The Villages buildout
 

My wife and I will be retiring in a couple of years and are very interested in calling The Villages home. She is on the website every night checking out the webcams and studying home plans. She is most interested in a new CY but she is scared to death that TV will reach buildout before we can call it quits and join you guys. Does anybody know when buildout will occur?

We will be coming down from Va. the first week in April and hope to meet many.

I believe it will be 2015 or after. However most new homes will be South of 466A sometime next year. To stay in the center of TV you will have to consider a pre-owned. But for my money, a pre-owned is a significantly better option anyway. Probably just me but I see new as being so much more expensive. To many people just look at house plan to house plan and never consider the difference in bond or all the upgrades already done.

I remember a home I bought that a friend looked and and told me about. He said it was a really good buy but the colors were so bad they hated it. Well, they were really bad, but for $2200 I had the entire home painted before moving in and got the home for almost $25000 less because no one could see past the colors. He visited us about a month after we moved in and couldn't believe it was the same home. He wanted to buy it if we ever sold.

Problem south of 466A?
 

Thanks, that's a good thought. We will be making our first visit this April so we don't know the area. Is there a problem being south of 466A? Can you still get to the rest of TV from there using a golf car?

I know that there is at least one tunnel that crosses under 466A and surely there will be more in the future, but by the time you do buy (or if you buy in Brownwood) there may be a little less need to travel northward as frequently with the development of Brownwood which will include a new urban downtown of Brownwood Paddock Square.

You are so right. Many people just can't use a little imagination.

There are two tunnels (have been from the start) across 466A and no more are planned. The exact geographic center (n vs. s and e vs. w) will be somewhere in Virginia Trace near Canal St. if my math is correct.

The entire Villages is accessible by golf cart. Better get a gas cart if you move near Brownwood:)

Russ and 12ride are both absolutely right. A CYV can be extremely nice and some are very spacious. I like the ones with a golf course view in Villas Valdosta, Villas Berea, and Villas St. Simon. All are north of 466 and would have much smaller bonds than a newly built one.

I bought a re-sale designer home about 18 months ago and am a full timer here. My home only had a $2300 bond as compared to friends who bought new and have $20000 bonds. This makes a lot of difference on your annual property tax bill. My home also has improvements such as year round Florida room, sky lights, solar tubes, and citrus trees. By all means, get solar tubes and a solar powered attic fan.

What part of Virginia are you from? I moved here from Silver Spring, MD.

:wave: JimPete,
Welcome to TOTV! No, I do not think there will be anything wrong with living in the newest town center area, which will be south of 466a. I'm sure it will be beautiful. As always, great amenities are planned and the shopping areas will be plentiful.

I would say have a great visit-- but when you're coming to TV, that goes without saying. :thumbup: If we are in TV the first week of April, we'd love to meet you!

:beer3:

Tbugs, this is JimPete's better half. We are from Fredericksburg, Va. and I'm ready for the sunshine state. :cold: We have lived in Florida several times before but this time we want to make it home.

Something Amazing About The Villages
 

The Villages has been under active development since 1992. What's amazing about this place is that regardless of which resident you talk to they all seem to believe that they live in the best location and they have the nicest, friendliest neighborhood.

It seems to me that's a tremendous compliment to the developer who has given us this wonderful place to live!

I wouldn't worry a bit about living anywhere in The Villages, from the historic district to the soon-to-be-developed villages south of 466A. If anything, the developer seems to be getting better at making this place "Florida's Friendliest Hometown"!

We just closed on a CYV on February 3. Our TV rep told us buildout would occur within the next four years. When I asked him if that meant you would no longer be able to buy a new home in TV, he said yes but that it would help the market for those wanting to sell their pre-owned homes. By the way, I saw within the last couple of days a pre-owned Grantham CYV (built in 2006) in the village of Sabal Chase (if I remember correctly) on the TV website that looks VERY nice. It is the largest at 1685 sf and the asking price is $269,000. It is definitely worth a look, in my opinion.

Welcome!

I believe that CYV went under contract today! I looked at it and it is
very nice!

Hi Boobear,
Don't worry about being able to find a home here. We'll save you a place and leave the light on for you. ;)

:welcome::welcome::welcome:

I thought that running a Motel 6 in your home was against the deed restrictions? http://members.cox.net/cew478/Emoticons/teehee.gif

Only south of 466:)

What a lovely home
 

Went to the TV home site, and saw that CYV. What a lovely home, and a super-lovely yard! I can see why it (VLS# 209124) sold so quickly. I have only one question: Where do the owners keep their "stuff?"

Gene & Kathy
Still TV Wannabes :bowdown:
(save us a house!)

Thanks everybody
 

We should be ready before build out so it looks like all options will be available to us. Thanks to everyone for your input. We'll be down in April for a visit.

