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The bond on the new homes is outrageous...over 50k. Bonds for homes at least 5 years old is under 20k.

Thank you for another good video. My wish list would include some pocket doors, a large kitchen counter with lots of cabinets, no carpeting, a large laundry room, two and a half car garage and not a kissing lanai.

Just looking at new? Or is there an MLS agent involved? We watch Robyn and love her energy.

Good job! I really like the way you did your comparisons back to your wish list and checked off the areas that that particular house did not meet.

Picked the TallPine and love it!! Guest and bath with pocket door up front.

Your over thinking things which is GREAT! Do take your time and listen to suggestions. Corner lots are okay for some, but cars that are making a turn will have their headlights shining into your home. Avoid streets that are too thin and have no gutters. They have a tendency to flood. Get a larger driveway so you can park more cars for visitors. Avoid being too close to pickleball courts. Their sounds will drive you nuts. Watch out for the fridge that’s NOT counter depth. Fans are important, so add them if it’s an option. If possible look for a lanai that’s under A/C and heat. You’ll spend most of your time there.

Really enjoying your videos and wit! question- the oriole is concrete block? the Ottawa is tilt solid wall concrete?

Does your $430,000 include or exclude the lot fees on new homes?

How much is it to attend a game

Good luck finding your dream home!!!

These are models homes--they seem very close together, especially on the backside. The next house seems only feet away (10-20'). Is that just true of the model homes area, or would a new house be built on that small of a lot with the neighbors that close, especially on the backside?

We LOVE high school football!!!

New subscriber ❤

Love all your videos! Thanks!

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

Great tours 😊 The Tall Pine lanai is very small indeed! The Snail Kite has no drawers under the bathroom sink…only fit for trash cans or cleaning items…ugh. Who “designs” these designer homes… Not user friendly

Here part 2 of our "House Hunting" series: th-cam.com/video/Sj0k5pBZqsE/w-d-xo.html

If you missed Part 1 of the "House Hunting" series, click this to see it: th-cam.com/video/fpukHzKV3uA/w-d-xo.html

Unfortunately I think the Morse family has destroyed what Harold Schwartz meant for TV when he said “Live like a millionaire on a retirement budget”. Seems it’s more about them increasing their Billions $$ than about the residents. Sad! Thanks for the videos, enjoying this series.

I’m surprised that there isn’t more emphasis on safety in a place that’s designed for older people. And aren’t E bikes especially dangerous? around here, there is always a major fire caused by someone’s e-bike battery

Great video! Your criteria is so very close to ours except our budget is smaller at 375k including bond. We really like the Peeble Beach model, the main reason being that it has a front porch and in the very low 300s. We hope to be able to get to Florida in early 2026. Edited to add: how do you feel about corner lots? We’ve never lived on one so I’m wondering about having twice the traffic.

Very informative! I especially liked that you shared your list of what you wanted, and showed us how each model met or failed to meet each of your goals. Well done!

Nice video!!! Our two lifestyle visits we stayed in Charlotte and Newport models courtyard villas and fell in love with courtyard villas because of the privacy but did not love either of these models. After looking at all the courtyard villa models it was the Avondale model for us and the primary reson being it is very open and I can see if anyone is on my front porch from my rear living room through the window in my dining area. My two guest bedrooms are on the same side as the master but completely separated from it as they are at the front of my villa and they and the guest bathroom can be closed off with a pocket door. Drawback are I don't have much of a pantry but managed to make some pantry space in my laundry room. Also my lanai is small and side facing but we plan to extend it out the back next year on the already existing concrete padding which is quite large. But, having a golf cart garage, front porch which we will be screening in shortly, and a very private decent size backyard and being on an end lot with two gates on each side of our villa to access our yard makes up for the minuses. Honestly, if my budget dictated my ability to either purchase a small designer or a 2 bedroom courtyard villa and the 2 bedroom Durham model CV is very nice I would go with the Durham because of the privacy unless the designer had no homes behind it because for us we would not sacrifice privacy for home size. PS we are in the Levi & Boaz area of St. Johns and we met briefly last year St. Johns Halloween parade. Good luck with your house search. 😊

Thought provoking video. I rented a 2 bed / 2 bath house in citrus grove for several weeks, and went thru over 50 or 60 open houses, to create my "nice to have" list. My list is very similar to your list. It includes location (proximity to pools, rec centers, etc.), a "view", (avoid a kissing lanai), plus I want to avoid a west facing lanai. Based on all that i have about 8 models that meet my most important criteria. For me, walking thru a model home (even if unfurnished) allowed me to get a feel if the house would be a good fit for me. I had found that just looking at a floor plan on paper, or my on computer, didn't provide enough sense of space, height, volume, or light. After a year in your rental, i'd love to see a video of what you liked / disliked about your rental, the model, location, size, proximity to things you do everyday, etc. thanks for doing & sharing these video. tom

Thank you for doing such a great job with showing the model homes. We are coming in September for our lifestyle visit!!!

