[Laker14]

I'm still up here in the frigid Northeast. I've turned the magic age of 55. Some friends of mine have recently bought in TV, and have planted the seed of interest in me.

REading through the threads so far I've learned a lot of nice things are happening in your community. My interest grows.

I am asking you to share with me your knowledge of things to consider while shopping for my home in TV. For example, I've learned that there are some RR Tracks that I should be mindful of.

If you know of things to avoid, or things to look for that might not be immediately obvious to someone not terribly familiar with TV life, please pass them on to me here.

Thanks.

[Talk Host]

Hi Laker

I can address the railroad tracks. I live 1000 yards from them. Until recently is was a problem. The train horns were loud. There is now a new "train horn rule" that has lowered the output level of train horns nationwide and for the first time since we moved here, we can't hear them. I can say that I have not heard a train in over a week. It really is no longer a problem.

JLK

[njgranny]

You won't believe it until you see it. I never wanted to live in Florida and/or a 55 community. Then we went to visit the Villages. I was completely in love with it, and really hope we can get there. We've visited on one-day trips twice, and done a six-day preview visit. It's so wonderful there - it's like a dream.

[JohnN]

I'd strongly urge you to spend at least a week (if not a month) on a lifestyle tour or rental in a type of home (and preferably the area) that you'd like.
Different people have different needs/interests/finances/etc.

We did, and feel we didn't really make any mistakes when we bought, we're very happy. It's great here, no matter what you choose.

[ijusluvit]

It's hard to describe a place that almost everyone really loves. You have to experience it. If you are very cautious, or even a skeptical person, the chances are you will be excited after only one visit. If you're a fun lover, you will be hopelessly hooked.
One of the advantages to TV is that what you see is what you get. There are a limited number of home designs in your budget range. All of the neighborhoods have terrific common facilities. Now that the trains are quieter, there are only a few "issues" anywhere: living on or near a busy street; golf ball flight areas, a loud pet next door, maybe a sewage treatment plant odor somewhere near St. Charles; whether you prefer to be close to a town square; whether you prefer the privacy of a villa or the openness of designer home.
A surprisingly large number of people say they bought a home during or right after their first visit, and that they are very happy they did. Come on down, look at houses, drive through all the neighborhoods. Talk to everybody, especially people who work here. Read all the stuff about what's offered here and what costs are.

Good luck, and may this be your Happiest New Year!

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by JohnN

I'd strongly urge you to spend at least a week (if not a month) on a lifestyle tour or rental in a type of home (and preferably the area) that you'd like.
Different people have different needs/interests/finances/etc.

We did, and feel we didn't really make any mistakes when we bought, we're very happy. It's great here, no matter what you choose.

Where a lot of people mess up when it comes to Florida is that the climate and pace doesn't match life north of the Mason-Dixon.

As far as the climate is concerned, I'd suggest a minimum of three trips here, with one of the trips between July 15th and August 25th. Summer here shakes a lot of Northerners as being extreme. It is something you adapt to, just the same as people adapt to ice and snow. However, a trip during summer is a "due diligence" experience so that you know what you're getting into. The additional cost for these trips isn't that bad, when looked at as being part of the overall house (and move) cost, and the fewer surprises, the better.

Be sure when you come that you program time to ride around here - by yourself - several times to learn the topography. Viewing a map is one thing, while really knowing where you are is so much better. If you decide to fly to Orlando and take the shuttle here, rent a golf car for the time here, and Enterprise rent-a-car is in Lake Sumter Landing for substantial transport. I'd include time to ride to and through Ocala, Inverness, Crystal River, Leesburg, and everywhere else within a 40-mile circle of The Villages that time permits. See if you really want to LIVE here, as opposed to short-term touristing.

The pace of things here mirrors the climate. Things are slower here, especially outside of TV, as compared to the urban north. So, if you expect the locals to rush through things at New York speed, you will be disappointed and frustrated. There's a popular bumper sticker that says "We don't care how you did it up North" and that really is the theme here.

I've lived half my life in Central Fl, with the other half in many other places, including New England. To me, CentFL is fabulous, but you must be ready to adapt to it, rather than the other way around.

[Herb]

I would add that it's important to know the type of people on your proposed street. Having lots of renters or snow birds can give a differewnt flavor to a street. Not bad just ifferent.

[swrinfla]

Laker14:

First of all, to TOTV. Keep looking and you'll learn all there is to know about this little bit of Paradise.

with all the others answering your question. Despite the many stories we see and hear of folks who impulsively buy on their first day here, I agree wholeheartedly that you need to come, stay, see, watch, learn, observe, taste. But, be careful: if you drink the Kool-Aid, you'll be absolutely hooked.

SWR

[Laker14]

Thanks folks,

keep the info coming!!

Dan L

[jeffy]

I think that being on a cul de sac makes for more friendly neighbors. The only thing that we do not have in our home that I would have liked is a golf cart garage. Storage here, without a basement , is at a premium.

If you buy on a golf course make sure you are NOT in the ball flight path, which usually means being just behind the tee boxes.

