[villages07]

Pharmer Larry,

First off, congrats on deciding to make the Villages your winter home...you will love it. And, you will find, over time, that you will spend more and more time here vs up North.

A few thoughts on your questions...many of these have been discussed before...you might try the search feature of the forum.

1. Buy in Sept or Dec/Jan? Well, if you buy in Sept, then you won't have to rent in Dec/Jan (that could save you 5,000 or more). In September, not as many buyers around - you'll have more to choose from; I doubt the Sept prices will be much different from the Jan prices (for new) but timing wise, I think Sept is a better time to buy. If you do buy in Dec/Jan (and it's a resale), the house will probably already be rented through March so you won't be able to use it. If you buy new, it'll be yours within 30 days regardless of when you buy. Prices....at worst have held steady lately (after dropping for the past 18 months)....at times, I detect a slight uptick in prices. TV will probably recover before the rest of the nation's housing market.

2. County .... most of TV (and all of the new building) is in Sumter County.... TV has a lot of influence with Sumter County. Tax rates are different between the 3 counties but probably not enough to sway your decision.

3. Particular Village....some choose a location based on what they like to do (softball vs be close to squares vs whatever). In truth, there are no bad neighborhoods and everyone will tell you their area is best. Just do your homework and study the map/area for anything that might bother you (major roads, trains, water treatment, high school, etc).

4. Buying into a new neighborhood...everyone is in the same boat and this will be the 'family' you grow old with. Buying a resale you have to break in to established bonds...some areas may be easier than others. But, you will end up with friends from all over TV.

Good Luck to you and Mrs Pharmer!!!