[JanetandCarol]

I just found out that Empty Nests - Hometown Management - was sold. Who bought it and why did the Villages sell? We are very happy with the service we received especially since we have not moved down to our home in Duval. The person who gave us excellent service - Fred - has "retired" to enjoy the "good life". Has anyone heard about this? JanetandCarol

I was told that Hometown Property Management was sold and is now a private company, with no further affiliation with The Villages developer. I don't know who bought it, but I was told that the same people are still working there. Also, don't know if they have relocated their operation to other facilities. I would be interested in any further information anyone may have. It sounds like HPM is now just another privately owned property manager. It will be interesting to see to what extent their policies and practices change, if they have to compete on their own with other well run property managers.

[MelZ]

The rumor has some truth in that The Villages has spun off Hometown Property Management as a separate company. The people and management are still the same, they have moved to new offices off 466a.

The bookings for the rentals will still come thru The Villages.

[aln]

From "careers in the villages"

Caretaker - Non Developer - BLACKHAWK UNLIMITED INC. D/B/A The Villages Hometown Property Management

They're looking for help (if anyone wants to WORK)

[Cassie325]

Blackhawk is reportedly owned by a former Village employee....just bought out the "company"

It was in the paper today under announcements...or legal notices....

Blackhawk DBA Hometown Property, etc.....and yes they are located down at colony...on the south side of 466A near the McD's I think....on Heald Way near the constuction office??

[carm310]

I spoke to a caretaker yesterday that came over from Empty Nest to PM. We had been concerned as we have not been receiving regular updates on our home in TV. I emailed the person who was our caretaker since May and heard from this new person who informed me our caretaker retired. We had not heard from him since our visit in June when I called to complain about the lack of cleanliness of one of my bathrooms. (but that is another issue).

Also, if you look at the TV website they have only been advertising the Creekside Cabanas for the preview plan for quite sometime. I asked the caretaker if they were owned by the Villages and if they are still utilizing other privately owned resident homes anymore. We have not had anyone in our home since April and while we expected to not see much in rental activity during the summer we thought perhaps there may be an occasional rental. The caretaker was not sure if there were changes and suggested I speak to the owner during the week. He also indicated that we may not have rental activity until February and March (January possibly). We joined the program in November last year and had activity in Nov, Dec, Jan, April and we were filled Feb and March.

I have seen numerous posts in TOTV regarding lifestylye preview visits all summer so the thought has been that they may not be using the homes. It sounded to me like things are changing so as an owner I expressed concern that we had not heard anything or have felt we had sufficient contact like we had been having prior to about June.

One change we were happy to learn about is PM is going back to one caretaker which will stay with the owner. They have been rotating about every three months and we found that frustrating as it was hard to keep track of who was keeping an eye on our home.

Has anyone else experienced changes, concerns, etc? I was given the owner's name but not sure if I should post it here. I plan to contact him early this week if I do not hear from him as I requested.

[steaknife]

We have had a similar experience. I was called in June and told we were due for annual cleaning, etc. which I authorized. When we were down in July I was upset when we went to our villa and the outside had not been washed and there was a large area of mildew on the front. When I called I was told someone had been out with a family illness and it might have slipped through the cracks. Regular updates had not been done, but we were getting updates on our home which is not in the rental prog, but is with Empty Nest.
We did receive a new contract to rent from The Villages in late July. Return address, etc was The Villages.
Hope they get things straightened out soon.

[wlou]

we also use PM to rent out our home. As expected, since Creekside came in, rentals are WAY down. Mostly rented Feb,Mar only of this year... The year prior, we were rented Jan,Feb,Mar, most of April, half of May and Nov, and a week in Dec...We also got the call two weeks ago, that we needed to prepay for the "Spring Cleaning", to which I replied, "I cant imagine why since you have only rented my home twice!"... Hopefully, we will be FT soon and not have to deal with it..To prospective buyers out there hoping to keep your new home rented, beware..As long as Creekside is there, they will get all first rentals. You can only hope to keep your place rented Feb and Mar...Just FYI...

[rhall1644]

There are a number of companies that home watch and they do it for much less and you don't get many different people coming in your home. Village Watchdogs is locally village residents owned and you get the same 2 people all the time. No strangers and it's only $10.00 per visit which is usually once a week. They are very good and have very good references if needed. They do however only accept homes south of 466.

[redwitch]

As most of you know, I watch homes (as well as other things) as part of my business. Of the homes I watch, 7 are rented out. One is rented through The Villages, 1 by an outside realtor, 1 by a local property manager, 5 directly by the owners. The Villages rental has been rented a grand total of 2 weeks in 2009 to date. The outside realtor rented its home 2 months in 2009 and is booked Jan-March of this year. The owner rentals are as follows: 10 mos in 2009; 6 mos. from Dec. to April; 5 mos 2009 to date; 2 months (but just started renting in Nov. 2009); 2 months in 2010 (don't know about 2009, had another home watcher).

If my homes are typical of The Villages (and I think they're a good sample), why would anyone use The Villages to rent their property? As to Empty Nest or Blackhawk of house watch, they do a good job but their prices are exorbitant (unless you really think $3.25/day is reasonable).

There are many people/businesses watching homes in TV. You can even get friends and neighbors to do it (although I truly do not recommend that route -- too much risk for your friends/neighbors). The lowest price is not necessarily the wisest choice and the highest price is no guaranty of getting your money's worth.

Hire someone you're comfortable with. Get references. Find out exactly what they offer to do (take your golf cart for its needed ride? check the batteries? bring in small furniture during hurricane season? cover plants? extra services as requested?) Have your neighbors be on the look out to be sure they are actually checking your home.

[Pturner]

Redwitch watches my home and I recommend her highly.

[tony]

yeah, but Mary has that big, ole floppy dog that I love.

I really want to meet that dog.