Re: An Alternate To Living At The Villages
 

Quote John L "ILL COME TO TV SQUARES...DONT BE TOO HARD ON ME, IM JUST GETTING IN ON THE FUN,, ONE NOTE, THE TOTAL COST OF THE HOUSE IS 199.OOO."
PS: Friends, pay no attention to him, he reminds me of the late Walter Taylor of Taylor wine fame who invented a wine named "Get Your Goat". Get my drift??

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Chuckinca
Correct but the Village residents will not pay for the road repairs...they are public roads with the state and county responsible for maintenance and repair.

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I'm confused. Annie and John don't want to live in TV, think this "Stonecrest" is the place to be, BUT, like TV lifestyle. Are they nuts??

Stonecrest has an "18-hole golf course, One clubhouse and One restaurant (would like to see that place when snowbirds are down!)--compared to TV.

Refresh my memory, how many golf courses, clubhouses, and restaurants in TV?

--and I should move to Stonecrest--why?!?
(big deal, the house is $199,000)

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I think what Annie is saying is she could live close by at a reasonable cost of living and still enjoy almost everything that Villagers enjoy. That’s the way the developer wanted it to be. That’s why most things within TV are opened to all. She’s not saying that TV is a bad place but the way many of you make it sound is if the many retirees all over the country in all the other active adult communities are not living in TV they can’t be happy. And believe it or not some of us don’t play golf. I’m pretty good at using a snow blower though.

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Annie:

You pays your money and you makes your choice.

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Peggy D
I think you are confused. TV developer wants outsiders to enjoy what they offer except for a few things that are available only to homeowners. So whats wrong with all this folks living close by coming in and spending their money here.

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NYclicker,
Great picture..http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/military.gif

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Thanks Donna. It was taken on Hill 225 near Phu Bai in 1965.

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well this topic sure stirred the pot. I agree with many above, you pay your money and make your choices. I've visited around and TV will be my choice as soon as possible.

Merry Christmas, all...

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I think its great that outsiders are coming into TV and spending. It makes good business sense. I just don't think you get to experience the Village lifestyle as an outsider. Yes, there are somethings open to the general public, but not all that TV has to offer.

Just my opnion.

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Have you checked the price of putting in septic system, bringing electric, phone, cable, etc. to your house? Digging a well or hooking up to public water. Is the road paved in front of your lot? May be an assesment by the county. There are lots of costs in building and in every development I've looke at in Florida there is a bond, either separate or included, in the price...

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to mr.handie,,,, im moving to stonecrest, but i failed to say that i will still own a villa in the villages.. and who ever stated gate gaurds, isnt true, they are greeters,, they cant stop anyone. public rds. annie sounds like a great catch,,, im looking, will the lady with the lucky number please come and get me... lol. I love this place..

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Dear Leachy
I understand that your moving to somewhere called stone henge or crast or something like that, Sounds good , I hope you enjoy, You should fit right in , as your tone points out , you don't mix well anyway.....You can get more info at www. runnerup .com

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An example of non-Villagers being "left out:"

Our Church, which is very close to TV property, started a men's golf group for the golfing-challenged, and we called ourselves the "not-so-hot golf group (we stink)." We number about 30 now, and we're growing fast! We play the 9 hole executive courses every Friday. We wear red shirts to show respect for our troops. After play, we go to a nearby watering hole and socialize. Great fun!

Non-Villages parishioners, who live nearby, very much want to join us, but cannot (visitors who use executive courses must live over 50 miles from TV).

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johnfarr, What church do you attend. Being new to TV we are looking for a church to attend. Thanks.

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I think Frangyomory has some loose marbles. I have not seen where other communities are pushing the amenities of TV. What I’m reading is the things that are available to non-villages is because the developer of TV wants it that way. What does Frangyomory think they are stealing? And what the heck is this bate and switch she’s talking about?

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Very interesting topic. Thanks guys for all the info.

"Retirement ain't for sissies" as the saying goes............ I like another saying too........."it takes all kinds."

Doesn't it amaze you how TV's developer thought of all of this? I'd be very proud.

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We've said before I'll say it again, it's more than just a bunch of beautiful homes and fabulous community it's truly a lifestyle, you either see the value or you don't, if everyone liked vanilla we wouldn't have chocolate. Johnl finds his best value at SC, I say good for him, I'm glad you found something that suits you, good luck and enjoy.

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I want to thank everyone for all the replies so far. It will certainly give me a lot to think about.

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You will probably get a quick response from Handie with the picture like that. Just a joke. :joke:

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Oh Tal..that is not nice to say about Our Handi...http://www.millan.net/minimations/sm...ocentsmily.gif

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How many seconds do you think it will take Handie once on TOTV to reply to Annie with a picture like that? I think it took me about 4? :joke:

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When I was Annie's age I was not the least bit interested in retirement communitites, this of course assumes that this is a recent picture of Annie.

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LOL, I like the girls pics, I may be old but I ain't dead.

And back on thread, while I've considered Stonecrest and others (and visited), TV is my choice, I want to be IN the action, not traveling to it.

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I posted this on another thread concerning the TV bond.

We had our home built here in IL. The builder/developer became a good friend and we socialize with him and his wife often. When we visited TV a few years ago, we were turned off by this "bond" thing!

Over dinner, I asked our builder friend why TV had this bond as it was the only place we looked at in FLA that had it!

