Rentals not allowed in newer areas?
 

On another thread a poster mentioned that when he/she bought a new property from the developer in one of the newer sections, they had to sign a contract that explained that the property could not be rented out.

I didn't want to hijack that thread with questions, so here goes.

1. Is that accurate?

2. When did they start that practice?

3. What would the developer's likely motivations be for such a covenant? Wouldn't it make the market for their homes more desirable if folks wanting to buy as an investment were also able to buy the new homes?

I'm not understanding this at all.

I’ve seen plenty of brand new houses that were immediately put up for rent in areas like Chitty Chatti, not sure about other places.

That's the way it should have been in all the homes right from the beginning. Allowing rentals always creates some problems. Between absentee landlords, and tenants who are not invested in the community, issues abound.

I can understand why an established resident would not want rental properties on their street, what I am trying to understand is why the developer would be motivated to exclude those interested in buying their product as an investment property from the equation.

I think it's a good idea, otherwise speculators would buy up houses and rent them out to people who have no stake in our community. That would drive our property values down, and ruin our hometown feel.

I don’t know it that is true or not, i think the post in the other thread said it started last fall (October 2021). So there would be plenty of rentals available.

It is interesting that there is a desire to limit rentals when you own a home, but it was Great when you rented for several years before deciding to buy. I keep reading threads in this forum about people saying how hard it is to find a rental. I, for one, rented for a few years before I decided that this place was for me and we bought. I sure am glad there were rentals available back then. Now if you are talking about airbnb or short term rentals less than a month, I might agree with you.

This surprises me.

I would agree with no Airbnb/short term rentals.

We did the same thing, rented for a week at a time, in multiple areas, before we bought
Rentals must help- drive purchases

actually the investor does have a stake and a large one at times
 

As long as the investor maintains the quality of the investment then "why Not" It gives people the opportunity to rent before buying and to get the feel of an area and home. The Lifestyle deal is not enough time. Seems there is always people who want to stop people from doing something that they personally don't or won't accept. Life is to short and we are all getting close to the end of the ruler. Enjoy the sunrise the sunsets and a cold beer or smooth Martini
El Bombero

I think it becomes an issue when people own 5-10 homes to rent out. Once you own a house I am not sure they have a right to stop you from renting it.

if what I read on the other thread is true, and the person who posted was talking about their own personal experience, one signs a restrictive covenant with the purchase documents stating that they will not be allowed to rent the place out.

As I said in a previous post, I get why an existing owner might prefer not to have rentals in their vicinity, but what I really want to know is:

Is this true? Do we have anybody out there who has recently bought and can verify this restriction?
and secondly,
Why would the developer want to include this restriction? It seems to me to reduce the pool of potential buyers.

I do not understand why people ask this sort of question here. I would call the villages offices and ask. My logo DAVES. But, DAVES said is well just gossip.

Well, OK..I might get an answer to #1 and #2, but I doubt I'd get a straight answer for #3.
I just might follow your advice and report back.

Doubt if you would get a straight answer to #3 on here. How can anyone know what the Developer is thinking?

I don't know about all of the southern villages but I do know for a fact there are streets, or sections of villages down here that do not allow rentals and this goes back to 2018 or 2019. As far as motivation since the prices started climbing on a monthly basis investors were buying up all of the villas, and I assume some designers too, leaving no inventory available for individuals wanting to own in TV which does not make for good advertising. There are still a lot of home styles not available or in short supply such as patio villas, 4 bedroom homes such as the Woodside and Ivy, they seem to be sold as soon as released. What they are really advertising is courtyard villas, there seems to be an abundance of those and they are even discounting them in several of the villages down here.

True, but we can speculate on what their agenda is.

Or, maybe someone who has recently purchased can share with us what they were told.
Or confirm or deny that this is even a practice.

There is no obligation for anyone to participate if they don't want to.

The truth may be that the developers would like to be the only one to profit from there hard work. They have a neighborhoods full of rentals, and just watch how they flood the market with new houses driving resale price down, they are very smart and calculating people.

