[HimandMe]

We wanted a stretched Lily (Has larger second/third bedrooms if you don’t want tv in living room) but couldn’t find one with an affordable view lot and settled for a wall 10’ off our lanai. They built villas on the other side- 5 within hearing distance without enclosed Lana is. We enclosed ours but we could still hear the loudest ones morning to darkness. The wall so close to us began to look like a prison wall, we moved.

[cdimauro]

Hi...I have noticed so many folks have stated "No Carpeting". I agree and have tile in my home (Not yet in TV). I would think that new homes would not be built with carpet or that people selling their home would take our the carpet before listing.

[gpkk_2000]

A large garage. Privacy (we back up to 5 villas). Tasteful upgrades. Carpet only in BR. ELectric appliances (obviously a personal choice). I am also very fussy about paint, not the color, that can be changed. If the house is preowned then pay attention to the baseboards & trim. If done poorly you will see paint on the tile grout and flooring. A total non starter for me. Another item we overlooked was the neighborhood. We have many rentals in our area and the remaining neighbors are not that friendly. On the other hand, our friends ended up in a neighborhood with active, fun and caring neighbors. As a trade off we got a 2.5 PLUS garage. All of my husbands friends are jealous!

[Cranford61]

Get a bead on your neighbors. Do they rent out constantly? Is it a flop house? Talk to sheriffs office about “issues” in the area. Does your neighbor have their unemployed adult child Living with them. Do you like your neighbors’ cigar smoke wafting through your lanai?? Check it out. Rugs or no rugs pales with the above concerns.

[MandoMan]

I wanted to live in The Villages to make friends and get involved with activities, but I’m an introvert, and most of my life I’ve lived in the woods or on a lake. I like to be beside or in a pool, au naturel, ideally with friends in the same condition, which means having a pool and birdcage. I got the pool and a golf course and no houses to be seen out behind and trees for shading from the west-facing back yard, but the pool and view added a LOT to the cost (over $100,000 extra.) I found those, liked the house, and made an offer an hour later without seeing it in person. Houses with no other houses to be seen behind and a nice view are rare in The Villages. I would never buy one of these houses where you see a number of neighbors out back, fifty feet away, though I’d consider a courtyard house. I like the privacy. But only with a pool.

I wanted about 1500 sq ft with a large living room. Got it. Having had houses with white tile (yech!), linoleum, hardwood, or concrete floors, I wanted carpet in the bedrooms and living room and got it. (I’d lived in Ocala with white tiles, and one day with the windows open and the tiles needed sweeping because they felt gritty.)

I didn’t care if I got granite counters, but they were already there. Got a walk in shower. I really love a six foot long deep bathtub, but I’ll have to do that myself. I really wanted a 2.5 Space garage. I’d pay a lot extra for that. No luck. I wanted his and hers walk in closets and lots of other well-designed closets and got them.

I bought a house with a new roof, new AC system, and bond paid. That was like getting a $50,000 price cut. I also bought it furnished, which saved me a LOT of money. All I had to do was make the sale contingent on having the furniture included. (It’s a good deal for the sellers, as used furniture doesn't get much from consignment sellers.)

When I added up all the good points and subtracted the wishes the house didn’t have (the golf cart garage), I bought. (Of course, the house also looked great indoors and out—impeccable.)

[JDRVKR]

Lanai should be deeper than many that are 8 feet like ours...too narrow for furniture and the lanai should face East or North to avoid the afternoon/evening sun. We missed that and our lanai is extremely hot.

[Boilerman]

I agree that location is the most important must have. We wanted to be less than 10 minutes by golf cart to grocery, shopping and restaurants. We wanted to be south of 466A (but north of 44) in a newer more active neighborhood.

Must have for the house was a 2 car plus golf cart garage, 2000 square feet, and some privacy in the back yard.

