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Just be aware the HOA you pay now outside of the Villages likely covers some amount of insurance and repairs. The payment here does not. Also the historical district likely owed no bonds, not true further south.
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Curious
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It will endure
It will endure. My husband and I have owned two homes and one rental home on that side over the years. Our observation is that as time goes on the manufactured homes are being replaced slowly by site built homes. You are right, the manufactured homes are very well-made and maintained. That area definitely has that bubble feel and the view from the hilltop is magnificent.
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Historical Area is Here to Stay
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If you are a Golfer shopping for a home in The Villages, you should NOT purchase a New Home in the Southern Areas, which have very few Executive Golf Courses. Rather, you should buy a Pre-Owned home in the Middle or Northern areas (including, but not limited to the Historic Area) which have plenty of golf courses nearby. |
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It appears the newest sections recently built and currenetly being built, have more and more golf cart lanes on the main roads and less dedicated cart paths. I'm guessing it's all about money and is cheaper than dedicated paths. |
Assess your needs and wants. "Different stroke for different folks."
The Villages is planning to develop for I believe I heard for the next 15 years. If that's the case and they would even remotely entertain abandoning areas in "north" then that could mean eventually they could potentially abandon Brownwood and the 44 area as the new old north. One can endlessly worry about each old "north." People are currently building slab houses in the historic section north of 441 without the developer actually building them. Drive around up there and you will see a couple in progress. T V is going to be working on the SS bridge I believe as well. All signs indicate they are not going to abandon that area. I do not think T V would abandon the area that was created as the original "dream"... or would the 4th to future heirs let it go?... Now that I think about that... who knows with kids now days and what will be of value to them in the future. Examine the areas and pick the one that pulls on your heart strings. "Home is where the heart is." |
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As far as I’m concerned, the major problem is younger people moving into the neighborhood. A number of these seem to be drug-addicts and petty criminals, making the Historical Villages less safe than most of The Villages. Less dangerous than many of the surrounding cities, but more dangerous than The Villages south of 466, where most of the residents are retired. I’d like to see that entire area restricted to retired people. |
My only concern with manufactured homes is their sturdiness in high winds.
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If you want to be able to socialize with your Hawkin’s friends you’ll be doing a lot of driving between the two locations. At least an hour and a half by cart one way, or 45 minutes to an hour by car. Keep these things in mind when making your decision. Also, you won’t have a garage with a manufactured home. Just a carport. That was a huge NO for us when we moved here in 2022. The bigger the garage the better. The advice you’re receiving to rent first for awhile to get a better feel for all locations is very wise. Best of luck! |
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This area has many golf courses, restaurants, stores, and medical offices The hospital will be 2 miles away. |
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Not only with the things you mentioned but the incredible easy of access to Supermarkets, large chain stores, restaurants, two of the best town squares in my opinion: Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter (5 and 18 minutes by golf cart respectively). I can get to most places mentioned in 10 minutes or less by golf cart, with an average of 5 minutes among all. Paradise Rec Center is about to be rebuilt with an estimated $20M investment. Silver Lake Rec Center was “refreshed” including new pool tables about 1.5 yrs ago. Hill Top golf course was reopened a few months after extensive renovations. Not to mentioned the view from hole #1 which is one of the most spectacular ones. Tight on budget? Get a fixer upper manufactured home or open land and built your dream home. Many options available. And btw, I don’t work for TV. This is our experience…😎 |
We lived in the historic district for 5 years and liked all the things you mentioned. It is also a super-convenient location. You are minutes from shopping, banks, rec center, pools, golf, hospital etc. I would not be afraid to buy there. Best of luck.
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1973 - Florida begins requiring tie-downs, at four corners only. June 15, 1976 - HUD takes control of mobile home standards, and additional tie down requirements added per manufacturer’s installation manuals. July 13, 1994 - HUD upgrades structural requirements, including addition of Wind Zone 3 for high-wind prone hurricane areas of Florida. October 1, 1996 - Florida begins requiring mobile home installers to be licensed. March 29, 1999 - Florida makes major changes to strengthen the tie-down requirements above HUD standards, part of the state Administrative Code Rule 15C-1. |
We built on an empty lot in the historic area 5 years ago. We've never regretted it. Golf cart access to shopping is excellent and nearby. Mature trees, less traffic (except 441).
