[Peachie]

Boomer, I think Sam has the type of setup that would make renting your home or villa in The Villages financially feasible. If you are out of state, it becomes more costly.... IMHO. It is not inexpensive, to say the least, owning two homes even if there are no mortgages involved. If you own in The Villages some of the expenses involved are: water, electric, perhaps gas, telephone, cable, taxes, bug control, lawn maintenance, weed pulling in the landscaping and trimming, exterior washing and perhaps painting, amenity fees, bond, (if applicable), maybe a savings acct for reshingling the roof because of shorter lifespan than northern roofs, insurances which would also have to cover renter liabilites and probably an umbrella policy to cover your personal assets and I may be missing other items. If you are out of state, you need to have someone to manage the property plus cleaning/replacement/repair expenses when the renter leaves. Then add the costs of owning your northern home. Mr Peachie and I very carefully weighed costs vs income and felt in the long run renting would help us pay for the cost of owning a second home but we could probably generate more income in investments. (We also don't like sharing our mattress and linens with others and we want to be here in February and March, not in a snowbank in Poedunk.) At this point in our lives, we want a little less responsibility and a little more time for pursuing interests we've never had time for previously. If villa rentals go to $4,000./mo prime season, we will rethink our current position, lol. Just another perspective...