Takes time
 

I agree wholeheartedly. If the turnpike bridge is widened, it will take years. Just look at how long it took to put in place all the pieces for the Bexley Bridge. I’m thinking the best bet is for tunnels under 470? For now, look at the area to be kind of like Oxford, The Village to Nowhere.

I agree and have until around years end before I will be retiring. Have a great day.

Most preowned homes have a new roof because sellers understand a buyer may not be able to get insurance. Don't forget to look at the age of HVAC. That can cost quite a sum to replace.

Flooring will be around 10-20 thousand. If you find a home with completed landscaping and an extended lanai, that cost will be a wash. You will have to spend equal that amount to complete the landscaping and lanai in a new construction. Your benefit will be a low or no bond and lower property taxes. Without those high monthly payments, the remodeling you must do pays for itself in the long run.

Preowned homes are sitting on the market for months. If you find a must sell, you can get a great deal. It takes patience and willingness to watch the market to understand when to pounce. A preowned I am interested in recently saw a $50,000 reduction. I am going to wait and hopefully get a better price. If this doesn't happen, I'll happily move on and search for another. I will not pay full asking price in this market.

Preowned homes ARE NOT $100K more. If you add the bond price to new construction, the cost is relatively the same. You do not have to pay the bond upfront, however it needs to be paid. After 5 years of living in your new construction home, you will see the price you are paying for the bond is astronomical. It will be reasonable to pay off the bond at this point.

Bought and Sorry
 

Take your time. We bought a home in the area and are already in negotiations to rent it out. Through our brief stay in TV we learned of a great condo on S. Gulf in Clearwater. Now we get to travel between two places Ha Ha. Now if we could only find a better place than KSK for our baby.

Did you happen to ask what the interest rate is today on the bonds in those areas ?

$80K 30 years @ 5.0% Is
- $430/month
- $155K payback

I'd be looking preowned.

It is a confusing market considering they continue to sell within their average of 70-100 homes a week.

I wouldn't be surprised to see prices go back up once Danby is sold out and Richmond/Eastport homes becomes available.

Good luck to your daughter in her search.

Is there a way to find out what the bonds are for new homes??

I don’t think the Villages lists them on their website.

If not, can people let people know what the bonds are in Lake Denham and Dabney and Moultrie Creek?

470 is about 2.6 miles from Bexley Bridge and Bexley is about 4 miles from Water Lily.

I can’t imagine that there will be another golf cart bridge or tunnel at 470. If there is, it will be a very long time from now. The focus is on Eastport and they have easy access to Bexley.

Bonds are $50,00 -80,000 on new construction. Bonds are based on the amount of infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc) needed to open an area. Each is divided by the amount of homes in that section. For example: the enclave has 121 homes. The total amount spent on infrastructure is evenly divided by these 121 homeowners. Each home in that area will pay $70,000 whether you build a large home or small.

If a bond is a concern, look at areas with more homes. This will help to lessen the bond payment. Ask your sales rep what the bond is on each home you have interest. The difference may sway your decision.

Designer home in Lake Denham and I think my bond was 48K.

We are terribly isolated down here with nothing to do. Just yesterday at lunch in Sawgrass we were discussing that. We talked about how we had to go to the Dabney pool, almost 5 minutes by cart. Or we could go to Franklin, or Homestead, or Ezell. We mentioned how Eastport is 17 minutes by cart and they would only have like 2 or 3 restaurants open by years end. We talked about Harry and the Natives restaurant in Okahumka won’t be open for almost a year.

Two nights ago at the driveway party with over 100 people we talked about how lonely and isolated we were. As the planning for next months party was discussed, we talked about how there was nothing down to do down here, but we ran out of time and decided to discuss tomorrow at pickle ball.

Brownwood is 30 minutes by cart and so it takes us a bit to get to all the restaurants everyone says are so bad. We also don’t get to shop in all the stores and we talked about how we were definitely being screwed because we hadn’t been to a brick and mortar store since the 90s and it would be nostalgic.

Last night when 10 of our neighbors came over for game night we all wondered if we would need therapy to help our loneliness.

I’m not positive but when Jerry and Linda came to our get together at aviary they may have mentioned how they almost couldn’t find us out here in the boondocks.

Yeah it’s horrible down here.

Unless you are keeping your money under a mattress, $80K invested 30 years @ 5% it will grow to $345,755.

You will have earned $345,000 in interest.

It's unlikely you will fully recover the full amount of a bond early payment in the sale price of a home.

Whaat amenities is that area far removed from???????? Not only will they have all of the typical amenities they have many that are not available anywhere else like a indoor gymnasium with basketball, volley ball, even rock climbing walls, 3 new golf courses, Eastport will have just about everything plus a lot of new ideas and they are near to Leesburg shopping and so much closer to Clermont, Orlando, and even Tampa when compared to the northern villages which gives them so many more medical/hospital options as well as retail shopping within an easy drive also to Costco. I think this is going to end up being the most desirable area within the Villages and if I was younger I would be investing down there which a lot of others are currently doing.

Thanks for the heads up. I would not like being so isolated from amenities that I had to party in a driveway.

Even though I’m just a 5 minute cart ride to Brownwood, I find myself in the far southern villages multiple times per week. The vast majority of my friends I’ve met since moving to TV live in the Sawgrass and Magnolia Plaza areas. This area has a different “vibe”, and I relate more to the new residents in these areas. I’m at Sawgrass once or twice a week attending the wonderful show kitchen classes, which in my opinion, is the best “restaurant” in TV, and so entertaining. I’m at boozey bingo at Sawgrass with a great group of friends most Monday nights. I’m in a shuffleboard league that rotates between various rec centers south of 44. I play pickleball every week at the new Dabney Rec Center. I’m at Fenney at least once a week for lunch and walking the nature trails. Most of my indoor activities center around Ezell and Everglades Rec Centers. I’ll go a few weeks without even going to Brownwood. The south for me is a vibrant area where people are super-active and very friendly. I enjoy not being near all the brick-and mortar retail.

Thanks but I have been in sales and instantly recognize propaganda when I see it. Lots of buyers from Florida closing on homes concerns me. Investors, perhaps? If not, why arent they happy with their present home? The sales board also does not show how many homes were sold at reduced prices. I can go on....

The old adage, "if someone jumps off a bridge, would you follow?" seems appropriate. I take my financial dealings SERIOUSLY and will not be swayed by herd mentality. The sales board is nothing but a marketing tool to get people to buy. It may work for some, but not me or anyone in my family.