my advice. Do not get Century Link for your Tv and internet service!

That doesn't mean that folks won't try to solicit.

New homeowners are usually deluged with doorbell ringers. I say to WAIT to do anything for at least six months and that includes buying a golf cart. Well maybe three months...and consider a used one.

But I want my golf cart! Thank you. LOL

No point waiting, you'll eventually buy one anyway.

Be very careful to evaluate whether privacy is important to you before picking your home. Having a noisy neighbor is tough to deal with. If privacy is on the top of your list, I would ask to sit in the lanai of the home that I was considering a couple of evenings just to find out what it is like. Of course, there is no guarantee that your neighbors will not turn over.

It's WATER!
 

I'm actually a biochemist. We do NOT have any filtration system in our home. The water contains chlorine, yes. It also has fairly high levels of calcium (go figure, limestone in the area), decent levels of iron, magnesium, manganese and other trace minerals. These are all normal items you have in your body, and most people don't drink barrels of water per day to absorb too much of these. Nothing really bad in there; nothing really you could call a "serious contaminant". People make $$ selling water systems, and some people like to use "high pressure sales" to make that $$. Yes, over time, you get calcium build-up, but it can be easily cleaned with a simple solvent you can purchase anywhere. Do what YOU see fit, but need it? It's not critical...

I met a couple recently at a block party who said they have stopped asking people they meet "Where did you move here from" and instead ask "What do you wish you had done differently in your move?" I think it is a fantastic question with lots to be learned. He said the number one response has always been that people wish they had left their furniture back where they came from. Usually their old furniture is too large to fit in most of the homes here and looks out of date in a place that is so light and airy most of the time. They wish they had given the furniture away to family or charity or sold it and didn't pay the cost of shipping it to The Villages because it just doesn't work here. That is what we did and we agree with them.

Each person is different. My husband could drink the tap water and it did not bother him but I could not drink it without getting sick to my stomach. We bought a whole house water filtration system and could not be more pleased. We used the same company as several of our friends used (Pegasus) and have never regretted purchasing it for one minute. Now our water is delicious and we don't have the annoying calcium build up we had before in our first home in The Villages. I am so happy that I can get a delicious glass of water out of the tap and the water in the shower feels so great. It is true that you have to be careful with the company you deal with. Even though we used a company that was recommended by several friends, WHILE OUR SALESPERSON WAS STILL HERE, I had my husband talk to them while I went to our office and looked them up on the Better Business Bureau website and others and saw that they had a great rating and reputation. All companies are not like that, there are some crooked salespeople out there but I have to say we could not be happier with our system and would recommend it to anyone. I think, of all the improvements we have made to our home, the Pegasus water system has been my favorite improvement we have done. I also save money because we no longer have to buy bottled water. And white things like tee-shirts do not turn yellow after repeated washing in unfiltered water.

agree
 

I agree with you. We were raised in a Florida house with the well water from a private utility and lived through it. Nothing wierd about our clothes, bathing water or drinking water because it was a very deep well.

Asking for a bit of advice on buying here? Here is our two cents
1. Take your time, you can buy from a private party, use the Newspaper to look, or from an outside realtor, Remax or Grizzard are very good or from the Villages, use the Lifestyle program, they may furnish a golf cart and you pay for a villa to rent, a good deal to look around.
2. Again,,,,,,,,,,,,TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO NOT IMPULSE BUY !!!!!
3. Be Very Careful of maintenance people and sales people, you are the cash cow, you have the money and they want to get to it.
4. Maintenance, we used and really enjoyed: Action Jackson, Bill McKenzie of Gable Insulators, Tim Cox and the plumber, Isherwood. Be careful and get EVERYTHING IN WRITING and DO NOT give anyone a dime until perhaps they are 75% done.
5. Take time to write up a simple contract and get a signature and a firm time frame and no money up front, not one dime.
6. On moving here, item number one, set on the location, then on home size, then on by owner or realtor or by the Villages, and good luck.
7. Be vert dutiful on DOCUMENTATION,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, DO IT.
8. We bought an electric cart from AGC carts, they are good, they cover everything for the first year, they come out to you.

didn't know there were trains. Where are they?

They parallel 301

Very good ideas, take your time. To buy, first locate where after a lot of looking, then the model, then the price and there is plenty of Independent Realtors nearby who can be very good to deal with also.
bbbbbb

Hi, we visited three times for a month each time. Glad we did, so now,,,,,,,,,,, First determine the area, close in or not close in. Second, a house or Villa, make that decision, Third, price range and beware of grossly overpriced homes. Also there are Realtor outside of the Villages, ReMax, Grizzard etc. So the Village has a program of a Villa and a Cart and maybe bicycles. Do it all and be sure you know what you want. Do not go for the story to only offer 2 or 3 percent off when buying and be sure to be very careful,,,,,,,,,,,, Some agents have been found to speak with forked tongues, big-time.
bbbbbb :throwtomatoes:

On a new home? Have they changed the rules? You had to make a decent sized deposit if I remember...

