Lots of great answers already given. A couple things you should understand. If you want to build new you have to go thru the villages builder. Others can tell you how much input you can have. I understand it's not like building at home where there is a lot of leeway. They are building hundreds of cookie cutter houses and don't have the time to make each different.
You asked for names of villages to look at for pre-owned. This implies you are using the villages website for resales. You need to realize that villages sales agents are not Realtors. They do not use MLS listing and so the website will only show probably less than 10% of the pre-owned options. Zillow or Realtor.com do not list by village but by geographic areas. You have to be careful because their boundaries move as you move on the screen and you might look at a house that isn't actually in the villages. VLS sales people push new sales over resale. Others have commented on that. We bought in 2021 during a buying frenzy where out house was on the market 6 minutes. Bought sight unseen, but we are part timers. We are way up north in Mulberry. Neighbors are mostly older, but we have met many in late 50s like us at pools. Will probably move a little more south when we get ready to retire and spend more time, but like the amenities of the established areas. To each their own. Villages are great for so many different reasons. We love music at squares, some don't. I golf, wife likes pool options and shopping. I will say at 58 I feel young in the north and old when I head south of brownwood.

Good luck

This is incredible, everyone!

So much that I did not know.
I am realizing the the Bond is a major consideration. Is that paid separately, or as part of the financing package? Is there a time limit to pay it off?

We plan on being snowbirds, and living in the Villages Dec-April.

I was considering an east facing house, since the sun would set in the back
lanai when it would be warmest in the winter months. Does that sound logical?

Again, thank you all so very much. I knew I came to the right place to have my questions answered !

Lora

Well said.

Not to mention the areas with the most traffic, the oldest amenities, the oldest and least renovated homes, and the most rundown neighborhoods. I don't care much about proximity to shopping, that's what my internet connection and Amazon are for. But hey! At least the bond is paid.

Between 466A and 44 would be the Brownwood Area. Don't limit yourself yet look from north to south tons of great options!

I do not want to turn this into a north vrs south argument. The homes in the northern area were built in the early 2000's. That is not ancient! Most have larger rooms, lanais, and lawns than the homes in the southern area. However, the homes in the south have larger garages (more room for your toys) and less lawn to maintain. IMO, choosing a home based on its newer appearance is not the way to go. The inside and the amount of space you require are what matter most. Explore before purchasing. I think you will quickly realize there are many gems in the established areas with stunning views and amazing outdoor spaces. All completed and move in ready. Or, purchase a new home and design a home suited to your needs. Either way, I would make the final cost the deteriming factor.

Here is a neat (and free) app. SunCalc.net.

You can put in your exact location and it will tell you where the sun rises/sets for any day in the year.

Great responses/information. I have an insurance question. My wife and I live in coastal Louisiana and we plan to move to TV this year. For Homeowner’s insurance, we currently pay $5600 a year with USAA, plus nearly $1000 for Flood Insurance. Is this comparable to what people are paying in TV? Anyone have USAA? I’ve seen discussion about insurance brokers; can anyone recommend one? Thank you.

On the bond: if I recall correctly there are only two options:
You can pay the current balance in full at the time of purchase, OR you pay monthly until it's paid off. You can't pay extra one month, or put an extra deposit down to reduce the monthly cost or duration.

It's possible that you can pay the balance off IN FULL at any time, but I don't remember reading anything about that and as I said in my previous post, the "Historic Section" has never had a bond in the first place so I never had to care.

The bond is really a meaningless construct to me. For my new house build in 2022 it was $30k. I just pretend that my house cost me $30k more than the selling price, which is pretty much true.

Besides, if someone were to buy a resale home versus a new one, they're probably going to need to spend an extra $20k to get updated appliances and possibly renovations anyways.

Our house will be 2 yo in march. Block, 10’ ceilings 8’ doors. 2,800sf, garage 780sf, lanai 500sf, with a pool/birdcage. Our renewal this year $1078.00 with $1000. Deductible.

Usaa was not writing policies in FL when we bought this house.

