Vacant lots in Silver Lake?
 

"Search Homes" at TV website for Preowned, sort price Low to High. The first two were vacant, open lots in Silver Lake, around $90k, and no bond. The view from the drone makes it seem there was something there before.
What happened to the dwellings? Who removed them? Why?

The developer has been buying older houses for years, tearing them down, and building new houses. I think they pay about $65K for an old, manufactured house in The Villages.

They stopped doing that a few years ago.

The lots are vacant because the mobile homes were removed. Who removed them? Could've been the person who is selling the lot now, or it could've been whoever sold the lot to whoever is selling it now.

Why were they removed? One of two likely reasons:

1. They were in bad shape, and made the lot unattractive for future sale.
2. Someone removed it intending to build a new home but for whatever reason, chose to sell the lot instead.

As I understand it, if you buy one of the vacant lots, you need to contract with the developer if you want to build a new house. You cannot hire another builder. I would be hesitant to actually take ownership of a vacant lot due to liability while the lot is vacant and/or under construction. I would rather have the developer own the lot until the house is constructed and is ready to be occupied.

No, you don't.

Do you know of other builders who have built houses in The Villages? If this is allowed, I wouldn't recommend it. Way too much risk and potential liability.

Other builders ? Many. Take a ride to Cindy Lane right now and view the concrete blocks that went up on a new build two days ago.

That’s why you buy an insurance policy.

Yes, there have been several homes constructed in the Historic section over the past few years. I've seen at least three different construction companies building here. I wouldn't doubt for a moment that at least one of them, is also doing construction for the Developer. But the construction here isn't per the Developer's orders or permission.

You need a owners liability policy which is very expensive and difficult to get.

Why is it any different than building a house on a lot you bought anywhere else?

I concur with comments above regarding many different companies that develop new homes in the historic section. If you go this route, make sure you research them well, even talk to references if possible. Some have taken years to finish the project. Others are way more dependable. Taxes should also be considered, since a new home versus manufactured are VASTLY more expensive.

I mentioned this in a post just yesterday on if T V will abandon the "north" historic area of T V. Yep, there are people that are currently building slab homes in that area.

One would carry insurance prior to and during the build. T V would have say in what can be built as per it is deed restricted land no different than say a home burning down anywhere in T V. ARC would be involved in that process, how could they not be if you have to get most everything approved in TV? Not to mention the county process for construction as well.

Many requirements would need to be met. Such as square foot requirements would need to be met as manufactured homes replacement would need to be approved by TV ARC or the Developer. RV's and tiny homes would be a "no" for obvious reasons. These things would make sense in a deed restricted community. Replacement of a home is covered in deed bylaws.

Its not complicated to figure out. People are paying a premium for those lots determined by current seller prices, no bonds would be due to infrastructure being paid off, $$ for removal of old homes, and building cost. Pretty basic real estate concept for older manufactured homes from the late 70's that are falling apart. Sell the thing for the land use as the lot falls under "location, location, location." People are investing in the "north" side of T V and are paying a pretty penny to do so.

Typically, in The Villages and many other planned developments, the developer owns the lot and the house until it is ready to occupy. Then, you go to closing and ownership is legally transferred from the developer to you. So, you have none of the liability for the many risks involved in owning a lot and constructing a house. The developer assumes those risks and has a very expensive builder's liability insurance policy. As an individual, you cannot buy or even afford a liability insurance policy to adequately cover these risks.

Yes, you can buy a vacant lot and hire a "reputable" contractor to build a house on your lot who hopefully is well funded and has adequate insurance. But, there is no way to know what could happen or how you can be sued as the property owner. For example, suppose an undocumented worker falls off the roof and is permanently disabled, and his employer neglected to buy workers compensation insurance. Or, suppose a child walks into the house during construction and get seriously injured. Suppose the contractor files for bankruptcy. To me, it is not worth the many risks of owning a vacant lot and building a house. I did do it many years ago for profit, but stopped because I couldn't sleep at night.

Can the buyer replace the old mobile home with a manufactured home?

It’s not. This is just everyone’s personal opinions

Yes, and in fact there are many double-wides here that are on properties that used to have single-wides.

That would eliminate any concerns with builders.

So someone couldn't buy land as an investment? What a scam!

Most people who buy a small housing lot as an investment lose money.

This isn't brain surgery. Take a ride around the Historic District. New homes are easy to spot. Old homes are even easier to spot. I would go up and ring a few doorbells. Introduce yourself and ask for any advice they can offer. Your best bet is to have a new home built, by whomever, than to buy a renovated double wide that is from the 1980's.

Uninsurable?????
 

Manufactured homes, in good condition, have value and there are a couple of companies that will insure the ones in The Villages. Ours is insured. It's a special type of insurance, it's not normal homeowners' or property insurance, has a high deductible and low pay-out if the dwelling isn't reparable.

Not true. You can contract with an outside contractor. But, judging from what I've seen in the silver lake area, The Villages contractors build much faster. Ive seen builds up to a year. We used The Villages and the house was complete in three months.

The Villages contractors work faster because of the contracts they have with The Villages. If you hire them privately, they might or might not be as fast.

When the Village’s tells their contractors to jump, they say how high. But don’t necessarily confuse fast with quality.

You can easily go to the county property appraiser website. Enter address of a newer slab home or manufactured home. There is a section on the website for "permits" you can look (depending on the county site) at the permit info for the home placed on an old home site. Some counties show a copy of the actual documents that were submitted, names included ie builder, electricians, ac companies etc. who pulled the permit. Just takes a little bit of "let your fingers do the walking" research and you find all the answers you might want ie: T V Developer or outside of T V builder company info.

T V has set house models all in place. It may be that you would have to pick from their approved models same as the new section of T V. The fact that they are pre designed and they build them all the time makes the process faster as well. TV is a well oiled machine in every aspect hense "The Bubble."

Developer selling lots
 

Sorry the developer stopped buying old homes around summer 2019. Previously they would buy homes, sell for salvage then sell the lot with a building contract. That’s what I did in 2018. However, they sent that crew down south. Now its private contractors or lot owners doing the work.

QUOTE=retiredguy123;2322461]The developer has been buying older houses for years, tearing them down, and building new houses. I think they pay about $65K for an old, manufactured house in The Villages.[/QUOTE]