We really wanted to have a gas stove but that really limits your location here in TV. Our home had an electric stove but we recently replaced it with an induction stove and love it! Better than even a gas stove! They are pricey and you have to probably replace your existing cookware, but it’s better than limiting your location based on where gas is available.

[Shelly]

Originally Posted by NewJerseyBoy56

Did you have a list of Must Haves and a list of Wants when you brought your home?

Can you please share some of them?

thank you!

I wanted a stucco house with golf car garage on a corner lot with 3 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms. My husband wanted a designated "man cave" and preferred a furnished place as we sold our previous home with furniture. We rented for 6 months and I looked in the paper everyday for the new and pre-owned open houses and I went to at least one of those homes everyday. Once we decided we were ready to buy I made a top 10 list and we looked at those homes. We ended up buying a frame and sided house with a double car garage not on a corner (but on a small culdesac) with only 2 bathrooms but 4 bedrooms. The moral of our story was that we took our time and after looking at many homes we found in our case that although my husband thought we would save money by buying a pre-owned home with furniture that at least the ones we looked at had furniture that was not our taste and were charging a fairly high premium on the price to include that furniture. I would have liked a stucco house but the floorplan that we ultimately bought, The Ponderosa Pine, gave my husband his "man cave" which would not be lost to him when we pulled the pocket door to close off the guest wing. He loves this feature. Also, we have 3 kids so when they all come for Christmas they each have a room as we put a sofa bed in the "man cave". Our double car garage is expanded so deeper than normal so it fits a car and two golf carts back to back quite nicely. We got a brand new home for a very good price. We were $60,000 less than our max budget! The moral of our story was not to rush. We have owned our home for almost 4 years and are still very happy with our purchase.

[Heartnsoul]

No tile except bathroom and kitchen

[Dlbonivich]

You first have to determine budget. Once you determine budget then you can determine must haves. Do not set your sights on a “want” you can not afford. All of the above suggestions are valid but, they all cost money! A good realtor can help you get what you want and can afford. 24 years in real estate and 17 moves makes me an expert! Andrea Bonivich, Sellstate Superior Realty

[Chatbrat]

Exotic landscaping is a real pain to maintain, constant trimming, fertilization, getting rid of pests--wish TV would allow Astro Turf--no irrigation, no mowing, no maintenance

[bpascani]

yes! We wanted golf cart garage plus 2 car, stucco, closet in every bedroom, not near busy/noisy streets or golf cart paths, decent size dining room and back yard. The dining room was the hardest, because if the dining room worked, the master was very small..oh 3bedroom/2 or 2.5 bath

[LynneH]

We bought a home with a two-car garage that had room for a golf cart. After playing musical vehicles in order to get the golf cart in and out, we have decided to add a golf cart garage which will make the current space available for storage.

[Tom M]

- Location (personal preference and debate-rich so won't get into details).
- Specific designer home style (again, personal preference and debate-rich)
- Natural Gas (can't get past cooking on anything else)
- 3 bedroom
- Closed lanai

- full basement and basketball hoop in driveway

[rrb48310]

Originally Posted by Chatbrat

Exotic landscaping is a real pain to maintain, constant trimming, fertilization, getting rid of pests--wish TV would allow Astro Turf--no irrigation, no mowing, no maintenance

YES! I would like Astro Turf. My wife won’t have it, she loves landscaping and it’s beautiful. We have seven crape myrtle trees, holley tree, three palm trees (dwarf, easier/less costly to maintain) two dozen bushes/shrubs and then don’t get me started on the flowers. All need constant maintenance, but thankfully no magnolia or other leaf barring trees that, imho, are just messy. Then no matter what you do, rocks in the landscaping you get weeds and don’t waste your money on that landscaping mat you’ll need the cash to spry for weeds. We tried the natural weed treatments, didn’t work, tried weed burning propane torch weed still come like the energizer bunny. The latest that’s showing some promising results, in clinical trials LOL, is extended control Preen. But after all I am retired and it keeps me busy, motion is lotion.