[darbyduff]

I'm looking at the new home prices and we found that the best price for the sq ft is the Villa's. (3 bdrm approx $200,000 ( block ) Inside laundry ..... I was so sure that the Jasmine (Designer) was the best for us but that price just went out of the ball park. (In March it was in our ball park) Please help out there!!!!

Any villa owners or others who have just purchased a Designer and bought around $200,000. I think the thing that we didn't like about the villas was they looked like townhomes.. No front lawns, they didn't look like "real" homes. It was a lot of homes in a small area. There was no individuality to any of them. And based on this web site - there may be a bit of a stigma to Villa owners. Give me your ideas.

[Barefoot]

I agree that the Villa's don't have much "curb appeal". They do look "joined" like townhouses. The designers definitely look better from the street. I couldn't agree more. As a former real estate broker, I understand curb appeal. But then you don't live in the street!!

I think that the people who buy Villas do so because they are seeking a yard for their pets, plus perhaps a bit more privacy. I don't know the statistics, but I'd be willing to bet the majority of buyers of Villa's do so because of the fenced yard, which (it is my understanding), you're not allowed to have in any other model. Hey, Darbyduff, it all comes down to personal preference!

[darbyduff]

And Barefoot.... That is really one of the considerations... Our dogs! Right now, early in the morning we open up the back door and let them run in the back yard..... doing their thing while we put the coffee on..... Then around 8:00 we put the leash's on and go for a walk.... But if we lived in a village home.... that would change... Big time. I think that's why I'm trying to talk myself into a Villa. And I'm sorry to all you Villa owners out there BUT..............They don't look cool at all! (i am soooo sorry... forgive me)

(Thank you Barefoot for stating the obvious!!!)

[Barefoot]

Darbyduff, you need to get some sleep!!

You are right that Villa's don't look cool. I couldn't agree more, and my husband had the same problem with "no curb appeal".
We bought a villa for our two furry boys.

Think of this, you get up in the morning, make coffee, in your pj's. Wander out to the patio, with your dogs. What a great thing, to be able to enjoy your back yard with your pets, in your pjs's, no worry about other neighbours that may not enjoy your doggies.
You can also sunbathe nude (yeh, right).

Good luck with your decision, I'm sure your intuition will guide you.

[villagerjudy]

All Villa neighborhoods are different so to the "Great Neighborhood Villas" I apologize. We had a villa first. Actually loved the house since it was a Model and decorated beautifully but......it didn't feel like the friendly village neighborhoods that we had seen. Probably 50% were rentals so we never knew who would be next door and there just seemed to be a lack of togetherness. We went looking....oh yes there is a furry friend. We found a house with almost a third of an acre back yard with a black fence behind us. We have an invisible fence and doggie doors. Love the neighborhood....have the privacy....dog safety. Keep looking and you will find the perfect place.

[Avista]

Darbyduff, We live in a Villa and just love it. We wanted to get away from grass cutting etc. The little bit we have can be cut in 10 minutes with an electric mower. We were especially looking for a small back yard--but large enough for our dogs to exercise. As far as stigma goes--I may be naive, but I've never felt this. Our neighborhood is VERY friendly. Yes, they all look alike. That is a downside, but if you drive through the more mature areas with added landscaping, the look improves. I love the privacy. We all want something different. As for us, we only looked at Villa's. We have the Stoneybrook (block) it is the same as the Annamarie in the Vinyl siding. My house has a lot of tile--which I wanted. Our model has a kitchen nook--which we wanted. It also has a double sink in the master bath--another thing we wanted. Most of our neighbors are fulltime, some are snowbirds. We are a friendly group.

[Lil Dancer]

We used to have a patio villa but traded for a gardenia. The villa was more private - we had a nice front porch and couldn't hear neighbors, other than the dog across the street that barked all day long. The gardenia has a lanai on the back that faces our neighbor's lanai - we dont' like that. But we still have privacy in the front of the gardenia, so that is our quiet space. The villa neighborhood we were in did have a lot of rentals, so it wasn't as close knit as our new community. But I personally hated the look of the villas - reminded me of army barracks. Even withthe landscaping, etc., I couldn't get past the look of those things. We looked at the Jasmines' as well. My concern iwth them is the lack of light in the living room. There are no side windows, jusst your lanai door, and at certain times of day they seemed very dark. Our neighbors out back have one, and that's they're main complaint. But to compensate, they spend all they're time on they're lanai. So, there are pluses and minuses. We have more room in the gardenia than the villa, and the main thing is our garage is bigger. Hated fighting space concerns in the villa. sounds like the fenced in yard is nice for pets. We don't have one so that is not an issue for us. Good luck!

