Home Office
 

Please forgive me if this has been discussed on the Board before but we are moving to TV in 2010 and I will continue to do my consulting work that I have done for the last 5 years. I maintain a small home office where no clients visit, no outside signage, and I only use computer equipment to support my business. I go to customer sites around the country to consult.

Now my question: I have been told that you are not authorized to have a home office in the Villages. Can anyone confirm that for me or steer me to where I can get a reading on this issue? We will be in the Marion county part of TV. If there is a prohibition, is it a Villages restriction or a Marion county restriction? Thanks.

According to the deed restrictions, ( http://districtgov.org/slcdd/deedrestrict.asp ) you are not supposed to use your home for commercial or professional activities. However, IMHO, as long as I am not disrupting the neighborhood in any way, what I do in my home is nobody's business. You can't tell me that the 100's of realtors in TV never take a clients call from their home, for instance. I know of many home businesses in TV and as long as they don't have clients coming and going or cars parking in their drive or the street, I don't see aything wrong with it.

You are not permitted to conduct any kind of business in your home in The Villages.

I am 90% retired from my business "World Radio Inc." but because the Company is still listed in my name with my address, I was told by the Deed Compliance office that I am in violation. I told them that I do no business here and even if I did, it would only be contacting my offices in New York and Rhode Island. Absolutely no disruption to anybody in the neighborhood, no traffic, no transactions, just an occasional conference call with my partner who now runs the company.

That didn't matter, I was instructed to discontinue using my home as a business location. I asked what they would do if I didn't comply. They said they would turn it over to the County for action against me. (Whatever that means). I asked about all the other people who do business: real estate agents, ebayers, home watch services, handyman services and so on. I was told that they were in violation too and would receive notices when located.

I was turned in to the Deed Compliance office by a man that we banned from TOTV a year ago. A man, who by the way, conducts a business from his home.

I want to add here that "World Radio Inc." has absolutely nothing to do with Talk of The Villages. They are totally separate. TOTV is actually located on a server in British Columbia, Canada, the IT department is in Nashville, TN and the editorial section is in Erie, Pennsylvania.

OUCH! This seems a bit harsh to me. There are lots of folks, who conduct some sort of business from their home. If the business is not disruptive to the neighborhood (cars parking, coming and going, etc...) I don't understand the big issue...

Sometimes, I think you just do what you need to do and just not advertise it.

I didn't advertise it at all. I was just living day to day, when a disgruntled individual decided to cause problems for me. The deed compliance office told me who it was that called. This individual lives 6 miles away from me, and just did it out of spite. It can happen to anyone, anytime.

I feel for TH but I would let them come after me. As long as I had no clients come to my house I really doubt that the 'County' would do anything. But in any case if it is something you can keep quiet then even better!

Without the business address, I wonder how they could ever prove such a thing?

Me a business? No, no , no.... I am just on TOTV from my office, I mean DEN, alot :)

I could understand if someone was doing something that required commercial zoning or as others have stated has an impact to the neighborhood.

What about folks that occasionally work from their home in TV?

Then renting your home should not be allowed !!!! That is a business ...

lets turn TV into the county ---they are aiding in a crime against Humanity !!!!

I am all for keeping the community (in which I intend to make my home in this coming year ) a quiet and comfortable place to live ---BUT !!!!

Do they have people peeking in your windows to see whats going on in your home ??
If they do sign me up --sounds interesting ... Might be able to start my own home business ---:beer3::pepper2:

We were out of town when this thing happened. We came home and found a "cease and desist" order on the front door of our home. It was stuck there by an agent of the deed compliance office.

It didn't ask for our side of the story. It just said we should "stop doing business" in our home.

I called the office to ask for an explanation. That's when I was told that we had been turned in by (his name here). They investigated and it was found that our address was associated with a business.

I asked to speak to the person in charge of the office. They said he would call me, but he never did.

What power do they have ? What could they do if you do not stop?

We all want some sort of higher authority to be able to go to when others are infringing on our " quality of life issues " but clearly in my opinoion internet or phone businesses like these do not fall into this catagory.

I really dont think they would push the issue if someone didnt make a complaint--but as I asked above ---would they Ban you from the Villages impound your home, call Homeland Security !!

Explanation Does Not Compute
 

"...they would receive notices when located."? That doesn't make sense or else the powers that be can't or don't read their own newspaper or talk to anyone around here. Sounds more like someone in Deed Compliance just doesn't like/agree with you.

Me???? That's hard to imagine.:loco:

Plus, the restriction reads,

I think that the intention of this is clear. Unless you want to consider my telephone as "equipment", I think that I can do some business. Take a look at the Services section of the Daily Sun. Lot's of businesses use a Villages address. How hard would they be to find and order a cease and desist?

I fit none of the above descriptions. No inventory, no equipment and no customer/client visits. I have a computer and a telephone. I guess that must be equipment.

Aren't there a number of people who operate home watch, home cleaning, repair services etc. from their homes? How does that work/qualify?