Pros and Cons of a Courtyard Villa
 

We are shopping and like the theory of a Courtyard Villa with a few reservations:

1. Problems like noise from neighbors side patio.
2. Having to go on neighbors drive way to go thru your backyard gate.

Does being so close become too close in these courtyards? Any feedback from owners will be greatly appreciated.

We rented one before we made the decision. We did not buy. One very good reason to buy is if you have a dog(s)
It’s very convenient to give them space. The barking was tolerable, but echoing off the walls. We could also hear conversations from those on their phones, guessing their hearing was not great.

You do get total seclusion since your garage is most of the front of your house, and lanai is facing walls.

I have a CYV on a corner lot with 2 gates in. I very much like the privacy. My adjacent neighbors are quiet and don't own pets.

I have a court villa on the corner. with two gates . the day we moved in. the next door neighb my adjacent neighbors told me not to go on his driveway . so we are going to sell and buy a home. and by the way I wont talk to him. he try to talk to me

To close, garage to small, no storage, no privacy, and cost per square foot to high, IMHO.

It's a place you will love or hate, seems to be no in between. If you grew up in a city apartment you might find them great, if you grew up on a farm with lots of space you will probably hate it.

3 weeks short of 6 years on our CYV and the experience has been very very good.
With 2 Golden Retrievers our corner lot being fenced/walled has been a blessing, many of our neighbors also have pets and also love the this feature.
Privacy is great in a CYV because of the wall and only rarely do we notice any traffic noise from Buena Vista. Only on a rare occasion do we hear neighbors when we're sitting outside and even then it is very muted because of the wall/fence, unlike many designer homes with kissing-lanais.
The closeness of the homes (10-15 ft apart) and the angled configuration allow us to see more neighbors from our front lanai than we could from other home designs. This has resulted in more conversations with neighbors and friends walking by on the street than would have happened if we only saw them for the usual 2-3 seconds they would have been visible in the squared orientation of typical homes.
Our CYV community is very close and we have a very socially active neighborhood. Conversations with friends and other acquaintances live who live in or moved into/out of CYV communities have made the same observation of the other CYV communities.

The downside:
Short term renters who have little respect for others have been problematic with parking, their pets, and treatment of the community as a hotel.
Long term renters, when they move it saddens the community because they have become close friends and a part of our extended families. Many do keep in touch and stay engaged with the community.
Cars not obeying the 10MPH speed limit that is posted in the CYV communities.
People/vehicles that cut the left turns. Because of the shallow front yards and narrower streets almost every left turn is a blind turn and people cut the turn early crossing into oncoming traffic blindly and without slowing. There have been many near misses in our neighborhood of cars and trucks almost hitting people and other cars and in 2015 a short term renter cut the left turn in front of my house and ran head long into a Community Watch vehicle that was pulling up to the stop sign. The worst offenders are the garbage trucks and the delivery vehicles (FedEx/UPS), while most of the landscaping companies are very good about not doing this and take the turns wide.

A CYV community is not for everyone, some feel walled in and crowded, some don't like the layout, but if privacy and pets are important to you a CYV can be a great choice.

Was turned off by the angled garage entrances and the garages appeared way too small--just a guess , got to be a lot of dents & dings on cars in a CYV

We are now on our 2nd CYV, and wouldn't buy anything else! We absolutely love the privacy in the back yard, and not having to walk out back and look directly into our neighbors back lanai/windows.

We don't have dogs - just really like the CYV. We have a corner lot on our 2nd home, so we have both sides with gates now - that is a huge plus. We have a 2 car extended garage, so no issues there. We put in a huge birdcage (1,300 sq ft) and a pool, and the walls really help with privacy in our pool.

Our first CYV was a standard CYV where we only had the back side that entered through our neighbors driveway (BTW - I could never figure out why they did it this way - they could have easily switched all of them around and everyone could enter through their own driveway). We had the standard 1 car/ 1 golf cart garage, and very limited backyard compared to our new home. We still loved it! Again, the privacy in the back yard is fantastic.

We never had any issues with loud neighbors, or barking dogs.

To the poster who said their neighbor told them they couldn't go over his driveway to use their back gate - the deed restriction clearly state that you have full access to your back yard through your neighbors driveway. I have never had a neighbor that had an issue with this.

Have a cyv and love it. Very private, quiet, and in a very active community. Plus no grass to worry about. Garage is small but adequate for car and golf cart. So far no dings in car.

Not if you can drive. I Amit 1 1/2 garage is tight, but most don’t park in garage anyway.

Your neighbor is both wrong and in violation of their deed restrictions. As far as it being "his driveway" he should look at were the property lines are, he'll find he is actually on your driveway as it is on your property.

Don't let one ignorant jerk cause you to move.

We have lived in our courtyard villa for four years now, after moving from our designer home. We do sometimes miss the extra garage space but love all of the other privacy features. Our property is easy peasy to take care of. Full disclosure we have an awesome golf course view. Bond is lower too!
There are wonderful houses for everyone who moves to The Villages and you never know when circumstance might change no matter where you live.
For now, we are Villa people in The Villages.

6 years and not a dent in either car. A small miracle with my wife's parking abilities.

How are you going on his driveway in front of you’re house? you’re driveway in front of you’re house and the sidewalk leading to you’re corner lot gate which you have two on certain corner lots, but not all is your’s between you’re house and his. Is only his on other side of you’re side walk and it don’t include the driveway in front of you’re house.

:mademyday: Once again you have made my day...... I could not have said it better! And God knows I would not have said it as nice! :icon_wink: