[taylor111947]

I'm arriving on the 26th to househunt and want to use my time as efficiently as possible. I was thinking of starting with visiting the models on Sunday and going to any Open Houses - my sister is coming with me and I think this would help to orient her to TV. I have a TV and MLS realtor, but want to explore on my own a little. Are the models all open on the weekend and how do I find out about other open houses?

Any other suggestions would be gratefully appreciated. Not sure whether to start with the TV realtor or the MLS realtor and how to fit the FSBO homes in between. Not sure there are enough hours in the day!

[DaleMN]

Many open houses daily. They are advertised in the Daily Sun.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

taylor - You'll need to be accompanied by a TV rep to see inside the models.

Bill

[Tbugs]

My advice is to start with the Villages agent for the first day or two. Do not sign anything to buy a house at that point. Next, go with the MLS agent for two days. I would really forget about the FSBO's since neither can show you those.

My advice also is to look at the re-sales. Lots of great houses in Virginia Trace, Caroline, Mallory Hill, Bridgeport at Lake Miona. I bought 18 months ago in Glenview and have a wonderful home built in 2002. Bond is almost paid as compared to $25000 bonds of new homes. Makes a big difference on the annual property tax bill.

My advice, again, is to steer clear of the areas under construction and what the agent will call the area near Brownwood. That is going to be under construction with heavy machinery and blowing dirt and noise for the next 4 years. You also do not get to negotiate prices as with a re-sale house. I would also want to steer clear of that area due to the close proximity to Wildwood - which is not Southern charm - but a rural, blighted area with lots of crime that might spill over to that section of The Villages. Lots of burglaries now of the appliances and hardware from the houses under construction around St. James.

[starflyte1]

I think it helps if you spend HOURS on the internet, searching homes for sale. Come prepared with a list of homes you want to see. The listings are mostly very good with many pictures. If it says close to something such as squares, check out how close. 3 miles is close to some people, but not to all.

[JohnN]

Probably 1,000 houses for sale in The Villages between new, VLS (Villages resales and MLS, not to mention FSBO.

As suggested, spend lots of time on the internet, and figure out what generally you're looking for as far as size and price.

Just my 2-cents, I'd rent a month and learn the neighborhoods and logistics and take your time to get the feel of it all a bit before buying anything, but lots of people have bought sight unseen.
Best wishes.

[champion6]

Originally Posted by Tbugs

My advice, again, is to steer clear of the areas under construction and what the agent will call the area near Brownwood. That is going to be under construction with heavy machinery and blowing dirt and noise for the next 4 years. You also do not get to negotiate prices as with a re-sale house. I would also want to steer clear of that area due to the close proximity to Wildwood - which is not Southern charm - but a rural, blighted area with lots of crime that might spill over to that section of The Villages. Lots of burglaries now of the appliances and hardware from the houses under construction around St. James.

Tbugs is entitled to state his (or her) opinion on this forum. I respectfully disagree that buying in an area of TV that is near Wildwood might result in being subjected to a higher crime rate.

[Pa & Giggi]

We bought a lot in the Village of St. James. Is there reason for concern in this area? We are ready to start the building process on our new home as we just found a buyer for our home here in MA. I would hate to think we are building in a high crime area.

[Boomer]

Hi taylor,

I do not know how long you will be renting, but it might be worth calling the "Daily Sun" and subscribing when you arrive. The shortest subscription is one month, but you can call and cancel if you are leaving sooner than that. It's just that the minimum charge is for a month.

When we were there not long ago, one month's subscription was somewhere around 10 dollars, as I recall. It would be cheaper to pick it up at the stores or newsstand, of course, if the visit will be shorter than a month, but to me it was worth the convenience of having that paper in the driveway every morning. That way, you can have your coffee and map out your Open House route before you leave the house that day.

The delivery is really dependable. One day they missed us and I called and a knock at the door came within what seemed like a really short time. It was someone from the "Sun" handing me the paper personally.

I don't know if you have ever been to TV before, but it is HUGE. If you do not yet have the $5.00 map from the sales office, you might want to call and get one. We have an old map from AAA, too. It shows the surrounding areas. I do not know if there is an updated version of that one. But I would suggest getting one of those, too, if it is available. Kind of helps you to get your bearings.

