We too are a few years away from retirement. During a visit, we looked at new and pre-owned homes in a specific price range and didn’t find any that appealed to us. We then saw a furnished model on a golf course that was magnificent, but way over the price threshold we had set for ourselves. We spent that evening figuring out that we didn’t want to settle for a lack of privacy, wanted the larger garage, The Villages would probably be built out at the time we retired, (perhaps only fewer pre-owned choices), and that we could afford to go higher to get the home we wanted now. We upped the price range and the next day, saw quite a few homes that fit the bill (knowing we could always go back to the furnished model at the end of the day). We found a new home that day, with a great lot and location with the features we wanted. We decided to buy it. We determined that we could actually make more money buying now and renting the house than we could get from current interest rates. (Plus historically, there has been a steady increase in home values in TV. Our thoughts were that maybe we wouldn’t be able to afford this home if we waited to buy it in the future.)
Our TV Sales Rep was invaluable and helped guide us through. On the day we decided to buy, he took about 80 photos of the house, inside and out, which he gave us to use in our rental ad. He introduced us to a great TV rental listing site, and he recommended that we list with them immediately (pre-settlement). We took this very sound advice and rented the unfurnished property ourselves within a week of posting the ad and three weeks before we went to settlement. We also got window measurements. We live out of state and in the three weeks leading up to settlement, we arranged for a washer/dryer installation, ordered custom window blinds, selected lawn and other service providers and arranged to epoxy the new garage floor. A little hectic, lots of decisions, but great recommendations and guidance. We had settlement, the installations were done and the new tenants took occupancy five days later.
We have a great home to look forward to, have peace of mind knowing where we will retire and can spend our interim time planning and focused on the goal of getting to TV. We can’t wait!
|