[Ohiogirl]

We rent out our 3 BR villa and keep stuff in the attic, and the 3rd bedroom closet - we don't bother locking it up. Some people put a lock on the linen closet and keep stuff in there.

Some of our stuff would be available to tenants if they needed it anyway - like a child's table & chairs, pack n play portable crib, booster seat/high chair (for when the grandkids are there).

We have a couple of heavy plastic storage boxes in the 3rd BR closet (they're too heavy to drag up and down the attic stairs) with our own personal supplies of shampoo, sunscreen, paper and plastic supplies, etc. and stuff we only use in The Villages or have duplicates of up north - swim goggles (one of us swims serious laps), music stand (one of us is a musician), bathrobe, golfballs/golf shoes, swimsuits, etc. Just so we don't have to drag it down every time on our short visits, especially if we fly.

We keep shelves of minor tools and gardening supplies in the garage.

Only thing I ever noticed missing were some bungee cords, and maybe I just haven't found wherever they might have been moved to (I didn't look real hard on my last visit, which was a quickee). Rarely has any tenant needed the 3rd bedroom, and if they did there was still some closet space left. No one has ever complained. If it's more than 2 people renting, I tell them we have some personal stuff in the 3rd closet and no one seems to care.

The type of tenant you get in The Villages is not a typical renter. I am guessing it would be very rare to have any kind of theft problem.

One of the nicer things about NOT renting thru the Villages is the ability to do what you want with your own property, also not to have to pay to stay in your own home when you are able to come down. It's my understanding (my sister rents her Villages home thru the Villages rental program) that owners have to pay $25 per night (yikes)!