[skyking]

We are interested in buying a new house in one of the Southern Oaks neighborhoods. We like the abundant trees, separate walking paths, etc. When we drove through the new neighborhoods it appeared that houses are at least 15 feet closer to the street and 5 feet or more closer together. It really detracts from the attractiveness of the homes.

Does anyone know if the required setbacks have been changed?

[Bogie Shooter]

Based on what you saw, what do you think?
I’ll take a WAG...they have changed.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by skyking

We are interested in buying a new house in one of the Southern Oaks neighborhoods. We like the abundant trees, separate walking paths, etc. When we drove through the new neighborhoods it appeared that houses are at least 15 feet closer to the street and 5 feet or more closer together. It really detracts from the attractiveness of the homes.

Does anyone know if the required setbacks have been changed?

You are spot on from what I have observed of the so called Southern Oaks area of TV. Less land is better?

[MrExcite721]

Lot depth size was reduced from prior minimum of 100ft. to presently 90ft. Multiply that into the number of units in the Southern Oaks sections, and the conclusion becomes more homes sold per square mile, ie; developer increases profit margin, which they are certainly entitled to. I would also be willing to bet the roadway dimension has been reduced as well, just do not have the data to back it up.

The good news is I can cut my own lawn in 8 minutes !!!!

[Chatbrat]

Less grass to maintain, as long as people are buying them--no problem with resale--if it matters

[npwalters]

Like the OP I think it does detract from the overall attractiveness of the area and is immediately noticeable by those of us that live in older parts of TV. However, they are selling like hotcakes and I don't live there so my opinion is just that.

[Velvet]

How do you find out the lot size when you are looking at resales on the Villages web site?

[VApeople]

Originally Posted by skyking

When we drove through the new neighborhoods it appeared that houses are at least 15 feet closer to the street and 5 feet or more closer together.

We have observed exactly the opposite. Many of the houses in the Southern Area are farther apart than they are in our area of Osceola Hills.

We love to walk through the new areas because, unlike the rest of TV, they have beautiful walking trails that do not allow golf carts.

We have taken long (by our standards) walks through Linden, Monarch Grove, and Marsh Bend and many of the lots look very good. If you do not like a small lot, then buy a large lot. That is what we did.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Velvet

How do you find out the lot size when you are looking at resales on the Villages web site?

Just go to the county property appraiser web site (Sumter, Lake, or Marion) and seach the address. You will find all kinds of information, including the lot size in square feet, improvements, taxes, and all prior sale dates and sale prices.

[Velvet]

Works perfectly! I just tried my own property. Thank you.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by justjim

You are spot on from what I have observed of the so called Southern Oaks area of TV. Less land is better?

Here is what I think. Worth a nickel with change back.

As The Villages expands and negotiates for new land they may be finding it more expensive and they have a target amount probably that they think it is what people expect to pay. They work on margins like any other business so they can charge more and lose potential customers or make the lots smaller and try to keep the amount less.

My guess is as good as the next person.

[Serenoa]

Homes in Southern Oaks may be closer to the streets, but there definitely are fewer kissing lanais. Much, much more room in back between homes. I like it.

[vintageogauge]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

Homes in Southern Oaks may be closer to the streets, but there definitely are fewer kissing lanais. Much, much more room in back between homes. I like it.

Correct, there is much more open or green space down here and a ton of man made ponds which give you the feeling of living in the country. In our case, ours and our neighbors golf cart garages are across from each other and that gives the appearance of being close when looking from the front but behind the golf car garages it is pretty wide, I would guess 30 feet between the walls and as far as the driveway I would also guess at least 30 feet, probably more as we have a 25 ft. motorhome and when I bring it in to load up there is still a lot of room in front and behind it. Also, I'm talking about Fenney which is not part of Southern Oaks and they may have different dimensions over there.

[VillageIdiots]

Not just Southern Oaks area, but I was told that, at some point, in the newer areas, many of the spec homes are expanded by the developer to make more maximum use of the lot space. My inference from that was that they did not used to do that, rather you'd only get expanded homes if you included that in a custom build or were able to add on after purchasing. It makes the homes appear closer together, well, because they are closer together as a result of maximizing the use of available space. My lot was a bit deeper than standard but my home was a spec home - but it was built with a 4 foot expansion forward in the garage and an expansion out the back in the lanai. I see others that were spec built but same basic floor plan as mine, but they were clearly expanded to the sides because the lot would accommodate it.

[Arubagirl33]

Originally Posted by skyking

We are interested in buying a new house in one of the Southern Oaks neighborhoods. We like the abundant trees, separate walking paths, etc. When we drove through the new neighborhoods it appeared that houses are at least 15 feet closer to the street and 5 feet or more closer together. It really detracts from the attractiveness of the homes.

Does anyone know if the required setbacks have been changed?

We noticed the exact same thing in Marsh Bend. After the area was completed we didn’t care for it at all! The driveways are shorter and you definitely can’t appreciate the prettiness of the homes. They appear to be jumping right out at you!! The streets are narrower, too. Glad we saved that $250,000 on the Marsh Bend lot 🤪 All of the new areas/villages will supposedly follow the same
pattern.