Deed Compliance - Inspectors?
 

How does one contemplating buying a home in The Villages, feel confident that the property being purchased is Deed Compliant? I assume that a "normal" Home Inspection does not address Deed Compliance. What if an addition was made, or change made, without ARC approval? Does someone offer this service?

If there is an addition........Have the seller produce the approval documents.

Call ARC, maybe they can give you the history

Yes, community standards (aka ARC) 352-751-3912 can help with this. Now to be absolutely sure, you may need to have the property surveyed, especially for side clearances. If you can find a way to get the property markers (buried steel rods) marked you maybe able to pull a string along the property line and then make your own measurements. Infringement on the side clearance appears to be one of the biggest landscaping problems.
Good luck with your quest and hope this works out for you, the villages is great.

This is a great question that I have heard in the past. I have never heard of anyone offering a deed compliance inspection, but that sure would be a great offering.

Also, you maybe able to have someone from the metal detector club find the pins and use the house plot plan to confirm clearance. This would not be legally binding, but would give you a good idea if there is a problem. Also, since this is a sale, there may have been a survey completed by the bank, this happened with a neighbors house. Maybe you can get access to that survey, or directly ask the question to the bank, then the seller may have to provide 'proof' of no infringement.

Thanks for all the replies...
I was thinking more about modifications to the home that were done without proper approvals, i.e. ARC Review, Permitting, etc. I see front foyers with screen enclosures, garage door screens, enlarged driveways, gross paint colors, Solar tubes, Pergolas, Patio block wall enclosures, Trellises, etc. I believe Plantings, and setbacks seem more straightforward to check.

ARC can help you determine what (if any) applications were submitted to their office. As far as permitting is concerned, the Building Department(s) in the county where the house in question is located can also be checked. Depending on the age of the house, permits can be checked online. If not, you can always make a trip to the office.

A good question. I would call the ARC and tell them you are interested in purchasing the property and would like a letter from them stating that the property is in compliance with community standards. Assuming they do not do this I guess part of the answer is how much work you want to do. You can observe most of the modifications if not all your self and then go to the office to see if they were approved. Another option would be to ask for a certification from the buyer as to what alterations were done with permits and which did not have approval. You could also ask them to provide documentation for all alterations at closing and to agree to being financially responsible for any future costs for un approved alterations. Guess if I was selling I would just go to the next buyer as I would not want to bother with the problem even though all modifications were ok.

Yes please check with ARC. Had a friend who bought a resale Villa right after she moved in a neighbor called and filed a complaint which wound up costing her several thousand dollars to comply.

I would ask the home inspector to look for any changes that may be out of compliance. If you see any questionable changes, I would address them with the seller, and also take a photo and show it to the ARC. Other than that, there is not much else you can do.