Move from TV to OTOW?
 

I LOVE the Villages. Honestly I do. The convenience of everything. The variety offered. A lot of friendly people. HOWEVER. I've noticed a change in the 5 years we have lived here. I see that the priority is focused on "south of Brownwood". I also see that our home values will decrease as each "multi family/apartments" is built. Hacienda Hills & Katie Belle's have been identified as apartments. 468 new apartments including section 8 are being built behind the Haciendas of Mission Hills. TooJay's and Demshar's have closed in Spanish Springs and are they next to become apartments?
I consider a move to On Top of the World in Ocala. Husband said he would never move anywhere that you didn't own the land (leasehold). I have recently found out that there are 3 communities in OTOW (Candler Hills, Indigo East & Weybourne Landing) that is fee simple and you DO own the land.
I would like your thoughts please on why or why not you would consider OTOW? Thank you.

On the positive side:

The homes are more energy efficient than TV homes. I know that this will drive some members to defend TV construction. Without going into comparison you'll just have to take my word for it.

We are staying but we know some villagers who moved up there

Why...
 

should I take your word for it? Unfortunately there are many "opinion" posts here that are not based on fact, but word of mouth.

Margaritiville
 

Have been in The Villages over 13 years. Built 2 new homes here. But some things you just can't put a finger on just a feeling it's time for a change. Went last weekend to check out Latitudes Margaritiville Daytona Beach. Nice small development everything is new. There is now a range of preowned homes to buy so you don't have to wait to build. We purchased a preowned and moving next month. On to our next adventure. We also thought about OTW and Trilogy but the monthly fees seemed high. Our villa fees will be about 270 per month but that includes all outside landscaping upkeep and irrigation and any new exterior painting and roof replacement as needed. They will go up another $20 when the Beach Club opens up. But no Bond and no yearly maintenance fee.
Here is a great article on the place. Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach Retirement Guide

It looks very nice. Wondering what it would be like during storms.

Where did you see that Section 8 apartments will be included?

The Developer develops. They are in the business to build and sell homes. The "priority" has continued South from the Historical Section for the last 30 years.


468 apartments out of 75,000 houses. The sky is not falling.


Closures???..............look at the rest of the country.......food industry is in sad shape.


The glass is not 1/2 empty, the glass is +90% full.


:ho:

Sounds like the path we recently set out on. Liked Latitudes but not the 6-8 month build time frame. Trilogy is nice but somewhat isolated. We had been to OTOW previously and liked it and the area but did not commit. However this time we saw a spec home in the closeout of a neighborhood and fell in love with it. So now will be moving there in two weeks.
Amenity fee is about $100 more per month and with basic internet included so when compared to TV the difference is not that much. Looking forward to a new adventure.

In the April 30th on-line News:

One bedroom units will run between $804 to $1,099 per month; two bedroom units will run between $956 and $1,169; three bedroom units will cost $1,097 to $1,369 per month; and four bedroom apartments will cost between $1,210 and $1,544.

The Lake Sumter Apartment Homes are “non age restricted with income limitations.”

Lake Sumter Living will be “age restricted where one person in the household is 62+. Income limitations.”

And a third entity under construction, Lake Sumter Reserve, will have, “No age or income limitations.”

Section 8? I doubt that. If true, everyone in the Villages should be concerned whether it’s in their backyard or not.

Latitude may be good for Beach lovers as that is a drawback of living in TV. But for golfers Latitude is a poor choice. Golf course (36 holes at LPGA Intl) is across the street but not golf cart accessible and when we asked last year were told no affiliation with Latitude so no discount or special membership. And obviously all the other activities in TV will be missing (softball, archery, WVB, exec golf) etc.

Whoa Whoa I didnt day it was better or anything like that just a change for us.

We took a look at Latitudes a little over a year ago just out of curiosity. Way smaller scale than TV and it will stay that way. It is a 'golf cart' community...but there are no courses within the community. A little surprised that their private beach area hasn't opened yet, that was all the talk when we visited. They planned on having a shuttle bus running between the beach and the community. Had homes actually been under construction when we were last moving we would have given it serious thought, as neither of us golf and my wife is a beach person. Now we're tired of all the hassle that goes with packing and moving.

