I enjoy watching your videos. You are right; there are lots of you-tubers covering the Villages now. Many of them have recently moved to the Villages and don't have the knowledge that you two have. You two are also from the northern part of The Villages and know a lot about that area. Many of the other you-tubers are from the newer southern area and don't seem to have much knowledge of the northern area.
Another great Video! We bought new in DeLuna last summer and moved in full time the end of March. We have insulated the garage door, put in attic steps as well as 3 solar attic fans. We had the garage floor coated beautifully (Thanks Tim and Becky Miller!). Added gutters and landscaping after receiving the ARC approval. Indoors we added plantation shutters, quartz counter tops and re did all the closets and window treatments. Made it our own, love it and love The Villages! Am blessed that my hubby is really handy and has been able to do a lot of this himself.
Very good information Debbie & Jan. 2 days ago I had LVP floors installed in my townhouse here in suburban Chicago in my kitchen, entryway & laundry room. I had considered putting LVP in my living/dining room and both bedrooms. The salesperson at the flooring store asked me how long do you plan on staying in this house, as with your 12 stairs from the lower level to the upper level, putting LVP on those stairs would be at least $3K for just the stairs. So taking into consideration that I plan on being in this home less than 2 years, I went with carpeting in the living/dining rooms, bedrooms & stairs. So the new carpeting gets installed later this coming week. I'm not a frequent updater for my townhouse that I have owned for 25 years, so this is a big change for me. 😂 When I look at listings for preowned homes in The Villages that are more than 15 years old, I look for mention of the roof being replaced. When I visited The Villages in May, I went to an open house for a patio villa that the owner had replaced all of the grass with rock. Someone told me that probably wasn't in compliance with deed restrictions, and that whoever buys that home could be looking at having to put the grass back if someone lodges a complaint against that home in the future. And this home was being sold through Properties of The Villages. I guess that someone looking at buying a preowned home needs to ask if modifications to the exterior of the home were ARC approved and maybe even ask for documentation of that approval. Reading the deed restrictions before buying in The Villages would also seem to be a very wise idea. I have read so many stories about owners in The Villages not getting ARC approval for changes to their home's exterior or landscaping and then having to spend $ to bring their home back into compliance.
I know I speak for tens of thousands of people who live in the Villages. You two ladies are performing a wonderful service for all of those people who look forward to all the great information that you give. It is valuable, and most importantly, you are taking time out of your days to do this. Bravo to you. By the way, how good golfers are both of you?-Gary
Thanks for another interesting and informative video! As others have mentioned, I really enjoy your perspectives, as you’re both longtime residents and have knowledge that newer to TV TH-camrs don’t.
I will echo Laura B's sentiments. The experienced Villagers, like Debbie and Jan, have valuable information to give that new Villagers do not yet have.
Thank you for another excellent video with some additional things we need to look for and think about when buying an existing home! I appreciate you two and all the work you put into your videos!
Well, the bonds are different in each area. The newer areas can carry a bond up to around $40,000. This is divided up and added to your tax bill. In the older areas many of the bonds are already paid. It is always a good question to ask your realtor when figuring out the cost to carry a home here. Thanks so much for watching!
Thank you super helpful info! Some people are such trolls! Why anyone would take the time to make a snarky comment is so strange🤷♀️. Hope the nasty comments don’t bother you two. I think you’re awesome 🙌
I absolutely love watching your videos. I did not buy yet but love new ideas. Two more I would like done would be a real ventilation over your stove. I noticed most people do not do that. Another idea would be outdoor kitchens. Keep up the good work. Your efforts are very much appreciated.
We just bought a resale that was completely updated and we are only changing out light fixtures and adding an outdoor kitchen, which is very important to us. I cook outside daily. I did paint the entire house the very first week myself with same colors that were there.
Kate, unfortunately I cannot give you an estimate as we have built all our outdoor kitchens ourselves. Thankfully we have a big shop in our winter home for fun projects. Every kitchen is unique and up to individual needs and wants.
You two are my favorite Villages You Tubers (and I watch quite a few 😊). Who did you use for your hard surface countertops when you replaced them? Thanks!
