To the Editor:
I’d like to preface this by stating that I am not a resident of The Villages. I am a contractor that works there throughout the week. (One with integrity and values. Not one that takes advantage of the retirees)
There was a time when my wife and I were looking forward to retiring from Clermont to The Villages. However, after spending a lot of time in The Villages over the past couple of years, you couldn’t pay me to live there. Lakewood Ranch has become far more appealing.
I have watched these “anonymous complainers” wreak havoc on “the Friendliest Home Town in America”, and the boards of HOAs have not only allowed this to happen but encourage it. They should be ashamed of themselves. They care not about the ordinances that they are “tattling” on people for. They, for whatever reason, develop a grudge on one (or multiple) of their neighbors, and then do everything in their power to make their lives a living hell. Whether it be ornaments of birds, tiny white crosses, or whatever other small inconsequential decoration that someone has in their yard, they just have to make a federal case out of it.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I completely understand the purpose of HOAs. People that invest in property in the Villages have every right to expect that people maintain their properties and yards, not paint their houses with colors not approved on the communities color palette, etc. These standards are put in place to create a look, and to maintain the property values. However, more times then not, these lowly individuals use these ordinances to hold their neighbors hostage in their own communities, and bring people down to their own miserable existence. (Not very friendly at all for the “Friendliest Hometown in America.”)
In my opinion, it was poor move for The Villages HOAs to allow this behavior. Pitting neighbors against one another is no way to create community harmony.
Will Webb
