The Villages - Where to start ? (Orlando, Ocala: renting, cheap home, neighborhood)

[NextExit40Miles]

Considering a move to The Villages, though not quite sure where to start. A few tips and links would be great. We're looking for a new-ish single family home around 1800-2k sf, with gas (does The Villages have gas) and a separate irrigation system whereas you are not billed for sewer when watering the lawn. I understand there are areas there that only have the single billing water system.
Other than that close proximity to Medical facilities, Hospitals and shopping would be nice.

Thank you, any advice would be appreciated.

[rjm1cc]

Take the tour

Rent for a few weeks https://villagershomes4rent.com/ Also look around central Fl when you are renting.

Try https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/index.php

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by NextExit40Miles

Considering a move to The Villages, though not quite sure where to start. A few tips and links would be great. We're looking for a new-ish single family home around 1800-2k sf, with gas (does The Villages have gas) and a separate irrigation system whereas you are not billed for sewer when watering the lawn. I understand there are areas there that only have the single billing water system.
Other than that close proximity to Medical facilities, Hospitals and shopping would be nice.

Thank you, any advice would be appreciated.

Why wouldn't you be billed for sewer when watering the lawn? Any run-off that goes into the street, ends up in the sewer. If it rains hard enough, the water landing on your lawn will ultimately run into the sewer. The newer sections of the Villages have two billing systems for water - irrigation, and everything else. If your water is turned on, you'll pay a sewer usage fee.

The old section has single-billing water system, because the old section gets all its water from the public utility. They don't have a separate irrigation system. But both old and new areas of The Villages pay sewer usage fees and sewer taxes.

Meanwhile - if you want a new'ish' home, AND you want separate irrigation system from tap and shower, then you want anything other than the Historic section or close proximity to Spanish Springs Town square. You didn't mention what your budget is - but if you have trouble paying a few hundred bucks a year for sewer, you might have a whole lot of trouble handling the bonds that come with the newer homes, which run into the tens of thousands.

[NextExit40Miles]

Thanks for the links rjm1cc I found them very helpful. Renting for a week or two sounds interesting.

[beach43ofus]

Thx for the links above. I started researching The Villages for a recently retired single guy friend who is 55+

Healthcare there seems weak...bad hospital, so most wind up driving the 1.5 hrs to Orlando for healthcare.

Then, there's the bonds (they are called CDD's in my area) on the newer properties.

Population density appears to be very high, so J,F,M,A must be a zoo.

Not near any beach, & very hot inland during 6 mo.s/yr, so better as a snowbird destination.

The upside is lots of activities of every kind imagineable, affordable living, & mostly friendly people. Getting around by golf cart most of the time is nice too.

That's the synopsis I've arrived at...did I miss anything?

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

Thx for the links above. I started researching The Villages for a recently retired single guy friend who is 55+

Healthcare there seems weak...bad hospital, so most wind up driving the 1.5 hrs to Orlando for healthcare.

Then, there's the bonds (they are called CDD's in my area) on the newer properties.

Population density appears to be very high, so J,F,M,A must be a zoo.

Not near any beach, & very hot inland during 6 mo.s/yr, so better as a snowbird destination.

The upside is lots of activities of every kind imagineable, affordable living, & mostly friendly people. Getting around by golf cart most of the time is nice too.

That's the synopsis I've arrived at...did I miss anything?

I'll unpack that:

Emergency services is weak. There are dozens of doctors in dozens of practices, individual and group, most of them excellent. But if you have an emergency, the ER at the Villages Hospital is sub-par. Ocala Hospital is great - if your situation isn't so dire that you need immediate service. Urgent care facilities are sad, because most of them are only open during business hours. If you sprain your ankle on saturday, your choices are the ER, or hope it's not broken and stay home til Monday. The Villages Health is a sort of all-inclusive services group, similar to an HMO. Some folks have excellent experiences with it, some not so much. My doctors are almost all with TVH, and I've had excellent experiences with it for the past 4 years since I've been living here.

