They can track ages via the Villages ID cards.

Well, there are some people in The Villages who are somewhat “quaint,” to be kind about it. I’ll bet there would be a lot more “quaint” decorations if it weren’t for the “quaintness patrol” people reporting on deviations from normality. (Laughing)

Answers were honest even though not what you wanted.

What would the practical difference be were The Villages to have its own police force? Residents would have to pay for it, of course, but what would the advantage be? Is there a crime issue that's not being addressed by the area police forces now? What if a "Villages Police Force" amounted to three people? The FAQ could then say "Yes" to that question, and most people would find that much more misleading, in my view. I don't see the issue with the way they answered this question. They clearly state that policing is handled on the local/county level. I read "local" as the towns in the counties involved.

Again, I don't see what the issue with this is. When the question is posed whether TV is a city or town, the answer is that it's a 55+ active retirement community. What difference would it make as to whether TV existed in a city or town? Do The Villages rules/regulations/restrictions supersede federal/state/county/town laws? Are you or any prospective buyer unaware of HOAs and how they impact community life? They exist all over the place. Due diligence is key.

On this, I agree. The way they chose to answer this question is misleading. I don't know if that was an intentional motive, of course. Here's the thing: they are absolutely correct about the point-to-point mileage between TV and Orlando. Where they skew the answer is by adding "via Florida's Turnpike".

Many people are not aware that you can do "point-to-point" mileage calculations in Google Maps. You do so (on a desktop/laptop, at least) by opening Google Maps and find your starting point. Then, right-click on that starting-point location. A context menu will come up on screen. You'll see "Measure Distance" as one of the options in that menu. Left-click on Measure Distance. Now, find your end-point that you want to find the direct point-to-point mileage for and left-click on that. You'll see a straight-line appear between those two points, and the mileage will be shown at the bottom of the map. Of course, roads don't usually go on straight lines. There's water, communities, etc., that the roads circumvent. But were you able to fly, this would be the distance between the two points.

What I did was find an easier way. I opened up Google Maps, and then did the "Directions" routine. I entered "The Villages, FL 32162" as the starting point, and "Orlando, FL" as the end point. Then I did the "Measure Distance" routine. Google Maps chose the intersection of Buena Vista Blvd and 466 as The Villages starting point. (I know this because I zoomed in on the map to see close up where Google Maps was selecting its location balloons.)

Google Maps chose downtown Orlando - essentially the center of town - as the end point. The direct point-to-point mileage between these points? ~46 miles. However, the Florida Turnpike directions (and Route 301) between these two points was ~62 miles. That's not insignificant.

See image below. I put a red rectangle on the image of the map where the Measure distance is stated. You'll also see the Florida Turnpike calculations:

https://i.imgur.com/wgAvY4R.jpg

As my father use to say, "they didn't lie just toyed with the truth!"

When it comes to material things......Believe in nothing, until you can prove it factually.

Thanks for honesty. I want to Sell my house.

Thanks have to remember this one

Product advertising and the news does the same thing.
I, myself saw this starting years ago in everything... Years ago in my life it started with buying a new car/ car salesman. (Step Grandfather was one)
Some see it as a spin, some believe these people who answer this way to the letter. It’s just a generality.
For me, I don’t believe anything anymore, “just the facts ma’am.”
Yes, it means I have to spend hours sometimes finding out the truth or facts as I call it.
I find those type of answers despicable, always have always will.
Weasels are not great mascots for human kind. I aspired to be better than that in my life. We grew up with weasels being depicted in cartoons as having those traits, so for our generation, at least we understand what that truly means, and I agree.

No one needs to "toy with the truth here to sell homes".

For 14 years I have watched them sell. (I am not a realtor . My husband and I had built 10 homes over time in Ohio and Indiana.) I have not ever seen a phenomena like The Villages. In our Village when the view lots went up for sale at Bridgeport at Laurel Valley, they all sold within several hours. We missed out. We are satisfied with our lot and have watched several homes sell here in the last nine years for over 100K more than was paid for them.

In Hadley where we bought our first house here the homes that went for sale sold quickly and at a greater price than was paid for them.

No one needs to lie about The Villages. Jealous people will quickly tell you any minuses and the common Joe and Karen on the street are going to lavish you with wonderful stuff if you engage them.

Only if you are new here do you think that people have to fib to sell houses in The Villages.

I am not a realtor. I was a pre-school teacher for decades. I really am not crazy about most realtors.

Yes sir! I would like to buy your home! What Village are you in and what price would you sell it for? This is a serious inquiry. Thanks so much!

I think the point is that if they will lie about these little simple things, how can you trust anything else they say or promise about bigger things. I think many of the buyers south of 44 have experienced that. Would they have bought there if the developers had been honest about the timing of amenities, access, etc.? And now if they want to move north it will not be easy or inexpensive. These people are billionaires, so why do they need to lie about anything any more?

I have been here for 8 years, so not new. We were lied to our faces. Now maybe the TV rep only told us what they were told, or maybe they made up their own lies, I don’t know. But given the premium you pay for homes here we had valid questions about build-out and the easement and it’s use and were lied to about both. Regarding the latter, I don’t think we would have bought this property if we had known the truth. And if I had known there will never be build out, I am not sure I would have bought here at all. Given the premium we paid for a home here I felt that the value would be locked in after build out. Now, I am not so sure.

What are you crying about?
 

If you would do your diligence before buying in TV you would know that people over 55 can buy a home here, our police protection is provided for the most part by Sumter County (also Marion, Lake, Lady Lake City, Fruitland Park City and Wildwood City), there are sinkholes all over this area, the mileage to Orlando is not to the airport, there is a large industrial park bordering a southern portion of TV and there is also a federal prison. CSX operates a large rail switching yard in Wildwood and operates trains during the day and night. We pay our property taxes as determined by our county commissioners, to the respective counties we reside in, not the developer and the roads are maintained by those counties. The country clubs, the town squares and most, if not all commercial property is owned and maintained by the developer or those that lease the property. The executive golf courses, and the flowers and shrubbery along our roadways are maintained by our ammenities fees we pay monthly.
I may not have covered all of the issues I have seen on this thread but the cry babies on this site need to get their facts straight. This is the best place I could live in and I am so thankfull I chose to live in The Villages.

YES: A factual lie
 

We were told in 2014 TV would not build beyond 44.

Should have said they would not build beyond Miami.