Rental as a bridge
 

I actually bought my home 2 years before I retired down here. It worked out well for me. I had Reality Executives handle the rentals. I rented the house out about 4 months out of the year. That allowed me to come down here 2 weeks out of the year and make improvements. It also paid the bills for the 2 years while I rented it out. If I would have waited to buy, I'd be in the same situation a lot of people are in now. Not able to find a place and over paying for one if you can find one. As far as I know this is still America and still a free country.

I would not think the developer would want to limit rentals, it will result in less demand for their product (new houses) which will lower prices.

I wonder if there’s another reason. If anyone has the document you sign saying you can’t rent, the answer is probably there.
Are the houses you supposedly can not rent in a different city/town that maybe limits short term rentals?

There is a rental property on our street and the owner lives in another country. The house and the property are not taken care of properly.

When we were considering buying new last October, we were told we could not rent it for one year after closing. As we ended up buying pre-owned, I never saw that in writing, though.

It’s accurate - I bought a home in Fenney in 2018 and signed an addendum to my contract that my home would never be rented. My understanding is that the developer keeps a certain number of zones rent free for owners who prefer to live in an established neighborhood versus a transient one.

Rental Restrictions
 

Many HOA's (approximately 70% of Floridians live under a HOA type governance) incorporate into their covenants a cap
of how many units can be rented at any given time. There's a good reason for this.

We just purchased two homes. Our primary residence is in citrus grove and a villa in Hawkins... my mother-in-law will live in the villa and I don't recall any form we signed about not being able to rent. If we did I missed it but our realtor knows eventually the villa could be a rental. Hope that helps. As for your 3rd question, if I'm wrong, they probably just want to ensure all properties are well-maintained like usually only owners would do. 😊

Hard to believe. It was probably the issue of not reselling a new house within the first year. Back in 2005, speculators were buying several homes, then turning around and reselling to make a profit.

It’s in the purchase and sales contract that you are not allowed to rent the house for one year. This came about because investors were buying up five and six new builds at a time and immediately turning them into rentals. That’s not in the spirit of The Villages.

Rentals
 

We closed on a new build designer home in Citrus Grove in December about the same time as our neighbor. The neighbor has already gone back up North and there are tenants in the house. I know a realtor rental management team has taken over. We never signed any such document.

So I bought in the village of Saint Catherines one of the newer villages and we’re allowed to rent there. Fact mine has already been rented and it’s got a waiting list
For December January and February

It would be very helpful (and maybe solve this issue) if someone who has recently closed could post a picture or .pdf of the covenant/addendum where the are not allowed to rent.

I think people are mistakenly referring to the restriction of selling within one year.

If you have a mortgage there is a restriction that it will be your residence and not bought for the purpose of a rental. Unless you go with a commercial mortgage.

After reading these replies obviously no one knows the truth just opinions not facts!!

Just curious why you would sign an agreement with that stipulation and then immediately question what you signed. The time for that would of been before you signed. So many do this and want to change it. If that was a covenant and you disagreed with it perhaps selling and moving to a more agreeable retirement area might cause you less anxiety. We moved here because of the restrictions that keep our community beautiful. Some I don’t care for but I do honor my agreements.
I do not mean to be rude, really. I wish you the best and hope you just enjoy your retirement.

Can you quote the post you read on this thread where someone said they signed an agreement and immediately questioned what they signed? I can't find that post.

I don't really understand all this. The Villages sells homes all the time to people not yet ready to retire and move, and they tell them they will take the house into their rental program until the buyers are ready to come down for good.

I reviewed several of the deed compliance documents for areas 12 and 13 and there is no mention about restricting rental of the properties. Unless it was a separate document, then this appears to be misinformation.

Or, maybe you didn't read all of the posts.

Hillery
 

We bought a home in Fenney South, unit 12 in 2018. We are in a section where we cannot rent our home. Yes, we had to sign a paper when we bought our home.

Rentals
 

I heard from a realtor that TV was not selling new constructions to investors. There is such a great demand for homes for folks who wish to occupy the home and TV wants the homes to go to them.

I think its an awful practice. If someone buys, then say they need to leave for a period of time to help family, go out of state for medical treatment (my cousin goes to Baltimore for months at a time) then these folks could get in trouble I suppose.

I think the bottom line is they don't want investors buying multiple properties. There may be a work around for one property.