For some reason the villages seems to charge a premium for lots that back up to a road (even a busy road). I would rather have neighbors behind me than constant traffic, especially as most master bedrooms are in the back of the home.

Many people swear by preowned. We just finished (last month) house shopping for the in-laws. We found MUCH better deals in the new homes, even with the 20k bond. If you do shop preowned, I would try putting in a low offer (no dickering on new home prices).

Check out www.sallylovesells.com for her 20 most recent price drops in TV if you look for preowned. If you shop preowned I would shop with a villages agent. It seems to me that homes listed with TV are lower priced than those listed with outside agents. The reason for this is that TV agents can show you both new and preowned. Outside agents can only show you those homes listed with outside agents, no new homes.

I would never buy a home with a pool. The neighborhood pools here are almost never crowded. I would look for a home with a large birdcage or at least room to add one. We spend a lot of time on our expanded birdcage.

jeffy

[Muncle]

Don't smoke.

No matter how good it sounds, never give your bank information to the son of the finance minister of Liberia or Zimbabwe.

Never tell your wife or girl friend that you think her sister looks great in a bikini or especially that her mother is hot, even if she is.

Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.

Register and vote. If you don't, you can't bitch.

People really do care about you. Treasure these friends and relatives. Return the favor.

Always tell her she is beautiful, especially if she is not.

Get a shot off fast. This upsets him long enough to let you make your second shot perfect.

When you move to TV, don't bother to pack the snow shovel, blower, or boots.

Money is a powerful aphrodisiac. But flowers work almost as well.

There is only one way to console a widow. But remember the risk.

Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy.

Some people live life with the belief that anyone who would have anything to do with them isn't good enough. (Sorta like Groucho's "I wouldn't belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member.") They're wrong.

When you move to Florida, no one wants too know how you did it up north.

The Morse family has created The Villages basically from nothing. They must have done something right and they can't be all that dumb..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Get the largest garage available, preferably with a golf cart garage.

some of these tidbits were borrowed from Lazarus Long

[Just Susan]

I love your wisdom Muncle.

[njgranny]

"hit it right on the head"

[Sidney Lanier]

We came here a little over a year ago to visit friends who had just moved here and were (well, I, anyway...) was struck by that lightning bolt that goes off in my head from time to time. We immediately started looking and in the process ended avoiding not so much what would have been a mistake as not in our best interest financially AND we have a bigger home.

As potential snowbirds we assumed that we'd buy a Patio Villa, and these were the homes we looked at initially. Specifically we wanted an end unit with a side rather than a front lanai and maybe a slightly larger lot. However, we knew without doubt that we wanted a resale, not new construction, for many reasons, only one of which was the negotiating factor. My wife did a ton of research online--and there is a wealth of information available--so when we returned a few weeks later we were much more knowledgeable.

Bottom line: We ended up buying a Designer home, yes a resale, and yes privately, and spent barely more than what we would have spent on the Patio Villas we had been looking at. Not suggesting that there's anything wrong with a Patio Villa, but rather--as we were also advised by financial consultants in terms of buying more with consequent more potential monetary value over the long haul--that we are living in a home that came with bond fully paid by the original owners, a $4K water treatment system, upgraded landscaping (and grown in--important to someone who doesn't buy green bananas...) including large fruit trees out back, many construction upgrades, and lots of other extras including a garage full of tools, furniture on both screened porch and lanai plus more interior furniture, you name it.

We do check the prices of new construction and resales periodically and to this day have yet to find anything that matches what we found price-wise. I guess I'm making two suggestions: First, don't assume that new construction is necessarily cheaper because the basic house price is lower; you have to look at what everything else costs. I might add that closing costs are minimal for the buyer of a resale. And second, assess your personal finances carefully while you shop around for a house and buy the most house you can that is within your budget. So many people in TV 'move up' within TV; this second suggestion will lessen the chance of your wanting to do so once you're here full-time, or will delay your doing so.

Whatever you decide, good luck! TV is really a quality product, and IMHO you cannot go wrong coming here!!!

[Villages Kahuna]

Come down and visit. Put on your most disbelieving and cynical hat. Visit at all times of the year--snowbird season when traffic is heavy, the restaurants full and the golf courses busy, and the hot summer months, as well. If you're like almost everyone who lives here, you'll conclude that there really must be something in The Villages Kool-Aid. It's a wonderful place with wonderful people and almost everyone finds that there is little reason to want to leave very often, even in the hot summer months.

We have a beautiful home on Lake Michigan that we went north to visit for 3 months during our first year here, then 2 months the second year. This year, we've already concluded that we miss TV too much when we're gone, so our trip up north may only be the month of August. I'd love to see the fall colors again, but not at the expense of not being here!

There is one potential mistake I'd warn any serious visitor to try to avoid. Don't buy a small place for less money because you think you'll only come down here a couple of months each year. Buy a place that's big enough to satisfy your lifestyle if you were to live here full time. I say that because I can't tell you how many people I know who found it necessary to sell their first Villages residence and buy something larger because they found they really wanted to spend a lot more time down here as opposed to up north.