For those of you who have rented......

[jack_pine]

We are doing our 1st LSV. We will snowbird for awhile, but we will need to rent some. We would prefer to buy for the "rental opportunity" first. When we ultimately move there we can "trade up" for what we want in particular.

So with that in mind.....

What did you like, not like with your rental?

With respect to the house? Things that were not there that you would have liked?

With respect to the location?

Anything else?

Thanks for your thoughts. Be there in a week.....

[Wing-nut2]

Check www.****.com. The houses should have everything you will need. Look for one with a golf cart and near LS. My 2 cents.

[jblum315]

I rented a house in Hadley for about 6 weeks while waiting to close on my house. The rental was nicely equipped and pleasant, but the living room and lanai faced West and the afternoon sun made it impossible to sit there (this was Sept., early Oct.)

[Schaumburger]

Rental house in in Chatham, July 2011 - Beautiful finished lanai that was air conditioned -- a little farther from the town squares than I would prefer. This home had a subscription to The Daily Sun. Great for checking out the open houses.

Rental home in Sabal Chase, October 2011 - Close to Lake Sumter Landing which I liked. Very basic lanai. Had to go to the postal center to buy The Daily Sun -- not a big deal.

All in all I liked both homes, and would rent either one again. Both landlords were very easy to deal with.

[thistrucksforyou]

I have rented many homes from the old side to the new side and all i look for is internet, comfortable bed (don't cheap out on the mattress) fully stocked kitchen and bath, golf cart, accepting of pet, and a landlord that I can call and talk to for making arrangments....I have a person that I have rented from for along time now and will continue until I buy...So if you take care of your tenants they are more then likely to rent from you a lot and tell others of you...I should also mention that as a visitor I want to be reasonably close to a couple executive coarses and the adult pool...

[uujudy]

Don't forget internet access. We rented for a month in 2007, and the house didn't have internet, so we spent way too much time at Crisper's looking at houses on The Villages' website.

[Bobbie416]

Rental house in in Chatham, July 2011 - Beautiful finished lanai that was air conditioned -- a little farther from the town squares than I would prefer. This home had a subscription to The Daily Sun. Great for checking out the open houses.

Rental home in Sabal Chase, October 2011 - Close to Lake Sumter Landing which I liked. Very basic lanai. Had to go to the postal center to buy The Daily Sun -- not a big deal.

All in all I liked both homes, and would rent either one again. Both landlords were very easy to deal with.

If I rent a house and the owner does not subscribe to The Daily Sun, can I just call The Daily Sun and have the paper delivered for my rental period?

[DaleMN]

You need internet access and golf cart for sure.
Wife needs a tv in the master bedroom.
And, hard to check beforehand, but a well stocked kitchen in terms of small appliances and implements and cookware is important.

[janmcn]

If I rent a house and the owner does not subscribe to The Daily Sun, can I just call The Daily Sun and have the paper delivered for my rental period?

Yes you can.

[Bobbie416]

Yes you can.

Thank you

[TrudyM]

I always look for a king bed when I rent. Alot of rentals have queens. A person who is use to a queen will rent a unit with a king but those of us who are use to a King don't want a long term rental with a queen in it.

Just a thought

[Bobbie416]

I am renting for the first time this year. However, I have visited the villages many times and stayed with friends and have rented houses in other areas. In looking for a rental at The Villages I wanted a comfortable bed, comfortable seating in the living room, eating area and lanai, internet access, a convenient location, and a golf cart in good condition. I realize this is not crucial but I prefer a home that is decorated Florida style with light colors.

[jack_pine]

Thanks all, keep them coming. We, too, have rented a lot, mostly on the Outer Banks.

I am really interested in thoughts on type of house? 2/3 bedroom?

And mostly location of house. What's important?

[CharTalk]

I rented from The Villages and didn't think to ask if the house would have Internet. When I got here it didn't and that was a big disappointment. I never considered any rental property wouldn't have Internet. That's like not have television!