I have no reason to believe the developer will abandon the area. In fact, we are getting a new multi million dollar rec center. |
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TV appears committed to maintaining and improving this area. For example, Paradise rec center is going to be completely replaced/updated, Hilltop and Silver Lake exec courses have both recently undergone extensive upgrades. And you already know about the fabulous Orange Blossom pool. This area is special. Whenever I travel elsewhere in TV, I always breathe a sigh of relief and the stress in my body vanishes when I get back to the historic side. It is peaceful with less traffic, a little more slow-paced and relaxed. And you are right - all the properties are different. So fun to walk or cart around and see what others are doing with their homes. Love it! :welcome: |
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I just remember the first time we were up there with a realtor and we were told by the realtor that we definitely did not want to be in that area but my husband and I were looking at each other thinking 'but it's so beautiful up here!' We left so confused and so began our research. I'm excited to start house hunting. Thanks again! |
What I love about The Villages is that everyone thinks their area is the BEST !!! And I guess, that is why they bought there. I live north of 466 and EVERYONE of the people "up here" think this is the Best area and can't stand being south of 44. The people in the middle (between 466 and 44) think their area is the Best and feel they are centrally located to everything. The people in the south (south of 44) think their area is the best because of the activities and new things that are being built every day. So you are going to get 150,000 opinions on what is the Best area. It totally depends on you !!! And you will NEVER get a consistent answer to that "Best" question here on the TOTV forum....
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You had an entire homeless encampment under one of the southern area bridges for awhile, and squatters in a house south of Sumter somewhere just last year. As for survivability of the homes - let's see. There was a tornado several years back that destroyed a couple of houses south of Spanish Springs. No homes were damaged in the old section that day. Hurricanes have blown through and flooded areas of The Villages, including the old section, but none of the homes in the old section had significant damage or need to be replaced. There've been lightning-strike fires in homes in the southern areas, that haven't happened in the old section. Sinkholes caused a couple of houses in the southern section to be condemned. That hasn't happened in the old section. The southern areas seem to get boil water warnings every couple of months. The old area gets them a couple of times a year. Most of the manufactured homes here, have been here since the mid-1980's. They're still standing, they're still in great shape, and the owners maintain and update them as needed. In fact, the windows in MY manufactured are probably better than the ones in yours. I have double-hung, double-paned, e-gas whatever Andersen windows. We also have a metal roof, which means our house is significantly less likely to be damaged by lightning than yours is. |
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All the Spanish Springs area bonds have already been paid off, most homes around the Savannah center on El Camino Real and Buena Vista, and parts north of that, have had their bonds paid off by now. Generally speaking - anything north of 466 will have either no bond left to pay, never had a bond in the first place, or very little bond owed. |
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You will be minutes away from the town square and shopping along Hwy 441. One of the biggest benefits is that you will not have to cross Hwy 441 either in your car or in your golf cart via the bridge. In summary, you will have everything you appear to want and in a more convenient location. |
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Living up North
I live up north in Chatham and love it. I'm only 58 and have lived here for over two years. It's very quiet up here, and the neighbors are great. Many are older, but people move in and out, so that will change with time. As for me, I enjoy living around older people. My friends are from the clubs that I joined, so my friends live all over the place in the Villages. Up north, the traffic is very light--another benefit. We have an incredible (and fairly new) rec center here called First Responders. I go there daily. It's my favorite rec center, and it's on a very large piece of property, so they have a lot to do there. My wife and I were also drawn to the northern villages. Everyone is different. Trust your gut and go with it.
P.S. There are a few homes for sale on my street. You should check them out. My neighbor's house is move-in ready and beautiful. Message me if you want more information. |
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Sumter County: Just a moment... Lake County: Forms : Lake County Property Appraiser Also, this consideration applies to far north villages in Marion County, they also have higher property taxes. Pay Taxes Online - Search the Tax Roll I did this when I was house hunting, & sometimes the variation on property taxes for roughly the same size & age house, was stunning. Also, beware of the deep south. Hawkins has Wildwood city taxes piled on. An extra .0028287 on the taxable value of the house, fun! (not) |
Sumter Landing area is definitely beautiful. I personally like the Odell circle and Bonita area just south of the Square, around Mallory.
The prices are much higher, but if I were to move into any place south of Sumter, that's about as far south as I'd go. Zero interest in anything past Colony. Zero interest in Brownwood and points south. Another possibility if you can afford it would be across from the Polo Grounds off Buena Vista Blvd. A major downside to that area, is that's when they started going nuts with the "kissing lanais." The lanais are mostly in the back of the houses, and just barely 10 feet away from the neighbor's. So you have ZERO privacy, and no fences or privacy shrubs allowed. Trying to enjoy your morning cuppa on the lanai is not much fun if you have to deal with Morty smoking his morning cigar 11 feet away from you in an upwind. |
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That means anyone who is standing up on their lanai, will have a perfect view of their back door neighbor's hair curlers. If the person walking out to their lanai (and therefore, standing) is 6 feet tall, they'll probably have a good view of Mabel's droopy boobs as she reaches for the bathing suit she left out the night before to dry. |
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