[glgene]

I see periodically that some TVers sell their larger TV home to buy a TV villa.

Is this primarily for the desire to maintain less house, get the privacy of a wall, easier to keep a dog, lower taxes, or what?

Can you easily fit 1 car plus 1 golf cart in a TV villa garage?

For those who have done this, if you had to do it over again, would you have simply bought a TV villa in the first place?

What is the typical TV villa preference (e.g., CYV) for someone converting?

Gene
TV frog (soon)

[Uptown Girl]

Hi glgene,
Although our original purchase was a CYV, our choice was a big downsize from our previous home up North and a deliberate one for all the reasons ('cept the doggie) you mentioned. I, particularly wanted less landscaping to tend to as well.

Two neighbors in our villa complex have been in TV for years (in much larger homes) and both downsized when their spouses died, for all those same reasons and to gain a fresh perspective on singlehood.

The garages vary a bit in size and configuration from model to model, but one car and a golf car fit quite easily. Most of us have much more in there (like us... car, golf car, motorcycle, work bench and cabinets, two bicycles)
The smaller, curved driveway (CYV) is an adjustment for many.... probably more inconvenient that the garage size is.... but once you get over that, it's pretty cool.

We live here full time, but a number of our neighbors come and go. These are rather like vacation cottages for them and they like the lower maintenance for that reason.

[glgene]

Originally Posted by Uptown Girl

Hi glgene,

The (Villa) garages vary a bit in size and configuration from model to model, but one car and a golf car fit quite easily. Most of us have much more in there (like us... car, golf car, motorcycle, work bench and cabinets, two bicycles)
The smaller, curved driveway (CYV) is an adjustment for many.... probably more inconvenient that the garage size is.... but once you get over that, it's pretty cool.

I am amazed you can fit all of that into a TV villa garage! What size of car are you figuring? Sure doesn't look possible from a typical photo view. Wow!

Gene

[Uptown Girl]

Hubby has a Toyota Highlander!
We're never able to do much improvisational dance when the car is in there, however.... not enough room to wave my scarves around!!!

[Jim Straz]

Originally Posted by glgene

I am amazed you can fit all of that into a TV villa garage! What size of car are you figuring? Sure doesn't look possible from a typical photo view. Wow!

Gene

If I were you, I'd shop for a neighborhood that was designer/cottage. A cottage runs just a bit more than a villa, but puts you in a more quiet and upscale setting. More rentals and singles with the villas.

My cottage garage is 18/22 with my two foot stretch and can easily fit ANY size car and golf cart. Most people come here without downsizing and install attic stairs etc because they have too much stuff, but won't give it up.

The real estate market has changed dramatically, but one sure rule is still in place and that is location means everything. A little smaller bond in the villa area, but not worth a few dollars a month in the long term.

[CarGuys]

I really like the neighborhood and design of the CYV . It is friendly and cozy.

But Jim is right. A Cottage home is a very very nice value. That is why they were designed.

As you can see Car Guy. I go to the garage to bond with the Car or Harley.

It's a Man Cave for me a place to polish the vehicle and let my mind wander.

When in our CYV we could not move in the garage when the car was in the Cart and Bikes

[Ohiogirl]

This has been discussed before, but I couldn't find much in a Search, so I'll chip in again.

We bought a 3 BR CYV 5-1/2 years ago, planned to rent it out for about 7 years. We ended up renting it out for 4-1/2 years and moving down fall of 2010.

About 2 years before that, we started looking around and considering upsizing. Not for any particular reason, just maybe because it was an option and I like to look at houses (was a real estate agent in one of my past lives).

Anyway, long story short (or maybe not , we decided that our villa was perfect for us. We have as many bedrooms and closets as most designers, and our kitchen probably has more counter and cabinet space (we have a Bonita/Foxglove). An inside laundry gives even more storage options. We also treasure the privacy of our high courtyard walls and spend lots of time on the lanai. We are not hoarders, and were fairly easily able to dispose of things we do not need and have not used (think basement stuff).

We keep our Honda Fit (admittedly a small car), 2 golf carts, 3 bikes (so when we have visitors a guest can ride in Ohioboy's neighborhood bike group, a push (non-motorized) mower (we do our own mowing most of the time), a small workbench (rarely used - mostly we just store things on it), a 6 ft plastic storage cabinet, a 3 foot metal tool cabinet, garden equipment, tennis rackets, 2 sets of golf clubs. It is (we think) very efficiently organized.

We are not, however, garage putterers. I am a yard/garden putterer. The other nice thing about a CYV is that you can easily have a deck box on your side patio that is out of sight - of you and your neighbors - and also stores a lot. We keep all kinds of fertilizers, yard-waste bags, birdseed, etc. in ours. Not always a good place (if you are even allowed) for one of these in other homestyles.

I think it might be hard to put a larger car/SUV in our model and still have 2 golf carts. It takes careful backing and entering even with our Fit, but there is room to walk around the driver's door and get to the electrical box and/or sprinkler system control, and to get into the car. I think with a larger car, we would not be able to store the 3rd bicycle near the garage door and still get into the driver's seat easily.

Sometimes the passenger can enter in the garage, but it is easier to back out and then have the passenger enter. We probably only drive the car about twice a week, and usually it's just one of us - mostly at night to faraway rec centers, and for an occasional shopping trip along Rt. 441. I grocery shop and do most errands in a golf cart. An earlier poster is correct, it's probably more the curved driveway that is an issue for some.

One of our neighbors easily fits their SUV and 1 golf cart in their garage, leaving room to work in their garage laundry area.

Most of our neighbors leave their SUVs and vans in the driveway. Can think of only one garage putterer of the neighbors I know well. They have a garage screen and leave their SUV in the driveway.

