[JohnN]

In 2007, my wife and I took a long time touring central Florida. Plantation, Legacy of Leesburg, Arlington Ridge, King's Ridge, Royal Highlands and others south of the turnpike on highway 27.

We visited Del Webb and OTOW in Ocala and thought both were nice communities. I asked the sales rep "who is your biggest competitor?" and he said "without a doubt, The Villages, and people either love it or don't." So, we visited here, loved it, and bought, now on our second home, moving from seasonal to full-time in 2012.

OTOW. What was the deciding factor for us wasn't the housing, which we thought was comparable. It was the community. Highway 200 is always congested, it seems to me, and I don't want to drive it every time I leave the community. Also, OTOW is substantially smaller than TV, and I prefer driving around and feeling like I'm in a resort, not just in a small community. But that's just me.

I don't much care for some of the changes in TV (ie: apartments), then again I don't care for coronavirus. The world is a tough place. TV is home now. It's safe, affordable, clean, (mostly) friendly. I don't really see much to be gained by a move.

However, sometimes you get an itch to move on, and life is short, go for it. I wish you the best.

[rjm1cc]

Make sure you understand what is and is not included in the HOA fees. If you are on leased property (I know, do not want a lease) your fee includes outside maintenance except replacing roof. In Candler the fee covers all amenities in Candler and the OTOW leased land communities. Indigo fee is a lot less and only covers amenities in Indigo. Point is dig into the numbers and you may find they are not as expensive. For example Candler includes 35mb internet.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by under55

They will go up another $20 when the Beach Club opens up.
Here is a great article on the place. Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach Retirement Guide

Any ETA on the Beach Club?

Thx.

kathy

[La lamy]

Originally Posted by under55

Have been in The Villages over 13 years. Built 2 new homes here. But some things you just can't put a finger on just a feeling it's time for a change. Went last weekend to check out Latitudes Margaritiville Daytona Beach. Nice small development everything is new. There is now a range of preowned homes to buy so you don't have to wait to build. We purchased a preowned and moving next month. On to our next adventure. We also thought about OTW and Trilogy but the monthly fees seemed high. Our villa fees will be about 270 per month but that includes all outside landscaping upkeep and irrigation and any new exterior painting and roof replacement as needed. They will go up another $20 when the Beach Club opens up. But no Bond and no yearly maintenance fee.
Here is a great article on the place. Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach Retirement Guide

They call it The Villages East yet there's no pickleball?!! That's just not right!

[under55]

Originally Posted by kathyspear

Any ETA on the Beach Club?

Thx.

kathy

November

[under55]

Originally Posted by La lamy

They call it The Villages East yet there's no pickleball?!! That's just not right!

Yes they have Pickleball you must have missed that in the information.

[beachgirl]

We have owned a villa in TV for 11 years. Our primary home was in Myrtle Beach, SC. We sold that this summer as we bought a cottage in western SC on a lake. We owned the house at the beach for 20 years. Some considerations about buying near the coast are that you must pay for hurricane insurance if you have a mortgage, and the deductibles are really high, and we always needed to be around, particularly in September, when usually a hurricane might come through the area.
We love Florida. That being said, we have looked at other retirement communities, and they just don’t offer the activities the Villages has (before Covid). Also, we were told that home insurance is less if you live north of I-4, west of I-95, and east of I-75, as this is not considered a hurricane-prone zone.

[Stu from NYC]

I needed a place with all the amenities that we enjoyed the first month we were here.

Hoping they are back by early next year

[UseYourBrain]

Originally Posted by kmspla1952

I LOVE the Villages. Honestly I do. The convenience of everything. The variety offered. A lot of friendly people. HOWEVER. I've noticed a change in the 5 years we have lived here. I see that the priority is focused on "south of Brownwood". I also see that our home values will decrease as each "multi family/apartments" is built. Hacienda Hills & Katie Belle's have been identified as apartments. 468 new apartments including section 8 are being built behind the Haciendas of Mission Hills. TooJay's and Demshar's have closed in Spanish Springs and are they next to become apartments?
I consider a move to On Top of the World in Ocala. Husband said he would never move anywhere that you didn't own the land (leasehold). I have recently found out that there are 3 communities in OTOW (Candler Hills, Indigo East & Weybourne Landing) that is fee simple and you DO own the land.
I would like your thoughts please on why or why not you would consider OTOW? Thank you.

1. Why do you care if the focus is south of Brownwood if you are happy with where you are?

2. Who cares about property values at our age?

[J1ceasar]

Gold heart . thanks .

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by kmspla1952

I LOVE the Villages. Honestly I do. The convenience of everything. The variety offered. A lot of friendly people. HOWEVER. I've noticed a change in the 5 years we have lived here. I see that the priority is focused on "south of Brownwood". I also see that our home values will decrease as each "multi family/apartments" is built. Hacienda Hills & Katie Belle's have been identified as apartments. 468 new apartments including section 8 are being built behind the Haciendas of Mission Hills. TooJay's and Demshar's have closed in Spanish Springs and are they next to become apartments?
I consider a move to On Top of the World in Ocala. Husband said he would never move anywhere that you didn't own the land (leasehold). I have recently found out that there are 3 communities in OTOW (Candler Hills, Indigo East & Weybourne Landing) that is fee simple and you DO own the land.
I would like your thoughts please on why or why not you would consider OTOW? Thank you.

I considered OTOW before buying in The Villages this year. There are nice houses. However, Talk of the Villages has a list here of around 2,000 clubs or activities of various sorts. I went through that and found a hundred I’d like to at least try once. That’s what drew me to The Villages. (Of course, most of those aren’t functioning during the pandemic, but someday they will.)

By contrast, I didn’t see that OTOW had much of anything of that sort. As soon as I figured that out, I lost interest.

[J1ceasar]

Do u use everything? 90% don't even swim!! Sometimes less is more .

[westernrider75]

We recently looked at OTOW, but honestly the cost of golf changed our minds. When you compare apples to apples if you are a golfer OTOW is significantly more expensive even considering the bond.

[westernrider75]

When we visited OTOW there was nobody outside doing anything, literally saw 4 women walking separately and that was it.

[HoosierPa]

We have been to Latitudes Margaritaville several times in both Daytona Beach and South Carolina. The grass is not always greener elsewhere. No comparison to TV.
NO GOLF
1 POOL FOR 6000 homes
1 PUBLIX
NO SHOPPING IN DEVELOPMENT

ITS BASICALLY A SUBDIVISION FOR RETIREES.

IM SURE SOCIALIZING IS FINE BUT THATS ALL THEY OFFER.

NOWHERE IN THE WORLD EVEN CLOSE TO THE GREAT AMENITIES IN THE VILLAGES.

NO COMPARISON