Quote:
Originally Posted by Xavier
I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay $9,000 to $14,000 (or more) to rent for 6 months when I could put that into my new home. Of course, I've never been that "well-off." Maybe a couple of weeks to a month would do.
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Xavier, you are quite right about many of us not having the funds to rent for 6 mos or so. However, it is within your means, I think RSH offers solid advice. So many people move within the villages - many times for reasons that could have been avoided by doing better research - and renting may be the very best way to get that research done. In the long run it is certainly cheaper than selling and moving another time or two.
As Mary says, if you buy in a newer neighborhood, all of your neighbors will be new together. (Except those folks who moved from within, of course).
That being said, we were not able to afford that option so we used TOTV, the TV website, Lyle Sells Florida, Realtor.com etc to really get our arms around the place. We also did one LSV and stayed with friends in Largo on another visit.
A couple of things worth mentioning....
Xavier's comments on the add-ons to a preowned house are absolutely correct. However, you may want to make a list of what you definitely want and don't want in a home and stick to it. It is so easy to be swayed by a great design on a driveway - and then you buy a home with a lanai that doesn't suit, etc. Think of the bond as only one more cost - because really that is all it is. Some pre-owned homes with a bond paid off are priced to recoup that - so it is no deal to you.
Think about how you would like to live in Florida. Do think a view is important? Would you be happy living on a golf course knowing that you have a chance of a ball being hit your way and golfers in your backyard? Would you mind the noise of a street behind you or is that better than neighbors behind you?
I think doing a LSV is critical and, if you can swing it, try to stay a few extra days with friends or in a hotel to give yourself time to look around. Check out the exposure of houses you like at different times of the day - if that lanai is hot at sunset now, what will it be like in the summer?
I have a spreadsheet that I am willing to share - just know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what my hubs and I find important you may totally disagree on. There are lots of threads on this topic here - devour them!
Best of luck - this is a wonderful place!