[seecapecod]

Originally Posted by Villager1234

The whole system seems to be unfair. If the Villages can issue summonses they should have some way of checking to see if a house is in compliance. Is a copy of compliance requirements available?

Especially for homes their own agents list!

Look up the property deed restrictions then look at the property. Then follow up to see if they have ARC approval for what has been done to the property.

A seller signs a disclosure statement of compliance as part of the seller disclosure form used by T V when listing the property if sold using The Villages. I had to make that statement when I listed my property for sale 6 months ago.

Ask your agent to verify one was signed. If you are using a Villages realtor they all play in the same sand box so they would know. If I remember correctly the buyer gets a copy of the packet of listing papers before closing when they are signing the contract to purchase. Look for the compliance statement.

It would be a civil matter within state statute and state staute limitations if the house is out of compliance and the seller lied on the form.

Village Community Development Districts

[Rodneysblue]

Shouldn’t the entity that requires compliance be the one to come out look at the property and say if it meets their requirements. Others are only interpreting the requirements.

[Sully2023]

Originally Posted by Chellybean

This is a very simple solution! Have the seller sign an affidavit that the house is in compliance, and if it becomes an issue they will correct the out of compliance at there expense.

Excellent idea

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Rodneysblue

Shouldn’t the entity that requires compliance be the one to come out look at the property and say if it meets their requirements. Others are only interpreting the requirements.

Don't have the staffing.

[cjky2k]

Originally Posted by jimdecastro

The VHA had this question come up in their quarterly Town Hall this week. The District has a "buyer beware" policy. If you see an upgrade to the exterior of the house the seller must provide their ARC paperwork. You can ask the ARC for all applications for the house if you have the lot number - NOT the address - of the property. BTW, the seller's ID has the lot number on it. Once you buy the house, you accept responsibility for any infractions that came with it.

You can also search for ARC approvals on the districtgov.org website under the ARC page. You can enter a full address or a partial address. This can be very very helpful with landscaping issues, especially with rocks. Put in the just the street name. See if other houses with rocks got approval. I’d they did, and your target house didn’t, that’s a big red flag. And obviously you can find any ARC approvals for your house as well. But not all things need approval. We live in a courtyard villa and can’t change the color of our house. Shockingly, the only rule on shutter colors is “no neons) but there is no approval required. I called. Was surprised. Some CYVs
In other districts DO have approved color palates. Read your deed restrictions. Do the search for the property and street. Call community standards - they were very helpful.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Villager1234

Is there any way to find out if a house is in compliance before you buy it

Every village has Deed Restrictions posted only. There are some variations from village to village. Go online and search under Deed Restrictions Village of —————- (village you are considering). Read that carefully and compare it with your home. For example, today there is a report of homeowners being ordered to return a white picket fence they removed from the front lawn of their villa. There are villages where that little fence is a key design element for the neighborhood. If the homeowners had read the deed restrictions for their village, they would have known they weren’t allowed to remove it. Now they are going to have to pay to have a new one made and installed. They could have saved themselves a lot of grief and expense by spending a half hour reading the rules and having a look at their house.

[nn0wheremann]

Originally Posted by Villager1234

Is there any way to find out if a house is in compliance before you buy it

Read the deed restrictions for the subject property. Use a reliable tape measure. Check with Community Standards and Architectural Review to see if any alterations were allowed. File a complaint about any slightest thing that may be suspect.

As part of your contract to buy demand assurance backed by a bond that the property is in compliance.

One would think that Title Insurance policy would indemnify the purchaser against defects caused by non-compliant additions or alterations, but that seems not to be the case.

[Vermilion Villager]

Originally Posted by Villager1234

Is there any way to find out if a house is in compliance before you buy it

1. Obtain a copy of the governing documents and deed restrictions for the property. They are all online and easily obtainable even if you do not own property in the villages. The restrictions are very clearly laid out what you can and what you cannot do. Most infractions have to do with yards or trees.
2. READ THEM!!!!