And while the bed was fairly comfortable, there was no comfortable seating in the living room. I'm not sure how you would know this, but some of the for rent by owner sites at least show you pictures. If I had seen some, I could have guessed that the couch was pretty old and therefore, may have been suspicious of the comfort level.

I wish I had rented directly from an owner where I could have picked my house, location, and seen pictures. With The Villages, you don't know where you will be until you show up.

[asianthree]

Our last three renters were all happy with our home, but internet seems to be on its way out, all used phones or ipads to connect and wanted to not use the internet, or home phones. As much as i hate comcast i hope this will be a way to dump them somewhere down the road.

[Pturner]

Our last three renters were all happy with our home, but internet seems to be on its way out, all used phones or ipads to connect and wanted to not use the internet, or home phones. As much as i hate comcast i hope this will be a way to dump them somewhere down the road.

Unless the iPad has 3G, it needs wifi internet access. Even if it has 3G, connecting via wifi doesn't cost anything and connecting through the phone company can cost a bunch. So it's likely that iPad users would still want internet in the home.

[bestmickey]

I've rented in TV for the past few years and will again this April/May. Must have is internet access, would not rent without it. A golf cart is also wanted, and with the expanding size of TV, we strongly prefer a gas cart. We also look for a newer home (as it is likely to have better furnishings and be better maintained). Our favorite village is Hadley. I think the villages from ~ Hadley and those to the South are prime locations for visiting both Sumter Landing and Brownwood (when ready). We like comfortable furniture for television viewing, large flat screen televisions in living room and master bedroom. A small flat screen in kitchen area is a nice perk. Agree with others, comfortable beds are important. I travel with a sister, so two bedrooms are in use, but we prefer a third bedroom that is used as an office. (A third bedroom could also give you a closet to keep your clothes stored for when you return to the home for your own use.) A well stocked kitchen (with various utensils for cooking and some basic spices), and a generous supply of bath towels are also important. It''s critical that the home is clean and well maintained.

[Francie]

Wireless internet

Golf Cart

Street Map of TV

[eweissenbach]

Last year we rented in Summerhill for the month of April. We rented an Amarillo with wireless, direct tv, sun delivery, and golf cart. This year we are renting for February and March in Hemmingway. No sun delivery (subscribed for the 2 months two weeks ago) and no golf cart (The owner's insurance co. decided to not cover renters for the cart, so he discounted the rent by $400 each month and we have rented a cart from jim followell.) We absolutely loved Summerhill - convenient to Southern Trace and all the 466 businesses, easy to get to either square, very central and easy access location. I am anxious to try Hemmingway and see if we like the new area as well - at this point I think I like the central corridor along 466 better. But, we will see, one never knows for sure until they try something. I have read enough comments on this site by veterans, to know there is something, or should I say, much, to like about every area in TV.

[scrapple]

We are doing our 1st LSV. We will snowbird for awhile, but we will need to rent some. We would prefer to buy for the "rental opportunity" first. When we ultimately move there we can "trade up" for what we want in particular.

So with that in mind.....

What did you like, not like with your rental?

With respect to the house? Things that were not there that you would have liked?

With respect to the location?

Anything else?

Thanks for your thoughts. Be there in a week.....

We rented for 3 months knowing that we would be moving. We had already sold our home.
What we didn't like...it was small. DH was still "working from home" and we also had stuff in storage and 3 months supply of what we thought we needed. The golf cart that was part of the contract broke down immediately and we basically were never able to use it.
What wasn't there...cooking gadgets. But, knowing that I like to cook and deep down, knowing that cooking gadgets probably wouldn't be available, I packed the rice cooker, french press, crock pot and spices that I thought I'd need. Very basic stuff was there and I relocated most everything to suit me which was fine with the owner.
We picked location up north to settle our dog, knowing that we'd be close to the Mulberry dog park. I'm glad we did that. We actually knew we'd be moving south of 466, but being close to the dog park was important at the time.
We had paid for 3 months rental, only needing 1 month. The owners were helpful in trying to rent out the 2 months we didn't need. Unfortunately we lost out on 2 months rent, but gained in getting a great place with wonderful neighbors! We're really happy with our "Happily Ever After."