New neighborhoods and Lots
 

Scott,

If you are ready to move and to make a committment, I would suggest a re-sale home instead of buying a lot and putting up a house.

The advantages are that the resale home is in an established community with no construction going on, mature landscaping, you can see the property around you fully built, much, much lower bond or no bond at all, all the home features already in place.

Disadvantage is that the home is ready to move in quickly, usually, and may not be right for someone who is not going to move to The Villages soon.

I moved into a resale about 18 months ago. My bond is only $2,300 compared to over $20,000 in most new homes. My home is on a golf course like I wanted, the house has all the interior features my wife wanted, the house came with a 1 year warranty for everything.

A resale is a great way to move to the villages. Little or no bond and you can see whats around. I bought a courtyard villa last year with no bond

Just a note for the OP that new home commitments can be deferred for up to a year. Best to speak to a TV agent about it though!

Yes resale would be good to get what you need. But if you want new, and many of us do, then talk to your agent and have them e-mail a PDF of the new sections the minute they open up.

But be warned - In the first 30 days of a new subsection opening to the public you do not have the luxury of waiting 6 months or 1 year to build. They require an immediate downpayment and 30 days to kick offf build. At least that is what we were told last May.

The toughest lot to get in TV is one that has some level of privacy without the high cost associated (I'm talking about real choice lots not just those that border a villa wall or the like). These lots will be gone the first day of a new release. Agents have clients who are just waiting. As soon as an agent sees one of these gems they put it on an immediate hold.

Another way to get one is to get lucky when a previous buyer drops. Every so often one will open up this way.

So bottom line - Talk to your agent and be specific about what you want and be ready to commit.

Buying a Lot
 

We just returned form our LV and plan to build next year in the Brownwood Square area. We want a culdesac lot and not a golf course view. We have dogs and need a private yard. As soon as the lots go up for sale in June our real estate agent is contacting us and sending a PDF of the available lots. We were told the deposit is $7500 and we must start building a year from the deposit date. We have selected the home we are going to build and we can't wait to move to TV.
Jeanne

Well, JSR, sounds like you know exactly what and where you want to build. Congrats on a fine decision. You will love The Villages.

We are very excited to move to TV. My husband played Palmer twice and Lopez and enjoyed both courses. We took a pickleball lesson and had a lot of fun. Ate in may nice restaurants, enjoyed the Square and met great people. The only suprise was that you have to pay monthly to use the fitness room at the rec centers. It's not overly expensive but we thought the fitness center would be included. If that's the biggest surprise we are very lucky!

We bought in Dec 2009 when Pennecamp was pretty new. We back up to a non Villages sub so their lots are very big. We have a lot of distance between us and our neighbors. I know down in St. James there are lots that back up to a fence with vacant land. But you never know what will be built there. Just keep looking and you will find something you like.

Scott:

One small suggestion I'd make: Do NOT use HGTV's "House Hunters" or even "My First Place" as examples of how things are done here in TV!

You should have a very firm idea of what you want; size, orientation, water-view, golf-view, no kissing lanai, etc., etc. Relay those to your agent, and make sure he/she understands that you won't compromise!

And, be thoroughly aware of the fact that you absolutely WILL pay a premium if you do want any view, more ground than your neighbors, a corner lot, or any other amenity not considered "standard".

I built on a wider lot than most of my street neighbors, and thus paid a premium. And, I don't look into the lanai of my neighbors behind me. On the other hand, I didn't select any water- or golf-course-view, thus saving me close to $50,000.

Establish your priorities and financials, then try your damndest not to vary from them!

Good luck! And, welcome to TV!

SWR
:beer3:

My thoughts
 

You asked what we looked for in lots. My first priority was to be able to extend our lanai. We have 20 feet from our lanai to the neighbors yard. They have 15 feet to thier lanai. Ni9ce break between houses. Our realtor knew we were coming on Sat. so he put this lot on hold. There were also some larger lots on Shining Willow in Buttonwood. They are still empty with no sold signs. Thye could be sold of course, but worth a question to the realtor.
My priorites for a lot besides size was that thw lanai faced East. We get morning sun and afternoon shade. Nice. We do look right into the neighbors lanai but we are 35' away. Ours was extended to 13" or so. Also nice.:MOJE_whot:

We bought a new home with a mid sized lanai. We don't have an oversized lot. However we have planted shrubs around our lanai and basically this gives us all the privacy we need as they have grown to a height of about 6' or more and on one side have a couple of bottle brushes. I like the feeling of being in a greenery when in our lanai (now a Florida room). This of course would be one solution to the privacy factor.

John

:wave:Scott and JSR,
JSR, I'm excited for you that you've close to making this dream a reality. Since you will be getting in on the "ground floor" of Brownwood, you could be fortunate in having a lot to choose from (pun intented).

Therefore, you should be able to find a homesite meeting multiple criteria. In addition to the ones you've already identified, you might want to consider:

• Orientation of Lanai. If you have a preference a lanai with morning or afternoon sun, it's a good criteria to add to your list. Like Salybow, we wanted an east facing lanai, as direct afternoon sun could limit our enjoyment of sitting or dining outdoors.
• Proximity to certain venues. For example, not near a sewerage facility. No power line visible. Not close enough enough to a railroad track, pickleball court, clubhouse with outdoor entertainment or town square to be bothered by unwanted noise. Or perhaps you would prefer to be close to certain venues, such as neighborhood pool, rec. center, town square or shopping.
• Possibilities for expansion. If you think you might one day want to expand your lanai, add a birdcage, enlarge a room, expand your garage, etc., choose a lot that has expansion capabilities on the side(s) of your home you might want to enlarge.

Others might weigh in with additional criteria they considered. As Swinfla said, being a specific with your sales agent as possible can enable you to find a lot that is not just suitable but ideal for your needs.

All best wishes.

P

Thanks so much for your advice. :mademyday: An East lanai would definitely be on top of the list. We selected the Bridgeport will expand the lanai 4 ft and my gut feeling is we are going to add a birdcage over grass for the dogs. Our realtor Adam is really easy to work with. He took us to several lots that fit our needs. We decided to wait for the new selection thave "a lot" to choose from. It's a sticker shock for a small piece of property, but we have to get use to it. Looking forward to building our dream house in a dream location. We love TV!

JSR - that is pretty much what we have done/planned. We extended the lanai on our Bridgeport by 4 feel plus the front by 2 feet. We have enclosed the lanai. We plan a birdcage later this year or in 2012 with a spa. We will not have grass there as we also have cats and don't want the odor.

Good luck. Happy to show you what we have done!