I helped in the clean up effort after hurricane Katrina in Biloxi. The hurricane leveled everything from block homes, apartment buildings, casinos, and large commercial buildings. Whatever was in its path was destroyed.

You can't worry too much about the home you choose. Every home, frame, block, or tilt wall is constructed to withstand hurricane force according to updated hurricane code. If I were you, I would do this

1. Google the pros and cons of vinyl vrs stucco which are exterior finishes and Frame vrs concrete block, vrs tilt wall which is how the home was constructed. Decide which you feel is best for you.

2. Call an insurance agent and ask for quotes on each style of home. Frame, block, tilt wall.

3. Look at sinkhole and flood maps. Avoid areas you see that may be trouble.

4. While purchasing, ask the realtor to review the cost of property taxes and the bond. Different cities and counties have varying millage. Some bonds in one area are lower than in others.

4. Relax! You did the best you could do. If a tornado or hurricane hits your home, just like in Biloxi, nothing you or anyone can do. Rebuild and move on with your life.

Not seeing where value is re-cooped for block and not for vinyl in T V. For Villas, they are what they are and pricing is what it is. Manufactured homes are priced very similar to new homes, after all its "the lifestyle" one is purchasing. The new construction buyer pays T V the upcharges. After that it's all the same pot for pre-owned and paid bond is a cherry on top!

I think most would prefer block or cement walls , strictly from a storm point of view. Aesthetically I prefer siding and am not that concerned about being destroyed by a hurricane. Tornadoes destroy every thing they touch.

We have had two of block and vynal. No difference in noise or AC cost. A lot more in out door maintenance cost of block because must be painted every few years and you have cracks to repair plus water stains if irrigation hits side. Most people just listen to sales pitch that block is better because people pay more for it so think it is better. Get floor plan and neighborhood you want.

Sorry to say this but vinyl homes look ugly, they look like a mobile home. Stick frame homes with 2x6 construction with hardi board and the same plans as the block homes, then you would have a more equal decision to make. Have you ever seen a vinyl home in a premier neighborhood? NO.
Check out 2yr old neighborhoods with vinyl siding and some of the siding is loose, dirty or discoloring, and you can tell the house plans are quite different than the block homes: smaller, 2 car garages, etc…
For hurricanes, I’ve always heard block homes will withstand the winds better too

While I consider block superior, I live in a 1200 sq ft courtyard villa that is stick built. Sometimes I can hear a car go by outside or a delivery being made, but not usually, and I think that is due to sound through the windows. My highest AC bill has been $122, last month, with the AC set at 73° all the time. I’d love to double the amount of insulation in the roof, but payback at that rate might be twenty years.

Block with no eaves (as often seen in Bermuda) is safer in a hurricane than stick built, BUT, the most important thing is that the roof trusses be well-fastened to the walls and that the sheathing on the trusses be fully nailed down to the trusses, according to the current building code. The damages from Hurricane Andrew in the Miami area were made much worse by shingles barely tacked on, sheathing with inadequate nailing and nails that often missed the trusses, and trusses merely toenailed to the top plates of the walls instead of being secured with Hurricane tie plates properly nailed. This is the case with block walls as well! These details are crucial. That’s why insurers will give you a big break if a hurricane mitigation test shows with photo evidence that your house has been properly built. One difference with 2x4 or 2x6” stud walls, however, is that the walls need to be properly bolted onto the slabs. I suspect that all of these things have been done with all Villages housing for the past twenty years. My first house here was stick built in 1998 and was properly fastened down.

So, yes, block is safer, but only if the roof is properly attached. But block can be harder to insulate. Most stick houses have 6” of fiberglass, but bock houses here may have only one inch of foam or less. A lot of the new housing going in uses what is called the Superior Wall System. This was developed for basements, but has been used above ground for thirty years. It’s terrific. Eight inch prefab walls made up of 2” of 6,000 psi concrete, 1” of styrofoam blue board, and 6” reinforced concrete studs. Between the studs there is room for 6” of fiberglass. These walls are strong, silent, and well insulated. Much better than block walls. Far better insulated.

Then there are the shingles. Shingles have to be nailed down properly. Were yours? Do you know how to tell? The ideal is nailed by hand. Pneumatic nailers have to be set just right so they don’t tear the shingles, and the right nailing pattern is always required. Inexpensive shingles are much more likely to suffer hurricane damage than stiffer, stronger architectural grade shingles, but those do cost quite a bit more, and they may not be allowed in some courtyard villa neighborhoods where all the roofs are the same. These days the best shingles also have tabs at the edges that gradually melt in the heat and over several months glue down to the shingles below them. They are more likely to survive high winds.

Where'd you get this info? So not true.

Tornadoes
 

Google up “tornado in the villages” and look closely at the photos of the houses. We were here visiting a few days after the storm and saw it ourselves. The block homes were tunnels with everything blown out .you can see the damage done to the frame houses. Not much difference. Catastrophic damage to both with 150 mph winds

AC
 

I don't think that is necessarily true. I moved from Block to stick and vinyl. My highest electric bill was under $150.00 the Block home was much higher but was 400 sq ft large. My only problem has been this house is so tight and insulated so well that the AC does not always run long enough to keep the humidity level down.

I had 2 choices when I bought my CYV. 3 Block houses in one Village were discounted due to not selling. They backed up against Morse/Warm Springs round a bout and a golf cart path. OR identical models of frame houses closer to Sawgrass that backed up against the far end of the bocci ball court and a pond. (Both were almost the exact same price) I chose the quieter location with frame house and IT’S SO QUIET. I’m confused by people saying they can hear noise from inside a frame house? I can’t! I couldn’t tell you when my neighbors are home except from trash in the driveway on garbage day. Choose your favorite location. Don’t worry about frame or block. I did quite a bit of research and my brother is a contractor in Orlando. We were born and raised right here in Leesburg.

I wouldn't buy a frame house anywhere in the country if concrete was available and I could afford it, but because of hurricanes? 80 miles from the ocean? Puuleeeze!

My 20-year-old frame Texas home, 80 miles from the ocean and built to no windstorm standard whatsoever, withstood three level-five hurricanes, without so much as losing a shingle. In one case, the eye passed directly over my house. How is that possible? Because a level 5 is barely a level 1 by the time it crosses 80 miles of land.

My Oklahoma home was at far greater risk from windstorms than my Texas home, and I actually did lose half my roof to a tornado one time. Nothing withstands a level-5 tornado, not even concrete. The level-one remnants of one of those passed over my house one time, too, after leaving an 80 mile path of destruction all the way from OKC to Tulsa. And yet, for some strange reason, my Oklahoma insurance was a quarter of my Florida insurance, even adjusted for inflation.

You ought to get a 75% discount for insuring a concrete house built to hurricane standards 80 miles from the ocean in the Villages. The fact that you don't tells you everything you need to know about the Florida insurance industry.

The appearance? Frame houses are so much nicer looking than block, your comment surprises me.

The block houses in older villages look much older than the vinyl ones.

Many people will not buy a house with vinyl siding because of the appearance. As far as I know, none of the premier houses or high end designer houses have vinyl siding. Note that it would be easy to build a house with vinyl siding that was better insulated for heat transfer and noise reduction than the typical block house, but some people would not buy it because of the appearance. But, it is a personal preference.

What does the model of home have to do with it? When I drive around, the vinyl homes still look clean and neat years after built date. The stucco/block homes, whether high end designer or premier, look years older than they are.

Premier homes are built from block/stucco because you can create a more stately and grand appearance. But, after built, a month or so later, they begin to look old. The home one chooses is a personal preference. Be happy!