I get a little concerned thinking North of 466 is deteriorating. I get a little concerned thinking that each new development decreases the value of the prior one because the new construction gets discounted. Wonder if this trend will continue and when they build out to Brownswood, Bridgeport and Lake Sumter will be "old hat" and lose value.

When reading the book,
 

I felt the author wanted to move his family into this type of community. I didn't get that he didn't like it as much as he didn't like the fact that right now, he couldn't live here.

Sorry, I know this wasn't a comment on the question. Just what I took away from the book.

How is north of 466 deteriorating? I will be visiting TV in July and was going to look at some of the homes for sale north of 466.

Hi OldDave,
I think your questions are excellent. Here's my perspective, FWIW:

1) What happens after buildout? While I don't have a crystal ball, I do see many reasons to think both TV and its developers can thrive post-buildout.

For one thing, the governing structure does transition to homeowner control, but with deed restrictions and legal requirements for use of amenities fees in place so. Second, the developer maintains residual income from leasing commercial properties, ownership of The Villages health care system, ownership of the local bank, media and other commercial ventures and even residential resales. Finally, I point to the north side of TV as a plus in terms of after buildout. To me, it's one of the prettiest areas of TV, the golf courses, cart paths, dog park, fitness trail and rec centers are well maintained and teaming with life and activity. Last, the scale of TV with it's residual amenities revenues, while not guaranteeing it's sustainability, certainly makes sustainability viable.

2) Lack of government: I addressed this in my answer to the build out question.

I think you are on the right track by digging deeper and seeking to address your legitimate concerns. One thing that strikes me is that where ever we live, many, many things can and oft times do happen to cause property values or quality of life to diminish over time. "There are no guarantees for the if's in life." And while we're throwing in quotes, there's the one about "the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance."

To me, TV's sustainability is a good bet and the quality of life is unbeatable.

Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best!

Actually, my husband PREFERRED ***north of 466, where we stayed during month of November....after the initial 4 day lifestyle visit in Creekside Landing near Lake Sumter Landing (which I loved). I liked all those villages near the Sweet Bay supermarket area.....and near the cottages at L.S.L.

***At first, we thought it would be too far away from everything, but truthfully, it was not. How we ended up in Marion County, above 466, was that hubby wanted a pool home and it was the only one I could find at the time.

The neighbors did seem older, some elderly but everyone waved or said hello and even loved to see our little grandbaby in her stroller....when they visited for Thanksgiving week. It seemed quite normal and nice and quiet.

We were on the Nancy Lopez golf course......and the shopping in Mulberry Grove was fairly close by......as well as all the shopping and restaurants off 466......by car.

When we'd go down to Lake Sumter Landing to the restaurants, the trip back didn't seem too long (not as long as we had originally thought). We would make a right off of 466 and pass the POLO GROUNDS, lots of horses, etc.
It was quite a pretty ride. Keep going up Buena Vista Blvd....and soon enough you are in Marion County. Everything beautifully manicured, lush green grass, flowers like Gracie always comments on....just terrific landscaping.

As far as the neighbors being in their 70's and 80's.......didn't bother us.
Everything was as neat as it possibly could be. Coming from New England where zoning is pretty lax, we've seen it all and the Villages was beautiful.

We also saw all of the other villages, new and old......all very pretty.
We left with a great impression. Our visit was just to "get the lay of the land" so to speak. We thought the entire place would be humongous.
It was more manageable than we thought it would be.....however, the first day was a nightmare, getting lost on those roundabouts, back and forth over the bridge......but that was after a very long day of travel.

The only thing I thought odd was the telephone receptionist who called several times up to Vermont, saying "We want to get you out into the community". To me, that sounded like we were in an assisted living nursing home type place. (just kidding).....but.....again, we still have all of our marbles and hopefully, free will to do as we wish. Again, not everyone goes there to party hardy.

Some just love the homes and the ambience of living in a beautiful place. I'm sure if a survey was done as to those who do not go for the "lifestyle" of active 55+ as advertised.......many would raise their hands. We enjoyed just reading our kindles by the poolside under the birdcage off the lanai with super views of the golf course. Now our son and daughter in law loved zipping around in the golf carts, the golf couse, etc. and we ALL LOVED THE RESTAURANTS and Lake Sumter Landing boardwalk, etc............plus touring around to see all the new homes, etc.

All 4 of our adult children, which includes the two in law spouses, as well as the three grandchildren who can talk......have said they will spend all their holidays with us if we ever moved to THE VILLAGES.........snow gets old after awhile......not to mention traveling in it for holidays, on mountain roads.