We have the LOBLOLLY model in Newell and absolutely love it ❤ The things we especially like are: ☝🏻the only model we found with WALK-IN closets in all bedrooms (storage is at a premium) ☝🏻the pocket door making both guest bedrooms & bath like a private space, which our visitors love, … and they are good size ☝🏻all the natural light, lots of windows & a decent size lanai; and the lanai is open on 3 sides (good airflow) ☝🏻no pantry, but a large island in the kitchen (with storage), and the appliances are conveniently laid out ☝🏻one other thing we especially like is you can’t look into the master bedroom from the rest of the house (there’s a corner turn) more privacy ☝🏻we like that the island faces the dining room (in many other models the island faces the living room) ☝🏻we also like that the utilities (furnace & A/C) is in a closet in the garage Everyone has preferences of things they like and things that they don’t care for. We looked for four days during our lifestyle visit, starting up near Spanish Springs and moving south to the new homes. We preferred the spacious open floor plans of the newer models. Shopping for homes in the Villages is a wonderful experience, and the Villages sales agents couldn’t be nicer (and NOT hard sell) 😉

I am going to be selling my house soon. I have not listed it yet. I’m in the Village of Pinellas if you want to add it to your list of preowned homes to look at. Good luck to you! Love your videos.

I don’t see many street markings so how do you find your way to places in TV? GPS or just memorize various routes?

New houses are nice but the bonds are getting very high. Seems a lot of newer houses are on the market so the bonds are paid down. Lots of options.

I am curious what your homeowners insurance will be

We have a beautiful retention pond view, and we built a designer home. We made sure our lot faced North/South. The front faces the south and the rear faces the north. It was such a wise decision, because the sun goes directly over top of us. We can sit on our lanai whenever we want. Good luck!!

Quickly … our journey: We came down for a lifestyle visit in 2023, met our assigned Sales Agent, then he left us on our own. We looked at more than 25 homes over three days, starting up North (the historic section) and worked our way South to new homes. On the 4th day we met our Sales Agent again who just listened, to what we liked and what we didn’t care for (we kept separate lists). We were leaning toward a smaller patio villa (a new home, quite affordable); a courtyard villa was too big for the two of us. After he listened to us for a while, he said, “you might like this Designer home” (we had thought Designer homes were out of our price range, but there is a wide range). He showed us one in the Village of Newell and we both loved everything about it. It was new and already built. We put the down payment down and a month later we closed and moved in. The process couldn’t have been easier. We are “snowbirds” and can’t wait to get back down to our 2nd home in the Fall. Good luck 👍🏻 and all the best.

Look at homes north of 466 in your search. Many have their bonds paid off, new roofs, upgrades and are much closer to shopping and restaurants. Tall Trees, Piedmont and Polo Ridge are great locations.

Good luck on your search!

Do you have a list of "must haves" and "nice to have but not a deal breaker" for your new home?

We ate Lopez country club a year ago. Excellent food and great service. Legacy looks nice as well. Can anyone swim there or do you need the enhanced membership?

What a transformation from the food trucks. Beautiful setting for some relaxing times enjoying some food, drinks & music.

Naples is beautiful we should have bought 15 years ago when we were there.

Analysis paralysis.

Oh my taking too long will just make the decision harder. We just showed up on our own having never been here before. We bought a house on day 3. Moved in 30 days later, no regrets!! All the best on your search!!

what is the lowes price there

Naples🏫👍

I recently found you guys and have really enjoyed watching you guys! Now if I could just convince my husband to at least consider looking at TV we live in Texas now so pretty use to the heat.

Lovin this video❤we are here in Ohio and was there at TV last week, first time AND we love it. It felt like home. We are African American and we felt loved there. We enjoyed the music to each time. We are back in Ohio and we really miss TV. I pray we return. Keep up the good work❤ See ya soon Buckeyes😊

SAND HILL CRANES!!! Wow. And a rare 'shovel snowbird' from back in Ohio too (haha). Looks like you met some really friendly folks. Fun video.

Thank you so much for sharing. I didn't know about the bar and grill. We'll have to try it next time we're back. Our house is not too far from there. My question is how do you sign up for the emails that tell you about the specials?

😊👍❤👍❤️😊

Watch these other videos too! LIVING IN THE VILLAGES: th-cam.com/play/PLkkPvtuYKy6UmbmgSg9QnkDOzxMxb5QM0.html

Check out more videos here: LIVING IN THE VILLAGES: th-cam.com/play/PLkkPvtuYKy6UmbmgSg9QnkDOzxMxb5QM0.html

Check out more videos here: LIVING IN THE VILLAGES: th-cam.com/play/PLkkPvtuYKy6UmbmgSg9QnkDOzxMxb5QM0.html