Coming for a Visit
 

I know this is like beating a dead horse, and yes, I have read tons of info on the Villages. I will be coming down next week for a quick visit and then working a lifestyle visit in June.

There is no better feedback than having a ride along with a Villages Owner.

I know this may seem out of the ordinary, but would anyone be willing to show me around? Give me the full monty of the place. Especially the best places to buy.

We can meet in a public place and I will show you my license and credentials. I will even buy you lunch or dinner anywhere you want to go. Information that many of you have is invaluable and worth every penny for dinner/lunch. You can even bring your spouse or friend.

Sorry, if this is out of line for this forum, not my intention.

Jim

:popcorn::popcorn:

This is an excellent idea. Far better than driving around with agents who make a buck by selling.

We have been here almost 4 years now. We would be happy to give you a rundown on our take on the Villages. Show you some maps and point out highlights. We live in St Cats. so a southerners take on the place. We rarely go the northern part - only when we need something at BJs.

If you go out with 20 people you will get 20+ answers about the best place to buy, this is a very personal decision, and in my humble opinion no one can tell you what is 'the best place' to buy as they are NOT you. You would probably be better off scheduling the bus ride to the various areas and see what appeals to you. If you do this then you can do some investigation on your own and follow up during your lifestyle visit.

Nothing wrong with 20 opinions, but that's what they are. The bus ride is interesting, and a good idea. Spend a night at a square, listen to music and chit-chat your neighbors there works pretty well too.

Bolded and underlined so you know what I'm asking about:

You want someone to show you around - where, exactly? The Villages is over 60 square MILES of properties, medical, and retail. Are you looking exclusively for new construction, or is pre-owned a consideration? If it's new construction only, then you narrow down the location significantly.

If pre-owned is an option, you'd want to narrow it down even further, since most of The Villages is built and occupied already.

Go on Realtor.com or Redfin or Zillow.

Pick out 6-8 pre-owned homes, approximately in your price range, scattered throughout The Villages, north to south. You only want homes represented by MLS Brokers.

Go on the "The Villages Word of Mouth" Facebook Group and post a message about what you want to do.

You'll have 50 Brokers bugging you, to let them drive you around. MLS Brokers don't have a horse in the race ... they don't care where in The Villages you buy and most of them know the territory.

If you end up opting to buy "New", you'll be well prepared to deal with what you'll go through with a representative of the Developer's sales operation when the time comes.

If you haven't noticed yet, this Forum is full of highly opinionated people, who aren't afraid to present their opinions, like they were handed down from a mountaintop, on a stone tablet ... me included in that charaterization..

You will get biased opinions from one person. So do this yourself.

If you are looking in the southern ( new) are, be aware....the bonds are extremely high, the taxes are for Sumter Cty and the City of Wildwood, you are so far removed from EVERYTHING. If you look at the Daily Sun on a daily basis, you will see there are a LOT of houses in the newer section for sale already. You must ask yourself....WHY? There has GOT to be a reason. Think about it

One of the Village Youtubers may be interested in showing you around. They will jump.on the chance to get 50 thousand plus views.

That said the OP def would need a long list of tour hosts.
Not a bad tour up 441 or 301 seeing Leesburg or Wildwood. I guess it is reality because the southern most end is a long drive to BJ's and about what, 20 roundabouts away? Never counted them. Would be interesting number to know. A tour on the furthest tip of T V won't take very long.

2018 we discovered T V. Came a handfull of times and rented golf carts. Had a blast. Drove all over T V. People were so friendly. Good thing as we got lost many times. Had help using the app but people were the best. Took Trolley tour. Course back then they were still working toward Fenney.

Once I got a realtor they pushed the new areas. I figured out I needed a second realtor for pre owned areas (unless the new sales realtor is a willing to show pre-owned).

Different strokes for different folks. Decide what you WANT and NEED. I bought in DeLuna but decided I needed what it couldn't offer via golf cart.

466A area is twelve years old. They are still building it out. It will be many, many years before the southern tip has the type of shopping that is on 466A and north on 466 and 401. You can shop in Leesburg and Clermont but... I'd rather have golf cart excursions to the store via pretty mvp's.

If you are not a shopper, then a trip up 301 and 441 to B j's will do it for you. I moved further north from DeLuna for ease of shopping via golf cart and to care for my parents who live up near Lake Sumter Landing.

Enjoy exploring, enjoy the process and good luck finding your perfect house.

NO WAY — that’s what a realtor is for, and many live in TV.

That FB group is loaded with crap. Why a FB group? it's best to not. such a ridiculous idea. All FB is loaded with crap

Rent for a month and include a cart. I didn’t with my first house and I regret it.