Thanks for the insight. You mentioned that you have a hot tub. Clearly a benefit for active adults (thinking of all of the sore muscles etc). Do you still use it in the hot months? Do you still use it as much overall as when you first got it? We plan to buy new in the Eastport area when it come available and were toying with the idea of a hot tub.
Hi Keith! Good question, because many times I have wondered if I would buy another. First, we own a Bullfrog (which I highly recommend!). In the hot months, we do use it a lot less often. We turn the heat all the way down because the sun will give it plenty of warmth. I actually find myself using more in the mornings (maybe if I had a really active day the day before to ease the sore muscles). In the winter we use it much more. We have had it for about 5-6 years and I would say we use it slightly less than we used to. In our home though, we took out the bathtub and put in a second shower, so it is the only tub we own! That may be a consideration too depending on what you buy! Thanks for the question and for watching!
My husband is a contractor and every few months,something will go wrong in our basement. Thankfully,he can fix most of the mishaps that occur down there
Really enjoy the content. We have a newer home in Hawkins south we bought new, how are you finding contractors for work. I have called the warranty department who seems to have recommendations but other than that what’s been your approach to finding businesses that do quality work that’s reasonable. I’m not full time yet :( and We are wanting to finish a Lanai. Thanks for your tips, always helpful. The only issue is I miss it there when I see your content…. Cheers! Ed
When you say finish a lanai, if you are wanting a bird cage, we used white aluminum. They also put windows in our existing lanai. Jan was putting the new structure up (as you could see). She used Fortin Construction. Both companies are still in business and we would recommend both! Other than that, check out talkofthevillages.com. Lots of resident recommendations for all sorts of things on there. Lastly, if you are down in TV for a visit, ask everyone you talk to! We found our cabinet guy from someone at the pool who used him! Thank you so much for watching!
I've read both that palm trees do not produce oxygen but do absorb carbon dioxided and that palm trees do produce oxygen and are very efficient producers of oxygen. Not sure which is accurate. But I can't imagine that any tree does NOT produce oxygen, but I'm not an arborist...nor do I play one on tv. LOL!
You can leave your garage open. No time limit, but the caution would be that even if they lock, a razor could slice that right open. Overall, TV is very safe, but my husband is retired law enforcement, so we tend to lean toward the safety side. We would leave them open while home to get the air, but would close the garage at night or while we are gone. We do know people that leave the garage door open all the time though! Thanks for watching!
I don't see an email for your channel so I'll ask my question here. Was that Debbie's kitchen before and after? I'm very inspired by this. My kitchen essentially looked like a larger version on your before picture. My cabinets look essentially similar. I've replaced all appliances with stainless. I don't want to spend the money to replace my cabinets because I want to spend it on a snowbird home in TV. My similar kitchen island has been bugging me. I don't like the "picture of wood" backing that the builder put on my island like you had. It looks to me like you just painted it black? Is that what you did? Or did you replace the island? I have real hardwood floors so replacing the island might mess them up, so I don't want to do that.
Hi DisMindy! Our email is 365villages@gmail.com! That was actually Jan’s kitchen with the black and white tile. I can’t attach pictures here for some reason, but if you send me an email, I am happy to share my before and after for my kitchen. I will see if Jan has any or can take some of her current kitchen vs the original! For me (Debbie) you will see that we kept the kitchen layout the same. Instead of replacing my cabinets, we found a guy - who did a great job - and refinished them. Since the boxes were still really clean and in great shape, we were able to do it and I was able to add some new cabinets to fix some of the things that I didn’t like. Jan ended up tearing everything out and starting from scratch and now has a beautiful new kitchen with a huge island! - Feel free to email me and I am happy to send the pics. Thanks for watching!!!
@@frankkeel8410 Hi Frank! We decided to omit that because many of the improvements we made were done years ago. Mine (Debbie) were done in 2015 and prices have certainly changed since then. We thought that may be a disservice to viewers because they wouldn’t be very accurate. If you would like a referral for any of the contractors we used, we would be happy to share. Thanks for always watching!