Also, re. FSBO's, I see no reason to have any problem with FSBO's as long as you use an attorney. If you watch the ads in the "Sun" you might see one for a seminar on buying FSBO's. We went to that and the info was good. I think the law firm was Millhorn but I am not sure if I have that right. They also talked about title insurance which I would certainly buy. While some here strongly believe that it is OK not to buy it for new homes, I probably would. Property lines and such. But I must confess that I have been known to tape a post-it note -- just to make sure.

Things for us are a little different because we would not be selling our present home so we are in no hurry. We want to make sure it is worth the expense that comes with owning two.

For us, the interest is in pre-owned homes only. Well-maintained and upgraded pre-owned. For some, only new will do, and they look forward to doing all those extra things like adding landscaping and other upgrades. But for us, we have done so much of that through the years that we do not want to do that anymore. (I guess we want to buy a house from us.)

And as far as that thing you hear about new neighborhoods making it easier to find friends, I just don't think that TV's sales reps are all that concerned about my social life. I think you can find friends through your interests.

Take your time and learn as much as you can. My guess is that there will still be plenty of houses for you.

Boomer

PS: Oh my! I just looked back and I saw that you asked only about Open Houses and I got way into all kinds of extra advice. Oh dear. It's like you asked for the time and I built you a clock.

[StarbuckSammy]

Just to clairify a few items...in the Daily Sun each day The Villages has a map and listing of 12 new houses for sale. Every day that changes...you do not need a Village Rep or realtor. Also, you have about 30-40 open houses of existing homes...again no realtor or Rep needed. If you want to see new models (not for sale) you need to obtain a Village sales Rep.

After a couple of days you get the hang of it....you'll love it.

[ilovetv]

Let's not go there.....making certain villages seem to newcomers like they are on "the wrong side of the tracks". All the villages are beautiful and it's the people in them that makes them clean, safe, and a mini-hometown within the whole hometown of TV. All sides of TV are subject to some local crime.

As for building a new home in St. James, just enjoy it. It's been done tens of thousands of times and when a brand new neighborhood of residents all moves in at the same time, you have instant friends and things to do together. There's no place like it!

[swimdawg]

Per T-bugs:My advice, again, is to steer clear of the areas under construction and what the agent will call the area near Brownwood. That is going to be under construction with heavy machinery and blowing dirt and noise for the next 4 years. You also do not get to negotiate prices as with a re-sale house. I would also want to steer clear of that area due to the close proximity to Wildwood - which is not Southern charm - but a rural, blighted area with lots of crime that might spill over to that section of The Villages. Lots of burglaries now of the appliances and hardware from the houses under construction around St. James.[/QUOTE]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow! What is this about? I bought land in St. James and certainly wouldn't think of building if it was a crime area. "Lots of burglaries now...."? Does anyone have any info about this or is it merely hearsay?

[JohnN]

swimdog,
there's no real evidence to support wild crime in any part of The Villages.
I'd not worry, but just watch out for your neighbors as they'd watch out for you, makes sense in this day and age.

And all of The Villages are really very nice.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Tbugs is merely stating his/her opinion about how he/she sees things. "To each his own": Some people will want nothing other than a new home (regardless of bond/pricing), others will go after a resale - Some people absolute love the Historic villages, others want something else - Some feel Wildwood is a community they prefer to be far away from, others don't see it that way.

Welcome to life - everyone of us sees things through different sets of eyes.....and perspectives. It's what makes things interesting!

Take it all in as input, apply you own mindset, then go after what makes sense.......to YOU!

Bill

[pzjay]

Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo

Tbugs is merely stating his/her opinion about how he/she sees things. "To each his own": Some people will want nothing other than a new home (regardless of bond/pricing), others will go after a resale - Some people absolute love the Historic villages, others want something else - Some feel Wildwood is a community they prefer to be far away from, others don't see it that way.

Welcome to life - everyone of us sees things through different sets of eyes.....and perspectives. It's what makes things interesting!

Take it all in as input, apply you own mindset, then go after what makes sense.......to YOU!

Bill

BillnBrillo: As usual
We're here for month of March. Will only build or buy new and probably in the newest areas of St James, Tamarind Grove or Sanibel (??) and do not feel uncomfortable at all. Yes, there will be lots of construction, but once an area of homes is fairly well built out, they will move to the next. I don't anticipate that we will hear that much from Brownwood Square being built in the area near Colony below 466A. If so, so be it---we'll cope.