I would not quickly discount western facing lanais. Due to the way the houses are designed, most of the light comes from the lanai, or not if it is northern facing. A western facing lanai will need mitigations, but once done you are left with something spectacular, not dark & cavelike. Mitigations might include: enclosing with thermal glass, mini split air conditioning, shades, outdoor plantings for shade.

The OP wants a new house, not a 10 year old plus house.

You will deal with dirt, noise and construction vehicles for several years. As long as you're good with that fine. Take note of the federal prison and the rock quarry in the area. If you still want to go ahead, pay the additional to buy a premium lot. Premium lot homes appreciate much more in value than interior homes. Take your time and build exactly what you want, we did and smile evertime we come home.

We bought 5 years ago in an area that wasn't yet "connected" because we could get more home for our money. It was almost 2 years before there were bridges that connected us to the entire community. We heard a lot of criticism about the travesty of having to drive 4 miles to a grocery. Now it's 1 mile by golf cart. It's a very personal decision. For us it was worth the wait.

Can you tell what else will be built near your house? Pickle ball courts, golf cart path, waste water treatment, etc.
There are some things you might not want as a neighbor. If not, go for it and enjoy the process. TV makes it pretty easy for you and don't worry, your home will appreciate in value. Best of luck.

OP asked for suggestions. Some people believe a new home is better without spending much time looking at preowned. They see 3 or 4 homes with flower wall paper or mismatched flooring and think, not for me!

The OP has time. There are PLENTY of preowned homes that are beautifully updated and have a lot to offer. Our new home is stunning. We have a beautiful view of a lake not a retention pond,. Good finds are out there! It is silly not to look at all options before buying.

The idea that younger people live in the south and older live in the north is misguided. We have plenty of neighbors who are in their sixties and a few in their fifties. My husband and I are in our sixties. We adore our older neighbors.Some have more energy than all of us young ones combined. Plus, they host some awesome parties.There are MANY wonderful people who live throughout the Villages. If you are new to their village, they welcome you with open arms.

I like the way you are approaching it. Stay plugged in to Talk of The Villages. You will find a wealth of helpful information here. My wife and I bought a new home 15 months ago in De Luna and we both work full-time. If you are interested, we would be happy to share with you what we have learned over the past year and a half.

Well there it is…took awhile before what everyone already knows..Prison and Quarry..you forgot the Cement factory.:22yikes:

Years of construction vehicles, guess all 3 of our new homes were in a special village.
By the time our houses were built. Most homes were on interior finish. First year is usually lawn, landscape and lots of pool guys.

If developer is in a village for years something is really wrong.

Moultrie
 

Have driven there many times with our son living in Middleton, so they are building there. For a more in depth explanation and views of the area, check out the latest you tube video of Gold Wingnut. It is excellent, as usual

Don’t believe the stuff about a west facing lanai. Yes, the west side gets strong sun in the pm but I have enclosed my lanai and have power shades. Phenomenal view of a golf course and electric sunsets. Cannot be more happy.

Those are all in place before homes come on the market, at least they have been since we came here in 2007.

Two of my neighbors are 20 years older than me. After we golf, I go nap, they cut the grass or go for a bike ride.

You fell for their BS Storytelling. The free Golf for life.(True if you can get a tee time ) When you’re on the lifestyle tour, you get priority into everything. Once you buy, you lose that. After that you’re on the hold and wait system. So if you are moving here for the golf, sit down and buckle up, it may be a while

Best thing we ever did
 

Your doing the right thing at the right time IMHO. Sorry this is a long read but it covers a lot of your concerns - plus some others, and may also be of interest to others in similar circumstances - especially if they aren’t US citizens.

I can’t believe that 5 years ago we were in exactly the same place as you. Marsh Bend was in early stages of construction while accross the road Linden, etc was just sand. As for Richmond, St Johns, DeLuna, Hammock etc Etc…. Pure guess what they were going to look like- certainly less developed than Eastport is now.
We came out on a lifestyle in Nov 19 and bought one of the last lots in Marsh Bend. We weren’t 100% convinced about the lot and it had a HUGE $250k premium but we relied on the speed of development by TV that we could swap out our lot for no additional charge.
Feb 20 we came back out and designed our home. I work in architecture/interior in UK so building our own home was a wonderful experience. BUT we really hated our lot, so much so we seriously considered pulling out.
Thank god we didn’t as mid week a lot became available in Chitty Chatty that ticked EVERY box, plus was $100k cheaper so we swapped out, finished with designers and flew home. Chitty Chatty had a few foundations. Bradford, St Catherines etc were on par with Moultrie Creek. Dabney that wasn’t even fully cleared.

Then came covid. Borders closed, and we weren’t able to return for close on 3 years!!! Our house got built and we used Goldwingnuts to record progress. I cannot recommend Don’s service enough. The regular updates kept our dream a reality during lockdown (my previous Floridian home never got built as the developer was a con man who stole/misappropriated 695 owners deposits without building a single home - 20 years on and the land is still undeveloped while he is in jail). The bad news for us came during closing…. Due to covid the FX crashed and although the dollar closing price was the same, the GBP equivalent resulted in us having to find an extra £70k (or a US person paying an extra $100k).

I had set up a facebook page for Chitty Chatty (suggestion for you) and through that got to virtually know my future neighbours. The one thing you’ll find is that community here is all. One of neighbours helped us close, checked the house for 2 1/2 years, mowed the lawns, and helped us find a tenant (better to rent than leave empty).

During our first year we got hit by lightening which took out half our electrics. We are with Progressive Insurance and they paid out without any hassle. Our tenants were great and arranged the various trades people who carried out the repair works.

Anyhow in Sept 22 we finally got to see our home. Delighted is an understatement. The quality of build is fantastic and we are so happy to be here.

This therefore leads to the final point you raised. Value. Our house has seen in excess of 100% rise in resale value over the 3 years we’ve owned it. Partly due to us being the 3rd people to close in our village, partly the increase in real estate values from covid and partly because Chitty Chatty was an island village on the outskirts of the main area. The opening of the CC bridge joined us to the main Villages. Also we (and you) are fast moving to being central and not an outlier.

So in summary - good luck and I hope you have more success than us, but even if you are on par its been one of our best decisions.

Great move
 

Sounds like a great move. You'll love The Villages no matter where you live