If homesite means the exterior of the home then that's a little less intrusive. I took it to mean interior as well.

Not quite accurate. There are villages that have petitioned and had changes to the restrictions. I know of one village of courtyard villas that had a restriction of only one color, that now has a selection of different home colors. I know of restrictions against villas installing window shutters that now has window shutters. Also screened entryways. Changes can be made IF a neighborhood agrees and the proper process is utilized.
Deed restrictions are different for some districts and the same for others. Just because one wishes changes or deviations to the restrictions, does not mean that they are negative in nature. Whenever one decides to debate a small deviation from the restrictions, immediately we have those that shout that they will have old trucks on blocks in their front yards or purple homes. There are always exceptions to rules and laws. Ask any lawyer and they will find you an exception to even murder. A murder charge can be changed to a manslaughter conviction. A felony charge can be turned into a misdemeanor. By I digress. The point is that IF one wishes to make a legitimate change to their restriction, they should petition for a change and get the consensus of their neighbors. I can ride through a neighborhood in districts one or two and see a multitude of personalized properties. The property value has not been decreased as is the evidence that almost every home you see with a sale sign on it is also "pending" a sale. I drove through one neighborhood where one owner had bordered his landscaping with green beer bottles. I thought "how unusual" but even though it was not my cup of tea, I figured why should it bother me?
Deed restrictions are great and do make for a nice sterile, cookie cutter community. I have no problems with that. I also have no problems with minor adjustments that do not degrade the community into a slum. Rules and laws are flexible. Those rules and laws that are not flexible usually end up shattering eventually.
Point being made is, get permission to modify your property. If denied, then petition for a change in the rules. If denied, then live with it or move to a "nicer" environment. Kind of like, if you do not like a neighbor what do you do? Use the law or move.

Deed restrictions cannot be changed once the original deed is transferred.

Actual Deed Restrictions Can't be changed once the original deed is transferred. However, there are local rules and regulations that are not enshrined in the covenants that may be modified.

semantics:ho:

Hardly semantics and not at all pure technicalities.

Actually they can. :ho:

Ours can only be changed with the extremely unlikely approval by the developer or government override. Even if the original owner agreed to make a change, it is unlikely that your neighbors will go along without legal action.

A very reasonable and logical post to illustrate why the endless "arguments" and trash talk (in either direction, for or against) are an illustration of what is IMPORTANT to EACH individual. Many of the things you mentioned were concerns for us (thought the villages have no HOA fees (here we each pay for our own lawn care, there are not common services that are mandatory through HOA "fees", though there is an amenity fee we pay), but the point is, each has to take all that you mentioned into consideration. If a traditional garden is your retirement dream, the The Villages makes no sense at all. If high on your list is privacy, again, even the largest lot is not going to provide the kind of privacy another may have in mind. We gave us many of our "like to haves" in favor of "most important". For us, it was to be able to afford to play golf (nearly) everyday, and to reduce expenses considerably by being able to get to most any kind of shopping or entertainment, or medical attention in a golf cart. We recently had relatives move OUT of the Villages. They are near, but have FAR more land, FAR more privacy, and since they seldom swam, never played golf, were not at all interested in tennis or taking "lessons" from the volunteers who teach so many activities here, they are very happy to have a larger place, more land, and no amenity fees to pay. HOWEVER, they do find there are trade offs. Trips to the doctor or to have an eye exam are further away and take more time. Just a simple thing like wanting to make a batch of cookies and find you have no eggs left, can mean a lot more than a golf cart or bike ride to the grocery. They can, and do, come to listen to the free music the merchants provide to the public in our "squares", but, it's all a trade off. If we went to a public golf course 4-5 times a week, had to pay green fees (let's go low and say $35) and then rent a cart, and of course purchase a sandwich or snack, a modest price would be $50 per person per day of golf. That could be $400 a week (and of course probably more, $60 a round in winter is not unusual in Florida). So that was our priority. I have always marveled at the number of people who are willing to pay up to $160 a month for amenities they seldom,or never use, but many are perfectly willing and happy to do that. Others are put off at the thought because they are used to getting things like lawn care, SNOW removal (LOL), etc. included in HOA fees, but "amenity fees", to play bocci or shuffleboard, golf, or swim... "NO way" they say. So, every individual must take stock of what is most important to THEM, plus, what their budget will allow, and then explore their options ! We are happy to play our golf, our relatives are thrilled to have a fire pit in their yard, NO houses close enough to see what the neighbors are doing, and having a lovely garden of both vegetables and flowers. It's all relative as the old saying goes....

There is no villages wide HOA.

There are communities within TV that have HOAs. I know that at some point, I think 15 years after our area was built, the developer notified us that they stop being responsible for flowers, tree and wall maintenance. A HOA was formed to cover these expenses.

I also know that 30 years after the covenants are enshrined, they expire. We(The HOA) had to hire a lawyer to continue them. They expired 10/31/21. 6 days ago. I haven't heard from our HOA president if everything was finished on time though.

It's happening to more than one of the areas right around Spanish Springs.

Glad to see you corrected your statement and agree with me.

:MOJE_whot:

Everyone should read their own deed restrictions, at districtgov.org, as they do vary. My deed restriction is only 8 pages. For many of the CDDs, the deed restrictions do expire at 30 years but will automatically renew for successive 10 year periods unless some action is taken by the Developer. For many of the CDDs, it also appears that the Developer can unilaterally amend the deed restrictions.

I know ours did not automatically renew, and I just looked at the statutes and the law is pretty clear. It expires and action must be taken to renew it.


Chapter 720 - 2021 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate

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720.3032 Notice of association information; preservation from Marketable Record Title Act.—
(1) Any property owners’ association desiring to preserve covenants from potential termination after 30 years by operation of chapter 712 may record in the official records of each county in which the community is located a notice specifying:
(a) The legal name of the association.
(b) The mailing and physical addresses of the association.
(c) The names of the affected subdivision plats and condominiums or, if not applicable, the common name of the community.
(d) The name, address, and telephone number for the current community association management company or community association manager, if any.
(e) Indication as to whether the association desires to preserve the covenants or restrictions affecting the community or association from extinguishment under the Marketable Record Title Act, chapter 712.
(f) A listing by name and recording information of those covenants or restrictions affecting the community which the association desires to be preserved from extinguishment.
(g) The legal description of the community affected by the covenants or restrictions, which may be satisfied by a reference to a recorded plat.
(h) The signature of a duly authorized officer of the association, acknowledged in the same manner as deeds are acknowledged for record.
(2) Recording a document in substantially the following form satisfies the notice obligation and constitutes a summary notice as specified in s. 712.05(2)(b) sufficient to preserve and protect the referenced covenants and restrictions from extinguishment under the Marketable Record Title Act, chapter 712.

I’ve moved 6 times here the last time in April , I’ve lived other places over last 22 years but have always kept a home here. I do not golf and the only recreation center I’ve been in is the Savannah Center and I pretty much stopped going there when the Sharon opened. I like it here for the order and the beauty of the place and that there are rules I also love city living for its chaos and energy.I’m 82 and fit but if I had some kind of medical problem or had trouble driving , the plan always has been to live in Boston where I could walk or just sit and absorb all the energy of city life

Unfortunately some people don't realize also not all districts in the villages has the same restrictions, or covenants like some people call them. Using the restrictions to better the neighborhood is absolutely great. Using them to selectively target one neighbor and not the others creates issues.:ohdear: