I agree that everyone we met during our visit was friendly and helpful. Our first night there, we got lost in our cart and got our map out (as instructed by others here) and within 10 seconds a nice couple stopped and had us follow them to the grocery store.

Thanks to everyone for their comments. We'll probably pick a newer neighborhood mostly because we want a newer house and I agree that the odds are stacked in our favor that we will have nice neighbors.

That's interesting - I've never heard of an area where resales are not all listed on the MLS. Good to know, we will probably work with 2 agents.

How it Works . . . or Doesn't
 

I will agree about looking at Lyle Gant's web site (and I am not affiliated with him; I am just another TV wannabee). I get MLS listings for TV resale homes e-mailed to me about twice a week from him, which is something I signed up for. If a listing is in foreclosure, the listing will say "REO/bank owned" in the description. I also go one the The Villages web site on a regular basis to look at resale homes in my price range.

If you can rent a home in TV for a couple of weeks or a month if you have the time, you might have a better idea of what it is like living in a particular village. I have been able to rent in several different villages over the past few years, and it has helped me to see which areas of TV I prefer, although all areas of TV I have rented in have been great. Good luck with your search.

B- man:

1. You need both VLS and MLS agents to see all the homes that are available.
Just tell the VLS you are only interested in resales, (preferably, the ones with the bonds paid off).
2. New homes is mostly a younger crowd. You will find you will meet people when you are out and about so I wouldn't be too concerned that your next door neighbor has to be your best friend.
3. Very few foreclosures but i wouldn't buy a home next to one, especially if it is owned by the bank, and not being taken care.

My advice is to study the map and see where you think you might want to live. Try to come down as many times as you can and rent, to see what areas are preferable to live. There is no bad area, but some areas are more perferable, depending on your likes and needs. Make a list of what is important to you and decide, based on that list. A lot of decisions are to be made, so it helps to keep focused on the list. The same goes for the type of house you want to buy. A list of "must haves", as opposed to, "would like to have", is important.

We would like to rent a few times the next few years before we move down. If you rent a house, can you get a pass that allows use of the pools, golf courses, etc.? If you stay in a hotel, can you do the same?

We would like to rent a few times to help decide. If you rent a house can you get access to the pools, golf courses, etc? How about if you in a local hotel?

Since you are looking to buy a resale I would look for a long term rental in the area you would like to purchase.

Come off season rent month at a time in different villages different house designs, you can get residents passes and use the pools and golf courses just like owners.

I have rented in The Villages in the off season in May, June, July and October in homes I found on thevillages4rent.com, TOTV and v r b o.com. Since I still work full time, I have only been able to rent for one or two weeks at a time, but it is pretty easy to find one and two week rentals in the off season. In all of my rentals, I have been given guest passes so that I can use the pools and the rec centers. And I did take the opportunity to attend a few classes at the rec centers while renting. I do not golf, so I did not need a pass that enabled me to use a golf course. All of the homes I have rented had golf carts that I could use while renting. And after renting a few times I know which kind of golf cart I prefer, but that is a subject for another time.

If you are in a local hotel, I do not believe you would not be able to use the pools and rec centers, but when I have stayed in hotels in TV, I always saw a few golf carts in the parking lots of the hotels; but I don't know if the golf carts were being used by guests or hotel employees who lived in TV.

And 2BNTV is so right about developing a list of "must haves" and a list of "nice to have but not deal breakers" when you are looking at homes. For me, a lanai in a home is a "must have." One home I rented in TV, although it is a great home, did not have a lanai. Another item I would probably put on my "must have" list would be a home with a bond balance of no more than $6,000, which means I would have to look at only resale homes. Lots to think about, but that is why TOTV is such a good resource for those considering a move to The Villages.

Good questions and no surprise to view good answers. I can only ad we moved into a wonderful neighborhood that was quite established. In a short time we became a part of their family beginning with knocks on the door right after moving into our new home. Many of the residents brought cookies and other baked items along with warm welcomes. After 3 plus years living in The Villages, we see some gradual change as residents move away for various reasons. New residents are younger Boomers who reached retirement. So a cycle is taking place, but the friendly culture passed on is keeping our Village a great place to live. Good luck with your decision.

Much is made of moving into an established neighborhood and it being too cliquish etc., but I don't think that is really the case. From my perspective, my neighbors (and us) have settled into a normal way of living. We don't pop in and out of each others homes, but we all know each other and are there to help when needed. I got a call at 3:00am one night when my neighbor had to call 911 and he wanted someone to let the dog out in the morning! Now that is being a good neighbor. I am more friendly with some of my neighbors than others, simply because we seem to have more in common with some than others.

Ask yourself this - when you were younger and raising a family would you have been concerned about how friendly the neighborhood was? In my case, NO. We would find a home in an area we liked and live in it. If we were compatible with the neighbors that was an additional plus. We have met many people here who have become good friends and we socialize at their home or ours. Give it time, everything always works out one way or the other.

Thanks this is also our situation, we are both still working full time and live a 3 hour plane ride away. We'd like to take a week long vacation a couple of time between now and retirement. Then maybe a month or so stay after retirement.

Sounds like we'll need to do the week long trips during off season. I'll look on the web sites you mention, thanks for you help!

For rentals try The Villages 4 Rent, Rentals in The Villages