I think he's talking about maintenance/improvements rather than new-home buying...?

Oh gotcha.

Responding to some of the comments:
Golf Cart, gas or electric? Don't believe the Gas Crap. Well, we have an Electric EzGo from AGC carts we love it their service is great, comes to our house for service free the first year. They are located near the Bonefish grill, good people for sure. Love the cart, no gas odors, no jerking clutch, just silent running.
Rain Gutters, yes or no? YES, YES. We are on a sand pile. A big sand pile that has been shoved around during construction, it can be unstable so a lot of water coming down your roof and side of house can go into the ground immediately, sand can settle and then foundation can settle!!!!! Get gutters, cheap insurance, direct the water AWAY from your foundation, do it!
Suggest you fill a fruit jar with dry sand, then add water and take a look.
On maintenance persons, no money up front, write down all the details of any work, make a copy for you and for the trade persons, have it signed, pay maybe one third only when partially finished.
Good workers? Action Jackson, Tim Cox, Bill Mckenzie with Gable Insulators, Isherwood the Plumber. The SUN paper has phone numbers.
Suggest yard workers do it by the job, not a monthly contract. Be sure to review the work before payment.
Suggest you open up the gable vents if they are not there or plugged, you need that air flow, also the newer radiant insulation sheets against your roof underneath, at the trusses makes a big difference in the attic temperature. Gable insulators does that job, it is a great addition, saw the results immediately.
Watch out for a guy, EXcalibur paving, he really screwed us around big time.
bbbbbb:wave:

Yes, Action Jackson, Timothy Cox, Bill McKenzie with Gable insulators, Isherwood Plumbing, all good, in the papers.
bbbbbb :throwtomatoes:

OK a couple of suggestions, The Village has a Lifestyle program, a villa, a golf cart, maybe bikes, and a sales person to help if you want. We liked Mr. Foster of Grizzard Realtor, Independent and there is ReMax so use them all, get to know the area. First, settle on an area, LOCATION< then a Villa or a Home, then a model then dicker on price, yes, be not stung, do not get stung, be very careful and do not believe everything you hear. Consider an Electric Cart at AGC carts, near the Bonefish Grill. We love ours. bbbbbb :smiley:

Just some brief thoughts on moving here or contemplating.
`1. You can buy from owners, in the paper or online, you can have a Village person set you up with a villa, it is called Lifestyle program. You can deal with outside licensed realtors, REMax, Grizzard, Executive Realty etc.
2. Decide first on LOCATION, again, location for sure is number one.
3. You may want a golf cart, some of the dealers push GAS, buy Gas, etc. You may hear about the LIMITED range on Electric, mostly a bunch of BS. See what they will put in writing on add ons, on maintenance and service. We dealt with AGC near Bonefish grill for the first year, they come to your home on maintenance if you get that set up in your contract.
4 DO NOT, REALLY DO NOT Rush into your first home purchase, there are many scenarios to get you to do the impulse buying,,,,,,,,,,,, you may get stung. Take your time, sleep on it for several nites, there are a lot of homes, villas, etc. available so do not hurry.
5. Before you agree to deposit one dime, get it all in writing, the Bond? The fees , the taxes etc. GET IT ALL.
If the home is pre owned, then you better do a real good personal inspection and you may want to hire a maintenance person who is recommended by someone to point out the hidden items, insulation, window fits etc. Etc.
Good luck, TAKE YOUR TIME OR ???????///

bbbbbb :ho:

As a former new yorker i would caution you re health care. The ratio of doctors to patients is very bad. Also, the villages health system now only accepts medicare advantage(not original medicare) many former nyers over 65 have medicare & good retiree health packages. We have good insurance but no doctors. Just something to keep in mind before buying in villages. Good luck.

The Villages Healthcare system is just one choice here in The Villages.. Many of us see physicians outside of that system. I would like to also point out that regular insurance of all kinds is accepted at The Villages Hospital. Several people have sent me P.M.s thinking that was not so. The Villages Hospital is not part of The Villages Healthcare system that is in the news.

The Villages Hospital was BUILT by the developer and is rented and run by the same company as the hospital in Leesburg. Health Alliance of Central Florida.

Many of us are from areas that have top notch teaching hospitals and the cutting edge in skilled physicians. The Cleveland Clinic is number one in Cardiac care. Anderson in Houston is number one in Cancer care. Philadelphia has the number one Childrens Hospital. Vanderbilt is best in handling serious contagious disease. I could go on and on. New York is your home and you love it, and the health care there is very good, and far better than here.

Florida in general doesn't rank high in health care you are correct, however there are local physicians who are adequate. I have always thought that the lack of really fine health care was the motivation behind the developer attempting to build a local good health care system. But I am told it was greed that was his motivation.

