[biker1]

They can track ages via the Villages ID cards.

Originally Posted by Dgizzi

Well I did ask my TV realtor if they sell to anyone under 55 and she NO! And it is true. why bother having TV as 55 and older. I am hearing more stories of younger people living here. TV is so large no way to keep track anyhow.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by EastCoastDawg

In the local rag a couple of weeks ago, the developer was quoted as describing TV as "a collection of quaint villages".

I guess quaintness is in the eye of the beholder.

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)

[Donb0975]

Answers were honest even though not what you wanted.

[Heyitsrick]

Originally Posted by blueash

In another thread a person suggested they were lied to about whether people under 55 could reside. That got me looking at the FAQ on Developer's website

FAQ | The Villages

While they don't exactly lie, they certainly get right up to the edge of lying. It makes me wonder why they bothered to post a FAQ if they didn't want to give a truly honest answer. The only possible reason is to mislead with a misleading answer. You think you've learned something about TV, but you've not had your question answered the way I believe it should be answered. Maybe I'm wrong about that...

Examples:
Does TV have their own Police Department? We all know the honest answer is NO. Is that the answer the FAQ gives? It is not. It gives a weasel answer that strongly suggests that the answer is yes..

The average person would very likely believe the word LOCAL means TV has a local force.

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.

Originally Posted by blueash

Is The Villages a city or a town?

The honest answer is NO. There is no citizen elected government in control. For good or for bad we are residents of a privately held corporation that sets the rules.

Again true, but they did not answer the question they posed. Misleading. We could well be a 55+ community in a city or in a town.

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.

Originally Posted by blueash

Even a simple question which is easily fact checked

How far is TV from Orlando?

Perhaps from the closest tip of Orlando to the closest part of TV it is 45 miles, but that is certainly misleading.

From Brownwood to MCO is 60 miles, to the Premium Outlet which you see from the Turnpike exit is 51 miles.

From Lake Sumter Landing add 6 miles, from Fenney Grill it is 49 miles to the Outlet.

I don't know why TV chose 45 miles as the distance from TV to Orlando for the FAQ, but it is a less than honest answer. If you just use Google and enter distance from The Villages to Orlando it gives 61.3 miles. That would have been an honest answer, or even round down to 60.

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:

[Barryb46]

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

[Joe C.]

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

[KRM0614]

Originally Posted by DeanFL

.
.
.
...OK That Does it for us!!!! The Developer LIES!!! We KNEW IT!

Thanks for this. With this understanding we plan to list our TV home we built in 2013 - and get the HEXX out of this city...I mean town...'privately held corporation that sets the rules'. All this time we thought the TV Police were protecting us - NO. And all this time we thought our car's odometer was 'off' when driving to Orlando.

We do not want to live in a city...town...'privately held corporation that sets the rules' that weasels in their communication to potential buyers. We've had enough of this. Anyone want a TV house?...
.
.
.

Thanks for honesty. I want to Sell my house.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Barryb46

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

Thanks have to remember this one

[17362]

Originally Posted by blueash

In another thread a person suggested they were lied to about whether people under 55 could reside. That got me looking at the FAQ on Developer's website

FAQ | The Villages

While they don't exactly lie, they certainly get right up to the edge of lying. It makes me wonder why they bothered to post a FAQ if they didn't want to give a truly honest answer. The only possible reason is to mislead with a misleading answer. You think you've learned something about TV, but you've not had your question answered the way I believe it should be answered. Maybe I'm wrong about that...

Examples:
Does TV have their own Police Department? We all know the honest answer is NO. Is that the answer the FAQ gives? It is not. It gives a weasel answer that strongly suggests that the answer is yes..


The average person would very likely believe the word LOCAL means TV has a local force.


Is The Villages a city or a town?

The honest answer is NO. There is no citizen elected government in control. For good or for bad we are residents of a privately held corporation that sets the rules.



Again true, but they did not answer the question they posed. Misleading. We could well be a 55+ community in a city or in a town.

Even a simple question which is easily fact checked

How far is TV from Orlando?


Perhaps from the closest tip of Orlando to the closest part of TV it is 45 miles, but that is certainly misleading.

From Brownwood to MCO is 60 miles, to the Premium Outlet which you see from the Turnpike exit is 51 miles.

From Lake Sumter Landing add 6 miles, from Fenney Grill it is 49 miles to the Outlet.

I don't know why TV chose 45 miles as the distance from TV to Orlando for the FAQ, but it is a less than honest answer. If you just use Google and enter distance from The Villages to Orlando it gives 61.3 miles. That would have been an honest answer, or even round down to 60.

Weasel answers do not make The Villages look honest and trustworthy in their approach to potential buyers. How about giving a forthright answer rather than one which is as close to a lie as you can get without crossing the line?

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.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Thanks have to remember this one

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.

[Topgun 1776]

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!

Originally Posted by charlieo1126@gmail.com

Oh My God they told me 45 miles to Orlando and now I find its 61.3, I don’t know where I’ll find the time or gas money to go there

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?

Originally Posted by graciegirl

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.

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.

[hal195z]

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.

[dadoiron]

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

Should have said they would not build beyond Miami.