Like The Villages and have a few questions.
 

Currently live near Indianapolis and am looking to move to TV in the next several years or sooner if everything works out. I do have a few questions for you lucky folks that have been there a few years or more.
1. Can you buy sinkhole insurance for your home or is that something that is in most Florida homeowner insurance policies now? If it is sold as an extra coverage how much does it cost?
2. Does a single HOA cover every neighborhood in TV?
3. Has there ever been any thought to allowing even one style of privacy fencing for owners of designer and premier model homes? I realize the courtyard villas and verandas have fences but I was hoping to have a larger yard (for my Whippet pooch) than what they typically seem to have.
4. I was told by my Villages realtor that every single home in TV uses an electric heat pump for winter heating even in the sections that have gas available. Is that true? I am hoping this isn’t true because I love my gas furnace!!
5. Last question and all I am looking for is a rough estimate on this. What would monthly housing expense be for a $350,000 new home with no mortgage? From what I can tell once you add all the different taxes plus utilities, bond, insurance, activity fee, etc., it would be in the neighborhood of $1,500 a month if your home was paid for. Some realtors have given me a higher figure, some lower. You folks are the experts. Is $1,500 a month about right?

#1, there are TWO forms of sinkhole insurance, catastrophic ground collapse in included in any house policy this covers you IF the house is condemned, the second OPTIONAL coverage is for a sinkhole that does NOT significantly damage your house, in general there is a 10% deductible then the insurance kicks in. The local insurance can fill in the details.

#2, the is NO HOA, there are DEED restrictions for each CDD, and these are slightly different, the villages website has details for each CDD.

#3, Fencing is generally NOT available, you will need to discuss with your sales representative. I did see some upscale houses with fencing (however I do NOT recall the villages where these were available), since this sounds like a potential deal killer, let your sales rep know your concerns so they can address.

#4, I rarely gets really cold hear, so you will not miss your gas fired heater. Last winter we used the heat function maybe a dozen times.

#5, The villages website had (I think it is still there) an estimate for the basic monthly costs. NOTE: the taxes are different in the 3 counties that the villages occupies, once again your sales rep should be able to give you the CURRENT estimates. You can also look this up on the county websites, but i do not have the web addresses in front of me.

Hope this helps. VT

We have a gas furnace, water heater, and dryer. Live in Amelia.

#5 $1065.86/ month +/- 20% for most people with 2k sq ft designer homes with no bond.

Based on actual costs including insurance, taxes in Sumter county, amenities fees, cable and all utilities

Excluding amortization of cost to paint a stucco home or power wash vinyl siding

Updated 17 May 2019 to reflect lawn care and homeowners insurance.

No. If accurate information of a technical nature is important to you fire your relator and get someone competent

There is an area of designer homes north of 466A that have fenced yards, but I don't remember the village name. If you really want your pooch to run, live somewhere around the area of 466 and CR 101, then join Doggy Doo Run Run. It is 10 acres of the absolute best dog park anywhere near The Villages. There is lots of shade and it is well maintained. You can join monthly (used to be $25 for one dog) or pay $3 per visit.

Another way to get to DDRR if you live in the 466A area is to go up 301 to (I think) the second county route to the right after passing 466--I think it's CR103. Follow that to the end, and you run right into DDRR. Maybe if someone knows the name of that county route, they will post. It takes about 15-20 minutes from 466A & Buena Vista intersection. I know people who take their dogs there every day, sometimes twice a day.

We are from Indiana and have no complaints about the heat pump. Of course, we have no choice in The Village of Osceola Hills because there is no natural gas. The heat pump works very well since it seldom gets very cold. If it gets too cold for the heat pump, the auxiliary electric heat strip works to provide heat. It is very economical. SECO rates are very reasonable.

As for fenced yards, I believe in the new area south of hwy 44, there are Veranda style homes which are basically designer homes but come with a fenced back yard. Check with your realtor if you are interested in that area.

if I were you I'd buy a Veranda down south in one of the new villages so your dog would at least have a little room to exercise while at home. There are already two very nice canine parks down there: Dudley in the Village of DeSoto, and Rupert in the Village of Linden. And I'm sure there are even more being planned.

We have gas furnace, water heater, dryer and stove and I love it not a big electric appliance fan. We are still snowbirds so our average monthly cost is lower than $1,500.00/ month even with a mortgage.

We have all gas appliances, including a gas furnace. I would get another realtor who is more informed.

Thank you to everyone!
 

A very grateful thank you to everyone who has responded so far. :BigApplause::BigApplause::BigApplause:

Live near Geist?

I can't speak to all your questions except for the on re: gas. It depends on the area(s) whether there is gas or electric. For instance in The Village of Amelia...there are "some" with gas and others have electric. I know that some of the older areas have gas and maybe some of the brand new areas do as well. So have your realtor do the research on these so he/she can show you those areas. As far as fences....the newest areas south of Hwy 44 have Veranda homes with fences. I just remembered too that in the Pinehills area there may be some as well. There are restrictions otherwise to them here. Folks can't move in and then add a fence. You may need to be aware of leaving your pets outside regardless of fencing. Probably not a good idea due to the wildlife that prey here.

At first I missed my gas stove, but as the years have gone by I am adapting. My utilities in TV are half of the cost of our Michigan home, summer or winter.

The gated yard can be a bonus and a curse. Our cameras gives us a glimpse of the occasional predator that would take a small animal.
Our 4 pound Himalayan is equal to the small birds or gecko that taunt her outside the lanai, but if she were outside a hawk or eagle would take her in a minute. Even in an enclosed yard I would be very careful of an unattended fur baby

Our portion of The Villages is all electric. I was concerned about that when moving here as I'd never had electric heat. After two winters here, my concerns have long since vanished in that regard. Our annual electric bill is substantially lower than our combined annual gas and electric bills for our house back in North Carolina. Some people might complain about not having gas for cooking, but I'm not one of them. I've never been a big cook and the few times I had gas, I didn't see what the fuss was about. Some folks like the fact that gas doesn't gradually warm up but instead is 100% on. I didn't like the fact that I never seemed to be able to simmer as the gas flame seemed just too hot even when I had it turned low. Whatever floats your boat. I believe the newer parts of The Villages that are being built now and for the next several years have gas but you really need to check on a house-by-house, neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis if that's important to you.

We no longer have a dog (or, as my wife puts it, "We are between dogs."), so the lack of a fence doesn't concern me either. I see fenced villas and even a handful of fenced designer homes going up in the new areas. Perhaps they or existing homes will be available when you do decided to make the move. What did concern me was the size of the lots. They are, like nearly every retirement community we have visited, pretty small. I was afraid that having neighbors right next door and right behind us would be intrusive. Instead, we're lucky enough to have great neighbors and have become extremely close to the neighbors right behind us. The small yard size is a plus in that I spend so little time having to work on it (I still prefer to mow my own, which is a bit of a rarity here). We also tend to think of the house kind of like a cabin on a cruise ship. You may think you need a huge one but when you get here and find you are out and about all the time enjoying the zillions of activities here, you wonder why you worried.