Buyer Beware - Buying a Home in The Villages?
 

Apparently Florida is a 'Buyer Beware' State.
How do you handle existing 'Non-Compliance'?
Some home buyers/owners have been cited for violations existing for the past 10-20 years or more.
Sellers, Builders and Realtors do not typically represent buyers at all.
Does the buyer have to apply to each CDD to find out if the home they want (new or pre-owned) is in compliance?
Will all the CDD's issue a 'certification' that a home is 'in compliance' with all their regulations before you buy it?
Should I put a contingency in my offers/contracts that requires the Owner/Seller/Realtor to take care of it?
I've seen this problem reported many times but never any solutions.

How do you handle existing 'Non-Compliance'?
--Excellent question

Does the buyer have to apply to each CDD to find out if the home they want (new or pre-owned) is in compliance?
--Deed restrictions can and do vary. A home must meet the restrictions of the CDD where it is located.

Will all the CDD's issue a 'certification' that a home is 'in compliance' with all their regulations before you buy it?
--No

Should I put a contingency in my offers/contracts that requires the Owner/Seller/Realtor to take care of it?
--That is a great idea. I've not heard of anyone doing that, but you could be starting something big.

I've seen this problem reported many times but never any solutions.
-- You may have the beginnings of a solution.

All of the deed restrictions are available online. You could read them and check them yourselves before you offer, or if you have a contingency in your offer, you could check them all between offer acceptance and closing.

Or you could hire the clipboard ladies to do a drive-by.

Any seller who would agree to that is crazy.
It’s like getting a guarantee the roof leaks.
All deed restrictions are available online, or ask seller for it.

We hear about all the non compliance, but what percent of existing homes is it?

Although it is not a criminal charge, the 6th amendment (the right to face accuser) should apply. Or at least the spirit of the 6th amendment.

Not sure it is possible to check all possible compliance issues. I see my house now but how do I know what the approved color pallet was? Those rocks on the front yard that match my neighbor’s, the driveway that is two inches too wide, that hardscaping that is one foot too close to the road, the birdcage that is six inches too wide…. I don’t know today, after owning the house almost six years, whether there is some sudden compliance issue I am not aware of.

What is needed is an inspection from Community Standards that certifies the home is compliant as sold.

If the clipboard ladies can do it……

It would be fair but CS isn’t going to put that effort out there with such a small staff.

But one can take pics and stop by the office to ask if these were arc approval paint, drive, landscape, and so on. So if buyer chooses not to put forth an effort, then shouldn’t complain if out of compliance.

We did that at 2 preowned, one had ARC approval. One none. We choose wisely

Regardless of the general “holier than thou” attitudes, most buyers won’t know to do that.

Very wise. This should be the responsibility of the buyer just like a home inspection.

Wondering if there are there any home inspectors who do this for an additional charge?

It may be impossible to "guarantee" compliance given the ambuguity and inconsistentant enforcement of deed restrictions. But they should be able to point out anything major.

Actually many who are first time buyers usually want that new house smell, and buy new. Out of the 50 plus people who looked at one of our preowned houses, only 3 were new to TV.

I just bought new in Lake Denham. It never crossed my mind that the developer would build it out of compliance. Nevertheless I did read through the deed restrictions very carefully and nothing I saw would be a concern.

Developer makes the rules, so none of the new builds would ever be out of compliance. That only happens when the property is sold, and is no Longer property of TV

Makes sense. Just the op had (new or pre owned) in the post.

Post should be listed as preowned, not new. But OP is asking if buying a new house needs to be checked, for compliance, that answer is NO. You will find those who have lived here for many years, know that every house developer builds will be in compliance at the time of build.

However, at our third house, the color palette changed from some of the original colors 8 years later. If your color was no longer approved, you had to get approval to repaint the same color. Landscaping is usually the big culprit of non compliance issues, as is driveway design. Next on the list, lawn ornaments.

In my experience, when we bought our new home in DeLuna, most of the brand new homes would pop up for a few days of showings and then it was basically a lottery system to who gets to buy the home on the day when it was being released for sale.

If you were picked first and decided you didn't want it, it would go to the 2nd person that was selected. Some of the homes on my street had something like 8-10 people that had an offer to buy. I heard it was even more people in Richmond on most home sales. There was no offer/counteroffer or asking for conditions involved.

This is correct for new homes. The developer does not allow contingencies. The price is the price. 10% down in 7 days. Close in 30 days.
Sales in Lake Denham aren’t going quite so fast. But all the preserve/view lots did sell. But again no contingencies allowed. They do sometimes lower prices or offer things like washer dryer.

Technically, the accuser is The Villages/your district. The person who reports something simply reports it, and The Villages determines whether there is a violation. If there is, they inform you. They are the accuser.

Not sure what you are after?? There have been thousands of homes sold, new and preowned. Your question is Do these homes meet meet compliance?? Compliance meaning to receive a CO a "Certificate of Occupancy??? In NY when a home is built the the work is inspected during the various stages of completion. Foundation, Framework, Electrical, Plumbing, Insulation, sheetrock etc. etc. Each phase of construction must meet a Building Code to be approved or be in compliance as you would say?? Compliance to be a standard of building codes?? In Florida the CO / final inspection by "The Building Official""quote" is proof that the structure is habitable. So, you can do 2 things 1.) Hire a Inspector/Engineer to inspect the house before you purchase. I understand he wont be able to inspect inside walls, look at the foundation, there is only so much that a house inspector could see? #2) Don't buy a home in Florida. Best of Luck. I am Happy with my preowned home in The Villages. I am here 3 years and have found no issues.

And is the information solely for the homeowner, meaning a buyer can’t get the information prior to going into escrow?

