[Spectreron]

Originally Posted by Donna2

I have only spent 7 days in the Villages but I don't remember any "stinkin" gas smells. The cart we had was gas and I didn't smell it in the garage or anywhere else. Is it perhaps the old carts that smell?

Was that "old carts, or old farts"?

[NJblue]

It's good that you are doing your homework on this subject now rather than after you buy. Some people at the end of our street bought a house that is on the corner of Odell and our street. They were in it for only a couple of months before putting it on the market to be sold - they couldn't tolerate the road noise.

As you can tell, the road noise does not bother some people and for others it is a deal breaker. I think the strategy that Russ Boston used is a good one - rent in various locations until you find the right trade-off of cost versus location. It seems that the pecking order of costs ranges from lots on championship golf courses down to executive courses to lots that back up to streets to interior lots, with a lot of options in between these broad categories.

The amazing thing to us was the huge variance that exists between some lots that are virtually identical. For example, our next door neighbor's lot has essentially the same view of a golf course as ours and is only marginally larger (perhaps 2 feet wider). Yet, their lot premium was $50K more than ours. To this day I can't figure out why this was the case. The moral of the story is that there are some unexplained bargains out there so when you get ready to buy, find an agent who is patient and willing to help you find them.

[Delanor]

Originally Posted by walkr

I've just read the thread about homes with a water view. Buying a house that backs up to a street is a less expensive option to get rear privacy. Could those of you who have a home that backs up to a street share your experiences: car noise, ambulances, people walking by while you are on your lanai, and (my biggest concern) any increased incidence of break-ins.

I've noticed that the houses that back up to large streets like Morse have deeper back yards. So if your house backs up to one of the smaller roads, where the houses are closer to the road, how does that affect noise, break-ins, etc?

I tried to do a search for info on homes that back up to a street but didn't find a thread that specifically covered that. So if this has already been covered, I apologize.

Thanks.

Our home in Sunset Pointe backs up to a busy street, but we love the view and feel that it is worth the sometimes noisy conditions. Also, during the day, we find it interesting to see all kinds of people pass by in their golf carts, sometimes filled with interesting looking kids and dogs. In my business (communications/public relations), the adage has always been that a picture of a building without a person in it has no life. When things calm down in the late evening, our view is spectacular, and the lanai offers a very special place in which to sip a glass of wine -- with apologies to Longfellow, it becomes a "pause in the days occupations known as" our family's hour. Oh, and after nearly five years of ownership, no break-ins that I know of in this neighborhood.

[Pturner]

If a private lanai is a priority, one option might be to consider a neighborhood on the northside. We have a private (backyard) lanai thanks in part to mature landscaping and a deep corner lot on a quite interior street.

Not everyone would want this, to be sure. I bring that up because it disheartens me when posters seem to deride other peoples' home choices. Some people love the "buz" of the 'hood, others prefer more privacy. For some, money is no object and compromise is unnecessary. For some, cost is more of a consideration and tradeoffs make sense.

Can't we just explain our own preferences without stepping on our neighbors' toes?

[Donna2]

Originally Posted by Pturner

If a private lanai is a priority, one option might be to consider a neighborhood on the northside. We have a private (backyard) lanai thanks in part to mature landscaping and a deep corner lot on a quite interior street.

Not everyone would want this, to be sure. I bring that up because it disheartens me when posters seem to deride other peoples' home choices. Some people love the "buz" of the 'hood, others prefer more privacy. For some, money is no object and compromise is unnecessary. For some, cost is more of a consideration and tradeoffs make sense.

Can't we just explain our own preferences without stepping on our neighbors' toes?

Good for you Pturner. With all those homes that I seen with kissing lanai's, I was wondering when somebody was going to say something.

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by Donna2

Good for you Pturner. With all those homes that I seen with kissing lanai's, I was wondering when somebody was going to say something.

What are we saying here. Are you saying that using the term 'kissing lanai' is stepping on someone's toes? It's just a term to indicate that a lanai backs up to another. Some people like that and some people don't care because they don't spend much time on their lanai. Nothing wrong with it and nothing wrong with the term in my opinion. If that's not the beef then what's the issue?

This has been a good thread (and a few others lately about lanais) about the pros/cons of lanai location. I don't read anything negative in 99% of the comments.

Please elaborate.

