On Top of the World

Yes — OTOW is an electronically gated community, with controlled-access entry gates rather than 24/7 staffed guardhouses.

Yes — OTOW is genuinely golf-cart-friendly. There are three nearby shopping centers, including grocery, reachable by cart, and many storefronts have golf-cart-only parking. The Town Square inside OTOW also has restaurants, a coffee shop, and a pub all reachable by cart from anywhere in the community.

Both are well-known Florida 55+ communities, but they feel very different. The Villages spans multiple counties with a population well over 100,000. OTOW is a single master-planned community in southwest Ocala — three golf courses, a Town Square, and a more neighborhood-scale feel. A lot of my clients tour both and choose OTOW because it's more contained and less like a small city. Happy to talk through the differences when you visit.

OTOW has both. In a fee simple community, you own the land your home sits on; the fee simple neighborhoods are Candler Hills, Weybourne Landing, and Indigo East. Most other OTOW neighborhoods are leasehold, where you own the home but lease the land underneath. The structure affects monthly cost, financing, and long-term resale, so it's worth understanding which one applies to any home you're considering. Call me and I'll walk you through how it works in practice.

OTOW has several different communities, and HOA coverage varies by neighborhood. Some include lawn care and exterior maintenance, while others do not. Call me anytime for more details on which communities offer what services.

It depends on the neighborhood. Some are maintenance-included, where lawn care and exterior upkeep are part of your HOA. Others are owner-maintained, where you handle the lawn and the outside of the home yourself — some buyers prefer that flexibility. I'll match you to neighborhoods that fit how hands-on you want to be.

Residents enjoy access to OTOW's golf amenities, with memberships and greens fees varying by course and community.

Short-term rentals are restricted; long-term rentals follow community guidelines. Ask Kathy for specifics.

OTOW is federally designated as 55+ housing, so at least one person on the deed must be 55 or older (or turning 55 within six months of closing). Other household members can be younger — exact age minimums for additional residents vary by neighborhood. If you have a specific family situation, call me and we'll talk it through.

Yes, with reasonable size and quantity limits.

Yes — visiting family of any age is welcome.