Section 8 is utilized by seniors, families and veterans
 

th de are mostly working people or retired who have a lower income then the area there in . It is of great help in lowering the cost that people have to pay for housing . It is a benefit for business because many of these people are spending a great deal of there money to keep a roof over there head freeing up money to spend , It benefits us because these are the people who do all the jobs that we take for granted. It’s nice to see that the people who do much of the work here will be able to live in a nicer place then what they were paying for substandard housing

Moving
 

Understand that. We are lucky we don't accumulate stuff. If we don't use it or look at in a year we get rid of it. We can be packed and ready to move just about anytime in 4 hours. We are about half packed now and only have 4 boxes full. Oh I have to clean out the attic. We have a Christmas tree up there. Yep that is it. We had a 2600 sq. ft. basement in Illinois and that is all we kept down there was the Christmas tree.

I will never live near the coast. Much prefer inland where the storms peter out a good degree by the time they reach us here in TV.

Nail on the head!!!!

Always :pray: for the peter out. Hope it continues.

I take it that is a reply to where did you read there will be section 8 housing in the Villages? Your reference is to apartments that are NOT being built in the villages but in nearby areas.

On top Of The World is a very nice community. We took a look at it and was our second choice at that time. If your unhappy with TV and have the energy and resources to move, I say go for it. When we reach our age there are really only about two questions to answer. Approximately how long have I got and second, what do I want to do with the time I have left. Good luck to you.

That was one of the places we toured when considering retirement communities. For us, it had some advantages and disadvantages but overall came up short compared to The Villages

The community is truly gated, which some people prefer. The houses (at least the newer ones) are very energy efficient and many come with solar panels for electricity so your energy bills are likely to be lower than elsewhere. If I recall, there were a lot of mature trees there and so the community is attractive. The pace of life is very much slower than in The Villages so if you're finding living here to be too hectic, it might be more what you're looking for. We didn't find there to be much there in terms of social groups and activities, something that nobody can come close to The Villages on. Still, if you find that the activities they do offer match your interests, that can be fine.

We found the layouts of the houses we toured to be, frankly, weird. There seemed to be a lot of wasted space and strange choices made, design-wise. Allegedly, you could dine at the one rec center on certain days and hours, but any other dining out meant leaving the reservation. There was a single rec center with a nice outdoor pool but we saw almost nobody using the facilities. There were 3 guys playing pool on the one pool table and one guy on a golf simulator and perhaps one guy at the pool. The place struck us as dead, dead, dead.

Friends of ours had actually picked out a lot and house there, took one final tour of the place before signing the paperwork and realized it was just too inactive for them. Seeing one guy sleeping in a lounge chair at the pool, she told her husband, "The only action we're ever going to see here is when we give that guy CPR someday." They backed out of the deal and bought here.

Your mileage may vary.

You forgot to mention that these are not in The Villages. There is housing like this everywhere you go, Daytona, Ocala, Naples, Vero, Melbourne, etc, etc., Those with limited or no income need a place to live just like you do.

Since I monitor my energy consumption 10,000 times a second and it's unlikely that you do. I am all with you on facts, and on this matter I have got them.
One simple comparison in the polystyrene insulation in stucco walls is twice as thick as those in TV.

If you dig, I found on apartments.com that this has income restricted apartments. That means they are subsidized apartments. If you search for "income restricted apartments" it will explain that they are subsidized and developments. "Income Based" is the description for subsidized apartments owned by individual landlords.

We looked at TOTW way back in 2007 before we bought here and there were several reasons then we didn't consider it further. Here are some that I remember.

1. Not owning the land was a major consideration. It seemed like with a 99 yr lease it would depreciate 1% a year.

2. You couldn't take your Golf cart from one area to another because they were separate Villages without any connection to the others. This came up when we looked at one House and found we couldn't take our Golf cart to the lone rec center (which was very nice). Perhaps some of the villages/developments were connected in some way but not all so if getting to the Rec Center or someplace else by golf cart is important to you > ask this question. Actually this might have been one of the developments you did own the land but I really can't be sure. BTW in full disclosure I have trouble remembering the PB score and who served, but thankful for people that have their names on their hat large enought to read.
3. Put my fingers in the pool and found it was very cold, when we asked the agent they told me it was winter they didn't heat the pools. If you of course plan to put in your own pool this wouldn't be a consideration.
4.The town square had no activity going on and at that time they didn't have entertainment every night. Actually I think entertainment was very limited. This was a real negative for us.
5. I think you had to pay for golf and tennis with some membership but can't honestly remember if thats a fact.