[drdodge]

find a courtyard villa that has golf view or wide open space and a low fence and you will have a private area, no one right in your backyard., There are some 0good buys with no other homes close to you I just got one with a pond view and no houses in sight. do your homework

drd

[ricthemic]

Originally Posted by Russ_Boston

Rented a home on Bailey Trl last May. We did that for the explicit reason of testing out a street lanai. It was directly across the street from the 1st/2nd hole on Cane. Beautiful view BUT way too noisy. And May is an OFF season. We couldn't even really watch a movie on the TV when we wanted to. During the day was OK but still there was a tremendous amount of foot traffic which provided no privacy either.

The first year we rented we had an interior lot with a 'kissing lanai'. NO GOOD.

Then we had the street lanai. NO GOOD.

This year we have a villa on a golf course. We are hoping this will help us make our decision.

Good luck with yours.

Help me out here Russ. On a subsequent post you said you don't see anything negative on 90 percent of the post on this subject... are you counting your own above post?

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Pturner

If a private lanai is a priority, one option might be to consider a neighborhood on the northside. We have a private (backyard) lanai thanks in part to mature landscaping and a deep corner lot on a quite interior street.

Not everyone would want this, to be sure. I bring that up because it disheartens me when posters seem to deride other peoples' home choices. Some people love the "buz" of the 'hood, others prefer more privacy. For some, money is no object and compromise is unnecessary. For some, cost is more of a consideration and tradeoffs make sense.

Can't we just explain our own preferences without stepping on our neighbors' toes?

Well said, P.

[villages07]

***HIJACK ALERT***

Hey Gracie...did you notice that your member status is now "SAGE" (as in wisdom, not the spice). Looks like admins have been messing with the titles again.

Sage for More than 2500 posts

Soaring Eagle (RussBoston) for 2000-2500

Platinum for 1500-2000

Gold for 1000-1500

and on and on.

We now return to our regular programming....

Views, lot premiums, house styles....something for everybody's taste and budget. To each his/her own!!!

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by villages07

***HIJACK ALERT***

Hey Gracie...did you notice that your member status is now "SAGE" (as in wisdom, not the spice).

The shoe fits!

HIJACK OVER AND OUT

[Donna2]

Originally Posted by Russ_Boston

What are we saying here. Are you saying that using the term 'kissing lanai' is stepping on someone's toes? It's just a term to indicate that a lanai backs up to another. Some people like that and some people don't care because they don't spend much time on their lanai. Nothing wrong with it and nothing wrong with the term in my opinion. If that's not the beef then what's the issue?

This has been a good thread (and a few others lately about lanais) about the pros/cons of lanai location. I don't read anything negative in 99% of the comments.

Please elaborate.

Rented a home on Bailey Trl last May. We did that for the explicit reason of testing out a street lanai. It was directly across the street from the 1st/2nd hole on Cane. Beautiful view BUT way too noisy. And May is an OFF season. We couldn't even really watch a movie on the TV when we wanted to. During the day was OK but still there was a tremendous amount of foot traffic which provided no privacy either.

The first year we rented we had an interior lot with a 'kissing lanai'. NO GOOD.

Then we had the street lanai. NO GOOD.

This year we have a villa on a golf course. We are hoping this will help us make our decision.

Good luck with yours.

Yea, we don't want to get negative, do we Russ?
__________________

[golfnut]

pturner, you are spot on (btw I back up to a lesser traveled street and love it, although i can see how you could live on a more traveled street and still mitigate the circumstances very easliy with landscape)...gn

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by Donna2

Yea, we don't want to get negative, do we Russ?
__________________

Those aren't negative towards anyone. Those are MY feelings. In other words NO GOOD for me and my wife. As I mentioned some people like back to back lanais. Some like street lanais. Some like water lanais. Some like golf lanais. And some like villa fenced lanais. I'm just trying to find what we like. I didn't put anyone down. If you read a negative tone into my words then that's on you. If you read the majority of my 2000 posts you'll see I'm not a negative person. If you knew me you'd know that as well.

What bothers me more is that instead of helping the question that was asked about pros/cons of a lanai on a street you hijack the thread and say we're being negative. I did rent on a street and voiced what my findings were for me. My posts were not negative and I stand by that.

[BobKat1]

FWIW I didn't see any of your comments as being negative.

I don't live in TV so it might be a more sensitive issue to those that do. Just a thought.