What You Wish You Had Known?
 

Hello All: We recently visited TV and fell in love with it. We are seriously considering retiring in TV, and all of our research thus far makes us even more impressed. I am curious what you wish you knew before you moved. Did you have any surprises, regrets, or things you would have done differently?

Thanks in advance for the insights.

:posting:

It has exceeded our expectations.:smiley:

I would have sold more of my furniture before I moved and bought new here. I think we have only about 20% of the stuff we paid to bring here.

No surprises, no regrets. I would do exactly the same now as I did in 2006.

It is a lovely place to live, to enjoy, to meet new people, take part in things you might not have been able to previously. Remember The Villages is a lovely community with many stores, restaurants, recreation, but do know that life also exists off campus. As time passes, you start to find stores, shops, restaurants in nearby cities that you'll enjoy. There's so much around, on campus and off. Enjoy!

Only regrets is not being a true gated community. Also, we didn't have grandchildren when we moved and didnt see need for pool but now with a pool is key when they now come to visit.

One big decision that you should make is are you going to be full time residents or snowbirds. If your full time, new or used homes are a consideration. If your going to be snowbirds, I would buy new. because most of your neighbors will also be new. Full time residents will more easily make friends in established neighborhoods. Also determine what type of housing you desire based upon your usage.

No regrets at all. We would not have done anything different. We bought a resale home with established landscaping, no construction, no bond, and a golf course front lot. The house had all possible upgrades so we did not have to spend anything else. Those are important items to think about!

As for The Villages not being a true gated community - who cares? The place is clean, beautiful, and friendly. What more could you want?

I'll second the recommendation to purge as much as possible, including furniture. You don't want to feel jammed in and constricted at your new place and you'll find don't really need half of what you thought you did! Plus, it's fun to buy a few new pieces to suit a new home.

Another consideration is your health. Even though there are a lot of medical facilities in The Villages, if anyone in your family has a chronic disease or condition that requires specialists, check to see what's available here.

The Villages has exceeded my expectations - only thing I would have done differently is looked longer and harder for the right home, but at the time I thought we were buying the right home so don't know how that would have been accomplished without renting.
As far as the home would have chosen a larger lanai since we basically live out there since it is enclosed. Don't know if it were screened and I had to deal with the heat how that would work. So after a year I know what I would prefer, but can't stand the idea of moving again so we'll see.

Sounds kind of trite complaining about this when some folks don't even have a roof over their head so I take it all back.

Only regret ...
 

I wish I had known about TV a lot sooner than I did....

Watch the lot
 

Not necessarily my case, but two of my neighbors have moved due to the neighbors behind them. With the kissing lanais, privacy is nil. Be carful when purchasing or building a home. Your back neighbors are who will impact you the most. We are very lucky, we have a golf course lot with no rear neighbors. Lot first, house second. We wish we could have moved here sooner!! I have to pinch myself everyday to make sure this is real.

Thank you for the helpful insights. Knowning what you know, would you buy new or a preowned? We like the idea of buying new because we get exactly what we want, and the prices appear reasonable. However, we also like the idea of the established landscaping and neighborhood of a preowned home and expect he preowned may be a better value.

Not One Single Complaint...But A Suggestion
 

We love The Villages. It's as close to perfection as one could imagine. But if you decide to join us here for all the friendship and fun, I do have a suggestion...

YOU'RE BRINGING TOO MUCH "STUFF"

Ask anyone who has moved here and they'll explain what I mean.

I think you will make friends easier and faster in a new neighborhood because everyone is new and very willing to help each other. Everyone is so open and excited about coming here when they are new. After about a year things settle down and people find their own routines.

My only regret is when we bought our piece of sand the house behind us hadn't been built yet either so we didn't realize how close we would be with the kissing lanais. Learning to live with it by glassing in.

The Villages is fantastic. The one thing I wish I knew is NOT to give any contractor, lawn person, landscaper, etc. ant money up front. We got very ripped off by a landscaper who advertises on this forum. I have found that if you hire companies that also work for the Villages, you can trust that they will do an excellent job. Beware of posts on TOTV praising work done by a company if the poster has only a few posts. The company that ripped me off was setting up different logins and praising their own work. Due to the diligence of TOTV posters, this company has stopped that practice. You MUST see pictures posted of landscaping or remodeling jobs. Other than that, the Viilages is UNBELIEVABLY FANTASTIC!

That City Fire was going to get rid of Sloppy Joes on their menu.

I second Quixote. I'm 15 years late, but am catching up!

I would buy a home in an established neighborhood and try and find one without neighbors in the backyard also. If you don't like too much yard work, go with the Courtyard or Patio Villas.

Find one close to stores, etc and go with a 3 bedroom, not 2. Wish we did. Our 2nd bedroom is used as an office so we have no where for guests to sleep except our room or the living room.

:wave:

Other than that, would not change a thing!!

i don't think all kissing lanais are bad

Consider 4 glass bricks at the top of wall in rooms that do not have windows. Bathrooms for example. Gives lots of light during the day.

Solar tubes are a better idea. My house has 6 solar tubes and 2 skylights. Makes for a very nice home. All of them were already in the house when I bought it 3 years ago.

Established neighborhood, no ongoing construction, you see exactly what you are buying as well as what is next to you, and the bond was paid off. Bond in the new homes are $23,000 to $50,000.

We first bought a new cottage in a new neighborhood. Second house was a preowned designer in an established neighborhood. Made friends in both neighborhoods so we didn't find much difference in ease of making friends. First house we bought was too small for us (1500 sf ) when we became full timers. Second house is just over 1900 sf but boy what a difference those few extra sq ft made. Ironically, the first home we bought had a big (by TV standards) lot, but we enjoy much more privacy at our current home, even though we have a kissing lanai because of how it is landscaped

I wish that we had looked at manufactured homes. I love the Orange blossom area and the tiki bar-waterfall pool/hot tub at the country club! and we would have been able to purchase a home for a lot less money. However, it looks like our 2/2 ranch home has already gone up in value since we bought it in Dec., so who knows??? i think almost anywhere in TV is great to buy.

My house cannot sell fast enough darn it! We are so ready to be frogs :)

Not every home is perfect but close

Agreed - think it all depends who you are kissing!

Location, Location
 

After visiting the villages we believe we know what area we'd like to be in but I'm wondering if I'll be able to find a preowned home that we like in that area. Do you find that location is as important as finding the right home for you and yours? What only want to move one time! Thanks :smiley:

Interesting thought - location vs right home. I would love to move to a larger home, but absolutely, positively do not want to leave my street or neighborhood. Love the friends I've made and the location so I guess the old real estate adage still holds true -
LOCATION,LOCATION,LOCATION. If you are lucky you'll get both!