[patfla06]

We looked at a lot of 55+ in Florida ( lived in Tampa) and there was not one
that could come close to The Villages.

Also be very careful looking in Florida. It should be important to look at things
such as CRIME. Amenities are just a small part of what you should look at.

Personally I would hold off until next year because I think the prices are way too high.

[Calisport]

I agree. I needed a patio villa as a second home. On a Friday at noon the first available homes in a section were available and I reserved my home and 3 others put backup reserves. I'm so glad my Realtor knew what he was doing taking me there at noon. No other houses in that one villa area interested me except the one I saw. And then another tract opened up a month later but closer to the turnpike and prices were higher too. Timing is everything for the new homes.

[peachpit]

We complain about The Villages every day. If only we could find a better place to complain about we would be out of here with our 100% increase in property value and move somewhere else. Any suggestions??? With 10,000 turning 65 every day we will wait it out , but still complain about how bad it is in The Villages. Some call this drinking the cool aid. I have been enjoying my lifestyle for 13 years. We are blessed.

[skippy05]

everything is selling out. this is not limited to the villages. i do not understand it.

[Rwirish]

No brainer, Citrus Hills.

[LateBoomer]

There are some condos in Surfside that are going really cheap now. water views too

[024engine]

Lots of for sale by owner.

[Ele201]

I’ve been thinking about moving to Ocala. You mentioned that there are lots of advantages there. Can you fill me in on those? Thanks.

Originally Posted by Pairadocs

Probably should not reply unless I have useful information, but, been through this myself and since we live here, have made visits to many places just out of curiosity and to take a day trip, try a new restaurant on the way, etc. Really have not found anything compelling. We love the beach, and found Margarita Ville VERY nice.... our problem is even with some faults, TV's still works best for golfers. If not for that, we'd probably go to MV near Daytona, but just too spoiled by NOT having to load clubs in the car, use fuel and mileage to drive to a public course or a country club, etc. etc. MV provides a shuttle bus to take residents back and forth to the Atlantic beach, but not to local golf courses. The development itself does not have golf courses, they do have a "town square" model, entertainment, and IF you like the style ( and I DO !!!) the home plans are great. Have neighbors who have sold home here and moved to MV and are VERY happy they did so, but... they are not golfers. We can't go back to that having to driver car to a course, load and unload onto a rented cart, etc. Otherwise, have personal friends, also devout golfers from our old home town, who moved to Top of the World in Ocala. They have never had any regrets and we visit often, have played there, many advantages to Ocala... a great place to live. We also might (if we had to move) consider a university town...as nice as it is here, a university town offers a bit more in general, but we ranked our priorities as #1 Golf, #2 reasonable drive to beaches, and #3 be able to cruise often without added expense of air fare, hotels, cabs, etc. Seen some nice areas for retirement in the Winter Haven area... but probably true in each area of Fl. I can tell you the prices everywhere, as you probably well know, are HIGH ! Good luck in your decision.... make a list and rank your must haves is all I can say. Footnote, we had THREE neighbors move in the last 10 days... one was a health issue to moving to be near adult children, another just wanted to stay here but in a condo like place so they can travel often without any responsibilities of a traditional home, and the other couple found a home on a golf course they wanted. But... none of the homes were ever actually advertised ! All three were actually listed by The Villages properties and SOLD before they were ever listed on the website ! One is directly across from us, never an open house, never anyone came with an agent, it was listed and then a sign "pending" was put in the window two days later ! ! So, it must be very difficult .. they do seem to have a lot of new homes for sale in some of the very newest villages.. have you seen those ?

[villageuser]

If you’re open to resale, do note that the Village sales do not put their resales into the online MLS system. So there may be more inventory than you are aware of. Still, I’d check with both Village Sales and local realtor offices.

By the way, besides Del Webb and Spruce Creek near us, and. Top of the World in Ocala, I’ve heard lots of good things about Sun City, south of Tampa.

[Joanne19335]

Of course, it depends on your budget. Patio villas are affordable and I have found that pre-owned homes around Nancy Lopez and in the historic section are less expensive. If you want to stay in the Central Florida area, i would look at On Top of the World in Ocala. They are rated very high and you get much more for your money. The one drawback is that you don't own the land--just the structure. I don't consider this a negative, but some people might. If you don't play golf, check out Solvita in Kissimmee.

[BlueStarAirlines]

Originally Posted by Rwirish

No brainer, Citrus Hills.

I thought I heard they were not an exclusively 55+ community. Is that accurate?

[HoosierPa]

Sun City Myrtle Beach SC as close to TV that we have found

[Debra Freeman]

Stonecrest is close to TV. It’s also a few miles from The Villages Regional hospital and a few miles the other way all on 441. It’s next to Walmart. You get to be near TV but don’t need to be stuck in all the circles. Get an agent and be willing to buy pre owned wherever to save costs.

[stevekennedy3]

Originally Posted by bobk544

Hello, we are planning a visit to the Villages in February to scope out homes, but it looks like there may not be anything left that's affordable with the way homes are Active one day and Pending the next day with multiple bids, so as a backup plan, can you please tell us where you would move to in Florida if you had to pick up and move again for whatever reason? Many many thank yous!

There really isn't any. We did the same due diligence starting in 2010. Went all over USA and as far south as Belize. You don't want to move twice. Too expensive. You will find something here. Don't worry. Just come down and spend time looking. Interest rates are still low, so you should be fine.

[Southw2]

Originally Posted by bobk544

Hello, we are planning a visit to the Villages in February to scope out homes, but it looks like there may not be anything left that's affordable with the way homes are Active one day and Pending the next day with multiple bids, so as a backup plan, can you please tell us where you would move to in Florida if you had to pick up and move again for whatever reason? Many many thank yous!

Checkout pennbrooke fairways on state road 44 in Leesburg . Their property is next door to the villages . They have homes from 100,000 to 300.000 . It’s a very lovely community for 55 and older