Three Dogs
 

My husband and I are very impressed with the Villages and would like to become Villagers. The problem is that we have three dogs. One of the sales agents told us that you are allowed to move in with three as long as you downsize to two when one crosses the rainbow bridge. One of our dogs is near the end of his journey and won’t be with us much longer.

I would hate to buy a house, move in, then have to sell and move out because we were reported for not being in compliance with deed restrictions.

What are your experiences with this situation?

Maybe someone would like to “adopt” one of them with the understanding that we will dog sit them continuously and pay for all food, vet bills, and any other expenses? (“Adopt” in name only.😉)

Thank you.

Check the deed restrictions for the Villages you are considering. I know various people who moved here with three dogs and then lost some of them. Depends a lot on the neighbors though. You might get a Mr. Wilson to your Dennis the Menace so to speak or vice versa. Some neighbors complain about just about anything others do not.

You forgot to mention that we (I am her spousal unit) would be moving into a CYV and the deed restriction for the district says 2 dogs. The sales person did say it was not uncommon for people buying a CYV to move in with 3 and just not replace the first to pass. And browsing the forums here it seems this is a common issue.

Deed restrictions are two pets.

My husband and I really, really want to move to the Villages so I am trying to convince myself that it will not end badly.

The sales agent said it would be ok. Should we believe him?

Has anyone received an exception to the two pet deed restriction?

No. Depends on the neighbors. Some will complain to Community Standards if the bushes are too high, etc.

I'm not trying to be snarky, but why are you considering moving to a place that has restrictions you don't like? The wife and I moved here understanding the restrictions and are happy to live with them. Restrictions serve a very important purpose, they keep the neighborhoods clean, orderly and pleasant for your neighbors. The most important purpose of restrictions is to maintain the value of your home and the surrounding homes.
Once deed restrictions are waived it usually leads to further waivers. Your neighbor knows you got a waiver for 3 dogs. He wants 4 dogs and points out the fact that you got a waiver for 3, 4 dogs is only one more than 3 so what is the problem? Then all kinds of people will want other waivers for restrictions they don't like and then the neighborhood will start going down hill.

Sadly, that was snarky even if you didn't mean it to be.

We are NOT trying to move some place that has restrictions we don't like. We were told it was OKAY to move in with three and then when one died we could not replace it. That we are fine with.

We have been told this has happened thousands of times here in the Villages. If that is the FACT (which we are trying to determine) then we would be fine with agreeing to limit any future pets to two.

We also KNOW that deed restrictions are enforced on a complaint basis. So, assuming there was a complaint, then we would want to know what our recourse would be if any.

We are here asking questions so we can understand how this situation has been resolved in the past.

Also, if it turns out that the verbal contract between us and the employee of The Villages has no weight, then maybe we would not want to trust anything else The Villages told us. Or if it is common practice to grant a variance on this particular restriction, that would be good information.

So, asking questions of the people that live here and have lived through this seems to me to be a perfectly reasonable approach as opposed to just throwing our hands of and leaving.

You misunderstand. My situation is not that I want to live in the Villages and own three dogs. The situation is that
I want to move to the Villages and will own three dogs until one crosses the rainbow bridge. At that point, and going forward, I will own two dogs. The sales agent told me that many people do this and that it is unofficially tolerated. Before I take the step of buying a house and moving, I need to be confident that I will not have to immediately sell and move out.

I disagree Grumpy, it is an honest question. The deed restrictions are clearly stated. Just because someone has gotten away with it before doesn't make it right for someone else to do so. Integrity is doing what is right even when no one else is looking.

You wouldn't have to move out, if you moved in with 3 dogs and someone complained.

You would be required to give up one of the dogs. that would put you in compliance.

It isn't likely that anyone will complain. But on the offchance someone does, that would be the consequence.

In that case we would have to move out.

That's just how it is in any community, or even in apartment buildings, condos, restaurants, everywhere. If your landlord, or the owner, or the store policy says no pets, and you bring one in anyway, and you get caught, you have to decide - give up the pet, or give up the apartment, your dinner date, your visit to the store, your condo.

It's a risk you are choosing to take.

It is a risk, for sure. From what I have read and heard, no one has ever had to give up a pet or move out. Well, expect one case - I think the person had 5 pets and left.

The deed restrictions also state dogs shouldn’t be over 40 pounds. Has anyone been to the dog parks and looked in the “large dog” area? You will find some that are more than 40 pounds. My advice, which will not even get you free water, is if your dogs are not yappy, you pick up after them on walks and in the dog parks, and they do not attack people, you will be ok.

I believe you will be in compliance as a new residence. You can move in with three and eventually get to 2. If you are an existing resident you cannot move to three. I believe I saw this in writing somewhere or it was explained to us at the time we gave our deposit.