asked us if he could make any reservations for us and made sure we knew how to get ahold of him if we had any questions.

We did all three trolley tours which gave a great introduction to the different areas. Then between the daily paper and The Villages App we located open houses that we were interested in and went to several. Then we just pretty much drove around and got lost. Went to several of the Regional Rec Centers. Especially liked Eisenhower. Spent time at all three squares and met some friends for a couple of meals.

We spent a lot of time just talking to people. I have to admit I went in thinking it would be a little Stepford-ish. But almost everyone we spoke to had nothing but good things to say about their experience there. When pressed to provide something negative the only thing people came up with was the crowds and traffic during "Snowbird" season. But that wasn't a huge complaint.

First of all, your time with the Sales rep is NOTHING like the typical Time Share experience. They are there only if you want them. But since you paid for the Lifestyle Program, you obviously have at least a mild interest in this place, and seeing some of the homes is probably on your wish list too. But like the title of the program says, you want to see whether the Lifestyle of being a part of The Villages is anything you would like. That includes experiencing the town squares, playing golf or other sports, talking with everyone around as to what they think of this place, and generally getting a feel if The Villages is right for you. And if, at the end of your stay, you feel that it just might be an interesting fit, consider whether it was so good that you want to buy a house and live here, or just want the seasonal experience and decide to rent for a month or more. But at the end of your stay, you will know if this is the Lifestyle you would like to enjoy. Try to get around and see and do as much as you want. That is the only way you will be able to decide that this Lifestyle is so amazing that you just have to be a part of it. That what we call "drinking the kool-aid" !!!!

First visit in 07, stayed in PV, in Caroline, lots of Free wine and dine, movies, golf, tennis, classes, rep called to say if we wanted to look here was contact #

Second visit 09, 1/2 the free stuff, same rep, another PV, looked at 2 houses, no pressure

Third visit 10, a CYV in Creekside, no food, but free golf, movies, classes, tennis. Bought first house.

So laid back we could have said no, and no pressure if we didn’t buy.

It was a great experience. Choose your realtor carefully. We had a great time. A great 3 bedroom, free golf, free theatre, free polo match. A golf cart and bicycles free for 3 days. We were sorry to leave.

We also did multiple Lifestyle visits before deciding to buy. At first we did not want any pressure, so we did not spend any time with our sales agent. By the last visit we wished that our agent was more in contact with us. That's how low/no pressure they are.

We had a fantastic Lifestyle Visit, but only booked for 4 nights because we weren't sure there would be enough to do......boy were we wrong!!!! Definitely do a 7 night visit. Just like everyone else said- NO pressure from your agent. Definitely do the trolley tours.

Do your research BEFORE you come! They will steer you to all the newer sections, most of which are far away from all the main happenings and usually not (yet) accessible by golf cart. Look before you leap.

You will love the experience, but one word of advice; watch out for the kool-aid!! But we absolutely love living here!!

It’s very simple. You just enjoy your stay and contact your agent if interested in seeing a home. And/or go to the open houses on your own. If you don’t want to look at homes, that’s okay too. We did the lifestyle twice. First time was just to see what we thought of TV. Never spoke to a realtor even once while there. Second time we weren’t intending to buy yet but happened to find one we like. But just an FYI. We weren’t interested in buying in TV until renting for a month in McClure. Its a different experience down here. We had also stayed in Sumter previously in addition to the 2 Brownwood lifestyle stays so we had experience in 3 areas prior to buying.

“Far away” is relative. And keep in mind, it’s very crowded where all the main happenings are. We enjoy visiting those areas but would wanna live there. Like our more laid back quiet neighborhood. All depends on what you like.

On arrival and check-in you’ll be greeted by a sales rep. They will give you two options, guided tours on one of the three Villages trolley tours and visiting new models or pre-owned listings with him/her. You can turn down either invitation or spend as much time with the rep as you choose. The rep will provide contact information for your use after you go home. If you don’t call, you’ll never hear from the rep again. It’s the ultimate “The Villages Lifestyle sells itself” program.

Otherwise, you have as much time as you’d like to do whatever you wish during your Villages vacation.

One forewarning, do some research and planning in advance. The Villages is now longer from north to south than the City of Chicago. Definitely don’t make your Lifestyle visit too short, there’s LOTS to see and experience.

Unless you plan to move in the next six months, I would wait. TV at the moment is nothing like it is during normal times. I took a 7 day LSV in April 2011, to show how fast it has grown, at that time there were no homes below 466A, none at all. In fact Buena Vista didn't even connect to 466A, much less cross over and take you to Brownwood.

We stayed at LSL (Lake Sumter Landing) in a $500,000 cottage at the foot of the Morse Bridge and a 200 yard walk to the square. The first evening was a market night, we walked over to the square and checked out all the vendors. It was still snowbird season, so the square was packed. The band started play at 5pm, I have no memory of who it even was. It was like going to a carnival or a fair.