Make sure you bring your checkbook. You just never know what might happen............... :)

Bill

We plan to have it at hand.

When my wife told her co-workers that we were planning on visiting TV on our vacation, they told her that The Villages was just going to try to sell her a house. Her reply, "I certainly hope so!"

I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to find a home. TV is a 55+ community. Just by the natural progression of things, there will be a pretty steady turnover of homes. Not something we like to think about but........

Anyone have any thoughts on what might happen to the price of existing homes when TV is built out and new homes are no longer, meaning there is a finite number of options available. Come on l2 I know you can provide some insight...gn

Sounds logical to me that if the demand for the houses continues after buildout, it's bound to drive the prices of resales up. The concern would be "Will the demand subside?" given that the developer will no longer be pushing new homes. I'd have to guess that there will be a substantial drop-off in marketing by the developer.

We'll see what happens come closer to the time!

Bill

Some of the newer electric carts like the Tomberlin have 8 x 6 Volt systems that boast 60 mile range. Otherwise it is 33-36 miles with 6 batteries. That should take you anywhere you want to go. Going further than 10 miles each way is very slow anyway.

I think that price of resales will alway be driven by economic or market conditions and not be effected by the lack of competition from the sale of new homes. When TV builds out that does not mean that TV's sales will fold up and go away. They will still be in the business of sales and will still want to make money... of course, and if they don't push sales, then they simply don't make money!

So there will be be more preowned homes to sell with no new homes to incentivize those homes being pushed over preowned, and that will be a boast for us who may need to sell. This is, at least in part, how my TV Agent explained it to me when I inquired.

I think the biggest question at build-out will be "What happens when the developer stops advertising?" Right now the pre-owned market gets a lot of play from the developer's nationwide marketing effort, which in my opinion is very professional and is probably very effective. It's doubtful he will continue to advertise on major TV network golf telecasts or in major golf magazines after build-out. That could affect home prices negatively, due to diminished demand.

JimPete and Boobear:

:welcome: to TOTV.

I had the same concern fours years ago when the buildout was supposed to finish and now it's 2015.

Some people prefer to live in a new home built to their liking and there is a pre-owned, (no bond or lower bond, mature landscaping and upgrades were already performed).

Any home would be great to me if it is in TV.

Bill is soooooo right, bring your checkbook. TV is amazing.

Best Wishes in what you decide.

You could very well be correct, but a lot depends on the laws of economics and what kind of a return can be gotten from advertising dollars. Another factor that could affect the advertising dollar spent is the ratio of TV sales agents to outside realtors. In otherwords, the more sellers use outside realtors instead of TV sales persons, the less chances are that TV will be willing to spend on the advertising. Anyway, time will tell what happens!

We purchased a new home 2.5 years ago and will be moving in full time the end of March. During the last 2.5 years we have rented the home for the winter months, which just about covers the cost of having the home. It is true that pre-owned will have a lower bond and possible upgrades. When we purchased new was cheaper than pre-owned because the owners were trying to get their bond payments and improvement back. The thing with landscaping in FL is move plants grow like mad and have to be trimed during the year. Our experience with pre-owned was the Villages Sales office was not really interested in talking about them, they make more money on new. The Villages is so well known that I believe even if the developer stops advertising there will still be a strong demand just from word of mouth. It is true there are and will always be turn around because of natural events, health issue causing owner to want to back and people just deciding that they want to be close to family again. Good luck with your shopping and remember the option of renting until you can move in.

I think what also will factor into things is how well the place is maintained, and how well the recreational facilities and golf courses are maintained. There were issues on the north side about maintenance and the residents had to file a lawsuit. Hopefully that won't happen again, but we really have no guarantees. Also, the whole IRS thing could be a problem, and the residents could be left with debt that might dissuade new people from buying here.

Some very good opinions coming out in this thread and I'm surprised just how much I agree with them. That's not always the case and I give kudos to all for such positive expressions being given.

Having said that I want to comment about what I quoted above. Thankfully not all TV sales personel take that "push new homes" attitude. I was fortunate to have such a sales agent that cared more about what we wanted than pushing new homes. The mention of new was never discussed after an initial presentation of that possibility unless we brought it up. My kudo's to him, :ho:but I won't mention his name. Don't want to get him in trouble with the boss! :1rotfl:

It might surprise you though that there is no pressure at all. If you're coming on a LSP, your sales agent will let you know that he or she is available if you want to look at houses. If you do want to, and if you are interested in seeing both new and resales, contact an MLS Realtor as well. Villages agents and MLS Realtors do not share listings, so to see all the homes available that fit your needs and budget, you will need both.

All best wishes and please keep us posted about your trip and house hunting adventures.

:beer3: