Your Opinion Please

[allus70]

I just retired, my wife is about a year or so away. We live in NY, though we just came home from a visit to The Villages. This is the place that we want to retire to, pretty certain about that. Here's the part that got me waking up at night.
We found the type home we want, a CYV, in the place we want, within walking distance to Paddock Square and Eisenhower recreation center. It's essentially the same house that we passed up at Mission Hills a few years back and is now about 100K more expensive.
It's going to take a while to sell our home here in NY, and we don't have any firm idea as to what we might get for it. Also, after 5 kids and legions of dogs and cats, it needs work. That means if we buy, we will be paying the bills on 2 homes. If we rent the new home out year around, and I don't think that is likely, correct me if I am wrong, the rent would only cover about 1/2 the costs. Found out were approved for the mortgage.
We are torn between once again between missing out on our dream house, or taking a financial leap of faith and juggling 2 homes. Another consideration is that the 2 homes together would mean being on the hook for almost $500,000 in loans....not exactly the way I wanted to go off into retirement. There's one more detail, though. The Mission Hill's CYV's appreictiated in value when resold, and not necessarily due solely to updates.
Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, maybe I'm overlooking some important details. If so, or if your own experience can add some insight to our dilemma and help us decide, please let us know. Thanks

[rdhdleo]

We carried 2 mortgages for a year for us it was a good decision because we got our house here before the prices skyrocketed but that was almost 12 years ago. We made sure we could afford the 2 loans for at least a year but then had to make a decision. So we sold our home up north luckily is sold fast and though my husband couldn't leave his job for about 8 months he stayed with friends and paid them rent and flew back and forth every coupe months to see me till he could leave his job. It was hard but we did it and I am glad we did because we got our house at a very affordable price. Look at your finances carefully and see what works for you, think of it as an investment in your future. Good luck to you it's a tough decision.

[asianthree]

bonus is you can sell your home in TV faster than up north, if you get in a bind.

[ilovetv]

I just retired, my wife is about a year or so away. We live in NY, though we just came home from a visit to The Villages. This is the place that we want to retire to, pretty certain about that. Here's the part that got me waking up at night.
We found the type home we want, a CYV, in the place we want, within walking distance to Paddock Square and Eisenhower recreation center. It's essentially the same house that we passed up at Mission Hills a few years back and is now about 100K more expensive.
It's going to take a while to sell our home here in NY, and we don't have any firm idea as to what we might get for it. Also, after 5 kids and legions of dogs and cats, it needs work. That means if we buy, we will be paying the bills on 2 homes. If we rent the new home out year around, and I don't think that is likely, correct me if I am wrong, the rent would only cover about 1/2 the costs. Found out were approved for the mortgage.
We are torn between once again between missing out on our dream house, or taking a financial leap of faith and juggling 2 homes. Another consideration is that the 2 homes together would mean being on the hook for almost $500,000 in loans....not exactly the way I wanted to go off into retirement. There's one more detail, though. The Mission Hill's CYV's appreictiated in value when resold, and not necessarily due solely to updates.
Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, maybe I'm overlooking some important details. If so, or if your own experience can add some insight to our dilemma and help us decide, please let us know. Thanks

O.P., how about getting a resale CYV for $100k less (without water/golf view) in a 6-8 year old neighborhood, just for the next couple of years. Then get your dream home with proceeds of selling the first CYV that will appreciate in value, too, in the next couple of years. By then, the dream home you're looking at could be for sale with LOTS of nice enhancements already done by owners knowing they won't recoup all they spent on extras.

By paying less for a CYV now, you could rent it out part of the year (6 months or so) and have some time using it yourselves until you fully retire and sell out.

Best wishes for your Liberated Years!

[jnieman]

If it were me I would sell my home up north first. Once you do that then come down and buy. There are lots of things to do to get ready to sell a home and to move to the Villages. You already mentioned that your home needs work and should be fixed up and neutralized before putting it on the market. Cleaning out the house, closets, basement, will make it look bigger and cleaner. Downsizing takes a lot of time and work. Selling what you don't want to bring with you, cleaning the attic or basement. We have limited storage here in Village homes with just the hot attic and no basement. Bring as little as possible as your northern furniture probably won't look good in your Villages home. I think doing it this way will be a lot less stressful than carrying two large mortgages. Just my opinion.

[2BNTV]

I just retired, my wife is about a year or so away. We live in NY, though we just came home from a visit to The Villages. This is the place that we want to retire to, pretty certain about that. Here's the part that got me waking up at night.
We found the type home we want, a CYV, in the place we want, within walking distance to Paddock Square and Eisenhower recreation center. It's essentially the same house that we passed up at Mission Hills a few years back and is now about 100K more expensive.
It's going to take a while to sell our home here in NY, and we don't have any firm idea as to what we might get for it. Also, after 5 kids and legions of dogs and cats, it needs work. That means if we buy, we will be paying the bills on 2 homes. If we rent the new home out year around, and I don't think that is likely, correct me if I am wrong, the rent would only cover about 1/2 the costs. Found out were approved for the mortgage.
We are torn between once again between missing out on our dream house, or taking a financial leap of faith and juggling 2 homes. Another consideration is that the 2 homes together would mean being on the hook for almost $500,000 in loans....not exactly the way I wanted to go off into retirement. There's one more detail, though. The Mission Hill's CYV's appreictiated in value when resold, and not necessarily due solely to updates.
Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, maybe I'm overlooking some important details. If so, or if your own experience can add some insight to our dilemma and help us decide, please let us know. Thanks

Make a decision based on, "this is what allows me to sleep at night".

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The prices of homes in the Villages is not going to go down.

