Need advice for buying in Villages?

[Vandertn]

My husband and I have been coming here as renters for years. We love it. Still not quite ready to retire, but thinking of getting in now with owning a rental. We see the value in buying a patio villa, but we are unsure how much it would actually rent besides the prime time. Should we buy in the new Brownwood area? We live 10 hrs away, but want to manage it ourselves. How do we find a trusted Villager to help with the local things? Just nervous... We would live any and all advice...

[Duvalboomer]

My husband and I have been coming here as renters for years. We love it. Still not quite ready to retire, but thinking of getting in now with owning a rental. We see the value in buying a patio villa, but we are unsure how much it would actually rent besides the prime time. Should we buy in the new Brownwood area? We live 10 hrs away, but want to manage it ourselves. How do we find a trusted Villager to help with the local things? Just nervous... We would live any and all advice...

I think from what I have seen living here Jan - April you should be able to rent it with no problem no matter where you buy. The rest of the year might be more sporadic. I think the more centrally located in TV the easier it would be to keep it rented.. I would also consider renting it weekly or bi-weekly when it's not the season. The more flexibility in your renting the more likely you are to keep it rented.

[ivanhoe]

Played golf with a fellow last month who purchased a second unit on spec. Total annual gross on the rental property $600!
Low season very difficult to get long term renters and short term renters seemed, to him, to have less respect for the property.

A better question would be what will be our loss opportunity in the current financial arena given the amount of time until we retire and move to TV.

[Duvalboomer]

Played golf with a fellow last month who purchased a second unit on spec. Total annual gross on the rental property $600!
Low season very difficult to get long term renters and short term renters seemed, to him, to have less respect for the property.

A better question would be what will be our loss opportunity in the current financial arena given the amount of time until we retire and move to TV.

I agree but you also need to factor in the enjoyment factor of coming to your own villa and not paying rent to someone else. Lets say you only make $600 but you save $2,000 in what you would pay someone else. Your total monetary return is $2,600 and you have locked in the price you will pay for the unit you retire too. Now who knows if that's a good thing or bad thing as no one knows where home values are headed over the next 5 years or so.

[BettyCrocked]

It's not about the annual revenue. It's about the tax write-off that can shave thousands off of your tax liability.
And buying your retirement home at today's prices instead of what they will be years down the road.

[TraceyMooreRN]

Played golf with a fellow last month who purchased a second unit on spec. Total annual gross on the rental property $600!
Low season very difficult to get long term renters and short term renters seemed, to him, to have less respect for the property.

A better question would be what will be our loss opportunity in the current financial arena given the amount of time until we retire and move to TV.

Well gross rent of 600?? Is this person paying someone else to rent the property for him/her? I had a rental from 2007-2012. All of which, I handled myself. I wasn't about to pay The Villages (at that time 18%) rental fee. I did everything via phone and online. All went well. My renters came back each year and I rented in low season too! Never had a problem! I was in Sabal Chase, owned a villa with golf cart and all utilities paid. The way you treat your renters will show how they treat you! :thumbup:

[thelegges]

we only rent for high season..just to off set costs..

[Schaumburger]

Played golf with a fellow last month who purchased a second unit on spec. Total annual gross on the rental property $600!
Low season very difficult to get long term renters and short term renters seemed, to him, to have less respect for the property.

A better question would be what will be our loss opportunity in the current financial arena given the amount of time until we retire and move to TV.

In defense of the TV wannabees who can only rent short term during the low season because some of us still work full-time...I have rented 5 times in The Villages since 2011. I have treated the rental homes with respect and left the homes in immaculate condition. After each rental I have always gotten my full security deposit back. My thought is, my landlord could someday be my neighbor if/when I buy in The Villages, so I had better treat their home with respect. Just my two cents.

[asianthree]

if you can afford the home without the rent money than go for it but if you need a certain amount of income from the home you might want to wait

[ijusluvit]

It's not about the annual revenue. It's about the tax write-off that can shave thousands off of your tax liability.
And buying your retirement home at today's prices instead of what they will be years down the road.


Those "tax writeoffs" can be non-existent. It all depends of the rest of your financial situation.

[ijusluvit]

if you can afford the home without the rent money than go for it but if you need a certain amount of income from the home you might want to wait


Good advice. Renting CAN work, but it can be a challenge.

I've rented my home for eight years, only when we are not there. Feb-April and a month or so in the Fall are our times! For the last three years we've rented all but about four or five weeks of the rest of the year. The main three reasons we are successful is because we have what folks call a gorgeous place with a heated pool and spa, a fantastic property manager and just the right kind of advertising.

Before you jump in, try to decide what you are going to do with that patio villa in the future. Maybe you won't want to put in all the extras we did unless you think of this as the place you will use yourselves when you retire. We lucked out getting the place of our dreams, we won't ever need anything 'better', so we do not hesitate to invest in it. We have already received far greater returns than we had hoped for.

The property manager is essential for us because cannot take care of things from our northern home. Most of our guests return because the manager takes care of everything they need. Can you find people who will do all the details including cleaning, inspection, maintenance, taxes, etc.?

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