He kind of smiled and said that when you have a home built; regardless of where you have the home built; you are going to pay the infrastructure costs. It's rare that it's separated as most developers/builders put it in the price of the home. In has vast circle of friends, he doesn't know one developer with deep enough pockets to pay for the roads; utilities wires, water lines, etc. I asked him what it would have cost me if he, the builder, paid for the "bond" (they don't call it a bond here, they don't call it anything_. He replied "if I paid for the cost of the infrastructure, deduct $20,000".

So, the way I look at it, TV is just being up front about it. Maybe they should rethink this and just put the cost in the overall price of the home.

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Nancy:

My guess is that it is a cashflow issue. If the developer paid the fees to the local agencies they would probably have to pay them prior to building the houses. In TV where they are building or have unsold a thousand or so houses at all times, it could mean that the developer would be out the fees which could be $20 Mil or more. They would always be out that money until TV was built and sold out.

The developer made a deal with the agencies that the agencies would accept payment by the buyers at a much later date instead of from the developer up front. I would imagine that the agencies didn't do that out of the kindness of their hearts and probably upped the fees to cover the late payments.

The deal saved the developer the $20 Mil or so that he would have had locked up by the agencies until the last homes were sold (maybe for a period of ten years or so - which means the developer can invest the $20 Mil and turn it into maybe $50 Mil in 10 years or so). Good business. The developer makes out, the agencies make out and the (insert appropriate adjective) buyers are happy to pay the higher costs.

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People are "bounced" out if they don't have a Village ID but that's only if they are asked for one. Some people use the pools and say they left their ID home and the rec folks tell them not to forget next time. I have this on good authority from other residents and rec employees. And, yes, some of the sales staff of other locations absolutely do tell potential buyers how they can use Villages entertainment, etc. without paying the fees if they buy there.


Don't kid yourself. Everyone in real estate is not totally honest. There are a few lemons in all types of industry.

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We all desperately need Community Development District (CDD) training! Simply, the infrastructure (water, sewer, drainage, roads, etc.) is built in advance and financed over a long term through bonds, the payment of which is shared by new land owners, the home buyers. The "builder" just builds and charges for the home and lot.

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The infrastructure inside TV is built and paid for by the developer and the cost pro-rated and passed on in each home sale - I don't believe the county came in and installed those items for the developer.

I believe the charges by the local agencies (county, city, sewer dist, water and power companies, schools, mosquito district, library, animal control folks, etc) are primarily "impact" fees due to the cost to service the new residents and are primarily to reimburse local expenses outside TV.

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Gee I just found this site. :) I live in Windermere Florida .We were looking into retirement communities as my husband will retire next year . We will be looking at a lot of different locations in Fl, N.C and GA Before we make our move .I feel it's smart to look around due to not wanting to move again. But I AM REALLY SURPRIZED AT THE FEED BACK SOME NOT SO NICE .Gee I thought it was fun in a retirement community ;)

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Baily, So sorry you got a neg impression about The Villages. We moved here in Feb. from Tampa. Just love living here. Have you visited? What I like about The Villages is that it offers so much. We love traveling by golf cart. Went down to one car, and are really saving on gas. I hope you come see us and see for yourself.

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When the people who live in Stonecrest have guest do they spend the most time showing them The Villages or Stonecrest.

I wonder how they phrase the fact that I am showing you The Villages but I live in Stonecrest?

Do they ask their guest to excuse the heavy traffic as they drive down 27/441 to get to The Villages and say that is why they didn't buy in The Villages.

Do they not show and tell them about The Villages?

I have often wondered how they present this situation.

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Baily: Got a pic we can see?

Indy Guy: Just guessing - probably just like you take someone thru traffic to get to the local mall.
Since all the TV folks are in carts, sure seems to be a bunch of outsider riffraff driving down 441 or on Morse, etc; maybe the State Police should be called to give them all tickets for misappropriation of TV roadway amenities.

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Not all of us TV folks have golf carts. This household has a Miata and a scooter. So, some of us on Morse Blvd. and on 441 are not riffraff. lovehorse crap

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Baily, despite what you may think from reading this thread; on our visit to TV we found the environment extremely positive. We talked to everyone... while standing in line at the burger joint, sitting on a bench eating ice cream, wandering around the town square in the evening, etc. More importantly folks talked to us.... if we looked lost or confused we were given assistance, folks we asked happily answered the myriad questions we threw at them about TV, how they got there and what their lives are like now that they live there.

As I've mentioned in another thread, we could just as easily move into a retirement community in the San Francisco Bay Area because my family owns a condo in an adult community called Rossmore which is gated, smaller and has some nice amenities but not nearly as many and certainly not anywhere near the variety of activities and clubs in which you can participate. Besides they have only three Golf courses. LOL

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Punkpup:

30 degrees this AM in Rossmore - tee off times pushed way way back. Had to scrape off the ice on my car windows leaving for work this morning in Union City.

Chuck

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I love just jumping in the golf cart and go, how about the many many clubs we have I can go a month without using my car the library is at my use also or a good high school althletic event to me its a no brainer TV is the place

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BYE BYE

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:) Hi,
I'm a home health nurse and as a result frequently visit patients in many of the other communities in the area. I can say for certain that I never would have left the San Francisco Bay Area for any of the other communities I have seen including Stonecrest. I have a feeling of warmth and "Comming home" when I'm in the villages. The other communities lack the warmth and the imaginative landscaping of the common areas. You won't see flowers or colorful plantings in Stonecrest, Top of the World, Oak Run, Spruce Creek or any of the others I have been to. The houses are ok but really not any nicer then anything available in The Villages. You may pay a bit more here; but, I am happy with my warm and fuzzy active lifestyle here.
I hope everyone is happy with whatever choice they make. We are very happy with living here and that is just confirmed every time I travel outside of this community.