[Foemom]

Hi, We are coming down from Chicago to stay there for the month of November and "test drive" The Villages. Because we are limited to 3 weeks does anyone have any suggestions on how to see and learn the most about the place?

We spent one day there last Spring and decided to check it out some more and find which neighborhood we would be interested in purchasing a home.

Any ideas on where to start?

Can anyone explain the additional expenses involved after purchasing a home, ie HOA's, Bonds, keys, etc? I keep reading about additional hidden fees.

Is there a hunting and or gun club for my husband?

Is it better to purchase a used home from The Villages themselves or through a private Realtor? Is there a best time of year to buy? Are homes sold fully furnished ever?

Any info will help. Thanks everyone.

[Foemom]

Hi, We are coming down from Chicago to stay there for the month of November and "test drive" The Villages. Because we are limited to 3 weeks does anyone have any suggestions on how to see and learn the most about the place?

We spent one day there last Spring and decided to check it out some more and find which neighborhood we would be interested in purchasing a home.

Any ideas on where to start?

Can anyone explain the additional expenses involved after purchasing a home, ie HOA's, Bonds, keys, etc? I keep reading about additional hidden fees.

Is there a hunting and or gun club for my husband?

Is it better to purchase a used home from The Villages themselves or through a private Realtor? Is there a best time of year to buy? Are homes sold fully furnished ever?

Any info will help. Thanks everyone.

[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by Foemom

Hi, We are coming down from Chicago to stay there for the month of November and "test drive" The Villages. Because we are limited to 3 weeks does anyone have any suggestions on how to see and learn the most about the place?

We spent one day there last Spring and decided to check it out some more and find which neighborhood we would be interested in purchasing a home.

Any ideas on where to start?

Can anyone explain the additional expenses involved after purchasing a home, ie HOA's, Bonds, keys, etc? I keep reading about additional hidden fees.

Is there a hunting and or gun club for my husband?

Is it better to purchase a used home from The Villages themselves or through a private Realtor? Is there a best time of year to buy? Are homes sold fully furnished ever?

Any info will help. Thanks everyone.

Start with a Village Realtor and trolley tour at Lake Sumter Landing. Jim Minnelli is an awesome realtor. Before you come explore website of TV sales office for homes for sale. Also use a private realtor. Best website Bev Shive. She is also a realtor who's top notch. Suggest contacting realtors now with your questions about fees.

Make sure you will be able to get guest id's...if renting in TV your homeowner can get the passes. That allows you to use recreation facilities and other ID only entrances.

Yes there are gun ranges and clubs. If there is not a TV hunting club, we are surrounded by prime hunting areas for deer and hogs that locals know about.

Fully furnished and turnkey sales are not infrequent but can seriously limit selecting a location.

Personal challenges for me with buying:
limited amt of property with home
limited selection of homes without traffic view or with no homes in rear view
rules against building fences
homes with natural habitat are rare, and if there's water, there are gators.

Finally, to see what's going on, use website for newspaper, The Daily Sun and VCDD's website link to weekly recreation news.

Visit all three town squares, esp sales offices, which are a treat to see.
good luck!

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by Foemom

Hi, We are coming down from Chicago to stay there for the month of November and "test drive" The Villages. Because we are limited to 3 weeks does anyone have any suggestions on how to see and learn the most about the place?

We spent one day there last Spring and decided to check it out some more and find which neighborhood we would be interested in purchasing a home.

Any ideas on where to start?

Can anyone explain the additional expenses involved after purchasing a home, ie HOA's, Bonds, keys, etc? I keep reading about additional hidden fees.

Is there a hunting and or gun club for my husband?

Is it better to purchase a used home from The Villages themselves or through a private Realtor? Is there a best time of year to buy? Are homes sold fully furnished ever?

Any info will help. Thanks everyone.

Foeman - Hello and welcome to TOTV from northwest suburban Cook County. I am just a wannabee, but I will give you some info. You may want to go onto The Villages web site, The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Retirement Hometown - New Home Sales, Home Resales, Build Your Dream Home, Brownwood Paddock Square to look at both pre-owned and new homes for sale. MLS agents and agents from The Villages do not share listings, so if you want to look at all the preowned homes for sale, you would have to work with both a Villages agent and an MLS agent. If you go on realtor.com or trulia.com you can see homes in The Villages listed by MLS agents. Use zip codes 32159 and 32162 for The Villages.

Regarding hunting or gun club, the weekly Villages rec news which comes out every Thursday has hundreds of clubs listed. You can access a PDF of the weekly rec news on The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Retirement Hometown - New Home Sales, Home Resales, Build Your Dream Home, Brownwood Paddock Square, click the recreation tab, click recreation activities, scroll down to recreation downloads, click on recreation news & activities.

The Villages is spread out over three counties: Lake, Sumter and Marion.

New homes will have a bond; be sure to ask a Villages agent the amount of the bond if you are considering a new home. Pre-owned homes located in Lake County do not have a bond. Some pre-owned homes in Marion and Sumter Counties will already have the bond paid off; some will have part of the bond paid off. If there is a bond balance on a pre-owned home, the agent should be able to tell you the amount of the bond balance and how much of that balance is payable each year along with your property taxes.

The amenities fee is about $145 per month -- if that amount is wrong, someone please correct me on that. You will pay that amount no matter what county your house is in or how much your house is worth.

If you want to buy a fully furnished house, and there are quite a few available that are fully furnished, look for a house that has "turnkey" written in the listing description.

Have a great time on your visit in November. I will be in The Villages for 8 days in October. Fall is a very nice time to visit The Villages.

[asianthree]

you will find patio villas or cyv turnkey more than other models..just have a good time drive thru a village everyday see were the pools are and how long it takes you to get to important things in your life like food and such

[graciegirl]

I studied the homes on thevillages.com for months before we came here... and that is very difficult at first to conceptualize. There are TWO kinds of villas and big differences in those two in size and extras that come with. Ranches are now called cottages and have space around them and are NOT in a walled in area. Designers make up most of the homes here and range in price from less than $200k to over $500k. They range in size from about 1600 sq.ft to a little more than 2000 sq.ft. unstretched. Premiers cost $350k to well over a million and range in size from about 2500 to over 4000 sq.fit if stretched.

The variables that make the huge difference in price in any of these homes is the lot itself, not in what village, but the view mostly. Be prepared to find smaller lots than what you have lived on previously and be prepared to entertain the thought that you like most of us are getting older and taking care of a big lot is, well...work.

Bonds on Courtyard Villas are the same as designers(?) about 23K nowadays.
Bonds on Patio Villas (the ones with the little fence) are about 11K (?)
Bonds on Cottages...I THINK are the same as designers. (someone?)
Bonds on designers now cost about 23K
Bonds on Premiers right now are 49K

Lots can vary the price of the same home up to 300K.

Do NOT rule out either one, new or resale. Get a Villages rep and an MLS person. Villages reps in my experience NEVER pressure at all. It is my GUESS that they make the same commission on new and resale.

Hope you will love it here.

Welcome!

[Bay Kid]

Make sure you have a good golf cart. Never get into your car. The CART will give you the feel of TV. Ride every neighborhood you like from one side to the other.

[Indy-Guy]

I would suggest the site below to look for a rental if you don't already have one. I suggest you look for one with a golf cart that will save you having to rent one. I would also suggest that you rent a place between 466 and 466A as that will put you in the middle of The Villages. Also should be able to get a good price for a rental for 3 weeks in November.

November is one of the best months here for weather.

The Villages 4 Rent, Rentals in The Villages