My salesman Tony Trussler, I had told over the phone weeks before arriving we were interested in villas and cottages. We speed a half day going through new masonry CYVs in Pennecamp, new cottages in Tamarind Grove and new patio villas in Buttonwood. We had decided we were going with either a masonry CYV or patio villa.

The agent also reserved a teetime for me at the Cane Garden Championship course, where I played 18 holes with a person was a seasonal renter for many years and a couple who lived here fulltime. It was a good opportunity to ask questions and was very enjoyable. I also played the executive course Heron, where I played with a couple who were also on a LSV.

We went to the movies once, tickets courtesy of the LSV. We went to SS square and LSL everyday (Brownwood didn't exit) and checked what was going on. I looked at golf carts at TV store at LSL. We ate at a few local places, we made one mistake, we ate at Golden Corral on Easter. They had the biggest crowd I ever seen. The line was around the parking lot. Once inside and after paying and getting your food, you had to wait until a table was available. It was a real nightmare.

When our 7 days were up, we wished it was a permanent stay, and I didn't want to go home. We drove to Sanford and boarded the Autotrain while our car rode in the back. The train arrived 18 hours later just outside Washington, DC, and then back to reality.

To give you some idea of what I mean, here's is Brownwood during normal times after 5pm when Rocky & the Rollers is playing.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.town...size=750%2C519

Here is how a square looks now, LSL

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4dVjzWBvWfc/hqdefault.jpg

the brokers are there to SELL ! your experience will depend on the assigned broker - remember they are NOT Realtors. we came last yr - 2 rounds of golf @ championship courses ea - community pool - use of golf cart - looked @ 10 houses & left
now we're coming down wed to buy but not w/tv brokers
having just accepted a contract on our home in no atlanta, we've discovered creative-thinking, intelligent, competent, ambitious, aggressive professional brokers/Realtors are rare. i expect no different in tv - we've already discussed our wants/needs w/6 - 3 tv & 3 others - only 1 stood out which is what we expected

We did the lifestyle package in 2018 and it was a good way to see if you are really interested in the area and you can check out the Villages lifestyle. A salesperson will be assigned to you and will schedule a few hours to show you around, figure out your interests, show you properties that fit your interests. They had us stay in a courtyard villa near Sumter Landing. We had use of a golf cart, two bicycles, got a temporary villages ID, movie passes, etc. the villa we had was 3 bedroom/2 bath and we had family visit us and stay with us in the villa. We enjoyed the stay and it helped to confirm for us that we really wanted to buy here. If you choose to take advantage it really will let you sample the lifestyle. (Golf, squares, etc.) However, that was before Covid-19, so I am not sure how it all works now. As things open back up, it may be a similar experience.

Lifestyle program is a great experience. The house will be in immaculate condition. Even the cutlery drawer will be laid out with everything in line. Try the golf cart, use the pass. The salesman will not push too hard, but they will steer you toward the new build areas. As somebody pointed out? The refrigerator will come with lots of kool-aid.
If you like cleanliness and order, then TV is for you. If you like a bit of chaos and some litter in the streets, look somewhere else.

Try Remax - Freedom on 466A, owner is a Vet, knows her stuff and will not steer you into buying new like TV sales reps will, no matter what you’d prefer.

In 2011 Buena Vista DID connect to 466A, I lived in Buttonwood but you are correct there was nothing south of that

Given the current situation, I don't think your lifestyle experience will be anything like it used to be (and hopefully will be again soon!) It was awesome when we did it. Free entrance to most every thing, all rec centers were opened, so you could go play whatever group activities were going on, both inside and outside. The entertainment at the squares aren't happening, and the street vendors and Saturday markets aren't happening at this point. Some restaurants are opened with limited seating. It just won't be the same. Hopefully, they have greatly reduced the price. You will (or should I say, should) be getting a Villages real estate agent to drive you around to various models. Hopefully they will take you to areas other than 'south of hwy 44'. You probably won't get the true feel of the town centers, which will be sad, BUT, you should be able to play golf on certain course. They included 2 bicycles and a golf cart in our lovely 3/2 bungalo, which was fenced in, so we could bring our dog. I'd say, take advantage of it, but just know you want get the true feel of everything that is offered here. If they don't include an agent, our guy was Jim Amidei , and he is awesome 352 572 8747. He is very patient. Many folks buy within 1-3 days, seeing less than 6-7 houses. We had specific needs, and he worked with us for about 8 months, to make sure we found what we needed/wanted. Best of luck to you.