Bond is paid with your taxes. It’s a yearly amount. You can pay off full balance at any time. We have never paid off a bond, because our investments far exceed the interest and balance each year. Each house the new buyer assumes the balance.

First house lanai faced west, not a fan, 2nd house east, winter was chilly, 3 house lanai faced south. Could only use very early and late at night, hot as a match.

This house lanai and pool faces north/east. Summers lanai is perfect. January we have a fire table, which makes our time enjoyable.

If you are building, You can choose Gas stove and gas dryer, or electric. No choice you get tankless heater, south of 44.

After living between the 6’s from 2007-2022, you will notice one big issue. Lack of police presence for speeding on all streets.

South of 44 you get Wildwood PD. Speeding tickets are issued, and you will see their cars not only during the day but several all night long. I would travel between our two houses moving light stuff between 2a-4a. officer at Meggison and 44. I would wave, as I travelled by, and every night he drove past the house while I was unloading. I always thank WPD for patrolling the neighborhoods, when I see them at outings, for patrolling and actually writing tickets.

So for us extra taxes, actual police presence worth every dime.

Lot location
 

You are correct, Lora, no lack of information here! LOL
First, a big high five from two former Rhode Islanders, and welcome!

We are on our third home in The Villages and have been here eight years. My mom has lived in the northern end in the village of Piedmont for 21 years. It’s lovely. My sister has lived in the village of Ashland, just a bit south of 466, near Sumter Landing, for 20 years. Very nice area!
We have lived in the village of Buttonwood (preowned home) with no municipal taxes, just Sumter County taxes, then the village of Pine Hills (newly built spec home) and paid municipal taxes to Fruitland Park and Lake County taxes, and both were great.
We are now just south of 44 in a home we had built, and LOVE it. We pay municipal taxes to Wildwood, and Sumter County taxes.
See where I’m going? All of The Villages is lovely, it all just depends on your preferences for how you want to live and what you like to do. Take your time deciding.
We have dogs, so we do a lot of walking and love the miles of beautiful recreational paths in the area we are now.

In the new areas, you will pay taxes to municipalities in addition to your county taxes, just keep that in mind. You can save money buying a preowned home with some or all of the bond paid, and will pay no municipal tax in unincorporated Sumter County. The bond is paid annually as part of your tax bill. I believe it is amortized over thirty years.

As for lot orientation, remember how the sun “swings” in the sky seasonally, not just rising east and setting west. In the winter, when you will be here, the sun swings to the south. Our current home faces north, so all winter, the sun travels across the back of our home, from east to west all day, where the lanai is, keeping the back of the house bright and warm when we want it the most. In summer, the sun is on the front of the house all day and the garage gets pounded with heat. That’s why we insulated our garage doors! The sun is still high enough in the sky to shine on the pool all day in summer, but the lanai is shaded. Our last house was east facing and we enjoyed the sunsets, but the lanai was brutally hot in summer, so we had it enclosed. Problem solved, but we had very little outdoor space to enjoy on the back of the house. If you are only here in winter, heat from the west setting sun might not be an issue for you.

Before we built, we went to tons of open houses for ideas, but ultimately, you will be limited by what is available as far as finishes. I would recommend not putting roll outs in the kitchen cabinets, etc during the build, because we were not happy with the quality of the hardware. I ended up replacing some of the rollouts with much better ones after market. Also, we would not have the walls painted during the build again. The paint they use is a flat paint that looks great, but marks up so easily and is very difficult to clean. We will end up painting over it eventually.

I could go on and on but it can be overwhelming. Try to find a really good Villages agent who listens to you and is willing to spend time with you, and that will help tremendously.
Enjoy the process and best of luck.

It wasn't a North/South thing. If you would have read the whole thread you would know he was talking about the Historical Section. You also left out all the houses up North with those natural gas lines in the attic.

An important distinction is that the bond is not a personal debt. It does not count against your credit score or mortgage. The interest of not deductable.

The bond is against the property. When a property sells, the bond remainder becomes responsibility of the new property owner.

