[thelegges]

Our story little different bought first new house PV as a vaca home for both sets of parents, us and kids.

Bought 2nd new house a 3/2 2 car cottage, used as an investment long term, eventually our retirement home.
By the time semi retired plans changed needed more sf and that coveted golf cart garage. Sold PV and bought a preowned designer.

Plans changed again from the first time we came to TV in 2007. Parents aging and our needs changed. Needed 4/3 with 2 primarys and wanted a pool. Built this house in Richmond, we always moving south to newer areas of TV.

Unlike many who are one and done, who just can’t fathom move to a house that might work better. We find no attachment to any house here, so moving is just a phone call to packers and moving guys. We still maintain up north for the hot summers here, and when a change needs to come again, not a big deal.

[Normal]

The house selection is very important, but what makes the Villages the Villages is the PEOPLE! Friendly volunteerism complement our community in so many ways. Enjoy the company of openness so many and ignore the few who really live by themselves here. We are all in the same boat so embrace and live life to it’s fullest!

Perhaps you could be the one that is so important in the rest of our lives, let er rip

[sdm1222]

It's not just the extreme heat, but the unbelievable humidity.

[BubblesandPat]

Hi Back! Like others have stated I hope you don't base anything on the Villages by these forums. People in "real life" are so much nicer.
I agree hanging at the pool you meet some great people...much more then the squares . Just more intimate I guess.
I found housing advice completely best to take as suggestions. Drive /golf cart around different times of day and get the feel of the mood of areas. Some people are "city" people who like to be super close to restaurants and shopping so don't mind traffic. Some like just enjoying paths and activities and hanging around friends. Some like big yards Some never use thier yards. So be who you are...there are open houses every day new and old. Educate yourselves on bonds taxes and the feel of different Villages. Enjoy and welcome. We love it here. And we don't even play golf or pickleball. Smile.

[BubblesandPat]

I guess it depends on where you are from. I found the humidity in SC worse than here. It's not stagnant. But if you are from up north give it time. You get used to it. I love the heat on these old bones. ������

[Karmanng]

Originally Posted by George1964

Hi! I'm George and my wife, Vicky, and I will be doing a 2nd lifestyle visit in July, with plans (if I can take the heat) to move to The Villages around the end of the year. We will be coming down from Delaware.

We just wanted to say hi.

-George

So far I dont get what all the heat is about as i am from arizona and that is bad..........93 is not hot to me.........2nd villages are over rated

[Karmanng]

Originally Posted by bsloan1960

One piece of advice I'll give you: Be aware that online forums such as this one, Facebook etc. tend to attract bitter, snarky, unhappy people. If you see answers to your questions like, "Don't move here", or "Why don't you just look it up on Google", these are people who thrive on anger. The vast majority of Villagers are happy, enthusiastic people who consider The Villages to be Paradise. I haven't read the comments generated by your post, so they all may be positive. I'm simply urging you to not draw negative opinions about The Villages from snarky, unhappy people. Float around in the pool and mention you are new- people will embrace you and tell you about the place- it's called, "Pool School". Welcome!

coming from Scottsdale AZ otherwise known as Snottsdale the villages to me are very over rated........my opinion and not being snarky either

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by coleprice

If you are a Golfer shopping for homes in The Villages DO NOT purchase a New Home in the Southern Areas, which lack enough Executive Golf Courses. Rather, I suggest that you buy a pre-owned home in the Middle or Northern areas which have plenty of Executive golf courses nearby. Also, the Bond is usually paid off on homes in the North and Middle areas, plus you are MUCH CLOSER to Shopping & Restaurants. Golfers shopping for homes in The Villages should NOT purchase a New Home in the Southern Areas, which lack enough Executive Golf Courses. Rather, they should buy a pre-owned home in the Middle or Northern areas which have plenty of Executive golf courses nearby. Also, the Bond is usually paid off on homes in the North and Middle areas, plus you are MUCH CLOSER to Shopping & Restaurants.

Cut & Paste much? It's becoming monotonous...

[coconutmama]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

I am very analytical and we had a spreadsheet with our list, but our list was prioritized differently. FYI, when we bought they were still building houses north of 44, most, if not all Villages residents, had no idea anything would ever be built south of 44, much of the commercial space in Brownwood was still vacant, and Rocky and the Rollers weren’t yet Rocky and the Olders. Also, we were already fairly familiar with the Villages because we have friends who had already been living there for several years who graciously invited us to stay at their home several times.

Our list looked like this.

- We would only look at homes listed below $xxx price, including bond balance. We had two prices, one with an existing pool, and a lower price for a home without a pool.

- Home absolutely had to have a private backyard and room to build a pool/birdcage if one didn’t already exist. Kissing lanai’s were a not starter and a south/west orientation were a bonus.

- Home could not be near anything we deemed undesirable, including unwelcomed noise (major road, pickleball courts, etc…), could not be on a residential road with significant traffic, and couldn’t be near something like commercial space or a sewage treatment system.

