[SIRE1]

When people talk about the "Developer" they speak as if the developer still owned The Villages and that they controlled every aspect of life here in our community. While it is true that the "Developer" built the community and still own most of the commercial buildings, a lot of us residents forget that we now OWN the rest of it. When a new housing area is completed, the developer essentially sells the community properties to a CDD and then We, and our respective CDD's & county government, are now the owners of our house and those community properties.

In any other new housing area anywhere in the rest of the country, once all the properties are sold the developer moves on to somewhere else and that is the last those people ever see of them. Here in The Villages, the developer has continued to build into new areas so they have remained visible and involved in the community. But a lot of the Villages residents feel that the "developer" still is running the entire community in a benefactor role. They expect the "developer" to continue being responsible for everything that happens and needs to happen in The Villages. We seem to forget that they are strictly land developers in business to make a profit. They have provided us a FANTASTIC place to live and play, and are continuing to provide things that from a marketing standpoint will make the selling of newly developed areas possible.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Yup, the comments pretty well sum it up.

Another point, TV has been here around 25 years, and yet, even the oldest parts still look great - everything is maintained and kept clean and manicured. Look around the country at other "TVs" and you will see most seldom make it more than a couple years, and those that do are dirty, run down and not some place I would want to live.

The developers are making a nice living (lots of money I assume) and I am happy they are, I hope the continue to make money and that TV grows and thrives.

More power to them.

One example of the issue was posted here a while back, a person moved here and THEN found out about the covenants. Many people mentioned that all of that was explained at closing. The complainers response was "there was so much paperwork, we didn't have time to read it all". Seriously, they were blaming the developers for "hiding" things in all the paperwork that they signed when handing over more than a 1/4 million dollars - because they didn't read the contract?

LOL... yup, I do not feel too sorry for them.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by GrumpyOldMan

Yup, the comments pretty well sum it up.

Another point, TV has been here around 25 years, and yet, even the oldest parts still look great - everything is maintained and kept clean and manicured. Look around the country at other "TVs" and you will see most seldom make it more than a couple years, and those that do are dirty, run down and not some place I would want to live.

The developers are making a nice living (lots of money I assume) and I am happy they are, I hope the continue to make money and that TV grows and thrives.

More power to them.

One example of the issue was posted here a while back, a person moved here and THEN found out about the covenants. Many people mentioned that all of that was explained at closing. The complainers response was "there was so much paperwork, we didn't have time to read it all". Seriously, they were blaming the developers for "hiding" things in all the paperwork that they signed when handing over more than a 1/4 million dollars - because they didn't read the contract?

LOL... yup, I do not feel too sorry for them.

Our fault for not taking the time to read all the covenants.

I do wonder how the folks handling the resale if they sat and watch me read everything for a couple of hours.

[oldtimes]

Originally Posted by npwalters

I recognize that some folks dislike the developers just because they are wealthy. That is, of course, stupid.

The current generation of "the developers" - the family - have earned disrespect by ignoring the promises made by the previous generation of their family. The plan to build high density apartments at the previous Hacienda country club site is the most egregious example. There have been many comments on that subject if you are interested.

Many residents were promised by Harold Schwartz that their homes would be centered around a country club and they would live that lifestyle for the rest of their life. Granted this promise was made orally and in person but the current family HAS to know it is true. They have chosen to break this promise and have gone to great lengths to make it happen.

I cannot respect any family (or organization) that will willingly break a promise made purely to make a few extra bucks.


BTW, I am a happy resident of TV. Being content does not mean one must be blind to what is happening around them.

///

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

As for looking at the covenants: This is the same complaint I have about condo association agreements. Those can be an actual book - 2-inch thick binder filled with documents that you agree to, and aren't allowed to look at, until closing.

How do I know if I want to close at all, if I don't know what I'll be agreeing to, until the day of closing? How do I know if I'd agree to all the rules and regs, if I don't know until the day of closing?

The documents should be made public, available at the town/county assessor's office. For every single dwelling in every single condo complex or deeded community. There are some condo complexes that have different rules and regs for each building, or each set of buildings (Century Village is one of those complexes).

Barring that, a potential buyer should be given a copy of the rules/regs/deed requirements/community standards/contracts on the day they put down money to make an offer on a property. No one should have to be made to wait until closing to decide if they want to abide by the rules of the community.

[Aloha1]

Originally Posted by Ben Franklin

I only have one complaint about the developer, and that is the use of socialism in place of impact fees. They are/were in bed with the politicians to get government to relax the impact fees, which means those of us already here pay for the impact created by those making the impact. But, it's not just this developer, they all do it. They even got the Governor to sign an impact fee ceiling. And then they turn around and tell us we need to accept personal responsibility.

With the impact of so many people, the roads will need to be widened, especially 301, from Warm Springs to Route 44. The other roads are Rolling Acres from 466 to 441 with 2 left hand turn lanes at 466 and Rolling Acres. Granted, those roads are not in TV, but they are impacted by the growing number of people in TV. Other than that, most things run pretty smoothly, at least what I'm aware of.

