Officials at a Districtwide meeting on Monday at Savannah Center agreed the sale of out-of-compliance homes has become the biggest problem in The Villages.
Chairmen from community development districts from throughout The Villages gathered for an opportunity to talk about some common issues in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
The topic which dominated the meeting was the sale of out-of-compliance homes to purchasers who had no idea that the home was in violation of deed compliance.
This issue has been in the headlines after eight public hearings on June 23 in which eight homeowners in the La Cresenta Villas were found in violation of deed compliance due to stone landscaping. Those homeowners said they purchased the homes, through Properties of The Villages, with no knowledge of the deed compliance violations.
“It’s the biggest issue we have now. We need to figure out how to solve that problem,” said Community Development District 4 Chairman Cliff Wiener, who was the driving force behind the decision to set up Monday’s meeting.
Wiener, who also serves as president of the Property Owners Association, said officials owe it to residents to find a solution to the problem of unsuspecting buyers purchasing homes with existing deed compliance violations.
“We are having a real problem with the stone vs. grass. It’s a real heartbreaker. An awful lot of people are getting hurt,” said Community Development District 5 Chairman Gary Kadow.
He said buyers are vulnerable going into a closing, because they are under the false impression a deed compliance violation at a home would be revealed during closing.
Community Development District 10 Board Chairman John Miller said a solution might be found through the private sector.
“When they buy a house they pay for an inspection to make sure they aren’t buying a money hit. Perhaps, it would be a private service where someone does some type of inspection for deed compliance violations,” Miller said.
He added that at the moment, it’s the buyer who is paying the price for the unknown deed compliance violation.
“It’s getting to be a big problem. I feel sorry for people who come before the board and there’s nothing we can do,” Miller said.
Other topics discussed during the meeting were multi-modal paths, deed compliance and the gates.
