[maryanna630]

We are wondering if someone can give up the various pros and cons concerning a cottage home versus a courtyard villa. What do you like about the cottages? Are the neighborhoods significantly different? Is the maintenance more or less? How about the layouts? Is the privacy better on one or the other?
Thank you for any information you can offer since we are considering both.
Maryanna

[asianthree]

big reason for us on a cottage was the garage and a real driveway..you will find some floor plans close in cyv and cottage..once we rented a cyv because that was our first choice, within a week we new we wanted more open space and not blocked off from our neighbors.

[JerryP]

Originally Posted by asianthree

big reason for us on a cottage was the garage and a real driveway..you will find some floor plans close in cyv and cottage..once we rented a cyv because that was our first choice, within a week we new we wanted more open space and not blocked off from our neighbors.

Same with us, also liked a little grass.

[KARENNN]

If you have a dog, go with the courtyard

[Uptown Girl]

In my opinion, it is just what appeals to you!
When we were looking, we were open to the idea of three types- CYV, cottage or designer. (love those Roman baths!)
We decided early on that a designer was more home than we wanted- one goal of ours was to downsize from what we had previously.

Hubby liked the cottage for these reasons- he loved the two car garage and the straight driveway. (compared to the CYV)
I especially liked the big shake shingles on some cottages, but again, preferred not to have a lot of grounds to maintain.
To be honest, my biggest drawback was entering the cottage without having a foyer of some kind. But that is my own personal taste.

We BOTH liked the CYV private back yard area. (know that the yards are not all the same size. Ours is small, but many are huge!) We both liked the selection of floor plans offered. Ours has the foyer that I like so much. With careful planning, we decided we could configure the garage space to satisfy Hubby and we both learned to easily navigate the shorter, curved driveway.

The only (honest) drawback to our CYV is that when company comes over in autos, parking can be a challenge. Our limited guest parking is permanently filled with cars that belong to residents- (there are always a few slugs in any mix of people)

However, most of our neighbors, and especially the snowbirds, offer their driveways temporarily if there is a special occasion for any of us. All it takes is a phone call to ask first.

Also, the direction the house was situated on the lot was an important and determinate factor in choosing the perfect home for us.
I do believe you'll know yours when you see it!
Best of luck. May it be a joyful journey!

[cmfjr]

Yes, there are benefits to both. We looked at both and went with the CYV. We are snow birds and will be for a few more years. We feel that there is less outdoor maintenance therefore less costs. Great for pets due to the walled yards. We like the construction (poured walls vs stick frame) and the "look" of the stucco finish. We would like the larger garage, but then who wouldn't. The most important thing is that you purchase the home that meets most of you needs and some of your wants!

[railroadman]

Uptown Girl, great information on CYV or cottage selection.

I will be in TV, next month looking for a cottage or CYV.
Most liklely will go with the (Arlington) CYV and make one
bedroom an office and have a spare for family when they visit.
I also, want to have plantation shutters and crowning molding
installed before, I move in.

[maryanna630]

Thanks to all who replied.....please keep the info coming. We will be there in July and will investigate further.
Is there sufficient closet space in the CYV? Is the closeness a problem with noise?
Maryanna

[Serenoa]

I also don't like how the Patio Villa, Ranch, & even some older Designer homes have no entry foyer. Definitely cuts down on privacy.

Plus, I want to create my own little private backyard oasis, kinda like this one: Properties of The Villages

[George Bieniaszek]

We own a 2BR/2Bath stucco CYV and just LOVE IT!!! Briefly looked at the Patio's and decided that the Patio Villa was not for us.

Reasons: Lanai in front VS back of home. Didn't like the fact that you have to go thru the lanai to enter your home. The privacy cannot be beat. CYV's are perfect if you have a doggie because they are completely enclosed. First thing we did was to take out all the grass and landscape. We would rather be golfing than pay or do the lawn maintenance. We have a back yard. We installed a hot tub and enjoy it along with a nice bistro set with table, chairs, and umbrella to go out and enjoy a morning cup of coffee, newspaper, some wine in the afternoon, etc.

We are seasonal residents also and not full time. We spend 7-8 months in The Villages and come down 3-4 times per year and liked the CYV cause we thought that was a better fit for our lifestyle. Some CYV's have a 2-car garage, but are rare and the 2 that do in our villa neighborhood have a straight driveway and not curved like typically seen on CYV's. The driveways are small, but we were able to fit 2 cars side-by-side (one being a full size Dodge Ram) and one on the street overnight. Most neighbors also let you to park your vehicle on their driveway if they are not home or in the extra parking spots provided in the Villa neighborhood. We share driveways with our neighbors when we or they are not home when we have guests.

Not here to criticize the features of Patio's, just pointing out the selling points that made the purchase of our CYV more appealing than a Patio.

[ssmith]

We have wondered the same re: choices of CYV vs Cottage.

One thing I did notice when there last April. There were a lot more people out and about in our designer neighborhood than the CYV neighborhoods that we went around in.

The same with the Cottage areas we checked,...there were more people out in the Cottagearea than in the CYV.

Now this may have been an odd happenstance and it may or may not be good that people are out.

Will check it out more next time we are there.

[LvmyPug2]

I was convinced we wanted a CYV because I loved the enclosed backyard for the dog. We eventually ended up buying a cottage because DH didn't like that every CYV looked the same on the outside. He also couldn't live with the 1 1/2 car garage in the CYV. After 2 yrs we moved from a cottage to a larger designer. We like that our designer neighborhood is comprised of mostly full timers like us. We also have friends who recently moved from a CYV to a designer because they tired of being one of only 4 full timers in their neighborhood.

[John_W]

Every neighborhood is unique. Our CYV community was built in 2011 and all of us moved in about the same 2 or 3 month period. We have 13 units on our street, four are snowbirds. We are out in the street quite often in front of our homes, we have the screen enclosures on the garage and it's very easy to see what's going on. Up north we almost never saw our neighbors, here in the CYV's we talk with neighbors every day. I play golf with one neighbor twice a week and softball with a dozen others once a week.

Yesterday I went to a party at a cottage, a 2 BR model. There was at least 30 people there and we couldn't move. I would say our CYV could held the same party and maybe even have more space. The cottage has one advanage, the garage and driveway. Other than that, I like the privacy fenced backyard and the masonry construction we have.







/

[Serenoa]

Nice landscaping, John W.

[PaPaLarry]

Originally Posted by John_W

Every neighborhood is unique. Our CYV community was built in 2011 and all of us moved in about the same 2 or 3 month period. We have 13 units on our street, four are snowbirds. We are out in the street quite often in front of our homes, we have the screen enclosures on the garage and it's very easy to see what's going on. Up north we almost never saw our neighbors, here in the CYV's we talk with neighbors every day. I play golf with one neighbor twice a week and softball with a dozen others once a week.

Yesterday I went to a party at a cottage, a 2 BR model. There was at least 30 people there and we couldn't move. I would say our CYV could held the same party and maybe even have more space. The cottage has one advanage, the garage and driveway. Other than that, I like the privacy fenced backyard and the masonry construction we have.







/

Yes, very nice landscaping for front!!! Not too sure if you had 30 people over, it wouldn't be crowded?? hehe I think any home would be crowded, not saying where all the vehicles and or carts would park. But CYV are good if you have a dog.