The Villages has a lot going for it.........hopefully, people are allowed to express differing opinions. As for the Democrats vs. the Republicans, I've heard that from people up north who feel they could never move to TV if they were Democrats. Sad. Like someone else said, religion and politics actually shouldn't come up in conversation as you can never please everyone.

I think the KOOL AID reference comes from the old book and movie "The Stepford Wives" not the Jim Jones massacre tragedy. It was also used in reference to the Casey Anthony tribulations. As far as the Stepford Wives, anyone who watched Desperate Housewives, Bree (Brie?) would be a typical Stepford Wife role model. Now, we definitely do NOT want to move to Wisteria Lane........but the Villages would be great, somwhere down the road...for as another person said, we are not interested in selling our home for peanuts in this downsized real estate market....up here at least....where homes remain on the market for years and decades even.

We will return and we will stay in different villages to get the feel for all of them....before making our ultimate decision.

p.s. As for the author of Leisureville........he was coming from a different time in his life......a new father, he wanted his child to have that homey neighborly feel of the older "grandparents" in the neighborhood, just as we had when ours were growing up in a small town. I read it and don't recall him wanting to live there in the Villages himself........he just went to visit his old neighbors from across the way who had relocated to TV. No, he was not a prize winning author....but it was his opinion and take on his own personal visit. We go through different stages in our lives and things change.

Our son had told his wife that he could picture himself retiring to TV in 15 more years. He was impressed with the high energy physically fit seniors he saw cycling and the dragon boat races, etc......etc., etc.......he's 40; has traveled the entire world, each and every continent.......so it's quite high praise coming from him, for The Villages.

But even the younger neighborhoods will eventually turn into the type we rented in...as people get into their late 70's and 80's and hopefully beyond.

What a wonderfully detailed post. Thank you.

What happens here is that the direct Florida sun is hard on paint and it quickly fades. Some owners repaint every five years and some don't. Everything is maintained the same as far as public areas.

Each new development does NOT decrease the value of the prior one. Some people like resales and some people like new and the same model, situated on the same kind of lot varies very little in price if not at all whether new or resale. New people sometimes do not put in the variable of the lot which is the reason for difference in price in many cases.

There is much misinformation on this forum which was the subject of a recent thread and a lot of it comes from folks who do not live here yet.

People waiting and those who have put a deposit on the lot sometimes suffer from anxiety about their choice. You can see the apprehension in their posts. That is normal, I did the same....and I was quick to panic at certain posts.

That is the reason that I try so hard to quell rumors and correct misinformation. I hurt for those who worry.

Deep breaths. It is gonna be nice for our life spans I would guess.

"Kool Aid"
 

Chill out--- "drinking the Kool Aid" has come to mean something completely different than what originally happened at Jonestown. The current meaning of the the phrase is drinking something that causes a sort of mind control. The phrase has been used for many other things besides the Villages.

PSSST........a little useless info here
......been acquainted with a few people who worked at Jack Daniel.............
................seems to me y'all just might like to try the "Evan Williams" brand .......

....Try it and see for yourself.

The koolaid reference really brought up some bad memories for CarGuys, so I'm glad to try something else. Hell i don't drink so maybe I should go back to calling it orange juice. Makes more sense anyway.

Please explain this comment. Thanks.

Opps!
 

Well I quit drinking two years ago. But I'm thinking of starting back when I get moved in. Something about looseing 33k a year to our x's might trigger that!

My sister lives near the Distillery. Here is a Pic of Ruth caugh holding my bag!
I was caught up in the Single Barrel Vat Room huggin the Vat stating " I Love you Man! ) Attachment 2324

It seems to me that no matter where you choose to live, if you buy into a new subdivision or condominium complex, there will be deteriorization after a time. I think that many of the people moving to TV are investing a lot of their savings, especially since the market in most areas has turned down and we are not getting the money we had hoped to get from the sale of our homes. The question is, how much can we worry about what the future brings? I really, really don't mean to be flippant, I too care about what I leave to my children and grandchildren but there is no guarantee anywhere we move. I am looking forward to the day that they can all visit us, we can take them to Disney and Universal and they will forever have the memories of the times we've spent together. It's going to be neat to know that the grandkids will be telling their friends "Hey...we get to go see Grandma and Grandpa..they live in this really cool place..we can't wait to get there!!"..this is so much better than "Why do we have to go to grandma and grandpa's? It's so boring there, even Grandma and Grandpa seem bored"...:coolsmiley:

Herv...don't think of it as losing 33K...think of it as a price to pay to get rid of them...and cheaper than a hitman! (not that I've ever priced one...didn't know where to look when I needed one...just kidding, everyone..honest):rolleyes:

Just a waste of $8.
Reading the posts on TOTV are far more infomative!