Paying off the bond early risks not recovering that money at time of sale.

Heres a link to GoldWingnut videos explaining the Bond, Amenity and Maintenance fees.

The Villages Information/Fees Videos - YouTube

Northern exposure
 

By all means, a SOUTH facing lanai is most desirable.

Much, much better to buy existing home since there is such a large inventory available. Your bond will be lower, area is more developed, more shopping, better landscaping, closer to more golf courses and activities/entertainment.

Our preowned built 12/09, in October 2015 our washer, dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher stopped working within 30 day period.
July 2016 HVAC stopped working, Chuck got it to work, but it literally stopped in January. In June our sprinkler box quit, then even though we cleaned sprinkler heads 13 were broken (we hand mowed) had to be replaced.

2018 Breakers started failing, replaced 3/4 faucets and garbage disposal.

2019 expansion tank.

Out of 4 houses that was the only one and done preowned.

In order for bond to low enough to make a difference home needs to be at least 10 years old, in our opinion

I agree with everything except the last sentence. If final cost were the determining factor, all of us would be driving Chevys. Just like with everything, paying more for something that you will be happier with is money well spent. Letting lower cost win often leads to disappointment. We have moved south twice. Cost may be higher but love it.

Rent a home for a month, to get a feel for the house prior to any purchases.

Then start going through advertisements of new and used homes on the villages web sites to see what houses have and how they are designed or furnished, etc.

brain reprogramming reminder

You are coming from an area of the country with a traditional colonial design "look and feel"

You are heading to an area of the country which is hot, very sandy/beachy, and flat. This area does not have the same "look and feel"

So beware that bringing traditional look and feel might be comforting, but also out of place for the area. .

good luck. .

another New Englander snowbird at the moment

Remodel your new home
 

Everybody I know that buys a new home here has to spend $50,000. to remodel it before they can move in. It will have carpet and Formica countertops. The quality of construction won't be as good as the homes further north who already have stores and restaurants. Get a MLS agent.

Welcome! This forum has wonderful recommendations, opinions, jokesters, and some snarksters. The majority of posters are genuinely friendly and helpful. The replies offered to your post are wonderful suggestions, as many of us have been in your position.

However, as excited as you are about living in TV, it sounds like you have not been here physically. I would HIGHLY recommend that you rent somewhere in TV for a minimum of a week. You need to get a feel for this massive area, and form your own wishes. Don't be in a hurry to sign a contract for any house until you visit. Don't be pressured by the Villages salesperson or a MLS realtor. They all work on commission, and want your $$$ quickly. Rent, visit areas, and go to some open houses, both new and pre-owned. Houses are plentiful- and you will eventually find what you want. Everything is extra exciting when you first get here, but then folks find their niche of activities, stop going to the squares as often, etc. and develop a routine. There is always lots to do, but it's nice to enjoy your new home, too. Building a new home on a dirt lot with your choices is exciting, but you could end up with a house behind you or across the street that looks hideous because you don't like the color your future neighbors chose, but it is a personal eyesore to you. Good luck, take your time, and make a personal visit first. I did a lot of research prior to picking a home, but nothing compares to renting for a week to a month, or doing a Villages Lifestyle Visit. Good luck!

Buy an existing home for the multi due of reasons mentioned here. We’re between 44A and 466A. Bought new 10 years ago. Could not be happier with the location and all it offers. Shopping, golf, real squares, regional and neighbor rec centers, sports pools. Don’t buy south of 44A again for the reasons mentioned here to avoid that area.

We built in the Laurel Manor area in 2005. (Probably sounds like a long time ago to you.) We live in Winifred and love it here! A hop, skip, and a jump to 466, with lots of restaurants, supermarkets, banks, golf courses, and mature landscaping. Several large recreation centers within close distance, too--Laurel Manor (very close), Colony, and Lake Miona. If you're golfers, Palmer Championship Course is right here, as well as numerous Executive Courses. Well developed area with tons of amenities!

I will "2nd that emotion" on about the 5th paragraph about not enough Police presence to stop speeding on the residential streets.