And here is a perfect example of what the previous posters were referring to. This is a GREAT place. Been here 5 years and love it. Walked in with eyes wide open and no regrets. No clue why people move here and immediately want to change TV into what THEY think it should be.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Aloha1

And here is a perfect example of what the previous posters were referring to. This is a GREAT place. Been here 5 years and love it. Walked in with eyes wide open and no regrets. No clue why people move here and immediately want to change TV into what THEY think it should be.

The developer is changing it into what THEY think it should be, why is it bad for someone who actually lives here to want to change it into what THEY think it should be? It isn't what it started out - someone decided to change it into what they thought it should be.

And then, when it changed into what the developer thought it should be, he changed his mind and changed the community again. And then his son in law took over, and changed it again. And then his son in law died, and HIS kids changed it again.

Every time it changes, it moves further and further away from what it was ORIGINALLY intended to be.

If you don't have any problem with that, then you really have no argument against anyone else wanting to change it into what THEY think it should be.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Our fault for not taking the time to read all the covenants.

I do wonder how the folks handling the resale if they sat and watch me read everything for a couple of hours.

If I was buying or selling and the other party did not want to wait for me to read all the documents, I would run - not walk - away. Once upon a time in the US a long long time ago people did business with a handshake. No longer.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

The developer is changing it into what THEY think it should be, why is it bad for someone who actually lives here to want to change it into what THEY think it should be? It isn't what it started out - someone decided to change it into what they thought it should be.

And then, when it changed into what the developer thought it should be, he changed his mind and changed the community again. And then his son in law took over, and changed it again. And then his son in law died, and HIS kids changed it again.

Every time it changes, it moves further and further away from what it was ORIGINALLY intended to be.

If you don't have any problem with that, then you really have no argument against anyone else wanting to change it into what THEY think it should be.

Sorry, it is not a democracy. It is a business. And from what I can see it has been a successful business for over 20 years.

How many people living in TV have 20 years of successful track record running a senior community? Just asking. Because I for one purchased here because it has been successful for that long. I don't know anyone that lives here well enough to trust any of them to make sound business decisions for me.

I purchased BECAUSE of the developers, not in spite of them. Nothing personal but I hope neither you nor anyone else that wants to change that ever gets the chance.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by GrumpyOldMan

Sorry, it is not a democracy. It is a business. And from what I can see it has been a successful business for over 20 years.

How many people living in TV have 20 years of successful track record running a senior community? Just asking. Because I for one purchased here because it has been successful for that long. I don't know anyone that lives here well enough to trust any of them to make sound business decisions for me.

I purchased BECAUSE of the developers, not in spite of them. Nothing personal but I hope neither you nor anyone else that wants to change that ever gets the chance.

The person who originally developed the Villages is dead, and has been dead for a long time. His son-in-law, who took over, is also dead, and has been dead for several years.

"The Developers" are not the same developers who developed this community. The current batch of developers have a completely different vision for the community than the one you dealt with when you moved in. The current batch of developers didn't even have pubic hairs yet when their father took over the business, so no they haven't been doing this for 20 years.

///

[mrrmauu]

Originally Posted by Kcwombat

I’m new to TV, having moved here in September. I see frequent references to the developer on these forums, and a lot of them are really negative. I’m really curious as to what the cause of the negativity might be. I don’t know much about the politics of The Villages, but would love to hear (read) what you all think. So far I’m still in my honeymoon stage here. Looking forward to your input, and now, off to golf!

Just look around. I find it amazing here and it seems like “the developer” keeps coming up with innovative ideas to make it better. Is it perfect? Is the developer perfect? No. But they’ve done a he11 of a job, and I appreciate their efforts and vision. Some here have unhinged hatred for them for various reasons but I just consider the source.

[nick demis]

Originally Posted by bagboy

Some are envious. Some are jealous. Some think they can run things better than the developer, but with no investment or risk. Etc.... stay in your honeymoon mode and enjoy the lifestyle.

Yup

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

The person who originally developed the Villages is dead, and has been dead for a long time. His son-in-law, who took over, is also dead, and has been dead for several years.

Exactly.

And yet there are the constant complainers stating, "Many residents were promised........... ".

Nothing never changes, adapt and enjoy life.

[noslices1]

Originally Posted by Kcwombat

I’m new to TV, having moved here in September. I see frequent references to the developer on these forums, and a lot of them are really negative. I’m really curious as to what the cause of the negativity might be. I don’t know much about the politics of The Villages, but would love to hear (read) what you all think. So far I’m still in my honeymoon stage here. Looking forward to your input, and now, off to golf!

Some people, in the Villages and in the area, don’t think the developer should make a profit on his vision to build a retirement community that out does every other retirement community in the world and some people just can’t be pleased.