A lot depends on your longer term plan. Figure the home in the Villages (small ranch about 160K) will cost you a 20% down payment plus closing cost so rough guess $35,000. The mortgage will run you about $700 a month (130K loan, 30 years, 4.5%) and all other expenses will be about another $1000 a month which should cover everything else. Taxes, insurance, lawns, utilities etc. If you decide to rent it for the 3 prime months you will get about $10,000. So a total cost of $35,000 down plus $20,000 in payments each year with $10,000 income. All of these numbers are conservative and are probably worst case. But that is what you need to be ready to accept.
You will be paying down the principal some small amount and also the property value should be growing some so TCO for say 5 years will be about a negative $10,000 to $20,000.
Will you use it enough to justify that cost?
What will you do when you sell your home, keep it, rent it, stay there, sell it?
If you can accept that value basis and use it enough to warrant the extra cost, know the answers to the above questions, go for it.
The other option for you is to rent several months each year. Different homes, different Villages, different months, then when your ready to buy you will know exactly what you want and where you want it. You can rent in the summer months, June through September very reasonable. so do a couple low cost months and a winter month.
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