Make sure you are there to pick it up when it falls. We use to pass a yard on one of the golf courses that had lots of bugs and was smelly with all the rotting citrus on the ground.
@@njstan8188 yes. I would harvest the fruit all at once and preserve most of it. I hope they allow fruit trees. I am hoping to move to TV in August or a little later.
I enjoy watching your videos. You are right; there are lots of you-tubers covering the Villages now. Many of them have recently moved to the Villages and don't have the knowledge that you two have. You two are also from the northern part of The Villages and know a lot about that area. Many of the other you-tubers are from the newer southern area and don't seem to have much knowledge of the northern area.
So sweet Gregg! Thank you for watching!
Another great Video! We bought new in DeLuna last summer and moved in full time the end of March. We have insulated the garage door, put in attic steps as well as 3 solar attic fans. We had the garage floor coated beautifully (Thanks Tim and Becky Miller!). Added gutters and landscaping after receiving the ARC approval. Indoors we added plantation shutters, quartz counter tops and re did all the closets and window treatments. Made it our own, love it and love The Villages! Am blessed that my hubby is really handy and has been able to do a lot of this himself.
Very nice! Glad you love it all! Thank you for watching!
Very good information Debbie & Jan. 2 days ago I had LVP floors installed in my townhouse here in suburban Chicago in my kitchen, entryway & laundry room. I had considered putting LVP in my living/dining room and both bedrooms. The salesperson at the flooring store asked me how long do you plan on staying in this house, as with your 12 stairs from the lower level to the upper level, putting LVP on those stairs would be at least $3K for just the stairs. So taking into consideration that I plan on being in this home less than 2 years, I went with carpeting in the living/dining rooms, bedrooms & stairs. So the new carpeting gets installed later this coming week. I'm not a frequent updater for my townhouse that I have owned for 25 years, so this is a big change for me. 😂
When I look at listings for preowned homes in The Villages that are more than 15 years old, I look for mention of the roof being replaced. When I visited The Villages in May, I went to an open house for a patio villa that the owner had replaced all of the grass with rock. Someone told me that probably wasn't in compliance with deed restrictions, and that whoever buys that home could be looking at having to put the grass back if someone lodges a complaint against that home in the future. And this home was being sold through Properties of The Villages. I guess that someone looking at buying a preowned home needs to ask if modifications to the exterior of the home were ARC approved and maybe even ask for documentation of that approval. Reading the deed restrictions before buying in The Villages would also seem to be a very wise idea. I have read so many stories about owners in The Villages not getting ARC approval for changes to their home's exterior or landscaping and then having to spend $ to bring their home back into compliance.
Very good suggestions Laura! Thanks for always watching!
I know I speak for tens of thousands of people who live in the Villages. You two ladies are performing a wonderful service for all of those people who look forward to all the great information that you give. It is valuable, and most importantly, you are taking time out of your days to do this. Bravo to you. By the way, how good golfers are both of you?-Gary
Thanks so much Gary! We are both decent golfers 😃. Thank you for watching!
Thanks for the info on changing trees on your lot!
Thank you for watching! Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks for another interesting and informative video! As others have mentioned, I really enjoy your perspectives, as you’re both longtime residents and have knowledge that newer to TV TH-camrs don’t.
Thanks so much Laura!
I will echo Laura B's sentiments. The experienced Villagers, like Debbie and Jan, have valuable information to give that new Villagers do not yet have.
Such a great informative video. So much information to think about as we look for our home this fall. Thank you!!!
Thank you for always watching!
Nicely done …. Covered a lot of ground on what to think about when considering purchasing - thank you - great research!
Thanks for watching Catherine!
Thank you for another excellent video with some additional things we need to look for and think about when buying an existing home! I appreciate you two and all the work you put into your videos!
Thanks so much for always watching Bobbi!
Very helpful. Thank you! 😎
Thanks for watching!
We love your videos!
So sweet Dawn! Thank you for watching!
