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Retiring to The Villages, looking for acreage in Ocala’s horse country, or already a Marion, Sumter or Lake County Veteran? Here’s how a VA loan works in Ocala, The Villages, Belleview and Lady Lake: the district fees that come with The Villages, what VA allows on land with a barn, the three VA clinics in the area, and every benefit that stacks if you have a disability rating.
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Can I buy horse property in Ocala with a VA loan? Yes, if the property is mainly your home. A VA loan can cover a house on acreage with a barn and fenced pasture, with $0 down if you have full entitlement, but not a working farm or a horse business. Expect a well and septic on most rural parcels. In The Villages, plan for the district assessments and amenity fee.
The Villages stretches across three counties south of Ocala. Ocala itself is the center of Marion County, with horse farms spreading out in every direction.
A 55+ community across Sumter, Lake and Marion counties
Popular areas: The neighborhoods around Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing and Brownwood
The Villages VA Clinic is on SE 165th Mulberry Lane. Golf cars are the everyday way to get around.
The Marion County seat
Popular areas: Southeast Ocala, the SW College Road corridor, Silver Springs Shores, Belleview Highway area
Two VA clinics in town, on SW 49th Road and SW 26th Avenue. A wide range of homes and prices.
Northwest Marion County
Popular areas: The US-27 corridor northwest of Ocala, Reddick, the rural west county
Farms and acreage. VA lends on the home and land, not on a working farm business.
Between Ocala and The Villages
Popular areas: Belleview, Summerfield, Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Leesburg
Homes near The Villages without its age rule or district fees. The Tavares VA Clinic serves Lake County.
The Villages is an age-restricted community for people 55 and older, and it’s built around golf cars. Residents drive them on multi-modal paths, which are closed to cars, to reach golf, shopping and the town squares. Homes are grouped into villages, and the community is run by a set of community development districts rather than a single HOA.
Many residents spend part of the year somewhere else. A VA loan still has to be on your primary residence, so The Villages has to be the home you actually live in.
Many homes carry a bond assessment, which pays for the district’s roads and utilities, and the districts also charge maintenance assessments. Ask how each one is billed for the home you choose.
The Villages also charges a monthly amenity fee, separate from the district assessments. My team counts it in your payment along with your taxes and insurance.
Ocala and Marion County call themselves the Horse Capital of the World, and the county says it has more horses than anywhere else in the country. Many Veterans come here for a few acres, a barn and room for horses of their own.
A VA loan can buy a home on acreage, including outbuildings like a barn or fenced pasture, as long as the property is mainly a residence. It can’t finance a working farm or a business. The appraiser has to find comparable sales for land like yours, so very large or unusual properties take more planning. Expect a private well and septic system on most rural parcels.
The Villages itself is limited to residents 55 and older, but the towns around it are served by three countywide districts.
| School district | Serves | State grade (2025–26) |
|---|---|---|
| Marion County school district | Ocala, Belleview, Silver Springs Shores, Reddick, the Marion County part of The Villages | C |
| Sumter County school district | Wildwood, Bushnell, most of The Villages | A |
| Lake County school district | Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Leesburg, the Lake County part of The Villages | A |
District grades are the Florida Department of Education’s A–F school grades. Attendance zones follow the address, not the city name, so check the district and school for any home before you make an offer.
Nearest VA care: Malcom Randall VA Medical Center (SW Archer Road, Gainesville), plus VA clinics nearby.
SE 165th Mulberry Lane, The Villages
SW 49th Road, Ocala
SW 26th Avenue, Ocala
East Burleigh Boulevard, Tavares
SW Archer Road, Gainesville
Locations from VA.gov. Services change, so confirm with the VA before you count on a specific clinic.