Thanks so much for starting this thread. My husband and I are closing on our home in Duval next week and we are so excited about moving to TV. All tips/hints are greatly appreciated. Can someone tell me how we pay the amenity fee - will it be included on our water bill??

Yes.

Make sure you pay it when due, I'm sure you will but this month I noticed there is a late fee imposed if not paid on time.

When is the time this bill usually arrives? Do you get the first month for free? Is there a coupon or an early bird payment special! Calm down I'm just joking except for the timing of the bill. Thank's. :thumbup:

I usually get mine before the end of the month for the next month. It's clockwork....tic....tock....tic....tock.....

Must be paid by the 12th of each month or a late charge will incur.

Thank You Sir. I'll call on monday. :thumbup:

Got mine yesterday.

I'm on Autopay with Citizens Bank for all TV bills. No late charges, ever.

Is that in real dollars or that Canadian funny money???:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl: Do they accept payment in lobster?????:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

When you buy, especially used, be sure to take care of transferring the gas and electric accounts to your name or confirm it has been done. This is not automatically done at closing and they will be shut off without notice if not taken care of. Seems like a no brainer bit it happened to us.

Hi, just a thought, it may be you can get one of the great guys we know, not really officially inspectors but probably more smarts than most.
Bill Mc Kenzie of Gable Insulators and Action Jackson is a handyman who is really great. We have known inspectors at another location who we had to show them how to open a door. In some states, not sure of here, a home inspector needs to be able to walk and talk. That is about it. bbbbbb

We bought from ACC carts, they are near Bonefish Grill in that center. They are great, good prices, we got the EzGo electric and we love it. Range is no problem and the gas pushers want to sell gas. We got turn signals, belts, good sunbrella, great seats, dash with cup holders and locking compartments, cap tray up front, extra lights, great service will come to your home for the first year on service. We really are happy with AGC and we did shop the other shops, really did a lot of looking. bbbbbb

She has a claws in her checking account to pay in loonies & toonies.

Good one!!!:bigbow::bigbow::bigbow:

People all over TOTV getting off good Lobster shots this week! Bravo. :clap2:

Beware of The Villages Health!
 

BEWARE OF THE VILLAGES HEALTH
Last summer my wife was diagnosed, by a doctor employed by The Villages Health, with the early stages of Alzheimer�s disease. We were both devastated by this diagnosis, and it very negatively affected our lives. During the same time, this same family doctor, informed me that my sodium level was somewhat low, and suggested that I eat more pretzels! This very casual suggestion, to eat more pretzels, left us with the impression this was not a very serious situation.
At the same time, this same doctor, changed another medication that I was taking to a different medication, which included HCTC (a known diuretic), which unbeknown to us seriously decreased my already low sodium level. Without a doubt this doctor should have known that prescribing a diuretic at the same time my sodium level was low was potentially a very dangerous situation, which could, without monitoring, cause drastic consequences.
For a several month period this very low sodium level caused my physical and mental abilities to deteriorate tremendously. My mental capabilities during this time were directly responsible for substantial medical costs to us (with insurance paying a much larger portion) and drastically affected our relationship, including my contemplating suicide on several occasions. Financial decisions made by me at this time resulted in substantially more expenses, beyond just medical. In essence, for several months I basically lost my mind. After I personally changed my own medication, to not include HCTC, my mental capabilities gradually returned to normal, and have remained there since.
Also during this same time my wife, upon herself, underwent additional testing for Alzheimer�s, and it was determined that the original diagnosis was NOT correct.
This family doctor, whom we both utilized and is employed by The Villages Health, is personally and directl
y responsible for two very serious medical decisions that had very severe, totally unnecessary, and potentially dangerous, consequences.
In early November of last year my wife contacted the Chair of The Villages Health requesting reimbursement for the unnecessary medical bills we incurred due to the poor decisions made by our family doctor. Over two months later we received an email from the Chief Medical Officer for The Villages Health, requesting copies of the medical bills we had incurred, and stating, �we will look at them.�
We immediately sent him copies of all the medical bills that I had incurred in dealing with this situation, amounting to several thousands of dollars. We waited for almost three months with no response, and in April we sent an additional letter inquiring about the status of this matter. It has now been almost five months since he requested copies of our incurred medical bills and we have not even had the courtesy of a response.
We would strongly recommend that all Villagers think twice about utilizing the services of The Villages Health!
Clell & Claudette Whelchel 1487 Brier Creek Circle The Villages, FL 32162 1631pbs@comcast.net

I'm grateful for all of the advice. We are new owners, we closed on our home by mail in May and will arrive tomorrow to begin furnishing our home. We are bringing very little with us, and hope to take our time, only buying what we love. We have learned so much from searching posts and topics. Thanks to all of you! We look forward to new friends and experiences.