If you come now for lifestyle you will be in Alden Bungalows across Powell from Brownwood just north of 44. Friends were just here and what they got was pretty much hard sell on new developments south of 44. The sales rep will show you other homes for sale then try to have you drink the kool-aid. Yes you get golf and other things (movies have just reopened), restaurants are open 50% so think about it. Great way if you don’t know anyone here to get the “experience” and make sure this is the 55+ community you want to live in

Do you think I would of wrote that if it was not correct? What month did you move to Buttonwood? My LSV was in April 2011 and after looking in Buttonwood and Tamarind Grove, I drove to the end of St. Charles with the intentions of going to Colony. I can tell you for a fact, that in April 2011 when you went to the end of St. Charles the only option you had was to go around the Turtle Mound traffic circle and exit north onto Buena Vista or back onto St. Charles where you came. There were concrete barriers blocking off Buena Vista to southbound traffic at the circle. That's a REAL Fact, I did it, I was here, I bought in Tamarind Grove in April 2011. However by June when we made the permanent move, it had opened to 466A. The first homes south of 466A were models built on Braddy Ct in Sanibel, I went to the first open house to see them in August.

The Villages visit
 

I did the Lifestyle experience 2 times. I was put in a beautiful 3 bedroom house, given a pair of bikes and a golf cart. Your visit will be problem free and your experiences will help you decide if you want to live in Te Villages; closing july 2020 :-)

Thanks everyone! This first visit will definitely be a very preliminary one. We've never been to TV or any other over 55 active adult community before. We currently have 3 dogs (the oldest is a 13 1/2 year old Golden), we still have a kid in HS and we haven't retired, yet. We would like to plan our first visit around September to get the lay of the land. If things are reopened by then, a Lifestyle Visit would be great. If things are still in the process of opening back up, we may opt to stay in a hotel (Spanish Springs?) and do a Lifestyle Visit next year in one of the villas w/golf cart because we really want to be able to take advantage of everything TV has to offer. By the time we actually would move to TV, we will have 2 dogs, one kid graduated from college, one kid in college. We already live in Florida about 5 1/2 or 6 hours from TV, so we should be able to experience TV a few times before we commit. Thanks again for all of the very helpful responses.

Thank you all for the very helpful and informative responses. We are definitely interested in doing a Lifestyle Visit and will get one planned once things start to reopen and we can take full advantage of the many varied amenities within TV. Overall, this seems like a really nice and welcoming community and the idea of spending our days playing golf, hiking trails, swimming in pools, fitness and other classes, hanging out in the town squares sounds like a lot of fun.

Absolutely not necessary unless you are ready to buy on that lifestyle visit.

Work with your Villages agent. Some on this site think they are there to sell only new.....not true. As one suggested Tony Trussler, and I agree with his choice, they will show you what ever you desire without pressure. The others suggesting using an non Villages Realtor is a little misleading. The non Villages Realtor can only show you homes not listed by The Villages, and vice versa, The Villages agent can not show the MLS listings, unless the two sides have an agreement between them (which some do). If you do some advance due diligence on TheVillages.com (which shows both new and preowned) and compare to MLS, you will see that TheVillages.com has the mass majority of homes available. Becareful, some of the MLS are in areas with a 'village' in the name but are not part of The Villages property and do not come wtih TV amenities.

I think your visit will be a bit different from most of us, due to COVID19. You can still get a good feel for the area, play golf, and maybe go to some of the restaurants that are now opened. If you play tennis or pickleball, and have your own stuff, the courts are opened (except when closed groups are playing, and that's all noted on the weekly activity info). Some of the shops are now opened as well, but none of the town square activities have started back up. I'm not sure if the trolley tours are working. If all was up and running, I would definitely encourage you to do 5-7day, but now, 2-3 nights/3-4 days may be all that you need. There are great maps that can be purchased in the gift shops if they are . If not, I'm sure your rep/tour guide/host person could get some for you. Open houses are now back up and running, and your host person should probably be able to get you in to some homes for sale, if you are ready for that. The Villages agents can only show you homes listed by The Villages, so, if, in riding around, you see a home listed by another group, you have to contact them. (It's perfectly ok to have an agent through The Villages, and MLS). Our Lifestyle was awesome. The villas/bungalos that they use are lovely. Ours was just across the street from Brownwood It was 3/2, 2 car garage, 2 bikes, 1 golf cart, and fenced in yard, so we could bring our dog. I would encourage you to come now, if you have the time, but, if you don't think you are ready to buy yet, 3-4 days may be enough for now, since so much is still not opened. We LOVE IT HERE, and our agent (that we had when we came back to rent, make sure we wanted to buy) was awesome! Please feel free to pm me if you have any other questions!

My wife and I did it twice before we moved here. No pressure and clean home!

As far as agents, if you want a resale home instead of a new home. There are normally about 200 plus homes for sale on MLS (a Realtor database) and about 200 plus homes listed with The Villages Agency (non MLS agents). To see all the used resales you will need two agents. To see new homes, only a Villages Agent can show them.