[Vermilion Villager]

Originally Posted by JustSomeGuy

The current policy of requiring a complaint to investigate a violation of the community standards puts the CDD at risk of losing that deed restriction completely or being forced to notify all residents that the specific restriction is now being enforced. Legal case out of Miami sets precedent. Dealt with enclosed balconies. They were prohibited. Most condos enclosed their balconies. County made an issue and the HOA (same entity as cdd when it comes to the law and enforcing deed restrictions) announced that it was again enforcing the restriction against enclosing balconies. New resident enclosed balcony. Even though over half the condos had enclosed balconies they had to remove enclosure but the other non-compliant enclosed balconies did not have to remove their enclosure since inaction by the HOA and residents seeing other residents enclose their balconies with no enforcement caused the deed restriction to become invalid.... until it was formally reinstated on future occurrences. If a CDD knowingly allows violations then the restriction becomes invalid. The CDD is the enforcer of the deed restrictions, not a complainant. The CDD has a duty to enforce the deed restrictions evenly and fairly for all residents and on all residents. It fails this duty by allowing one neighbor to violate the same restriction because no complaints were received but enforce it on another. Of course it takes a resident with the ability to sue the CDD and stick with it to prevail. Law is clear on this and all CDD and HOA's are warned of this or should be by their counsel. If challenged a CDD can negotiate and approve the "violation" but require a confidential settlement agreement, which shields the CDD and avoids a legal case that voids their deed restrictions for all residents. They settle out of court before trial so only one resident knows (but can't tell anyone) the deed restriction is likely no longer valid. The other residents, who read the deed restrictions, assume it is still valid and comply. Case is Chattel Shipping and Inv., Inc. v. Brickell Place Condominium Ass’n, Inc., 481 So.2d 29, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2719 (Fla. App., 1985). Went to Florida Supreme Court.

Those two words blew everything else you just said out of the water. In order to prevail you would have to prove that the CDD knew the violation existed and then did nothing about it. Good luck with that!

[spinner1001]

Originally Posted by Villager1234

Is there any way to find out if a house is in compliance before you buy it

I am assuming that you an asking about a pre-owned home, and about deed compliance rather than building code compliance.

Practically, the burden is on the buyer.

I don’t believe an independent service exists to represent the buyer for assuring deed compliance. (Too many variations of legal deed restrictions in The Villages that makes a deed compliance inspection business impractical, and ARC records are not easily searchable in contrast to county real property records for deeds and liens.)

You could try to get the seller to accept responsibility for deed compliance by putting a clause in the sales contract. But if you tried to enforce that clause later against the seller when you discovered deed non-compliance, you might or might not be successful in finding and getting money from the buyer. You might need to sue the buyer to enforce the clause.

@Michael61 had a practical approach focusing on the bigger risk items for deed non-compliance. A buyer new to The Villages would need to learn to identify the bigger risk items. A visit to a CDD office such as in Lake Sumpter Landing is likely an efficient and effective way to learn about common bigger items.

But a buyer would still need to discover what items at a particular home are after-market rather than done in the original build such as a bird cage and pool. You can ask the seller of course. Searching online property records for original-build items and after-market construction would take knowledge and effort.

For a buyer new to The Villages purchasing a pre-owned home, it will take effort to learn to reduce your risk. Good luck.

[spinner1001]

Originally Posted by Vermilion Villager

Those two words blew everything else you just said out of the water. In order to prevail you would have to prove that the CDD knew the violation existed and then did nothing about it. Good luck with that!

Right. And OP very likely does not want to pay a lawyer trying prove it in a court of law and with no guarantee of winning.

[Chellybean]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Like seller going to do that when they can’t even determine it it’s in compliance. If I was seller I say move along this house is not for you.

That would send a message to me by the seller that something is wrong. disclosure is the law and even after the sale a lawsuit can be rendered to recover damages. Lots of dishonest sellers out there!

[spinner1001]

Originally Posted by Rodneysblue

Shouldn’t the entity that requires compliance be the one to come out look at the property and say if it meets their requirements. Others are only interpreting the requirements.

Only in Utopia.

[Chellybean]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

If The Villages were serious about deed restriction compliance, they would have a team to perform pre-sale inspections. Other communities, some that have an HOA, require these inspections.

Good luck with that ARC doesn't even check on the ARC permit approval once they approve it. People put it right on paper and then do what they want until its found to not be correct and then puts neighbors at odds with each other. This is not complaint driven its selective enforcement in my opinion!