[RMarkland]

Cow's?

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I don't know about Chitty Chatty, but I understand that some of the ponds in The Villages are interconnected by a piping system. The developer can control the water levels in the ponds by allowing water to flow from one pond to another and prevent flooding of the houses. They can also remove water from the ponds by using the irrigation system. You will often see the sprinklers running for long periods after a heavy rain.

excellent post. we see this often in our area, (S of 44). we chose a home away from any ponds, water, etc., and asked our ins. broker specifically about this. i wasn't so much concerned about flooding as i was about the creatures that reside in water, namely gators & snakes.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

in rural florida, what's the difference between swamp land and farm land?

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about 3 feet of dirt

[KRM0614]

Originally Posted by cj1040

No one disclosed to us when we selected a pond lot in Chitty Chatty that this could be an issue. After our planning meetings, payment of 20 % we spoke with the bank about a mortgage and were told that we would have to carry flood insurance which DOUBLES our home insurance cost. We are very angry about this. We could have chosen a different lot if we had known. We were told that in a couple of years the area may be resurveyed and that FEMA would send a letter if it is no longer classified this way. Then we have to fight with the mortgage company to have this requirement dismissed. As for now it states "for the life of the loan ". Watch out if you are purchasing a pond lot. Has anyone else had this experience?

There are many things buyers here are not aware of, flood zones, sinkholes, potholes, sewer,quarry vibrations, house cracks when new, Coleman prison, unlimited amenity increase,bond interest rate, portion of bond never goes away and increase in value is overstated or a lie. You have to pay for a newspaper to find out what’s going on you have to pay for a service for tee time reservations, many of the house contractors the villages have an equity stake in, etc.

[KRM0614]

Originally Posted by Dana1963

Your real estate agent should have disclosed this to you.
Property Disclosure Statements: Duty to Reveal Hazards in Florida Must Be Disclosed to Home Buyers | About Florida Law

He didn’t have a real estate agent. People that show houses in the villages are not real estate agents. They are sales people and represent the villages not the buyer they don’t negotiate for the buyer.

[graciegirl]

During Hurricane Irma...The areas on this flood map that are deep red did have slight flooding I remember friends in the older sections had a lot of water but were able fairly quickly to return to their home.


32162, Florida | Flood Factor

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

I was impressed by the fact that most of The Villages did NOT have flooding during Hurricane Irma. All of the things put in place worked. They lowered the ponds by running the sprinklers in the common areas and they then deliberately allowed their own golf courses to flood to save people's homes. I thought it worked like a CHARM. I was even astonished the golf courses recovered after a month or two.

i agree- it was amazing to watch how well the planning worked out-- everything around us was built to handle water flow & drainage. we were the 1st family to move into our area. everything around us was a construction site, & here we are 3 yrs later with an entire neighborhood & very nice people to boot. for months we watched the homes & roads go up, and often spoke with some of the workers, who explained how the roads are all built on a slant to help drain any standing waters, which then is sent thru pipes to wherever it goes.

[cj1040]

We do not live in Florida yet and were totally unaware of this. We lived in the lakes region of NY where flooding could be a problem for lake level houses as the Finger Lakes are huge bodies of water. This never crossed our minds when purchasing a lot on a tiny pond. Do we have any legal recourse for failure to disclose by our realtor?

[oneclickplus]

Originally Posted by blueash

Homeowner's insurance might not care as it doesn't cover flood issues. You get flood damage, not their problem. It doesn't look like being on a man made pond, AKA may or may not have water, is a flood risk factor. Being where the natural water table is at or near the surface, eg swampland, is a factor.

OP It is the law that The Villages was not required to tell you about the flood rating when you bought the property, but IMO they should have. But that's not how Florida works where the laws protect the developers much more than unwashed masses. Buyer beware.
Of course when you sell your home you also will be under no obligation to tell potential buyers they are buying a home that needs flood insurance to get a mortgage. Will you nonetheless tell them?

Yup - it's called "due diligence".

[Spalumbos62]

Are you the john Wright that had a place in historic a few years back?

[cj1040]

We close Feb 12 and this situation just came about with the mortgage company last week. It takes away a lot of the joy in this whole process and we are looking at a total of 635K invested in this house with a pool. Actually I am very angry that the realtor never mentioned this when we were looking at lots. The lot was a ridiculous 159K and many were priced even higher. Just so angry that this was never disclosed or we would have chosen a different lot. I did not really even care about Chitty Chatty...just wanted a nice lot to build on and we had only July to make our selection due to other factors.

[Kenswing]

Originally Posted by cj1040

We close Feb 12 and this situation just came about with the mortgage company last week. It takes away a lot of the joy in this whole process and we are looking at a total of 635K invested in this house with a pool. Actually I am very angry that the realtor never mentioned this when we were looking at lots. The lot was a ridiculous 159K and many were priced even higher. Just so angry that this was never disclosed or we would have chosen a different lot. I did not really even care about Chitty Chatty...just wanted a nice lot to build on and we had only July to make our selection due to other factors.

Do you mind naming your mortgage company? Just curious if this would happen with Citizens First.

[Curtisbwp]

Caveat Emptor!!! Is the FIRST term you learn in any real-estate or busniess course. Translation is "LET THE BUYER BEWARE" you never took the time to learn what MUST be disclosed and what need not be disclosed.

[FredJacobs]

Surprised?? Almost all of Florida is a Flood Zone. This peninsula that we live in so flat that sometimes I think the state's high points are the overpasses over Interstates and Florida Turnpike. The Florida Citrus Tower, in Clermont, is 226 feet high and you can see into 8 counties. You can buy Flood Insurance from FEMA - mine costs about $400 per year.

[newgirl]

Laws are so different here then in Mi.I was a realtor would have been sued if I had worked as a buyer agent and not disclosed, the seller definitely would be sued.