As many opinions as there are residents.....the good news is the bad choices are the ones that don't meet your personal needs and gut feeling. You have enough experience to know what they are. Take your time, no rush and decide only when you are ready to decide. One other thing, get caught up in the lifestye not the house. Take the time to ask about ARC, CDD, Resident Academy, Deed Restrictions (there are no HOA's here, only advocate clubs), additional taxation (Fruitland Park, Wildwood), Amenity fees (what they are and are not). There are large quantities of Kool Aid here, drink slowly.

We have a beautiful pre owned home in the Village of Bonita. We have an expanded heated glass enclosed lanai, hardwood in 5 rooms, custom entertainment center and custom bookcases. You can look on the Villages website under homes-pre owned and then type in McDuffie Court. Albina

I've heard undertones of parking issues in villas and then other friends love them.

I agree, bought a house in Linden And was worried about traffic noise. Don’t notice it all unless I listen for it. And I am close to the dog park. No problem.

July 5th will be our ninth anniversary in a CYV (courtyard villa). If you have more than one car or have a lot of guests, then you will face some challenges. We have an overflow lot with 9 parking spaces and we have 80 villas. Right now there are probably 7 spaces available, in the winter, you have to be quick. The spaces are suppose to be guests only, but nobody monitors the lot.

If you're looking at nothing but new, most new CYVs built south of 44 will have a two car garage. Even in the established Villages, Artrium Dells, Alden Bungalows, Atwood Villas and Haciendas at Mission Hills and some others have many built with a two car garage. So that obstacle can be solved.

If you really wanted more space, like a garage plus a golf cart garage and need that fenced yard, they have the Veranda Homes in the new area. If you want a small place, but don't need the fence, the new patio villas are a big improvement in layout and style from before and many have a two car garage.

Here's a brand new patio villa with a two car garage for $195K.

https://imageapi.thevillages.com/api/photo/583349.jpg

https://imageapi.thevillages.com/api/photo/583353.jpg

We just moved in to Bonita in Feb. By any chance is your Dad's name Bob? If so you are behind us.

Love tv just wish social distancing was over so we can enjoy all that is here.

Courtyard Villa
 

Be aware that courtyard villas have tiny rear yards that are mostly paved, and a tall concrete fence (at least most of them do). So limited cross breeze. If the courtyard rear yard is south facing, you will roast on the patio and lanai.Lots of people put sunscreens on their lanai but its still hot. I would look for an east or north rear yard.

We are selling a beautiful home in the Village of Bonita(near Sumter Landing and Brownwood). You can see our home on the Villages website homes-pre owned and then in box on left top put in our address. 2265 McDuffie Court. Hope to hear from you.

If you need to rent a house down south, you can check out Down Home Properties, if you don't want the all inclusive TV marketing reps showing you all new houses, ie, don't want to be a captive market. . .

The Villages, FL United States - 1849 Alton Avenue | Down Home Properties
The Villages, FL United States - 2280 Demarco Dr | Down Home Properties
The Villages, FL United States - 2258 Demarco Drive | Down Home Properties

sportsguy

Great advice: "what would it be like to live in a certain village or area day in and day out".


I counted 81 resale homes in the Villages south of 44 listed on The Villages web site (this includes Fenney, DeSoto, Marsh Bend, McClure, etc.). Not casting anything negative regarding these Villages, just stating a fact.

I have been sitting in my living room in Washington state trying to figure out what we would like. Probably in 5 years south of 466 will be built up the way we would like it. We will be coming down soon to check all of it out. We have been down once and it all looks good to us. Seems like long term, new and south is the way to go. But, we may be dead by then!

Yeah, I know what that is like. It is hard to "figure out" life.

We were in Virginia 5 years ago and I thought we were very happy. We were empty nesters with a nice house, no problems, belonged to a nice country club, and I played a lot of golf. We came here for a visit and saw a bunch of people like us having a good time, and we were hooked.

A golf pro once accused me of "paralysis thru analysis", but I got over that a long time ago. I learned to trust my 'gut instinct'.

So we went back to Virginia, sold our house, and moved here. Sure, our kids are still mad at us, but we are happier than ever.

Spend a lot of time exploring the area and talking to people in established sections as well as new before you decide.

Lots of people buy and then move once or twice after but with 6% sales commission to sales agent an expensive way to go.

We bought in January. Were in hurry as our house sold much faster than expected.

Went with outside MLS agent at first and when they ran out of houses to show us went with TV rep and showed us all homes for resale.

Shhhhhh keep the north area a secret! Fastest resale area in The Villages.

Probably not. But look out for the quarry, where they blast with explosives, and the federal prison which is often brightly lighted at night. And the train tracks? Lots of whistle-blowing freight trains if the track is nearby.

Which villages would that include?

And how long have you lived in the area where this is happening? Yikes, you might want to move. We are in the Fenney area and haven't had these experiences yet but your neighborhood might be different.

I would suggest looking between 466 and 466A or even south of 466A to 44. The area she's suggesting is removed from the rest of The Villages. It is very pretty, but does not have the services and activities in the northern section. I have heard people say that you can hear the quarry blasting and sometimes the loudspeakers from the nearby Federal prison. My husband and I will take a cart ride, when the bridges and tunnels are completed, to that area, but we've joked that we'll need to pack a picnic lunch to make the trip.

I would suggest looking at an area if you think you would enjoy living in that area.

Cliff notes: consider all areas.

That is why we rented for a month last year before we came back to purchase. Knew what was important to us and where it was located.

I don’t know about the quarries in the south or how much noise they make but I know the ambulances in my north neighborhood wake me up frequently.

Absolutely look at preowned homes N of 44. Find an agent who shows those as well..

Be sure to go at night. Traffic noise around 9p.m. Ramps up with all the big trucks. It becomes much louder. Also because there is less daytime noise to distract. BUT. If you live near water you also get a lot of nature noise around that time too. So, it’s best to check out any house your interested in both day and night.

Hello! We have a Cedar for sale in the Village of Lake Deaton...VERY close to Brownwood! MANY upgrades have been done including a lanai that's 70% larger than original!
If you go to the Villages website and home search or a Cedar on Indianwood Rd. you will find our listing.
Thanks!