Its one of the main reasons we left between the 6’s. UPS, FedEx, and the lawn guys, it was just dangerous to be anywhere in the neighborhoods. Our neighbors sent a letter of concern to sheriff department. A digital speed Sign 3 house down sat for 3 weeks. Neighborhood took Pics of 45-50 in a 30 clearly on the sign. Close to 60 pics from neighbors.

Sheriff’s response to try and curb speeding, an empty patrol car sat on the side of the road next to the mail station for 3 weeks. That worked well….:ohdear: soon as building started south of 44 we built. The week we moved in tickets were abound on Meggison. Yesterday two patrol cars sat off Meggison with Live people inside.:MOJE_whot: 3 am this morning waved at patrol cars when I went to get the paper. He stopped chatted for a few minutes, then off he went. yep we more little more in taxes but so worth it

Apparently I posted my reponse below to the wrong thread! Here's a cut and paste:

I’ve done a lot of woodworking in my life and the question most often posed to me is “what type or specific equipment should I buy”? And I have found throughout the years that by far the best answer is “it depends on who you are and what you’re up to”.

Same applies here. All the responses so far (and most responses on any forum) are sincere and done in the context of what that particular person is “up to”. Your current station in life may (probably) differs from some/many posting here. Just sift through the responses and take whatever nuggets you can, then do your due diligence in researching those topics.

And while I hate to answer questions with more questions, I think if you answer the items below your situation will be clearer:

Is a large bond frightening to you? I don’t know, but I’d urge you to do the research into what it is, how it might affect your budget and how much or little it matters to you in the long run.

Do you care if you drive 2 minutes, 7 minutes or 12 minutes to the grocery store? If that difference will drive you batty, look for something close.

Do you want to be a five-minute golf cart* ride to the closest square? Do you want to be “golf cart distance*” to your favorite restaurant?

Will it bother you to hear the noise from a square? Traffic? Pickleball? The High School? Etc.

If you golf, you are likely going to load up the cart at home and drive the cart to/on/home from the course. Do you care if the courses you like to play are 8 minutes away, 38 minutes away or 45 minutes away?

If you end up being a “one car, one cart” couple, can your conflicting activities be met with one taking the car and one taking the cart? If you are a “two car, one cart” couple, plan your garage situation accordingly.

Is the average age of the residents in your neighborhood important to you? This one is always hard to discern beforehand, but if it’s important to you, gather any and all information you can about prospective locations/sites. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut about “what the typical age may be in this neighborhood”. Some people care about neighborhood “average age”, some do not. Your call on how you feel about it.

Are you buying so that you can be “comfortable and mostly satisfied” immediately upon move-in? Or would you sacrifice “growing pains” (like a dusty, partially built neighborhood and minimal landscaping) to have your ultimate setup when everything around (your new build) is established in 2+ years, including mature landscaping?

Do you want to know exactly what type of houses are in your neighborhood - next door and across the street for instance, or can you live in a new-build while other houses (who knows what models) start to be built around you?

After looking over all floor plans that might fit your needs, are there any design “pet peeves” within certain designs that you wish to avoid?

Is budget (both initial and ongoing) an overriding concern, or do you have a lot of flexibility?

If you bought and then decided say after a year that you wanted to move, would it be fantastically devastating to you to potentially lose money when you sell?

My experience says you can find 90% or more of whatever you are looking for in pretty much any area of TV. Unless you are dead set on new construction, then the area choices are more limited. It all depends on who you are and what you’re up to.

* My note about golf carts - they are not all the same. If you are planning on a newer cart with plush(er) seats, a 45+ minute ride likely will not be that big of a deal (if you don’t mind that kind of thing). If you are planning on an older cart with the stock hard(er) seats and suspension, a 25 minute ride might be torture.

Same thing will happen in your "new neighborhood" if you keep ordering everything on-line... And don't they have "lawn guys" down there as well?

How many UPS, FedEx and Amazon deliveries are you responsible for on a weekly basis?