Love the video again. Also, love that Nike camo shirt! Where did you get it. 😊
Thank you! The shirt was a gift. It is Nike if that helps 😃
I would never think of you as Karen’s ! As always great advice. Thank you. Your kitchen is beautiful. Love the counters .
Thanks so much Victoria and thanks for watching!
Very informative! Thank you
How would you describe a bond in regards to a real estate purchase in the villages?
Well, the bonds are different in each area. The newer areas can carry a bond up to around $40,000. This is divided up and added to your tax bill. In the older areas many of the bonds are already paid. It is always a good question to ask your realtor when figuring out the cost to carry a home here. Thanks so much for watching!
Great video and great advice about the solar tubes. I never thought about the light from a bright or full moon.
Thank you and thanks for watching!
They are now putting in solid counter tops. I was down in may looking to buy in east port area.
Awesome! Great to know! Thank you for watching!
Great video again. The microphones sound great! We're in Richmond in new construction and blinds were included. We also have Luxury Vinyl Plank.
Very nice! Congrats on your purchase! Thanks for watching!
Great info. Thanks!
Thanks Jane! Have a great weekend!
Those bushes are ugly lol. Great vid. The dark kitchen is awesome looking
Thank you! 😊
Thank you super helpful info!
Some people are such trolls! Why anyone would take the time to make a snarky comment is so strange🤷♀️. Hope the nasty comments don’t bother you two. I think you’re awesome 🙌
Thanks so much for the kind words!
I absolutely love watching your videos. I did not buy yet but love new ideas. Two more I would like done would be a real ventilation over your stove. I noticed most people do not do that. Another idea would be outdoor kitchens.
Keep up the good work. Your efforts are very much appreciated.
Thanks Kate! Thank you for watching!
We just bought a resale that was completely updated and we are only changing out light fixtures and adding an outdoor kitchen, which is very important to us. I cook outside daily. I did paint the entire house the very first week myself with same colors that were there.
@@patrobertson772 Hi. I want to add an outdoor kitchen as soon as I buy my house. Can you give me an idea as to the cost? Thanks.
Kate, unfortunately I cannot give you an estimate as we have built all our outdoor kitchens ourselves. Thankfully we have a big shop in our winter home for fun projects. Every kitchen is unique and up to individual needs and wants.
@@patrobertson772 Thank you. I wish I was as handy. Lol. I have a culinary degree so I am only handy inside of a kitchen.
Got to have shade! Love oak trees. Palm trees offer nothing. But, I've been here all my life, so...
Shade is a must! Those of us from the north just always feel we need a palm tree to be in Florida! 😂. Thanks for watching!
@@thevillages365 don't I know! My 55+ community newcomers can't get enough. Meh. Lol
You two are my favorite Villages You Tubers (and I watch quite a few 😊). Who did you use for your hard surface countertops when you replaced them? Thanks!
So sweet! 🥰 we bought them from Ultimate Granite on Rolling Acres in Lady Lake. Thank you so much for watching!
Did you upgrade your recording equipment? This video has much better quality.
We did not! We think we figured out the problem. Thank you for watching!
Info is helpful. thank you!
Thanks Sandy! Have a great weekend!
Thanks for the insight. You mentioned that you have a hot tub. Clearly a benefit for active adults (thinking of all of the sore muscles etc). Do you still use it in the hot months? Do you still use it as much overall as when you first got it? We plan to buy new in the Eastport area when it come available and were toying with the idea of a hot tub.
Hi Keith! Good question, because many times I have wondered if I would buy another. First, we own a Bullfrog (which I highly recommend!). In the hot months, we do use it a lot less often. We turn the heat all the way down because the sun will give it plenty of warmth. I actually find myself using more in the mornings (maybe if I had a really active day the day before to ease the sore muscles). In the winter we use it much more. We have had it for about 5-6 years and I would say we use it slightly less than we used to. In our home though, we took out the bathtub and put in a second shower, so it is the only tub we own! That may be a consideration too depending on what you buy! Thanks for the question and for watching!
My husband is a contractor and every few months,something will go wrong in our basement. Thankfully,he can fix most of the mishaps that occur down there
Lucky you! Thank you for watching!
