Property lines and easements
 

I’m wondering where my property begins and ends. I’m talking mostly about the property between my house and my neighbor’s house. I'm in a courtyard villa, so it should be simple.

I read the Property Rights section of the CC&Rs which talks about easements and dominant/servient tenements, etc. – it’s easy to get lost in the legal terms. A picture would be helpful. Do you know where I can find one?

For an overview, go to this website and click on "courtyard villa maintenance":

Forms and Publications

You really need a copy of the official recorded plat for your house. You can get one by calling your county records office. You can also call The Villages administration office and they may help you. Your warranty deed will tell you the official plat page where your plat is recorded. But, basically, the property lines for courtyard villas are usually located midway between the houses. Courtyard villas are about 10 feet apart and the property line is about 5 feet from the exterior wall of your house.

Property lines do not matter in courtyard villas. All owners agree to what I believe is called "right of use". Look at the drawings to get a simple and accurate illustration. https://www.districtgov.org/departme.../CourtYard.pdf

Shortly after closing I received a .pdf with architectural drawings of my house including property lines. Perhaps contact the Warranty Dept or Customer Service.

Here is a picture. I got it as part of my closing document information. The shaded parts show the areas of maintenance that are also described in the deed restriction document.

I got a copy of all my construction drawings, as well as my plot plan from Sumter County.
I requested it online, I forget the exact spot, if it was the county site or the tax collector’s site. Got an emailed package

When we were on our lifestyle tour, we took one look at the CYVs and the dual access issue, and ran from them. Told our agent we wanted our own lot without any neighbor access. We found the whole arrangement to be very confusing and problematic if you have a neighbor you do not get along with.

Nothing simple in CYVs :22yikes:

Property Lines always matter.

I agree. But, if you examine the drawing in Post No. 5, there is a fair amount of land located outside of the homeowner's lot line that is required to be maintained by the homeowner. These areas include land located on the neighbor's property as well as the right of way area adjacent to the street. And, there is a fair amount of land on the homeowner's property that is maintained, controlled, and used by the neighbor. Welcome to courtyard villa living in The Villages.

In what way do they matter in a CYV?

Not when you sign a contract agreeing that they don't.

The diagram is helpful. If you look at the lots in the diagram, A, B, and C, my house is like B. So owner of A cuts the lawn between A and B in back of the gate, which includes some of my property indicated by dashed line. I maintain the lawn in the front of the gate which includes some of the A lot. So the gate is 'shared' property? Who repairs it if a hinge or latch breaks? Or do the A and B owners share the expense?

Does that diagram mean my neighbor is responsible for pressure washing my house wall inside her gate or just the concrete wall?

100% agree unless you have a dog or MUST have a wall that doesn't even extend the whole length of the house I would not advise buying a CYV especially with them becoming a hot commodity for Airbnb.

The area along the side of the house turns into the party area and your bedrooms are right there.

I can hear every single word of their conversation in the side yard and I’m in the bedroom.

I was thinking of putting up soundproofing on the bedroom walls for those nights I get lucky. lol.