On the plus side we thought the houses were nice and you got a little more house for your money then TheVillages. But without owning the land and other other negatives we didn't think they would hold their value as much as a house in The Villages.

My sister owns a home in Candler Hills of TOTW. She does own her home and her land. Much like TV one family owns the community. You can get a much bigger home for your $$$ than TV. Each "village" ,including the condos, have different fees and whether you buy or lease the property. Some villages are not allowed to use the other villages facilities. Just like TV it is not a plus to live close to the waste management facility. Prior to Covid they did have music, shows and fairs in the public area but not everyday or even every week. The use of the gym is included in your fees. They do have free dog parks. They do have some activities but most are neighbor to neighbor activities in each others homes. If you wish to go to the stores, restaurants, etc you have to go to 200th Street which is outside TOTW. A little scary in your golf cart. My sister has lived there 6 years and the build in TOTW and 200th street is just like TV, constant. You are also further from Orlando airport but Gainesville is a nice small airport.

To Mortal1: Yes, I would take Toy's word for it. If you've ever read his posts, he can monitor his stuff here from far, far away.

I miss a friend that moved there to get away from the politics of TV. I love TV so I have learned to turn the other cheek and avoid the attitudes. Most folks here don’t talk politics nor religion.

After reading these forums for a few years most people will realize that if Toymeister says something you can take it to the bank.

kathy

In 2007, my wife and I took a long time touring central Florida. Plantation, Legacy of Leesburg, Arlington Ridge, King's Ridge, Royal Highlands and others south of the turnpike on highway 27.

We visited Del Webb and OTOW in Ocala and thought both were nice communities. I asked the sales rep "who is your biggest competitor?" and he said "without a doubt, The Villages, and people either love it or don't." So, we visited here, loved it, and bought, now on our second home, moving from seasonal to full-time in 2012.

OTOW. What was the deciding factor for us wasn't the housing, which we thought was comparable. It was the community. Highway 200 is always congested, it seems to me, and I don't want to drive it every time I leave the community. Also, OTOW is substantially smaller than TV, and I prefer driving around and feeling like I'm in a resort, not just in a small community. But that's just me.

I don't much care for some of the changes in TV (ie: apartments), then again I don't care for coronavirus. The world is a tough place. TV is home now. It's safe, affordable, clean, (mostly) friendly. I don't really see much to be gained by a move.

However, sometimes you get an itch to move on, and life is short, go for it. I wish you the best.

Make sure you understand what is and is not included in the HOA fees. If you are on leased property (I know, do not want a lease) your fee includes outside maintenance except replacing roof. In Candler the fee covers all amenities in Candler and the OTOW leased land communities. Indigo fee is a lot less and only covers amenities in Indigo. Point is dig into the numbers and you may find they are not as expensive. For example Candler includes 35mb internet.

Any ETA on the Beach Club?

Thx.

kathy

They call it The Villages East yet there's no pickleball?!! That's just not right!

November

Yes they have Pickleball you must have missed that in the information.

We have owned a villa in TV for 11 years. Our primary home was in Myrtle Beach, SC. We sold that this summer as we bought a cottage in western SC on a lake. We owned the house at the beach for 20 years. Some considerations about buying near the coast are that you must pay for hurricane insurance if you have a mortgage, and the deductibles are really high, and we always needed to be around, particularly in September, when usually a hurricane might come through the area.
We love Florida. That being said, we have looked at other retirement communities, and they just don’t offer the activities the Villages has (before Covid). Also, we were told that home insurance is less if you live north of I-4, west of I-95, and east of I-75, as this is not considered a hurricane-prone zone.

I needed a place with all the amenities that we enjoyed the first month we were here.

Hoping they are back by early next year

1. Why do you care if the focus is south of Brownwood if you are happy with where you are?

2. Who cares about property values at our age?

Gold heart . thanks .