- Home had to be in close proximity to what we deemed to be desirable things, including lots of both Championship and Executive golf, regional recreation centers with sports pools, golf cart accessible shopping and dining options, entertainment venues, and town squares.

- Home had to be north of 466A and preferably in the greater Lake Sumter area.

- The homes price had to accurately reflect the condition of the home with particular emphasis on important things like the roof, HVAC system, flooring, kitchen, etc…

- We had no preference for the homes model/design except it had to have a minimum 2 bed/ 2 bath/two car garage and meet our other higher priority constraints.

Based on both our timing and criteria we were pretty much limited to pre owned homes. We rented long term in the fall, retained the services of both a VLS agent and MLS realtor, and identified every home on the market that appeared to fit within our criteria (including a few homes for sale by owner). Very few of the homes that fit our criteria had a pool because of our price constraint. During the next three weeks we saw a few homes almost daily until we saw a total of close to 50 homes. Every home we visited we began our tour outside, and we never went inside almost half the homes after going into the back yard and seeing no privacy, hearing traffic, or hearing/seeing someone we found undesirable.

We then reviewed our spreadsheet and made a list of only a few homes to visit again that passed our initial screening. The list was then narrowed down again to six homes. We made a couple offers that fell through, one because of price and the other because we learned the land behind the home had its zoning changed from agricultural to commercial. We crossed a couple other homes off our list after going there after dark and hanging out in the back yard and hearing traffic noise/seeing light pollution that turned us off. At the end, we made a take it or leave it offer of $10 K below asking price on the very first home we visited, with a contingency that we had 10 days to determine that a pool could be built in the back yard. Our offer was accepted and the next day I set up a meeting with a pool designer from T&D who pulled the homes plot plan and sketched out a pool design that would fit within zoning requirements.

Buying the home was lots of work, but we wanted to be one and done and to this day have no regrets. At the end of the day, we got our home, built a beautiful brand new pool and birdcage, did extensive landscaping, stained and sealed our driveway, screened in our front porch, put in an overhead garage door screen, put in a new slider going to the birdcage, bought three golf carts and a used BMW convertible, and came in right at our maximum home price budget with everything. After almost 9 years we did have to put on a new roof and we will be needing a new HVAC in a couple years, but we knew that going in and it was reflected in the homes price.

Hope this information and thought process helps the OP, and best of luck.

Great post.

We wanted to be in Sumter County, a big plus was to be in the area that uses Seco for electricity. Much less expensive than Duke.

[bsouthworth47@yahoo.com]

[Great advice bsloan1960. Anyone looking to buy in The Villages should spend some time here and make their decision on where to buy. Too many people run their mouth without really knowing about an area they have not lived in. People who have not lived south of 44 will tell you don't move there because it's too far from everything or will tell you don't move close to the Turnpike because of the noise. I live in Hawkins which is close to the Turnpike and in the house we never hear anything. Once in a great while if we are outside we will hear a little noise but rarely hear anything. Only you can make the decision on what you are looking for. Take your time and good luck!!

[Lottoguy]

If your leaning to buying a new house, first look at the Tuesday pullout edition for real estate in the Villages newspaper. In the back section for homes south of 44 are 17 PAGES of homes that are basically just about a year or two old. Why are there so many? Each month another page is added it seems. In February there was 12 pages. What gives? I think some of these have to do with buyer remorse on the isolated location. But, that will change but it will take time. These homes also come with big bonds too.
For those reasons make sure you look at previously owned homes. Remember the old saying LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Karmanng

coming from Scottsdale AZ otherwise known as Snottsdale the villages to me are very over rated........my opinion and not being snarky either

So why stay?

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Lottoguy

If your leaning to buying a new house, first look at the Tuesday pullout edition for real estate in the Villages newspaper. In the back section for homes south of 44 are 17 PAGES of homes that are basically just about a year or two old. Why are there so many? Each month another page is added it seems. In February there was 12 pages. What gives? I think some of these have to do with buyer remorse on the isolated location. But, that will change but it will take time. These homes also come with big bonds too.
For those reasons make sure you look at previously owned homes. Remember the old saying LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

Maybe some have buyer's remorse. But I'd wager more are investors, trying to flip for a profit...

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

So why stay?

Well, TV does not suffer through Haboobs and from Valley Fever as does the Phoenix and Scottsdale region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sv9ewx0NZg

Valley Fever | Maricopa County, AZ.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by George1964

Hi! I'm George and my wife, Vicky, and I will be doing a 2nd lifestyle visit in July, with plans (if I can take the heat) to move to The Villages around the end of the year. We will be coming down from Delaware.

We just wanted to say hi.

-George

Hi, I am glad that you are aware of the HEAT, which will be worse in July and August. The swimming pools become warm like bath water. Ideally you would be able to keep 2 homes going and get back to the north during the summer months. Next best situation would be to have a house here in The Villages and be able financially and health wise to travel maybe with a RV to northern places like Canada, Alaska, or the US northwest. My advice is to visit here during late July and rent for about 1 year before buying because there are a lot of desirable areas of TV Land, but depending on your particular activities, then some area may be better than others.