[Frangyomory]

You really need to look around at a few Villa neighborhoods. I live in Cherry Vale in Tall Trees. Almost all of us have done landscaping to beautify our front and back yards. We look more individual now that we have been here for two years and our landscaping is maturing. I will grant you that some of the Courtyard Villa streets look like the barracks in MCRD San Diego but it is up to the owner to do the landscaping and change that. Suggest you drive through Tall Trees and along Cherry Vale Villas. You will be happily surprised. Lots of landscaping, trees, flowering bushes, river rocks, etc. to make this a unique neighborhood. I am sure there are other Villa neighborhoods that have done this as well.

I love my courtyard villa and our dog, Babe, really loves her backyard. We bought a corner lot and she can meander all around the house and enjoy herself. Of course, when you landscape, you have to keep it up and that makes our block and neighborhood look really great!
:bigthumbsup:

[fraurauch]

We bought a Jasmine and I agree, they are too dark in the living room area. We have been thinking of adding sky lights. Anyone have any ideas on contractors who do this?

[togabill]

Wow. We have lived in a courtyard villa for the past two years. Couldn't be happier about it and would never move. Great neighbors, group activities. Good luck in your search.

[darbyduff]

Knew I could count on all of you. What I LOVED best about the Jasmine was the eat-in kitchen but didn't think about the darkness (And that matters to me) I understand you can not put in Skylites like I have in my home in Colorado. Just a round thingie which gives you a little bit of light. Right???

At first we were thinking about putting in an invisible fence for our 2 friends BUT boy did that get lambasted on this site. You would have thought we were going to Barbecue the dogs. Everyone came out of the woodwork to tell me how bad it was for the dogs...won't even touch that subject again!!!!

Will go to Tall Trees to look at what you guys have done! Great idea. We had Villas completely crossed off our radar but are revisiting that. Thanks guys!!

[kar guy]

D D WE WILL ALSO BE PURCHASING A VILLA. FOR ONE WE HAVE 2 DOGS AND ALSO WE WANT THE PRIVACY. WHEN WE WERE DOWN TO TV IN APRIL AND RENTED A 3 BEDROOM RANCH FOR 6 DAYS EVERY TIME WE WENT INTO THE FLORIDA ROOM EVERYONE THAT HAD A RANCH HOME AROUND US WOULD LOOK OUT THEIR WINDOW TO SEE WHAT WE WERE DOING. NOT MY IDEA OF BEING BY MYSELF. TAKE CARE THE KAR GUY. SEE YOU WHEN WE GET THERE I HOPE.

[bamafan]

D D Why don't you try renting a villa to try the lifestyle. Everytime we visited TV we rented a different type home. Go to www.****.com and look for The Villages for owner rentals. I think that when you get to TV you and husband will find most of everything that you want in a package that you can afford. It can and will drive you crazy. So much to choose from so little time. We did not get everything, but we remained flexible. We started out wanting a Villa, a Grantham, we stayed in one and decided there were some things that we did not like. The Gardenia was our first love and everytime we looked at something else we came back to it, which is what we bought. We decided that when we went down we would just know that this was home. After looking at a lot of homes we found our Gardenia, we had been looking at Jasmines. It will work out. God has a plan, St. Joseph worked didn't he. Bama

[darbyduff]

Hey Bama -

Long time no hear.......!!!

As silly as this sounds - Can't rent. (I guess that's not right...) Maybe what I mean is...don't want to bring everything down including dining rm, bedrm set etc and either have to put everything in storage (if the rental has furniture or certainly have to move twice. We will be down from Sept 5th to the 9th. This is our 3rd time down there and I am glued to this site and the TV site so we really don't think we'll have too much trouble. Shoot... I slept with the floor plans after the first trip down there 2 years ago. And Bama- don't you think a woman knows when you walk into a home....You just know that that house is the one your meant to have..... That woman's intuition thingy thing!!

But beware Villagers ........ Remember those dates above.....We will be the couple that is roving up and down the streets at all hours wandering around the outside of the new homes...and just down right acting very suspicious..... Don't call 911.....It's just us!!!!!!

[bamafan]

You go Darby. We hope that you decide on Duval and we can be neighbors.