The viewpoint of people using the LSV's for a vacation is unacceptable. There are many people who are seriously looking to determine whether TV is right for them. After one or two visits, a person is either going to want to move to TV or not. I personally don't see why not, but to each his/her own.

I agree with Gracie that I personally would be embarrassed to even ask for a third LSV. I would rather rent a house or stay in a hotel.

The next time I am in TV, I will be buying a home to become a frog.

Our first visit was in March of this year. When we called about scheduling a LSV, we were told they were all booked up for that time, so we stayed in a hotel. Good enough! After talking to our salesperson and thinking it over, we decided to purchase a lot and are planning to build in July. The main problem with people who are able to schedule multiple LSV with no intention of building is that it kept us, as potential residents, from seeing what life was really like there. When we called about scheduling a LSV in July, we were told that since we had already picked our lot, we were not eligible. That has since been resolved. In a nutshell, the LSV should not be used as a cheap vacation every year, IMO!

Lifestyle Preview
 

Lifestyle previews are offered ONE time only. You can come back again, and stay on the rental program. The sales office should be able to help you with that. There are various homes around the Villages that are owned and rented out thru The Villages.

I guess I'm at a loss for why anyone would be upset at folks having 1,2,3, or even 4 LSV's.... What difference does it make? They are NOT FREE, even though you get a few freebies, but LSV's usually cost a minimum of $100/night, depending upon the season.

I had 3 LSV's over a period of about 5 years and we always had all the freebies to go with it.... We never used them all, but we got them. We always looked at homes, with a sales rep, but that wasn't mandatory.

Anyway, I just don't get it, but maybe everyone thinks I abused the system too ... :shrug:

A happy full-timer!

Nothing said about "crowds!" Certainly know there are seasonal residents who, of course, are entitled to be here whenever they wish. LSV are being used by SOME PERSONS for vacations and not actually interested in buying. No problem at all for first timers taking LSV, but as one person said, come and rent and do your own thing if you are interested in seeing TV again after a LSV. Maybe a bit selfish, but as said this is where people LIVE and NO it is not a resort, just a wonderful place with lots to do for those who do live here, their families, and those who rent.

You can probably rent for a week and not pay anymore than you would for 5 days under a lifestyle visit. We are renting this summer for the same reason, summer rates are very good. I'm sure the cost would'nt be that much more. Ask your owner you rent from if they are offering to get you pass while you are there, most of them seem to do that, and most of the weekly rentals come with golf carts. Go to http://www.thevillages4rent.com and look around.

Lee and Richard in Tampa, for now.

Personally, we have preferred our visits where we stay at the Lakefront Inn, when we came up for the PBA Pro-AM a couple weeks ago we found out that it was only $20 more a night using AAA to stay in an executive suite, than the AAA price for lake front, and what a room it was. Enormous, looking at the lake, nicely appointment, big bathroom with nice glass shower with several shower heads and a nice deep whirlpool tub I wasn't expecting, and which my body was ready for after the drive, bowling and the long walk from the parking lot to the bowling alley with our gear (only because of the craft fair going on). We don't eat there, but we like to stay there, there internet always works, and we use it extensively when in the villages looking at things. We are partial to other restaurants in the area. I just have to get cinnamon buns and other goodies to take home from toojays.

We are about to come up in August for 1 full week and the rest of the weekends in the month, and we would love to have dinner with a small group of villagers that would be willing to answer questions, etc. This is where we are going to make some decisions so we are ready when our house sells hopefully early next year. Or maybe a meet and greet for coffee at toojays? We will be in the Villages from 8/6 to 8/14 in a rental, so if anyone is interested, let us know and we can set something up (PM). We are renting so we can go to all the open houses for a week in our price range and get a firmer idea of what's out there, and try out some of the neighborhood pools, things like that.

We are so looking forward to finally making this dream come together. I will be 66 In January, my betterhalf is 8 months younger, and will just be turning 65 in August.

Richard and Lee in Tampa, for now.

There have been posts on here in the past where the poster was new, very much younger than the usual bunch of us and to me, anyway, obviously looking for a cheap vacation.:boom:

For some reason, I just didn't feel like sharing our Paradise with folks like that.

But never you Memason. You are one of us and you had to come all the way from Germany too. Now just look at you, all settled in and happy too!:MOJE_whot:

I really wasn't looking for anything free. The LSVs are not free. We paid $150 a night in January and in June we will be paying $100 a night for 5 nights. There are no other freebees or discounts. I don't think I should be embarrassed at all because I feel that I am going to move to TV when the time is right. We're both still working now, and this is the only time we could get away at the same time. We're just planning to get a better feel for what we're looking for in the way of a home. We probably won't use many of the amenities (maybe a dip in the pool if it's hot). I'm sorry if anyone feels that we're trying to get a cheap vacation. Between the air fares and car rental, it's anything but. :cry:

As a new homeowner I have no issues with anyone using TV as a vacation if they desire. I think I'm in the minority but if the general public feels that TV is a vacation destination then I assume our value and appeal is still high.

:BigApplause:

Russ, I don't think the thing some people are concerned about is folks coming down to TV purely for a vacation. It's the fact that some vacationers want to do that via the LSV - that's what I believe bothers some people.

Bill :)

I believe the developer is more than happy to collect the fees he charges for staying in the LSV homes. Where else do prospective buyers pay for the opportunity to be sold a home? I do not mind paying and he likes to collect. If I do not stay there, the place would stand empty and not produce income for the developer. The fact that the developer builds so many LSV homes tells me the program is working to his advantage. Maybe some of the people complaining have homes to rent out themselves and see the LSVs as hurting their rental income. I do not believe the developer is complaining.

We had two LSV's both of which were offered by TV. The first time we were in TV it was for a very brief, one day visit. We took a trolley tour and drove around with a sales rep. After we returned home to NY someone from TV sales called us, offering the first LSV. We spent one day with the sales rep looking at homes the other 5 we were on our own.
We returned to NY assuming that we had just had our one and only LSV, then out of the blue a couple of years later we got a call from a Villages sales rep. Our previous rep had left the TV sales staff and he was taking over for him, or so he said. We chatted a bit over the phone, then later on got another call from someone from TV sales offering another LSV with all the perks. We bought a lot on that visit.
Several months later I spoke with another sales rep, our previous rep had also left TV. I told him we'd be coming down to finalize the paperwork for our home and sign a contract. I asked for recommendations for a hotel. He suggested that we stay in one of the LSV villas, this time with no perks, just the golf cart and bikes.
I don't think there are any hard and fast rules for LSV's. I think it just depends on you sales rep. They seem to have alot of influence on what kind of treatment you get. Just from reading posts in this thread it seems that there are a variety of treatments and experiences. Some folks are told that it's a one time only offer, others, like us, are offered more. I see nothing negative in multiple LSV's.

There have been numerous threads on this that I recall..with some wise TOTVers theorizing that multiple LSVs were linked to two key factors: 1. Apparent interest in buying in TV at some future time and 2. Availability.

One of the gals I golf with was told by a friend looking to book an LSV this month, that May was fully booked by early March.