Bonds and CDDs are completely, entirely different things that have nothing to do with each other. A bond is a surety that the builder pays the county to ensure that they're building to code and not screwing up. It's basically a fee the builder pays for the privilege of building on that lot. That cost is passed down to the homeowner, who can pay it monthly until it's paid off (at a ridiculously high interest rate) or all at once. The cost is in -addition- to the selling price of the home. Homes where the bond has been paid, will feature "BOND PAID!" on the listing because it's a huge selling point. Those bonds can run into the tens of thousands. Lake County homes don't incur a bond at all, so the "Historic Section" of The Villages never had bonds.

A CDD is a Community Development District, a form of government for large communities such as the Villages. The Villages has I believe 15 different CDDs now, with more on the way. Each region of the community has created its own district, with elected officials, maintenance fees, and infrastructure planning and implementation to any property that serves the Villages residents in that district.

Not near an OCEAN beach, but near many large lakes, where kayaking, sailing, rowboating, canoeing, and pontoon sailing are a pretty big thing. That's why Lake County is called Lake County, and why the city of Lady Lake is called Lady Lake. Lake Eustis, a short drive northeast of The Villages near the Ocala Forest allows swimming, however you still have to watch for alligators, and heed algae warnings.

The Villages also has over 100 pools, including neighborhood pools, rec center pools, regional pools, sports pools, family pools. Your amenity fee gives residents access to all pools EXCEPT the country club pools, which are not amenities. You pay I think $200/year for country club pool access.

All of Florida is very hot during the summer. Because we're north of Orlando and south of Ocala, with the Ocala forest to the east of us, we get less humidity than other Central Florida areas. We also have less damage when hurricanes come through, because by the time those get this far, they're already starting to weaken (if not reverted back to "tropical storm" status already).

Population density is - odd. There are over 150,000 residents of The Villages. But we're spread out over 70 square miles, and around 1/3 of them are ONLY here for a few months out of the year. The population centers - "Town Squares" and Sawgrass, can get stupidly crowded during certain events. Yesterday people were parking on the edges of the parking lot curbs because there weren't any spaces left. It was a madhouse for sure, but it was the Christmas parade, plus the tree lighting ceremony, plus Rocky and the Rollers were performing. So yeah - thousands of people all hanging out in on 4-block-square area, mostly congregating in the middle for the live music.

That doesn't happen every night though, and it might maybe half that bad, on other event nights.

[keithwand]

I lived there from 2012 to 2020.
Plenty of pros and cons like others have mentioned.
Moved to Lakewood Ranch in 2020.
Other than the villages it’s in the middle of nowhere.
Poorer towns nearby like wildwood, leesburg, eustis…
150,000 people live there, but others have mentioned what is a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of Florida.
Just like anything it’s not for everyone.
Do your due diligence

[gentlearts]

The only reason I would move there is for the amenities and social activities. Before interest rates shot up, we had considered moving there. Our price range is around $300k and what you get for that is woefully worse than what we’re used to. It’s worse than our first starter house…Vinyl siding, Formica counters, and old carpet. No thanks.

Otherwise, there’s no reason to move to Florida where we don’t know anyone. We might as well stay put.

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

The only reason I would move there is for the amenities and social activities. Before interest rates shot up, we had considered moving there. Our price range is around $300k and what you get for that is woefully worse than what we’re used to. It’s worse than our first starter house…Vinyl siding, Formica counters, and old carpet. No thanks.

Otherwise, there’s no reason to move to Florida where we don’t know anyone. We might as well stay put.

Vinyl siding is pretty standard in the south because it doesn't retain heat as much as aluminum siding. Florida isn't much of a brick or stone construction state, for the same reason.

But sure - here's a nice one, listing for $290,000. No siding, no carpet. Low-maintenance because there's no lawn, it has a rockscape instead. It's got privacy walls between the properties so you never have to see Mable next door drinking her morning cuppa in her nightie and curlers. Walk-in closet, furniture conveys with the sale. No idea what the material of the counters are, but at $10k less than your max, you can afford to put in whatever kind you prefer.

[logybogy]

Standard siding in FL on nice homes is hardiboard or concrete stucco (south florida). Hardiboard is cement siding that lasts 50 years and resistant to fire and termites, insects. Vinyl and wood siding are for cheap homes.

Most people move to Florida #1 so they don't have to experience winter and snow and for tax reasons. No state income tax is glorious if you are rich and sitting on lots of cap gains in your investment accounts. Any social activities are a bonus.