Before moving to TV I kept hearing "move near Spanish Springs for the great shopping and restaurants!" thinking Lady Lake was some mecca of shopping on par with Sawgrass Mills or some other top 20 Florida shopping destinations. I was surprised when it turned out to be quite the opposite. Not even on par with Gainesville or Ocala for shopping and restaurants even.

Yes indeed! We will be arriving for a week in February! I am looking forward to having a first hand experience. I agree that one should spend time there and explore the different areas. I am looking to get as much info as I can before we arrive. Thank you all for your time and expertise. What a wonderful introduction you all have given me to the Villages!

Lora

Thank you for giving me perspective! This was great!

There's lots outside the bubble for restaurants and shopping within 20-45 minutes:

E.g.: Claremont, Mt Dora, Traveres, Winter Garden, Orlando, Ocala, Tampa/Wesley Chapel

Not even close to accurate.

Home advice
 

We moved into a new home south of 44 four years ago and couldn’t be happier. I have no idea why your questions would prompt advice to buy a preowned home. I think you will love building. Some advice not in the order you asked although do what makes you happy:
1. LVP or tile flooring. Quartz counters
2. Gas is what most people prefer. I have electric and it is fine.
3. Stretch (expand) everything, including garage. For resale you need at least a 2 car plus golf cart garage. Everything is better stretched.
4. Consider your lanai - I wish my lanai was larger and had more overs space ( with roof). If you have room, expand it.
5. Avoid gray cabinets etc. as it looks dated.
6. I have neighbors right behind me and with our landscaping it is not an issue. If I had unlimited money I’d have a preserve or pond view. With that huge lanai.
7. I’m a cook, so I love my huge island and tons of drawers. Kitchens are important because they are $$ to upgrade later. Think about quality there.

Good luck on your new build! Welcome to the villages!

Let's be honest.The Villages is in the middle of nowhere. Some Villages are close to the little that is offered. Other villages, you must drive miles each day to get your necessities. Not an issue for some.Those who are bothered by this choose the northern area. It is a decision every new buyer must face.

In another thread, the continuing expansion of FMK restaurants is discussed. Why is it easy for this company to have a near monopoly? There is very little outside interest. I have lived in the Villages 20+ years. It has always been this way. We waited 20 years for a Costco and FINALLY it is being built. Call me skeptical, but I do not expect the newer areas to fare much better. A Hospital in that area? Even that appears to be unlikely. This is an issue every new buyer must keep in mind.

UF Leesburg isn’t that far for those along 44. Then again given the younger ages of residents in the south 10-20 years for a new hospital would finally put them in the age bracket for need:clap2:

Question and thank you.
 

Thank you for your information!
It was very informative.
We are coming to TV for a 7 day tour starting next week. Our
game plan is to return next Jan/Feb for a month. Our short
term objective is to limit our search area by next Feb 2026.
From the info you shared I am thinking of the Historical area.
I am in construction. I want to do a lot of the work myself. I don't know if it is possible to get a shell of a house and finish as much of it as I can.
We are looking for a fairly new owner that we can approach with questions as we move closer to the 2026 decision date.

For our meeting next week we are
Looking for questions to ask.
What are some of the activities going on?
I would like for my wife, Kay, to meet new and older couples.
I want to put her mind at ease about relocating to TV.

We are planning to live in Fla. 3-5
months a year. This is a tentative
plan as we have a grandchild 3 years old. Can we have our daughters family visit us while we are living at TV?
IS there a limit as to the amount of time they can visit?
We currently live in Lancaster, Pa.
We are also looking for people from Lancaster, Bedford, and Portage now living in TV.
My phone number is 717/381/1375.
Email hudakconstructioncompany@gmail.com

Thanks for any info you can share.

joe

Don’t overlook previous owned homes. Most have no bond or very little left.

Not sure what you mean by "shell of a house" but if you are looking in the historical area or neighboring villages, it is very likely you may find a fixer-upper. Any external changes will need Architectural Review Committee approval. Internal needs normal building permits.

Welcome!