Your videos are very informative and give me many things to consider. “Karens”… OMG people really can be idiots. 😂
Thanks Kim for your support and for watching! Enjoy your weekend!
Really enjoy the content. We have a newer home in Hawkins south we bought new, how are you finding contractors for work. I have called the warranty department who seems to have recommendations but other than that what’s been your approach to finding businesses that do quality work that’s reasonable. I’m not full time yet :( and We are wanting to finish a Lanai. Thanks for your tips, always helpful. The only issue is I miss it there when I see your content…. Cheers! Ed
When you say finish a lanai, if you are wanting a bird cage, we used white aluminum. They also put windows in our existing lanai. Jan was putting the new structure up (as you could see). She used Fortin Construction. Both companies are still in business and we would recommend both! Other than that, check out talkofthevillages.com. Lots of resident recommendations for all sorts of things on there. Lastly, if you are down in TV for a visit, ask everyone you talk to! We found our cabinet guy from someone at the pool who used him! Thank you so much for watching!
I've read both that palm trees do not produce oxygen but do absorb carbon dioxided and that palm trees do produce oxygen and are very efficient producers of oxygen. Not sure which is accurate. But I can't imagine that any tree does NOT produce oxygen, but I'm not an arborist...nor do I play one on tv. LOL!
🤣🤣 thanks for watching!
are you allowed to leave the garagw door opwn with the screens? if so, ia there a time limit?
You can leave your garage open. No time limit, but the caution would be that even if they lock, a razor could slice that right open. Overall, TV is very safe, but my husband is retired law enforcement, so we tend to lean toward the safety side. We would leave them open while home to get the air, but would close the garage at night or while we are gone. We do know people that leave the garage door open all the time though! Thanks for watching!
@@thevillages365 thanks. yes, I would not leave the house without securing it. I am safety conscious to.
I don't see an email for your channel so I'll ask my question here. Was that Debbie's kitchen before and after? I'm very inspired by this. My kitchen essentially looked like a larger version on your before picture. My cabinets look essentially similar. I've replaced all appliances with stainless. I don't want to spend the money to replace my cabinets because I want to spend it on a snowbird home in TV. My similar kitchen island has been bugging me. I don't like the "picture of wood" backing that the builder put on my island like you had. It looks to me like you just painted it black? Is that what you did? Or did you replace the island? I have real hardwood floors so replacing the island might mess them up, so I don't want to do that.
Hi DisMindy! Our email is 365villages@gmail.com! That was actually Jan’s kitchen with the black and white tile. I can’t attach pictures here for some reason, but if you send me an email, I am happy to share my before and after for my kitchen. I will see if Jan has any or can take some of her current kitchen vs the original! For me (Debbie) you will see that we kept the kitchen layout the same. Instead of replacing my cabinets, we found a guy - who did a great job - and refinished them. Since the boxes were still really clean and in great shape, we were able to do it and I was able to add some new cabinets to fix some of the things that I didn’t like. Jan ended up tearing everything out and starting from scratch and now has a beautiful new kitchen with a huge island! - Feel free to email me and I am happy to send the pics. Thanks for watching!!!
How about a list of service cost? This would be welcomed for quotes!
@@frankkeel8410 Hi Frank! We decided to omit that because many of the improvements we made were done years ago. Mine (Debbie) were done in 2015 and prices have certainly changed since then. We thought that may be a disservice to viewers because they wouldn’t be very accurate. If you would like a referral for any of the contractors we used, we would be happy to share. Thanks for always watching!
do they allow citrus or avocados in the front yard?
Yes, we have seen many fruit trees in all sides of yards. We just always suggest you double check your area with the ARC!
Make sure you are there to pick it up when it falls. We use to pass a yard on one of the golf courses that had lots of bugs and was smelly with all the rotting citrus on the ground.
@@njstan8188 yes. I would harvest the fruit all at once and preserve most of it. I hope they allow fruit trees. I am hoping to move to TV in August or a little later.
✋ Promo SM
Thanks for watching!