Bonds and water usage, and maintenance are all less for a CYV than either designers or ranch/cottages. There are probably a few more rentals and snowbirds in CYVs, but that varies widely between neighborhoods anyway. Taxes depend on the home value - some CYVs are larger than some designers and also cost more. When we moved down permanently I was initially craving more gardening room, thinking about a corner CYV, but honestly have as much as I want to handle in our interior one, which is a little deeper than some, but not by much.

They have changed the names and tweaked the plans of the CYVs since we bought, and also have a couple of new models to choose from. Don't know if there are any with more garage space than we have or not.

I felt closed in by the walls until I added more landscaping in back - now I wouldn't trade it for the world, unless maybe someone gave me enough money to comfortably afford a breathtaking water/preserve view.

I think if you are a putterer or need a "man cave" that you might not be happy in a CYV. The 3 bedroom plans definitely have more storage available, in general, but be sure to check out the dimensions of the garage.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Jim Straz

If I were you, I'd shop for a neighborhood that was designer/cottage. A cottage runs just a bit more than a villa, but puts you in a more quiet and upscale setting. More rentals and singles with the villas.

My cottage garage is 18/22 with my two foot stretch and can easily fit ANY size car and golf cart. Most people come here without downsizing and install attic stairs etc because they have too much stuff, but won't give it up.

The real estate market has changed dramatically, but one sure rule is still in place and that is location means everything. A little smaller bond in the villa area, but not worth a few dollars a month in the long term.

In response to:

More rentals and singles with the villas.

NOT true at all, in our CYV neighborhood! There are only 2 CYV's that get rented out, about 80% are permanent residents, and 90% or more are married couples.

Some friends have said their (newer) patio villa neighborhood is mostly rentals and singles.

As for "more quiet, upscale setting", to many of us CYV owners, the privacy of the wall and not having to see neighbors behind us nor having them seeing us is "more quiet and upscale". We don't want to see others' creature habits and vice versa.

[jane032657]

We were down in November from Seattle and looked at almost every home with a view that was on the market, bless our realtor! Large spacious homes, lovely. Every home was lovely. We did not see one home that was not. But we presently live on a half acre outside of Seattle and we have no neighbors who can look in, we do not need blinds or curtains. So we were struggling with some of the neighborhoods, and we have dogs and were worried about upsetting neighbors as we have an English and Irish Setter and they are hard to hide! When we saw the new Haciendas with the beautiful views and a corner one at that with only one wall, we were sold and purchased right away. There was already a backup offer from someone else during the one day we were allowed to think about it! We cannot wait to move in, we are radically downsizing our things in Seattle (already sold the ping pong table and huge leather chair with ottoman)! Every choice is a good choice in TV, it is about making the right choice for you!

[Ohiogirl]

Choices are very individual. One other negative about CYVs is that 8 adults is about the maximum # for comfortable entertaining, unless you maybe have a large birdcage and perfect weather, which is hard to count on. It's easy, though, to seat up to about 12 adults for things like book club meetings or committee meetings, where all you need to do is set up extra chairs. For dinner or general entertaining, though, 6-8 is about right for us. I can do 3 tables of 4 for games, or stretch to get 8 seated at our dining room table.

Most villa neighborhoods that I know of have occasional or regular driveway parties where everyone brings a chair with them.

One of the other things I like is that you can have a few friends or neighbors in without everyone else in the area feeling excluded, as they really aren't usually aware of what's going on in your back yard/patio or lanai.

[jane032657]

Coming from a big entertaining house and a half acre of party backyard we were concerned about buying the villa we did because of the size. I like to entertain. So we are changing the lanai to a florida room and putting in a 30 x 50 birdcage. Coming from Seattle, what's a little rain on a party?
I do understand. We looked at a Bridgeport style house which I loved but got swept away with the view and space for the dogs and the end villa with a fence/wall only on one side. Looking forward to see the water. Marsh. And new Oak Park out our window!

[Ohiogirl]

Originally Posted by jane032657

Coming from a big entertaining house and a half acre of party backyard we were concerned about buying the villa we did because of the size. I like to entertain. So we are changing the lanai to a florida room and putting in a 30 x 50 birdcage. Coming from Seattle, what's a little rain on a party?
I do understand. We looked at a Bridgeport style house which I loved but got swept away with the view and space for the dogs and the end villa with a fence/wall only on one side. Looking forward to see the water. Marsh. And new Oak Park out our window!

if price is no object, but you are likely talking close to $300,000 plus for even a corner 3 BR CYV with an enclosed lanai and a big birdcage. Even more for a view lot (golf course or water). For those wanting to downsize in both square footage and price, or even if you are just trying not to spend more for your retirement house than you got out of your pre-retirement home, you should consider the pluses and minuses before you make your decision.

Not all of us moved from high home price areas, and most who sold anywhere in the last few years have been hit, some very hard.

[jane032657]

Yes you must buy to suit your comfort level. One of the programs I administer is the foreclosure hotline for Washington State. No one should overbuy. There are some great villas in Mission Hills for $250000. The villas arevallthe same more or less. It is just what you want today for location at the haciendas. They are all beautiful. You are very wise

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by CarGuys

I really like the neighborhood and design of the CYV . It is friendly and cozy.
As you can see Car Guy. I go to the garage to bond with the Car or Harley.
It's a Man Cave for me a place to polish the vehicle and let my mind wander.
When in our CYV we could not move in the garage when the car was in the Cart and Bikes

I loved our CYV. However we personally found the garage too small for our SUV, our motorcycle, bicycles, golf clubs, lawn supplies, etc. Like many men Fireboy loves big garages. He talked me into buying a house with a very large garage. It works well for us.

We also have a lot of visitors from Canada. When we had the CYV, they would need to park in the Visitors Parking lot. We love the convenience of having a double driveway.