Moving to Hot Springs Village! (Little Rock, Benton: for sale by owner, real estate, apartment)

[texas7]

Have family there. We are contemplating it for retirement as well. My concern.is it may be too slow paced for me. I think I need to live within 20 miles of a big city and its amenities. But I do love to visit there. I drive through hot springs though and it's a mix of fun, historic, eclectic and then there are some rally trashy parts mixed in. Been hard to decide if it is for us.

[texas7]

To residents -- are you allowed to have a fence around your back and side yards? Have an indoor dog, but would like to have a fenced a yard to take him out to,play in. And, just in general I like a fence yard. Haven't seen any fences at all there.

[btoverdrive]

Originally Posted by texas7

To residents -- are you allowed to have a fence around your back and side yards? Have an indoor dog, but would like to have a fenced a yard to take him out to,play in. And, just in general I like a fence yard. Haven't seen any fences at all there.

Yes, fences are allowed. There are lots of homes in HSV with fences, including mine. Here are the fencing regulations:

Working together to keep Hot Springs Village beautiful, the Architectural Control Committee (A.C.C.) and
Community overall appreciate that your new fencing and/or screening is aesthetically pleasing.

Interior Lot Fencing (non-golf course or non-lake lots):
1. A 60” maximum high fence may be constructed in the side or back yard, and may extend to and run
adjacent to the lot property lines (including side and back yard setbacks).
2. Fence materials may be: A) Vinyl covered chain link (black, green or brown), B) Decorative metal or
wrought iron (black), or C) Wood slat (earth tone); acceptable slats are between 3.5 inches and 5.5
inches in width with an open space between slats of at least 50% of the slat width.
3. Landscaping materials may be utilized in conjunction with the approved fencing types, but are
subject to the approval of the A.C.C.

Golf Course / Lake Lots:
1. A fence up to 60 inches in height may be constructed in the side and back yards of golf course and
lake lots and may extend to and run adjacent to the side lot property line (including the side yard
setback) to the rear 20 foot setback line of the property. See item 2 for definition of back yard and
item 4 for approved fencing materials.
2. The back yard is defined as the portion of the yard beginning at the rear foot print (foundation) of the
house to the edge of the 20 foot setback line.
3. The side yard is defined as that portion of the yard from the side of the house to the side property
line.
4. Fencing materials for side yards may be (a) vinyl covered chain link, (b) decorative metal, wrought
iron, or aluminum. Back yard fencing materials shall be decorative BLACK wrought iron, BLACK
decorative metal or BLACK aluminum.

[texas7]

Thanks so much. That helps us in including it as a place to consider for retirement. For shopping, retail and dining -- is it better to go to hot springs or to Benton?

[elkotronics]

No standard chain link, I take it, for fences then? Gotta be vinyl-covered, it does look more attractive, yes.

[btoverdrive]

Originally Posted by texas7

Thanks so much. That helps us in including it as a place to consider for retirement. For shopping, retail and dining -- is it better to go to hot springs or to Benton?

We live about a mile from the east gate so Benton is more convenient for us. Dining does not matter to us, just depends on where we want to go, we sometimes drive as far as Little Rock or we could stay in the village to eat.

All the good shopping (groceries, Walmart, etc) in Hot Springs is on the south side of town and once we drive there from our house we have gone about 25 miles. There is a nice Walmart supercenter in Benton that is 20 miles from us plus a Kroger very close by. You can go 5 miles further up I-30 and there is a new Kroger marketplace and Academy sports and across the freeway is Target, Kohls, Best Buy and other stores and restaurants.

So I guess it's just which drive you prefer. I think the drive to Benton is much nicer, scenery wise, especially this time of the year with the leaves changing.

[sunnysouth11]

I'm reading through the forums and ran across this one about Hot Springs Village. I'm only researching online right now but have been doing this for about 2 years and have narrowed my favorite places and HSV is #1 on my list.

Here's my list of questions:

I found two shopping centers, The Shops At The Fairground in Hot Springs. Is it a nice mall? I'm looking for places like Jo-ann, Michael's, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, etc. And also Lewis Crossing Shopping Center in Conway. How is it for shopping and how far from HSV? I'm finding living in the Village is heaven in the woods but an hour from civilization. I guess you have to make your choices on what's most important to you. Living on a 4 lane street has lost it's appeal even though I'm no further than 3 miles from any shopping. I'm in my 70's so don't know how long I would be able to make those long trips but I guess as long as I can still put pressure on the gas pedal I'll go for it. I do a lot of online shopping too so as long as UPS, FedEx and USPS deliver, I'm OK.

My concern is - I can't live without Home Depot - lol and I don't see one any closer than an hour away. Is there a Menard's or Lowe's closer? I prefer Home Depot but any big home improvement store would make me happy. I'm 2 miles from one now. I'm there so often they know me, which I know is a bad thing. In fact, I take my little dog with me and Home Depot is her favorite place to get spoiled by all the employees. When I say, do you want to go to Home Depot? She gets all excited and runs to the door. So you know how important it is to me lol.

I'm looking at homes in the older section of the Village built in the 70's. I prefer their style and like the lower prices too. Of course, they all need major updates which would require many trips to Home Depot. I do a lot myself but also would like to know if there are dependable small companies who do updates also. For Instance, crown molding, hardwood floors, bathroom remodeling, etc and also do good work.

Yard work is another chore I would have to hire out. What are typical prices for spring/fall yard clean up of the leaves, mowing, etc for a .25 yard. That seems to be the typical size. I'm sure it's 12 month service. I have a lot of flowers and vegetable gardens I take care of myself, it's just the mowing and leaf clean up I would need help with.

I guess the last question is internet service. I work from home and need reliable internet service that meets the specific needs for my job. I think I read in another thread quite a while ago that some areas of the Village don't have internet access. Is that true? If it is, HSV is not an option for me.

Any input would be welcomed. People, in general, seem to be happy with living in HSV. There is no perfect place. I take all the negative comments into consideration and weigh them as something to consider when I do get there to look around. So negatives are considered as much as positives.

[Luvvarkansas]

Originally Posted by sunnysouth11

I'm finding living in the Village is heaven in the woods but an hour from civilization.

You would not be an hour from civilization. Hot Springs is about 20 minutes away. There is a Lowe's. Hopefully your dog can't read and you can just call it Home Depot.

There may be other, smaller home improvement/hardware stores in HS also, like maybe Ace or some locally-owned places.

[KathrynAragon]

Yes, there is a local hardware store that's very nice and well stocked, and Hot Springs is only about 30 minutes away tops.

[Luvvarkansas]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

and Hot Springs is only about 30 minutes away tops.

Yeah, I guess it depends on where you're coming from in the village.....we were really close to the west gate and we always took the cut-through at Gulpha Gorge and made it in about 20 to Hwy 70. Of course, then you would have to get wherever you were going.