Talk of The Villages Florida - Looking for advice

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Quote:

Originally Posted by HawkeyeFan (Post 364123)

My wife and I are visiting TV this weekend. Our second visit. Our plan is to tour the model homes (we like the Lilly), decide on a lot, return to Chattanooga, and noodle on it for a week or so. If we then decide the Villages is where we want to spend our retirment, we will make the down payment on the lot, and plan to build within the next six months to a year. Would anyone like to comment, or share their experience with a similar plan? Any caveats relative to the sales pitch we will receive would be appreciated.

Welcome HawkeyeFan,

The bond is not tax deductible. Whether it can be included in your mortgage might depend upon your lender and the amount of your down payment. I would think it would be no problem though including it with your escrow, if you use one.

Keep in mind that there is only one time a year when you can pay the full bond without penalty. So you might not want to pay off the bond when you buy your home, depending on when that is.

Otherwise, you pay it off annually for 30 years. The amount of the bond, and the interest rate, depend upon the location of your home. Your sales agent can advise.

I agree with others that you can find some great deals on resales. As others have said, you will need both a TV sales agent and an MLS Realtor as they do not share listings. Ask for a written "buyers agent" agreement with your MLS Realtor.

Whether buying new or resale, be sure to find out how much the bond is and consider that as part of your total purchase price. Some resales have little or no bond left.

Here is a link to the very helpful Nuts and Bolts.

Happy house hunting in Lower Paradise. Please keep us posted.

I forgot to mention one thing. Right now I think it is a sellers market on the new lots-- they go very quickly-- but a buyers market on resales. As big as TV is, there is a decent supply of resales, and you can take your time and negotiate.

All best wishes!

Thank you all for the comments and advice. We selected our lot this weekend and made the deposit. We will be in Tamarin Grove, overlooking the lake, on Dividing Creek Path. We are probably about eight to ten months from starting construction, but looking forward meeting new neighbors, and making new friends.

Congrats, HawkeyeFan. We are currently building on the east end of Ansley path. See ya at the pool. And we'll have to watch a few Big Ten football and basketball games together... ILL-INI!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawkeyeFan (Post 364269)

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. We will certainly consider looking at resales.

I bought the "Don't Even Think About......" book and found it to be quite informative. On the issue of the bond, can it be included in the mortgage? Is it tax deductible?

We are originally from Fort Madison, IA. I graduated University of Iowa 1970. We have lived in Chattanooga (Hixson), TN for the past 33 years. I'm an avid tennis player and the availability of tennis facilities has been an important element of our retirment commuity search. My wife Peg enjoys cooking, trying new recipes, reading and learning about cooking, and water aerobics. She wants a pool. I'm not so sure about that. Will have to do some research on upkeep and utilities costs. Decisions, decisions.....

Glad to hear there will be another tennis player in Tamarind Grove. I am from Texas and will be looking for hitting buddies. We will be building in Oct. and moving around the first of the new year. Did you play league tennis? I was a 4.5, but have not hit a ball in 5 years. I am really looking forward to getting the court again.
B&BTexas

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawkeyeFan (Post 366636)

So very happy for you!!! We are closing the end of July and we are also building a Lily. Is your lot big enough for a pool? We did a few stretches on our home and also put a pool in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tbugs (Post 364270)

Bonds on the new homes are in the $20,000 - $30,000 range with the villas being less.

I was curious about the bond on the new Premier homes at Bridgeport of Laurel Valley (on 466) so I called Villages Properties. The bond on those home is $50,000!!! And they are either all or mostly sold, too.

Bryan is 100% right in saying you have to have 2 real estate agents in order to seighborsee both Villages Properties listings and MLS listings. Neither can show both.

..
Tbug is right on this and all his previous post. If you want a plus 70 village with no bond then go north. If you want a plus 55 village with your peers...My opinion...buy new.

let us know if you are interested in renting a designer home in Liberty Park while looking/waiting. We just had it updated and is available starting Aug 1.

Welcome "Grover", this is how we refer to ourselves in the Tamarind Grove Village Area. I am around the corner from you on Tamarind Grove Run, lot 153. I'm not far from you as well in Western NC, just over the TN line by seven miles, 15 miles from Murphy. Good luck on all your plans, and you have made a very wise decision.

One thing to note here. As it has been mentioned, the bond itself is not tax deductible. As a result the 7% interest you will pay on the unpaid balance is not either. One way around this is to include the bond into the mortgage if your property appraises for enough to be included in the loan. That way, the interest will be tax deductible and also around 4 or 5% instead of the 7%.