[wwdgd]

I've been looking at different models of homes and think a court yard villa may be right for me. I also read that villas are popular with snow birds. I plan on being a year round resident. So here is the question: Are there neighborhoods with CYVs that have year round residents or are the neighborhoods with CYVs dead and lonely during the summer?

[New Englander]

If you are going to live alone a courtyard villa may be too big.

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by wwdgd

I've been looking at different models of homes and think a court yard villa may be right for me. I also read that villas are popular with snow birds. I plan on being a year round resident. So here is the question: Are there neighborhoods with CYVs that have year round residents or are the neighborhoods with CYVs dead and lonely during the summer?

We rented a CYV from July through September while house hunting. The neighborhood was pretty empty July and August. Some returned in September. We bought a designer and less than 5 homes on our street are snowbirds.
The CYV are very nice and I know many singles that are very happy living in a CYV.

[Toymeister]

If you find a CYV that you like lookup the tax records on that street. If the mailing addresses are out of town you have snowbirds or absentee landlords.

[Fredman]

CV. For sale in the village of Santiago. Friendly neighborhood. I think the listing is ERA. Located on. Santa Cruz Drive

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by wwdgd

I've been looking at different models of homes and think a court yard villa may be right for me. I also read that villas are popular with snow birds. I plan on being a year round resident. So here is the question: Are there neighborhoods with CYVs that have year round residents or are the neighborhoods with CYVs dead and lonely during the summer?

Using this Santa Cruz from The above post as an example 14 of 47 do not live there full time, as told by tax records. At least three are clearly rentals as the owners have a mailing address in TV. A few are within 100 miles, I bet they are rentals as well. Maybe it is good to have some as rentals, after all you will be seeing new faces.

It seems to me that overall this Santa Cruz CYV has a good percentage of ft owners.

Point is there is plenty of room for facts in this discussion, vice opinions of those correspond to this thread.

[Goldwingnut]

Our CYV neighborhood, Ventura Villas, is about 40% full time and the rest is mainly our friends that are seasonal residents. The amount of full time residents has been slowly creeping up over the last 4 years. The dynamics of the neighborhood change as our neighbors come and go through the course of the year, never in a bad way. We look forward to our friends to return every year and are sad to see them leave but at the same time we enjoy the quieter months with less crowding throughout The Villages. The CYV communities are no different than any of the other communities in The Villages as far as the thinning population during the summer months, it just seems a little more noticeable here because the homes are a little closer together.

Pets, privacy, and less yard maintenance are the big drivers for most everyone I know who lives in a CYV. CYVs are very popular for these reasons. If you watch the building cycle for a village the CYVs tend to be the first areas built and always sell out quickly. This hasn't gone unnoticed by the developer, the development plans for CDD-12 (Fenney and the Southern Oaks areas) are slated for about 50% CYVs, nearly double the 20-25% seen in the rest of the areas of The Villages.

CYVs have also changed a lot over the years due to demand. 2 car garages and stretches of the rooms are more common now, and floor plan changes that add an inside laundry room and walk in shower are very common now in the Fenney area.

You'll not be lonely unless you choose to be.

[OpusX1]

Our Villa neighbor hood, Belmont Villas, is about 50/50. Many neighbors travel for a couple weeks in the summer. In general the entire Villages are quieter June-September.

[sallybowron]

We live here year round, have a cyv and there are plenty of people here full time. Beauclair villa in osceola hills at soaring eagle. There are some for sale now.

[Sgroemm]

I agree with Goldwingnut, every single neighborhood in TV seems to swell with population in the winter and thins in the summer. I do not think there is one neighborhood that could be described as "dead and lonely" so free your mind of that concern. As you join various activities, you will be so busy out and about that you will not even be concerned who is next door. Personally I live in a CYV and love the quiet of my backyard in the summer and the extra choices of where to sit at the neighborhood pool in July and August.

Some things I considered in choosing my CYV and its location: no carpet and updated flooring inside, no grass to mow outside (many CYV still have small lawns to mow), Block and stucco over siding , proximity to the square(s) I like the best, updated roof and bathrooms (I don't want to renovate, you may be willing to), and integrity of the major systems (A/C, electric, etc.) I did look for 2 years before buying and the one I bought was screaming at me "I'm the one, I'm the one" I knew it as soon as I walked into the door. Be sure to check 3 places: MLS listings, Listings with the Realty Exec. in the Villages and FSBO. Know that there is not one convenient place for all listings!

[Chatbrat]

CYV , can be a parking nightmare as depicted on the not to be mentioned online news source--max density with angled driveways- is why we went o a designer-the older we get , we need more maneuvering room

[BRN_RI_FL]

18 new courtyard villas still available in Phillips Villas. We are back and forth between The Villages and RI but most of the residents we’ve met at Phillips are full time residents. Within about a mile golf cart ride are health centers, Publix, drug store, gas station, rec center, pizza, Chinese food, Beef O’Brady’s, a brand new Cody’s, etc. We are very happy here. Many of our neighbors have moved here from other parts of The Villages and are also very happy with their move.

[BRN_RI_FL]

Originally Posted by Chatbrat

CYV , can be a parking nightmare as depicted on the not to be mentioned online news source--max density with angled driveways- is why we went o a designer-the older we get , we need more maneuvering room

Angled driveway was a bit of a pain for the first few weeks but we don’t give it much thought now.

[BRN_RI_FL]

One more thing. If you don’t like dogs don’t get a courtyard villa. Most residents here have dogs but usually of the smaller variety.

[John_W]

From my personal experience, our street in Southern Star Villas has 13 CYV's and 3 are snowbirds and 10 are fulltime. Things may seem dead in the summer because it's usually about 95 degrees in the afternoon and the outside is all concrete and asphalt, so sitting, standing, walking in your neighborhood isn't a summertime event. Usually most are at the pool, the golf course, the movies or inside in the A/C. We're probably a bit different, there is only one home with a dog out of the 13, however the next street over has many dogs, so every place is different.