[Boilerman]

Just returned from our first visit to TV, my wife and I are a couple years away from retiring and have started our search. I've been following this forum for a year or two and wanted to thank everyone for all the great information!

Our visit was wonderful. I will say that it is overwhelming to see all the villages, rec centers, pools, clubs, golf courses, activities. I'm sure everyone adjusts over time and narrows things down, although I talked to one man who said he was involved with 21 activities - wow!

A couple of questions:

1) If we were mostly interested in resales, are you better off with a non-Villages agent like ReMax? Can a ReMax agent show you any resale home including those that are marketed by the Villages? Can a Villages agent show you all resales or are they restricted to only showing homes marketed by the Villages? And even if they can, would they?

2) Is it difficult moving into an existing neighborhood, have the friendships already formed and become clique-ish? Particularly if you are under 60, would moving into a 15 or 20 year old neighborhood be difficult? Or are the established neighborhoods already accustomed to turnover and seeing new faces?

3) I didn't see any foreclosures during our drive around, not sure if you could even tell by looking. Have foreclosures been an issue?

Thanks in advance

[asianthree]

You need a mls agent and a villages rep.

[asianthree]

You will find some foreclosures but only with a mls agent. Moving into an older neighborhood should not be a problem

[njbchbum]

1. Villages shows Villages and Realtors show MLS. I suggest you look at the Lyle Gant realty website because he is a sponsor here, his website contains the best/most comprehensive info on a listing, and I am not affiliated with his business.

2. How friendly are you? If the neighbors don't rush to greet you - wallk the street and hand out a flyer inviting all to a get-to-know-us driveway party! Remind everyone to bring their own chair! We are the snowbirds on our block and also the young'uns. We all look out for each other.

3. How might foreclosures be an issue? Sorry I don't understand your question.

[mtdjed]

Regarding Age- My recommendation is to buy in new areas despite some nicer more central areas. We are in Caroline, about central and great area near Lake Sumter. Bought at age 62, now am 70 am in good health and love all my near 70 friends. Not much turnover since we moved in. You might find more commonality in newer areas. May not be universal but new will be younger.

[Boilerman]

Originally Posted by asianthree

You need a mls agent and a villages rep.

So that means the Villages pre-owned homes are not on the MLS? Does anyone know what percentage of resales are on MLS vs. Villages?

[Boilerman]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

1. Villages shows Villages and Realtors show MLS. I suggest you look at the Lyle Gant realty website because he is a sponsor here, his website contains the best/most comprehensive info on a listing, and I am not affiliated with his business.

2. How friendly are you? If the neighbors don't rush to greet you - wallk the street and hand out a flyer inviting all to a get-to-know-us driveway party! Remind everyone to bring their own chair! We are the snowbirds on our block and also the young'uns. We all look out for each other.

3. How might foreclosures be an issue? Sorry I don't understand your question.

Thanks for your responses. I was asking about foreclosures to get a sense of whether there was/is a glut of foreclosures from the real estate bust a few years back. Florida was reported to be one of the worst states, not sure about the villages. Also might be interested in buying one if the price was right. If there are foreclosures, they'd be listed with MLS?

[Boilerman]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

Regarding Age- My recommendation is to buy in new areas despite some nicer more central areas. We are in Caroline, about central and great area near Lake Sumter. Bought at age 62, now am 70 am in good health and love all my near 70 friends. Not much turnover since we moved in. You might find more commonality in newer areas. May not be universal but new will be younger.

Thanks that is helpful.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

1. Villages shows Villages and Realtors show MLS. I suggest you look at the Lyle Gant realty website because he is a sponsor here, his website contains the best/most comprehensive info on a listing, and I am not affiliated with his business.

2. How friendly are you? If the neighbors don't rush to greet you - wallk the street and hand out a flyer inviting all to a get-to-know-us driveway party! Remind everyone to bring their own chair! We are the snowbirds on our block and also the young'uns. We all look out for each other.

3. How might foreclosures be an issue? Sorry I don't understand your question.

Foreclosures would be an issue if the bank is not maintaining the property.

[Blessed2BNTV]

We bought in Duval 2 years ago while in our late 50's. We have met folks of all ages and have enjoyed them all!

We will be full time in 2 months (can't wait) and plan to join clubs where we will meet folks around our age. The 1970's music club sounds great.

While the area in Duval does not have an active street we are ok with that because we feel it will give us "quiet" time after a busy day.

Played golf with 83 wife and 86 husband that was such a delight! Went to lunch afterwards and enjoyed their wisdom and zest for life! BTW they played better than we did.

Find a home you love and meet your needs, and friendships will follow.

[jimmemac]

In general I would say the newer the house the younger the neighbors

[MSGirl]

We bought new and in a new area. My thoughts were if we did this, we would all have at least one thing in common and we would all be about the same age. Not necessarily true. We also ended up with a Villages agent for the obvious reason. I was too overwhelmed to get 2 different agents...but that's me. The first visit is a bit overwhelming. Once you're here, you have the rest of your life to do whatever. You can try everything at once or pace yourself.
I did a lot of research on the different models before we came down here. Once I decided which models I was interested in, it narrowed my search.

[Villager Dude]

I would let the location within TV dictate where you want to live. There is a place for everyone here. We are in Amelia which is centrally located and we like being near Lake Sumter Landing. The demographics of the specific village is changing all the time. I would say that established neighborhoods have people that do not have the time to cultivate new friends and if that is extremely important I would move to a very new village where everyone I new but as I said before I would zero in on location 1st.

Good Luck

About 1/3 of all listings are MLS I have been told.

[Carpe Diem]

The vast majority of the resales are listed by the Villages on its website. Start with a Villages agent. Follow MLS listings on Zillow.com and if you see one you like find an MLS agent at that time.

There's always an element of randomness regarding your neighbors. It doesn't matter what village or part of the country. In general, people in the Villages are outgoing and friendly. If you're not absolutely stuck on moving to a young neighborhood, I think you should just pick the area and the house you like the most. There's enough turnover to bring younger retirees to every Village. The activity at pickleball courts at all rec centers suggests you'll meet people anywhere.

[Wandatime]

I live in Collier. Two of my neighbors are tough old birds . . . very reserved and I can see the blinds twitching and feel their lips pursing when I walk my dog down the street. Another couple in the neighborhood are clearly hoarders and complain about everything, and I mean everything. That leaves at least 698 people in Collier that seem to be as easygoing, nice and normal as I require in a mutual friendship. Pretty darned good odds.