[TandHSTAR@AOL.com]

Agree. Buy what you can afford. For a single person a Villa is perfect
Actually I have married riends who.love their Villa. Don't let the agent talk you into something you will be unhappy in. Look around and see how many Villas both court yard and patio villas are built you will see they are very popular. Easy maintenance. So far as dogs barking. Smoke from cigars/cigarettes. Listening to people on.phone , etc. You can experience those no matter where you live
Good luck but stick to what you can afford and how much work you want to put into your home. Or can afford to hire someone.

[LMBNY]

Hi -- This is the about the third time I've seen mention that St. James has many single women. This has great appeal to me. I'm spending the month of July in TV, planning to buy in about a year. Wanted to really explore neighborhoods and wondered if women / those on the younger side gravitated to a particular location. I'll be 59 when I make the move and the one thing that scares me is leaving my girlfriends here!

[Debbraham]

Be sure to also check the difference in taxes...south of 44 and south of 466A and east of Morse tend to be higher. Also cost of bonds! Be sure to talk to realtor outside of the villages realty...get different answers many times!

[Dlbonivich]

Originally Posted by GRACEALLEMAN

We have been looking and saw the villas and walked around in them but they're pretty cheaply made, and if you want to smell smoke of your neighbor if they smoke cigarettes you can't change that, and if you want to hear dogs barking, yapping dogs, barking then live in the villas, because you're that close, and there's nothing that you can do about it. You're basically within several feet of your next door neighbor and whatever they decide to do, smoke cigarettes, talk on the phone loudly, whatever you have you are stuck and it's in prison kind of....

Most cv are as expensive as a cottage homes, some are as expensive as a designer home. My only draw back on the cv is the smaller garage. Be sure you are good with that. I usually sell someone a cv then they realize the garage is just to small and they move up to a house. Andrea Bonivich, Sellstate Superior Realty

[Susanorn]

We have a 3/2 for sale with poured wall concrete and glass enclosed lanai. Close to adult pool and soon golf cart accessible to shopping. Please contact me if interested. Thanks

[Red Rose]

There is an adorable house for sale by owner at 317 Society Hill Circle in the Village of Mallory. Not too big and not too small. It's stucco and has a wall behind it. If interested, let me know and I will get the phone number for you.

[Red Rose]

There is an adorable house for sale by owner at 317 Society Hill Circle in the Village of Mallory. Not too big and not too small. It's stucco and has a wall behind it. If interested, let me know and I will get the phone number for you.

Originally Posted by GRACEALLEMAN

We have been looking and saw the villas and walked around in them but they're pretty cheaply made, and if you want to smell smoke of your neighbor if they smoke cigarettes you can't change that, and if you want to hear dogs barking, yapping dogs, barking then live in the villas, because you're that close, and there's nothing that you can do about it. You're basically within several feet of your next door neighbor and whatever they decide to do, smoke cigarettes, talk on the phone loudly, whatever you have you are stuck and it's in prison kind of....

All villas meet the Miami Dade building code the strictest in the nation. Our villas are very quiet and have privacy walls.

[John_W]

I purchased a new CYV in 2011 in Tamarind Grove off St. Charles. I have been a fulltime resident ever since purchase and so have 11 of the 13 villas on my street are fulltime since the beginning. We have 2 snowbirds and none of the villas have ever been rented. You have more turnover from deaths and people moving to a bigger homes. Of the 13 villas on my street, four owners have died. Three have moved, two went to bigger homes, both in Sanibel, another went to a bigger home outside TV in Lakeside Landing. I think you'll find more rentals in the older patio villas. At the time I purchased my CYV in 2011 the average price on my street was $200K. I could of purchased a new patio villa in Buttonwood for $135K at the same time. Today the same patio villa resale is going for about $200K to $220K. They were a good investment for many.

[DaisyDE]

I've never heard that there is a limit of 25% of homes having the ability to rent. Who would possibly monitor that? The more rentals, the higher the likelihood that TVs will sell more houses, as many come to rent and get a feel for the place and then decide to look for their forever home. There are a handful of villa rentals and snowbirds in my community. These are all older couples, not 20 yr old partiers. They are as respectful as everyone else. When snowbird season is over it's quieter, but that also means less people at the Squares, restaurants etc. I believe your realtor was trying to upset you. I'd drop him like a hot potato. I bought a new villa and heard none of that from my agent.

[lindaelane]

I have lived in the Courtyard Villa for 4 years. I do not know of any renters in our neighborhood. It is very quiet. Even if there were renters - and again I know of none - it would be quiet You asked if things are difficult in any way because people are "transient". Not for me. I enjoy the "crowded season" and the "quieter season".

You won't have the problems that come with stereotypical "rental neighborhoods" here because nothing here is a stereotypical "rental neighborhood". The Villages is mostly composed of persons who may be "renting" but who are able to buy - They may even own a home elsewhere or be renting until they find and make ready the home they will own here.

[Dilligas]

Originally Posted by Cheryl Barrios

I am looking for a home in TV. I am downsizing and would like a smaller home so I have mostly looked at villas. I was told by an agent the other day that villas are very frequently bought to lease/rent and as a result those who live in those communities year-round struggle with the frequent new faces and the issues that come with renters - even though it was clarified at the renters are over 55 and are not typical families. I was also told that no more than 25% in the smaller villas can be leased out. It was recommended that I look at a cottage instead. Do any of you live in villas? Is it "difficult" in any way to live there because people in the villas near you are transient? I will be living by myself, but I suspect that my family will want to visit me more there because it's TV in Florida instead of Kansas City. Any home-buying suggestions are welcome also.

Snowbirds are not your reason for decisions. Villas and free standing home neighborhoods all have snowbirds and full time residents. Renters are in all sizes of Villages' homes. Pick the home size you will be comfortable in, with the features you will enjoy (view, large lot, large patio/lanai, pool, closeness to amenities, etc). Villas have closed in lots with walls or fences. Some of the newer cottages, and a few newer designer, also have enclosed yards. Villas offer the maintenance free aspects should you travel a lot.

[sallyg]

We live in a villa in Marsh Bend. There are a couple of rentals but there have been zero problems for the neighborhood. You can find some good buys too. Good luck.

[Dilligas]

Originally Posted by Dilligas

Snowbirds are not your reason for decisions. Villas and free standing home neighborhoods all have snowbirds and full time residents. Renters are in all sizes of Villages' homes. Pick the home size you will be comfortable in, with the features you will enjoy (view, large lot, large patio/lanai, pool, closeness to amenities, etc). Villas have closed in lots with walls or fences. Some of the newer cottages, and a few newer designer, also have enclosed yards. Villas offer the maintenance free aspects should you travel a lot.

I would also ask for a different villages sales agent who gives you all the facts and not opinions.

[Burgy]

Originally Posted by Cheryl Barrios

I am looking for a home in TV. I am downsizing and would like a smaller home so I have mostly looked at villas. I was told by an agent the other day that villas are very frequently bought to lease/rent and as a result those who live in those communities year-round struggle with the frequent new faces and the issues that come with renters - even though it was clarified at the renters are over 55 and are not typical families. I was also told that no more than 25% in the smaller villas can be leased out. It was recommended that I look at a cottage instead. Do any of you live in villas? Is it "difficult" in any way to live there because people in the villas near you are transient? I will be living by myself, but I suspect that my family will want to visit me more there because it's TV in Florida instead of Kansas City. Any home-buying suggestions are welcome also.

Definitely compact and less maintenance. Good and bad well mentioned by others. I always thought they may be hot eg] hotter in the summer due to walls and more concrete and buildings close together