As you can see nobody knows that till complaints are filed. Probably why some CDDs are looking to change rules on complaints?

Some say you should know the rules of 13 plus districts before buying. I’m not in that group… IMO new to area buyer couldn’t possibly know that…

Most every post in this thread, illustrates why novice buyers should hire an attorney when they buy a home and not rely on a Title Company, who does nothing more than act as an Insurance Broker for a Title Company.

Yes, it would be easier if Florida used a system like most other states and required a "Certificate of Compliance" prior to Title transfer, but they don't and it's not likely to change soon. Hire a lawyer.

Now this is pushing the envelope. Can't believe this went unreported for 12 years. You see more cars than house. An anonymous complaint was recently filed. New home owners found out the hard way about CDD compliance. (Source in local newspaper)

Disclosure
 

A document that would help the buyer is disclosure about any changes the seller did after buying the home. Most states require a disclosurer document. Our title guy gave us one to fill out when we sold our last home. We filled it out and it was witnessed when the buyer received it.

part of a home inspection
 

why shouldn't compliance w cdd vs non be part of a home inspection?

it would drive the price of inspections up I am sure

Any realtor or real estate agent operating in the villages should know about this problem and address it for their buyers. Failure to do so could be compensable I would believe. At the very least they should be reported to the department of business and professional regulation of the state of Florida (DPBR).The seller should’ve provided you with a disclosure statement prior to final acceptance of the contract. If they fail to include the discrepancy I would believe that would be compensable too.

No Solution available
 

--No....Since it's possible that each independent development has different qualifications or standards. Only the owners would know what if any changes to the existing home or property have been made. The entire issue of compliance would need to be removed from every deed issued by "The Villages" on behalf of those developers. Good Luck with that one !

The sixth amendment says
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”

It grants the accused the right to face “witnesses” against him. It does not give the accused the right to confront those who may have brought his actions to the attention of the authorities. In The Villages, the “little old ladies with clipboards” are not necessarily witnesses against the accused. They are more like “confidential informants”. No law gives the accused the right to confront confidential informants for obvious reasons.

Nope
&
Nope

I'm not sure what information you are referring to. If it is the deed restrictions, they are available to anyone online.

Every Answer requires the "ownership" to any specific question.
 

...The current compliance mandates offer nothing to the buyer that would allow for a challenge. "The Villages" are not responsible for the changes. These claims are made on behalf of those "developers". The actual reason behind these issues is the "Tax Act" that's been around in one form or another since 1776. The State and County does not want a resolution simply because these issues are County and State revenue builders. One might Argue or suggest to the Courts that when the last home in any development has been sold that these deeded requirements are passed onto those current homeowners and no longer a required matter of legal interest to the Developer. Good Luck with that !

I have no idea what this means. A walk around the property and a knowledge of the restrictions is all it takes to spot violations that might eventually be reported.

The key words in the 6th Amendment, as applied to the topic at hand, are "criminal prosecutions." Violation of any deed restrictions is not a criminal matter.

Clipboard ladies, is that code for a hit team. I was looking into the Villages but don’t want to be whacked for a violation

Seller’s are required to disclose any defect in the property that they have been made aware of. If the homeowner has been notified that the house is not in compliance they must disclose or face a possible law suit after closing. If you have a buyer’s agent, they should be able to check with the powers above as to if there is a known compliance problem. No one can predict or know about a problem with compliance if it has not already been identified. Every unit with in a district has their own deed restrictions. Your “buyers agent” should be able to direct you to those documents. Good luck
Andrea Bonivich, Sellstate Superior Realty

The actual answer is -

There is NO solution for this. The reason is that whether it's CDD or HOA, C&Rs change over time. The buyer has no idea what was or wasn't approved and when, nor does anyone have an idea IF said 'infraction' was pre-existing or not, as in approved when it was ok and now that it isn't , etc. In the case of pre-existing that change is supposed to be grandfathered in and that's all there is to it.

The actual problem is the queaky wheel aka "Karen" that has no clue what was and wasn't approved or even changed in the governing docs, but yet will BM&C until she is satisfied.

Fix the "Karens" you fix the problem.

The Agents of the Villages
 

The Agents of the Developer/Villages has a duty to disclose any violations.
The sellers have a duty to disclose any violations
Agents of Realtors have a duty to disclose any violations.
Therefore, "Buyers Beware" can rely on the Developer/Villages/Seller/Agents to disclose
and any non-disclosures should entitle them to sue the Developer/Villages/Agents/Seller for "non-disclosure."

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:
Thank you, I enjoyed that.
:clap2:

That's what I did. I checked with ARC if anyone had ever submitted anything for approval on the property. The house I bought had been painted and turns out they never got approval. I told them they would have to get retroactive approval for me to purchase it.

This is exactly the problem. The driveway was there for 10 years before the home was sold. The driveway did not look out of place as there are at least four other homes in the neighborhood with large driveways. Looking at the pictures on the Assessor's website shows the driveway just as it is today. What would give a buyer a reason to suspect anything might be wrong?

I, as a cynical Villager, might suspect everything is wrong from the color of the shingles to the landscaping, the large driveway, and even the material used for the driveway. I *might* think to call Community Standards / Deed Compliance and ask them about the home but even then, what would I ask? It has been suggested that the question, "is my home compliant?" will be met with a statement that there are no active complaints against the home. That does not answer the question that was asked and does not help the prospective buyer.

Perhaps the answer is that I should ask Community Standards to review the exterior of the home and ascertain whether any non-approved changes were made or certify that the home is in compliance. This is precisely the deed-compliance inspection/certification that ought to be made available for all sales. Yes, it might require more work, but so be it.

Great catch, but what led you to believe the house had been painted?