Aside from Conservation Trail, a preserve view will cost in the vicinity of 125,000 for the lot. And yes, you'll have bugs but you may prefer the "no see ems" over the "see ems". And yes, there are critters but we love hearing the coyotes at night and seeing the families of raccoons and bunnies and the occasional lone bobcat stroll by. Just depends on whether you want to see golfers or nature.

There are homes for sale here from a little over 100K to over two million and they are lived in by people who are priceless.

If you own a small dog....stay away from the preserve views. Coyotes have been a problem in TV for small pets.

Another thing to consider, many of the preserves have those high voltage electricity towers running through them. I know they claim they are safe, but I would not want to live close to them.

Preserve Lot vs a golf course Lot likely depends on the location and view of both of the lots. A golf course Lot must be purchased carefully——distance from golf cart path, maintance equipment early morning noise and potential for golf ball damage or nuisance are examples of what to look for when considering a golf course Lot. At present there are no golf course lots available and when they do become available in the future they will be south of State Rt 44. As other posters mentioned, a conservation/preserve Lot may have some bugs and critters that you may or may not considered before purchase.

We know of a couple who sold their beautiful home on a preserve because of the bugs. We have some good friends who purchased a furnished model home three years ago and are very pleased with their home. As I have said many times before, “in The Villages there is “something” for just about everyone”. You don’t just purchase a house in The Villages, you really are purchasing a lifestyle.

Personally, if I was going to spend upper six figures or more than $1 million for a home I would buy something in Golden Ocala or Country Club of Ocala, where you get true private country club experience, superior golf course quality, custom built quality, and real gates.

$750,000
Golden Ocala
3430 Nw 85th Ter, Ocala, FL 34482 - realtor.com(R)

$539,000
Country Club of Ocala
1705 Se 73rd Pl, Ocala, FL 34480 - realtor.com(R)

This thread is an interesting read since our home has a preserve abutting our back yard. Our preserve is older and one that used to have views, but now is grown in and is basically a swamp filled in with vegetation. Still a wonderfull thing, privacy and a wildlife refuge. Lots of birds, an occasional gator, snake, coyote, or other mysterious critter. The only thing that scares me are snakes, I fear those slithery creatures, especially the water mocasons. Bugs don't bother us, they can be bad at sunset, but not in the birdcage. The sunset painting the sky behind the preserve is spectacular. And the privacy is wonderful. We love going in our back yard and not having to look at the back of abutting homes. This was a requirement when we searched for our Villages home. Some of the premium prices for a preserve stated in this thread seem outrageous. We paid about $20K more for our house than a similar home across the street without a preserve in the back yard. Also, I love golf, but would never want to live on a golf course. The cost premium is huge, mowing and course maintenance starts at sunrise each morning as your wake up alarm, and there is little privacy until it gets dark out. Just my opinion for what it's worth.

Go for it.

Agree
 

If I was spending over a million dollars it would be in a gated community with a real country club. There are no country clubs within TV. Just restaurants adjacent to a golf course.

:agree:

I would definitely go up to around $500K more or less in TV for a designer on a golf course lot, but not upwards of that. TV is definitely a great value as regards the most bang for the buck lifestylewise. No question about that, all the clubs amenities and so forth are unbeatable elsewhere IMHO.

As I just posted, you can buy large custom built homes in nearby gated private country clubs for quite a bit less than $1 million.

The Villages is what it is, not really a gated country club but good value for your buck. Lots of activities, golf, pools etc but you are sharing all this with 100,000 plus residents.

Yep!

Here is an alternative view, our lot has a road in back, and no houses. Believe it or not, we actually have lots of privacy, a little road noise, but lots of privacy, and we have a great view. Just off of the golf courses, with areas that are well maintained. The cars and carts are going by fast enough that they do not have time to look at us, I have even tried to look in while driving by, cannot do it, a passenger could, but they only get about 15 seconds, and with our landscaping they get much less. The premium for this lot was much less than a golf course view or water view, and was only a premium due to the size of the lot.

Hmmmm...For $500k you could buy the home I posted above in Country Club of Ocala, 4br 3ba, 2800 sq ft, pool, 1 acre lot on the golf course. It is an awesome course, they just redid all the greens, traps, and cart paths. Average price for designers in TV is about $300k, so at $500k you would be at an extreme position in this market.

When I am here I play golf 3-4 times a week, mostly at Nancy Lopez or one of the great executive courses up here. Mostly just walk on as a single, never make tee times. Anyway, when I play I always check out all the nice homes along the fairways. I play mornings, midday, late afternoon and one thing I notice is that there is hardly ever anyone out on their lanais, enjoying the view they paid big bucks for.

That is because they are playing tennis, pickleball, doing ballet, yoga, or riding their bikes..........or creating glass jewelry or doing pottery or going to a class learning some new form of art. OR....swimming or clogging or going to a class on writing or listening to a speaker. OR.......they are playing golf.