In Marion County, homeowners pay about 0.74% of their home’s value in property tax each year on average. That average is held down by Florida’s homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap, which limits how fast a homestead’s assessed value can rise. When a home sells, its value resets to market value, so a new buyer usually pays more than the seller did, and two homes a mile apart can differ a lot.
| Who qualifies | Florida exemption |
|---|---|
| Service-connected disability of 10% or more | $5,000 off assessed value |
| Age 65 or older with a combat-related disability | Tax discount equal to your disability percentage |
| Service-connected total and permanent disability | Full exemption on your homestead |
What that’s worth in Ocala & The Villages: on a $250,000 to $300,000 home in Marion County at the county’s average 0.74% effective rate, a full exemption removes at least $1,900 to $2,200 a year in property taxes. A new buyer’s bill is usually higher than that average, so the real savings is often more.
You apply with the county property appraiser once you own and live in the home. How Florida’s exemptions work
Average effective rates are median property taxes paid divided by median home value for owner-occupied homes, from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates. They include exemptions and caps current owners already receive.
In Florida, insurance often changes your payment more than the interest rate does. Get quotes early, while you can still walk away. Homeowners insurance on a Florida VA loan
A wind mitigation report documents features like roof shape, roof-to-wall connections and storm shutters or impact windows. Insurers give credits for them, and the savings can be large. Ask the seller for a recent one or order your own.
On older homes, insurers often require a 4-point inspection of the roof, electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling. An older roof can make a home hard to insure, so ask its age first. The VA appraisal also checks the roof.
If the home is in a FEMA high-risk flood zone, flood insurance is required. Even outside those zones, flood coverage is worth pricing near the coast, rivers and low areas. An elevation certificate can lower the cost.
When a named storm threatens the area, insurers can stop writing new policies until it passes. If you’re closing during hurricane season, bind your policy early so a storm doesn’t delay your closing.
Buying a condo? It has to be VA-approved, and Florida’s condo safety laws now require structural inspections and funded reserves for many buildings three stories or taller, which is raising dues and special assessments. My team checks the association before you commit. VA condo approval in Florida
In The Villages, community development districts (CDDs) build and maintain the roads, utilities and common areas, and they bill homeowners through the county property tax bill. Some newer subdivisions around Ocala have their own CDDs as well. These charges are separate from, and on top of, your regular property taxes.
Few places in Florida draw more retirees than The Villages, and Ocala adds rolling horse country nearby, with three VA clinics in the area.
Disabled Veterans can combine federal and Florida benefits that most buyers never hear about. Together they can lower your cash to close and your yearly taxes.
Waiting on a claim? Tell my team. Your expected rating can change your funding fee and your taxes, so we plan around it.
You can earn VA loan eligibility through six years of Guard or Reserve service, or through qualifying active-duty time such as a federal activation. Your Certificate of Eligibility confirms it, and my team can pull it for you. VA loan eligibility
If your spouse died in service or from a service-connected disability, you may be eligible for a VA loan with the same $0 down benefit. Surviving spouses who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) don’t pay the funding fee, and Florida’s disabled Veteran property tax exemptions can continue for an eligible surviving spouse. We handle these files with extra care. VA loans for surviving spouses
You don’t have to sell it to buy in Ocala & The Villages. Your remaining entitlement can often buy your next home with $0 down while the first one stays a rental. VA entitlement calculator
A VA streamline refinance (IRRRL) can lower the rate on your current VA loan with less paperwork. A VA cash-out refinance lets you use your equity for repairs or debts.
Some Ocala & The Villages sellers have older VA loans with low rates you may be able to take over. The seller’s loan servicer handles the assumption itself. My team can finance the second loan that covers the gap between the loan balance and the price. Assumable loan calculator
Moving again later? You can keep your Ocala & The Villages home as a rental and keep its VA loan and rate in place. Your homestead exemption ends when it stops being your home, so plan for higher taxes on a rental.
The Villages is age-restricted, with rules on who may live in the home, including younger family members. Read them and make sure your household fits before you go under contract.
Some sellers have paid off a home’s bond assessment and some haven’t. Ask which applies, because it changes your tax bill for years.