On your own, you can do just about everything an agent can do as far as some research. Here are the 200 plus homes for sale on MLS, it's called Zillow.

The Villages Real Estate - The Villages FL Homes For Sale | Zillow

Here are the resales listed with The Villages

Homefinder - The Villages(R) Homes and Villas for Sale

The villa that you stayed in sounds perfect. We also have dogs so we will definitely want to buy a house with a fenced in back yard and, in my mind right now, the idea of being within walking distance to the action in one of the town squares sounds nice. It would be great to be able to walk over to one of the restaurants for dinner and drinks. I'm really looking forward to checking TV out and I appreciate your willingness to answer our questions. Thank you.

The CYVs where they hold the LSV now is Alden Bungalows, that's next to Brownwood. Here's a villa in Alden. CYVs all have fenced yards and you can find CYV communities near all three squares. A house with a fenced yard will be much more difficult. They only built a few single family homes with fences in the Pine Ridge area and when they come on the market they go very fast and are 5 miles from Brownwood square. Also in the new area south of 44 they have Veranda Homes, which are homes with a fence, but they have no square. Unlike when we bought our villa, it was very hard to find one with a two car garage, Alden Bungalows will have 2 car garages on almost every unit.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...sizerender-jpg

From Alden Bungalows you could walk to Brownwood Square, but you have to cross Powell Rd, which is 4 lanes with a medium and can be busy. You'll have a golf cart, take that cart through the tunnel to the right when you exit the villas and you'll come out across Powell Rd. The big brown brick building you'll see probably first is MVP Health Club, I usually go there about 3 or 4 days a week. It's actually not owned by TV, but if you have United Health Medicare Advantage through TV your membership is free, otherwise it's $60 a month. I would take a tour while your there, unless you're are totally against working out and gym classes.

A good place for a quick lunch is McAlister's Deli, it's two doors down from MVP. You also have Five Guys Hamburgers right after that, and World of Beer also has hamburgers. On Saturday mornings there is a Farmer's Market at Brownwood, and evey night at 5pm is a live band during normal times. Friday night is market night, so you'll see vendor tents set up around the square selling everything from the lamp post name signs to purses and sunglasses.

If you continue east of the square in your car, the next 4 lane divided road that is parallel to Powell Rd. is Buena Vista, that is one of the two north south main roads. If you got on Buena Vista and went north, you could go 15 miles and would be at the opposite end of TV. If you're a veteran, we have a 99,000 sf VA medical center at that end. That area is called Mulberry because the Rec Center and Shopping Center have that name. The maps would handy, they're $5 at the country clubs, the sales office, or best yet, go in the sales office and tell them your salesman said they should give you a map, it worked for me. Something we didn't have as much access nine years ago as they do now when I came, was google maps. Just dial in zip code 32162, which is the center part of TV and pick satellite view and you can see the roads and the landscape. You can check out street view and a lot of other things, although TV builds so quickly, many areas will only be areas of dirt when looked at even through now they're are roads and houses.

Very low pressure experience. Essentially it is a vacation for you to experience several shows, dinners, dances, games, etc. that interest YOU. You can look at several houses or just experience the villages.
We came with our pets, meet with our realtor to discuss interests, things we like to do. We left our fur babies in the nice tiled home near Brownwood while we toured the place by car and with the realtor. We went to the Sharon, Katie Belles, A Christmas dance, and restaurants. There was so much to do. Our golf cart was slow and basic, probably the worst memory of the trip. It needed Geritol.

We highly recommend Lifestyles. You could also rent for a month and make your own plans, but it was nice to have the realtors assistance. They really listen to you.

Our visit was 10 years ago so not sure it is the same. We came with another couple and got a big house with a golf cart and bike. Our sales person Nanette was awesome. She said this place sells itself. We had to ask her to show us some places for sale. They gave us tickets for shows and golf. They gave us coupons for restaurants such as Arnold Palmers. We stayed a week. It was a great experience!

The Life Style Visit
 

My wife and I came for a lifestyle visit last year May 2019. We were treated like royalty. We had a three bedroom villa in the Atwood section which is right next to Brownwood Paddock Square. They give you passes to just about everything imaginable you get a golf cart and two Bicycles. whoever is assigned to you for the week which is usually one of The Villages realtors Who plays both roles as a customer service person who shows you all the exciting things to do in the villages as well as giving you the opportunity to see some beautiful homes that are for sale here in The Villages. My wife and I were just blown away on how well we were treated and how much fun we had we were actually depressed when we had to go back home. But now fast forward one year later we have a beautiful new home here in The Villages and we’ve never been happier.

Looking at The Villages website it appears that they're currently selling the Lifestyle homes in the Alden Bungalows.. Did they move the Lifestyle accommodations farther south near the newer communities?