[motherflippinpicker]

Originally Posted by hosegooseman

We bought a 1984 manufactured home in Silver Lake (historic side). We couldn’t be happier.

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…😎

Thank you for the feedback. As I read more and more of these "happy to be in the North" comments, it makes me feel like we all love it for the same reasons.

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!

[SIRE1]

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....

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

The Historical Villages are much nicer than I expected and have better landscaping than I expected. Still, double-wide “manufactured homes” don’t survive as long as regular houses, and the insides are of a lower quality. They also have carports rather than garages. Housing prices there are lower, and sometimes much lower. A number of the original houses have been replaced by fancier new homes, though I don’t see how that is cheaper than buying a place south of 441. If that continues, the neighborhoods will continue. If you are on a tight budget, it’s a good place to buy, as the Amenities Fee is MUCH lower than the fees at nearby trailer parks.

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.

Most of the drug addicts and petty criminals in the north area don't live in The Villages at all. Crime is still very low, just as it is very low throughout The Villages. There are drug addicts and petty criminals in the Wildwood area of The Villages, and some guy who'd been living in one of the Lakeside Cottages at Sumter Landing was terrorizing the neighborhood for a good long time.

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.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by motherflippinpicker

Hi. Surprisingly, the HOA we live in does have a bond/CDD. After research, we discovered there aren't many CDDs left in FL. I think Ava Maria, TV and a couple others are the only CDDs left. The bond is what deters us from new construction entirely and we don't look at preexisting homes with bonds either, unless very small.

The Historic area never had bonds.
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.

[lawgolfer]

Originally Posted by motherflippinpicker

Hello,

Our home sold and we are finally moving to TV. To say we are excited is an understatement. We are house shopping this weekend.

My husband and I very much love the original area for its hills, large yards, mature landscaping and the beautiful pool and we love the style of the well maintained manufactured homes, as they are all different. My concern is that this area will eventually be phased out by TV.

Does anyone know if this has ever been a concern?

I hate myself for joining in this thread. However, if you want advice, I'm glad to give it. I recommend that you not buy in the historic section. The manufactured homes are quite old and many are in need of repair and updating. Instead, I recommend that, based on what you say you like, that you buy in the Spanish Springs area, particularly along the Rio Grande corridor off of Morse Ave. Most of the homes are of the size you appear to want, the trees are all mature, there are two excellent executive courses and the Hacienda championship course.

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.

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by motherflippinpicker

Hello,

Our home sold and we are finally moving to TV. To say we are excited is an understatement. We are house shopping this weekend.

My husband and I very much love the original area for its hills, large yards, mature landscaping and the beautiful pool and we love the style of the well maintained manufactured homes, as they are all different. My concern is that this area will eventually be phased out by TV.

Does anyone know if this has ever been a concern?

I agree with your choice. Many criticize the manufactured homes but there are some beautiful ones that have withstood a lot of weather and still look good. Love the landscaping as well. There are some amazing deals out there. I do agree that your concerns about the developer may be unfounded. No need to walk away from the flagship. An earlier post seems most like the most logical path....buy up the older manufactured ones and flip them into the newer concepts. You don’t get to their level of success by being shortsighted. That area is important to their legacy. IMO

[Rodneysblue]

Originally Posted by motherflippinpicker

Hello,

Our home sold and we are finally moving to TV. To say we are excited is an understatement. We are house shopping this weekend.

My husband and I very much love the original area for its hills, large yards, mature landscaping and the beautiful pool and we love the style of the well maintained manufactured homes, as they are all different. My concern is that this area will eventually be phased out by TV.

Does anyone know if this has ever been a concern?

We’re getting a replacement Regional Rec Center to replace the Paradise RRC.

[Fuzzyjourneyfan]

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.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by motherflippinpicker

The beauty of TV is like no other. We currently live in a very pretty gated community on the Treasure Coast. For the same HOA fees we can live in TV. We can't wait! We've visited many times over the past few years and didn't consider moving until last year.

We hear so many cons of being further north but we love the look and feel so much. People tell us we are too young to live north (55) but does friendship really have an age? My dearest friend recently passed, she was 94 and we were best of friends.

When I'm in the southern areas, it doesn't feel the same to me; however, we have friends in Hawkins who tout that the South is the only place to be. We are very torn.

Thank you for your insight and if you have anymore advice, I'm open to any and all.

I feel as you do. The further south I go, the less it feels like what we have in the Lake Sumter Landing stomping ground. North of 44 is the furthest south I would ever consider if I were looking to purchase a home in The Villages for the first time.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Lottoguy

Please look into what the cost of insurance is in that area. Many of these homes are self insured because of many are of the manufactured variety. This location is great for shopping and medical needs. But, remember everytime you want to leave that area you will be crossing over 441 in a golf cart if that is what your use to.