Rural Marion County has many manufactured homes. A VA loan can cover one when it’s anchored on a permanent foundation and the land is in your name. Homes on leased lots, park models and RVs don’t qualify. VA loans for manufactured homes
The VA appraiser values the home and land, and outbuildings add only what local sales support. Don’t count on a new barn or arena raising the value dollar for dollar.
Marion County has acreage and lots, from horse country west of Ocala to newer communities south toward The Villages, for Veterans who want a new home. A VA one-time-close construction loan covers the land and the build in one loan: $0 down up to $1 million, with a 620 minimum credit score. New homes built to Florida’s current wind codes are often easier and cheaper to insure.
Nothing, if you have full VA entitlement. There is no VA loan limit with full entitlement and no monthly mortgage insurance. The VA funding fee can be rolled into the loan, and Veterans who receive VA disability compensation are exempt from it.
Yes. You can be pre-approved, shop remotely and close before you arrive, as long as you intend to move in and make the home your primary residence, usually within about 60 days. Retirement pay, VA disability pay and Social Security all count as income.
There is no minimum credit score on a standard VA purchase or refinance with my team. We look first at your residual income, the money left each month after your housing payment and bills. VA construction loans start at a 620 score.
Florida Veterans with a service-connected total and permanent disability can be fully exempt from property taxes on their homestead. Veterans rated 10% or more get $5,000 off their home’s assessed value. Veterans 65 or older with a combat-related disability can get a discount equal to their disability percentage. These come on top of Florida’s regular homestead exemption.
Florida’s Save Our Homes cap limits how fast a homestead’s assessed value can rise while the owner keeps it. When the home sells, the value resets to market value for the new owner. So the seller’s tax bill can be much lower than yours will be. My team estimates your taxes on the price you pay, not the seller’s bill.
Often, yes. If you keep your current VA home as a rental, your remaining entitlement can usually buy your Ocala & The Villages home with $0 down up to a certain price. Above that, you put 25% down on the difference. My team checks your exact numbers from your Certificate of Eligibility.
Yes, if you are an eligible surviving spouse, for example of a service member who died in service or from a service-connected disability. Surviving spouses who receive DIC are exempt from the VA funding fee.
Yes, if it will be your primary residence and your household meets the community’s age rules. Plan for the district bond and maintenance assessments on the tax bill and the monthly amenity fee, which my team counts in your payment.
VA construction loan
Shirley and her team were an absolute pleasure to work with. They helped my wife and I obtain a VA Construction Loan which gave us the ability to build our dream home.
Agent referral · VA purchase
Shirley was excellent to work with on our client’s VA home loan. VA loans can be tricky and it is so important to work with a loan officer that knows them well. Shirley did an excellent job!
VA purchase
Ms. Shirley and her team are the BEST. Clear communication, specialized VA knowledge, responsiveness, and reduced stress. Thank you all for your help .
VA one-time-close construction loan
Some agents on my team were more responsive than others. But the VA One Time Close Construction Loan is a big and complicated one. A lot of waiting involved and some miscommunication, but that happens with project like this. I believe Shirley’s team handled my loan better than any other lender I could have used. In the end, I know I was in good hands.
Problem solved fast
Ms Shirley and her team were among the top teir customer service representatives I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I'll admit, I was apprehensive at first, given the number of people that had their hands in everything. Tends to lead to confusion and things getting messed up, which takes time to fix. I brought an issue to Ms Shirley and without hesitation, calls the team members involved and conferences the issue. Absolutely stunned when that happened. This goes to show you the dedication of this team and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone! Thank you and I can't say it enough. Still hope for humanity yet.
First home · VA purchase
Absolutely top notch!!! This being our first home, I had no idea what to expect, and to be honest the thought of getting through this was quite stressful! This entire process from start to finish has been nothing short of amazing and stress-free. Everyone has been extremely friendly and helpful! All of my questions and concerns were addressed quickly and promptly! You have all made this veterans dream of home ownership come true, what a pleasure this journey has been! Thank you all!!
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