There is no reason to say things like that. The Villages have a very good record for excavating surfaces for run off, managing the levels of ponds and seeing that things drain properly.


About five years ago we had 13 inches of rain within three days and there was standing water, not high, but standing water at the intersection of Morse and Stillwater. That was it. I think that is amazing.

I am stating the obvious. Look at a terrain map of the aforesaid area. It's unlike any other area in the Villages. Can the developer control it ? Perhaps they can, but if it's my money on the table I'll buy high ground property any time over low ground. Any smart person doing their due diligence would. That is reason enough to say things like that, dear Gracie.

There is a LaBelle website for LaBelle residents though. It lists social activities, etc. It doesn't detail properties in LaBelle if that's what you were after.

I have to agree with GG on this one.
I bought south of 466A and just east of Buena Vista. My house is at 72 ft above sea level, even the highest point in TV is only 140. My foundation is 15 1/2 feet above the pond on the golf course which is about 70-80 yds away. I don't expect to be sitting on my roof for the rescue helicopter, nor is Noah going to pull up to my front door. FEMA and Flood insurance people say we're fine. And if TV handled 13 inches in 3 days without looking like Johnstown PA, I'm not worried

Use this map to see the 100 year flood plan data. Zoom/cut to the correct location and then click the 100 year flood zone box to the right of the map. This information is found on the Sumter County site.

Sumter County - Geographic Information System

Ooohh. A bit high on one's self are we?

It's not so obvious at all. If the developer cannot come up with a plan to handle the design storms, they will not get their permits. Of course you have to be aware of flood zones when you develop. That I will agree is obvious. But there's no "perhaps" about it...they either control the water or they don't develop the property.

You do know that higher elevations can flood, right? And lower elevations can handle drainage just fine. It's all in the engineering. The developer has done a very good job in that regard to this point. There is no reason to believe that the southern areas will be handled any less efficiently...even if the topography is a bit different.

The only thing I'm high on, is a hill. Many house's at the bottom of our street with perpetual soggy lawns that the developer refuses to fix. Areas that should have remained wetlands, not developed. But, profit rules and the poor schmucks who didn't do their due diligence suffer.

???????

In our neighborhood which is three years old, three properties had standing water at the beginning and those problems were quickly solved by the developer. I hope we will hear from other people who had their problems solved.

We think it is wonderful that some bright people took some swamp land and fixed it up and sold it to a lot of people. It is the American way.

I eagerly bought here and so did over a hundred thousand other people without a gun to our heads and most of us are satisfied.

There have been posts on TOTV about mosquito problems in some of the new sections. Someone said that mosquito control spraying was not done in all the new sections.

I know that Bonifay Club outdoor bar has a bad fly problem. The manager told me that is because it was built on a former cattle field. Who knows?

To me, I find the well established areas a better buy. Negotiations on price, lower or no bond, no surprises about what is built, and mature landscaping are a few reasons.

I have always suggested having BOTH a Villages realtor and an MLS agent. Neither can show each other's homes. No need to be sneaky because they know savvy buyers do it.

Best of luck. You will be happy anywhere. But check out resales in established neighborhoods!

Being in Lake Deaton, like you are, there are soggy lawn problems. At first I thought it was solely a grading/drainage problem, as shown in the first picture. I too met with the builder, home warranty and the lawn service, and yes, there is some reluctance to install a French drain, at least at first. It is also true that areas south of 466A have a large amount of clay soil which hampers drainage. In the last 5 months I have had the lawn core aerated and top dressed, and the second picture is taken 2 weeks after, showing tremendous improvement (albeit weeds), despite a lot of rainfall. The developer will fix the problem, if you stay after them and it is clearly due to drainage. In my situation, given the photo evidence, I'm not sure I can make that case, but it is a work in progress. The head of home warranty is coming back in October to review the situation, and there ARE properties in lake Deaton that they have fixed. They probably just want to be sure that a French drain is the solution

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Of the new neighborhoods...
 

You forgot the disclaimer.

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anyway, the before image was all mud and puddles

I'm jealous of your perseverance. Me, I would have no patience if I dropped 500K for a house in Florida and my back lawn is a swamp. I avoided this issue simply by looking up my block and down my block just to make sure I wasn't at the bottom.