There is a bridge to cross over 441. It's a fun ride. I've done it only once but went "weeeeeeeeeee" on the way down.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by mraines

I live in a site built house on the historical side and I love it here. There is more individuality in the homes and lots of trees. We have 4 pools on this side, golf, bocce, tennis, pickleball and horseshoes.
There is no place I need to go that I cannot get to by golf cart. This is why I live here. It is close to shopping, doctors and restaurants. Good luck in your choice.

I'm on board with being close to shopping, restaurants, retail stores, medical buildings and the hospital. The Lake Sumter Landing area is just south of the historic section. That is my happy place. Close to everything is what I like.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

I live in the Historic Section. Yes, it's beautiful, I personally feel it's the best. No, they won't be building out. Why? There's no place for them to expand up here. That's /why/ they expanded west and south. North and east are already spoken for and developed by other people.

The developer no longer buys up foreclosures to rebuild. It remains an option for them to do that, but they stopped doing it a few years ago.

The pool the OP is referring to is a priority pool. It's not an amenity, if you want to use it, you have to pay extra. It's part of the Country Club, which is privately owned by the Developer. But yes it is absolutely gorgeous. Our side has three other pools, that are available for all Villagers, and paid for our of our monthly amenity fee. Those are Hilltop adult pool, Paradise family pool, and Southside adult pool. Southside does have a hot tub.

As for age - please keep this in mind, and consider pragmatism and logic over emotion when you read this:

Many residents of the Historic area are REALLY OLD. That means homes here are going up for sale often, because people who get REALLY OLD die. They are replaced by younger people who are not really old. So many of the people moving in, are younger. In their 50's, and early 60's. Yes, your neighbor might be 80. And your 80-year-old neighbor is probably in better shape than you are because she's been living and participating in this incredibly active sports-based community for the past 20 years, while you've been stuck behind your desk 8 hours a day and only participate in sports on your annual vacation. Your 80-year-old neighbor has lots of stories about life, knows everyone in the neighborhood and can introduce you, can help you find a nearby club to suit your interests, and can probably get a kick out of taking you to the square for a night of dancing once in awhile.

And then, when your 80-year-old neighbor turns 95, she might end up having to sell her home and move into assisted living. And the new neighbor will be 55 - but by then you'll be the old lady.

Such is the ebb and flow of aging in the Historic section.

OBB......agree with everything you said with one exception. Not only the historic section experiences this ebb an flow of aging; all of The Villages will eventually be on the receiving end of that life cycle.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Dusty_Star

Could you share with us what the perceived cons are of being further north? We might be able to help, as many of us have actual experience of living further north.

I'm not in the historic northern section but I can answer that question with one concern I have read about on this forum..........south of 44 have lots of nature areas including dedicated walking and bike paths. That means no golf carts will ever be on these paths (unless the driver makes a mistake). That is really nice if you are a walker or like to ride a bicycle.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by shaw8700@outlook.com

Everything you’ve written is what I’m going through right now! My husband likes the Spanish Springs area and I’m trying to get him to the Sumter Landing area but he LOVES the trees up north. I’ve been here for two weeks in a rental and we are looking. Send me an email if you want to commiserate over lunch.

Just south of 466 on Morse Blvd. is a forest of really old Live Oak trees. The area has picnic area complete with picnic tables and golf cart parking. This area is on the east side of the Morse Blvd bridge AKA the Lake Sumter Landing area. Make sure to point out to your husband that there are nice trees and very mature trees in LSL area.

[Dusty_Star]

Originally Posted by lawgolfer

....However, if you want advice, I'm glad to give it. I recommend that you not buy in the historic section. The manufactured homes are quite old and many are in need of repair and updating. Instead, I recommend that, based on what you say you like, that you buy in the Spanish Springs area, particularly along the Rio Grande corridor off of Morse Ave. Most of the homes are of the size you appear to want, the trees are all mature, there are two excellent executive courses and the Hacienda championship course.

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.

I agree with what LawGolfer said, with one addition. Watch the property taxes. This applies to Orange Blossom, Silver Lake, & Country Club too, avoid the villages of: Del Mar, El Cortez, Mira Mesa, La Reynalda, Valle Verde, & La Zamora. All of these villages are in Lake County & Lake County has higher property taxes than Sumter. I don't know if these properties also have Lady Lake city taxes, but they may. Look at the county property tax appraiser's website for each house you are considering. That will show the taxes levied on that property.

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)