[chachacha]

i think mission hills is a unique location and most other neighborhoods have not shot up in value quite as much as they have...i know a couple of people who had two years of stress by carrying two homes so if it is already keeping you awake at night, i agree with 2B that that is not a good sign. good luck with whatever you decide!

[Maryc7878]

Having that much in loans, I would not sleep at night. Why not rent for 1-2 years in the Villages, sell the house in NY. Then you could have little or no mortgage. Of course the prices will go up. But, at least you'll be well rested.

[JaniceOhio]

Getting a bargain that gets you in trouble is no bargain. Janice :agree:

[tippyclubb]

Here's our story which is similar to yours. We visited TV almost three years ago and looked at homes and fell in love with one but did not buy. When we returned last September that same home was no longer affordable for us.

We bought a home last September because the prices have gone up so much. We are not retired yet and handling two homes and still live up north. We decided not to rent it out for one year and absorb the cost. We figure we will break even if we waited and bought this September with prices rising so quickly.

There are plenty of people who do rent out their homes and perhaps some of them will share there stories.

The huge difference between our story and yours is we were able to sleep at night. Maybe you should start checking around to find out the value of your current home before you make a commitment . Its a huge decision and its one you should feel comfortable in making. Always listen to what your gut feeling is telling you and you won't go wrong.

[skyguy79]

I just retired, my wife is about a year or so away. We live in NY, though we just came home from a visit to The Villages. This is the place that we want to retire to, pretty certain about that. Here's the part that got me waking up at night.
We found the type home we want, a CYV, in the place we want, within walking distance to Paddock Square and Eisenhower recreation center. It's essentially the same house that we passed up at Mission Hills a few years back and is now about 100K more expensive.
It's going to take a while to sell our home here in NY, and we don't have any firm idea as to what we might get for it. Also, after 5 kids and legions of dogs and cats, it needs work. That means if we buy, we will be paying the bills on 2 homes. If we rent the new home out year around, and I don't think that is likely, correct me if I am wrong, the rent would only cover about 1/2 the costs. Found out were approved for the mortgage.
We are torn between once again between missing out on our dream house, or taking a financial leap of faith and juggling 2 homes. Another consideration is that the 2 homes together would mean being on the hook for almost $500,000 in loans....not exactly the way I wanted to go off into retirement. There's one more detail, though. The Mission Hill's CYV's appreciated in value when resold, and not necessarily due solely to updates.
Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, maybe I'm overlooking some important details. If so, or if your own experience can add some insight to our dilemma and help us decide, please let us know. ThanksWe bought our home here in January of 2011, months before we decided to sell our home up north. Once we decided to sell our northern home, we put it on the market right after we moved out and left for TV mid October. Earlier today for the first time, I did some figuring on how we made out, home value wise by buying here and selling up north, and I liked what I saw.

Since we bought here in TV, our home here increased in value by about 37%. Since we sold our former home in NYS's capital district, our home there decreased in value by about 12%. These percentages were derived using a common base of Zillow values rather than guesstimating so that there was some reasonably consistent figures in the before and after values used.

Also note that the 37% increase in the value of our home here doesn't reflect the fact that we have invested considerably in improving landscaping and that we installed a pool and birdcage, all of which would have certainly increased that 37% if I did.

Only you can decided what's best for you to do, but I hope what I've shared helps a little.

[buggyone]

To me, it sounds as if you might be doing things backwards.

Personally, I would start with cleaning out the NY house of the years of "stuff" and fixing it up to be sold. This is going to cost quite a bit of money to do right. It will also take a long time to do. It is a two person job and takes the effort of both parties to do it right. Cleaning out, fixing up, and selling a house is one of the most stressful times of a life. It will sell faster if it is uncluttered with years of stuff and has fresh carpet, new flooring, new paint, new appliances, etc.

Minimize the furniture in the house. You can even store some of your excess furniture or sell it or just give it to charity.

Personally, again, I would not buy another house until my NY house is listed. If you have a good agent there, hopefully it will sell in a couple of months. You will have to get the mindset of not making a financial killing on it but rather get it off your books. Taking on the mortgage of another house on top of one in NY is not the way I would want to start retirement.

[justjim]

I just retired, my wife is about a year or so away. We live in NY, though we just came home from a visit to The Villages. This is the place that we want to retire to, pretty certain about that. Here's the part that got me waking up at night.
We found the type home we want, a CYV, in the place we want, within walking distance to Paddock Square and Eisenhower recreation center. It's essentially the same house that we passed up at Mission Hills a few years back and is now about 100K more expensive.
It's going to take a while to sell our home here in NY, and we don't have any firm idea as to what we might get for it. Also, after 5 kids and legions of dogs and cats, it needs work. That means if we buy, we will be paying the bills on 2 homes. If we rent the new home out year around, and I don't think that is likely, correct me if I am wrong, the rent would only cover about 1/2 the costs. Found out were approved for the mortgage.
We are torn between once again between missing out on our dream house, or taking a financial leap of faith and juggling 2 homes. Another consideration is that the 2 homes together would mean being on the hook for almost $500,000 in loans....not exactly the way I wanted to go off into retirement. There's one more detail, though. The Mission Hill's CYV's appreictiated in value when resold, and not necessarily due solely to updates.
Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, maybe I'm overlooking some important details. If so, or if your own experience can add some insight to our dilemma and help us decide, please let us know. Thanks

OP, everybody's situation is different. From your post, you have a year yet before your wife can retire. I would use that time to get my current house in shape to sell. There will always be houses for sale in TV.

I know the appeal of what you believe is your dream house. Believe me there is no perfect house. However, in TV it's not so much the house as it is the lifestyle.

I would give it a few months to get my current house "sale ready". There is no guarantee that prices in TV will continue to go up.

It's a big decision. Good luck.