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Originally Posted by MrExcite721

Hello Again TOTV,

We are now homeowners in Marsh Bend on Demarco Drive, across from the Hogeye Preserve. We have met 3 neighbors during the process, really welcoming folks who are also starting their retirement journeys. Our sales rep, Lisa Marie Puccio is fantastic, always keeping our best interests at the front of her efforts.

We did our mortgage through Wells Fargo here in PA, and worked with Peninsula Title Company of Florida for the closing. Everyone worked really hard to make a tight closing deadline the Villages dictates, 30 days after signed intent. If you plan at all to do a mortgage with a bank other than Citizens First in The Villages, be sure your lender can get it done in 30 days, its a huge amount of paperwork for that time frame.

We had given Lisa a punch list of items that were of concern to us, the biggest of which was the yard, it was 3/4 dead grass/sod. We asked that it be repaired prior to closing, and last week the builder removed the old yard and re-sodded the entire property. Very happy with that result so far. They also committed to paying the August water bill as the sprinklers will run each day to assure the sod gets the proper amount of hydration.

We hired Integrity First Services as our home watch, and Dennis Smith has also been very easy to work with in preparing for the transfer of ownership. We are still getting bids for lawn/pest control, Deans Service having bid so far.

We will be down to get some furniture bought and delivered in October as well. I would love to get everyone's suggestions for things I might not have mentioned or thought about that will need to be taken care of remotely, or tips for planning the move in 2020. Please drop a comment below with your thoughts or pointers you have learned through your own experiences, and thank you in advance for your interest !!

John and Nancy

Welcome to TV! Glad you did not pay Citizens first crazy high closing costs. We saved about $3500 when we bought our first house going through Quicken loans.

Lawn Service - I am not going to recommend anyone specific as I just changed. I have watched this for 5 years and here is my take - if you want it done right and don't care what it costs - go with Massey. They may fall down but if you call they will make changes and make it right. They will charge you $130 a month for this though. I would recommend looking for a small family owned company. I pay $55 a month for lawn and $35 a month for weed and pest spraying. They will do good for 3-4 years, but then may slip. Just keep an eye on it.

Furniture - I can not recommend enough - if you want to pay a fortune - stay in TV. If not - go to Showcase Furniture in Mount Dora - they have excellent prices, they can get just about everything, and they will deliver and set up in TV. I have furnished 2 rental homes using them. Of course, you can furnish a hole house rather cheaply by going to all the second hand places - there is some NICE stuff at them. But it takes time.

Get a good home inspection at one year (not recommending anyone, but a certain guy who posted on this thread before me is excellent). MAKE SURE THEY GO ON THE ROOF AND MAKE SURE IT IS 100% SEALED. Then go up yourself and double check. Lots of problems with that in TV.

HVAC- Chuck Farrell
Golf Carts - Carts and Clubs and Todd Casey for service. Go with a YAMAHA. I have owned EZGo and Club car and let me tell you, Yamaha last the longest and are the least problem. Loved my EZGO but it was just not dependable in the long run. As with cars, buy your carts 2 years old, not new. They depreciate.

Sureclean solutions - any type of floor cleaning
Joe Tucker - any Irrigation problems.
Carrie Wildman at the Villages Insurance - for Homeowners you can't beat them - don't know about Auto.

Oh and sign up for villages kart aid - you just never know.

Good luck!