Moving to TV and have more questions:
 

So I've been reading every forum and all information I can get. Our plan is to come July, August and September - rent a furnished place while looking for our home. I just read that more homes come on the market during the high season when more people are there... So do most of you agree? Do most rentals come with a golf cart or is there somewhere to rent them? I have read all of the information on different neighborhoods and most people are partial to their neighborhoods but is there one village you would avoid and why? I understand I need to have a realtor and a Village salesperson and I want to stay open for FSBO's too. I'm sure I'll have more questions but feel free to jump in with whatever you wish you knew when you were beginning the process of moving to TV. Thank you

Save most of your questions until you get here. Many you will answer yourself or the answers will become obvious.

Renting is a great idea. Many rentals come with carts but carts can be rented also. But keep in mind the additional cost of renting a cart. Doesn’t add up to rent a place because it is $200 a month cheaper but doesn’t include a cart and then pay $400 a month for a cart. I have no idea what a cart costs to rent, I was just giving an example.

As long as you find a place you can be comfortable in and can ride a cart easily to most places, it doesn’t really matter which village you rent in. You will probably be much choosier about which area to buy in once you explore.

I rent my place out, I estimate that 70 -80% of rentals do not include the cart. Honestly, I don't recover the cost of the cart in extra income. It might be a different story if I had bought a used cart, usually that is what you will find. Expect to be approached by several landlords offering to rent to you, based upon your post.

Watch Skip Smith videos on YouTube.

Holy cow. No one likes this place more than I do, but do I understand you are coming here to rent a place in order to buy a place and you have never been here???

Like...you are bringing your stuff with you?

We didn't buy a golf cart until six months after moving into our home here. And there are PLENTY homes for sale at all times. Just don't hesitate when you find the one you like, someone else is sure to like it too.

LOL - no we did the 4 night preview before we made the decision to move. We decided to rent first to give ourselves an opportunity to try and make a good decision about which village and/or neighborhood we would prefer.

Go to the various on-line Villages house rental services, click the box that you want a golf cart included in the rental. There will be plenty for you to choose from. You could select different villages for each month and experience 3 distinct areas.

I am so pleased to know this. You will love it here. LOVE it here.

Happiness to you. We all wait to Welcome you HOME!

Good way to go about it. We visited here many times and have always liked it. Last year we spent a month here and put our home on the market the day after we got back home. Once it sold, we found a furnished rental with a cart and moved all of our stuff into storage. We bought a new home before the first week was over. We close on it in a couple of hours from now and, if the weather cooperates at least a little, will begin moving in this afternoon.

By the way, the 3/2 courtyard villa we rented is south of 466A, is furnished, has a cart, and I believe it is currently available July thru November still. We have enjoyed the location and the neighborhood is super quiet.

4 days into the lifestyle visit my sister bought a lovely place on a golf course. 6 months later she sold it and bought an even lovelier place.

They say the average villager moves 2.7 times. I must admit I've never met an average villager.

There is also the old quote 'location location location'. But hey, this whole place is The Villages, so that's solved.

Me, I figured out what I wanted to do and how I wanted to spend my time . 2 years later I'm still in the same house.

Enjoy yourself and have fun. Oh wait, both of those phrases are synonyms for The Villages.

...

When we were looking at homes with out sales person, she told us that it is not unusual for residents to change homes two or three times. That tells you that there is some important things that you learn only after living here a while. Things about the community, and things about yourself. Some rent for a year before buying just for that reason.

This would be my recommendation as well. I have rented three different times in three different areas of The Villages. Based on my experiences I have a good idea of where I would purchase and what style of house I would want. This goes for micro locations as well if one is considering a golf course or preserve lot.

Since some of the things have changed holding you back from leaving California, is moving to the east coast now more a priority?

Yes it is. My daughter is miraculously well enough now to move back to Maryland where she wants to live. She looks forward to residing near younger family members and long term friends from college. She tells me "I am not a California Girl." although she moved here from MD back in 1994. She is closing on a house she found on the internet on 6/15. She made a contingent offer before physically seeing it which worked out remarkably well. I would like to live closer to her but I do not do winters so actually TV is at the top of my list.

MCO - BWI flight times are about two hours and both cities are in the same time zone. Piece of cake compared to going from SNA, LGB or LAX to BWI, six to ten hours, depending on whether there is a connection or not and three times zones away.

Some Considerations
 

Some considerations are to spend (as you are) a month or so renting. When you see a home/location you are considering imagine at the time you are going to go to the market, drug store, bank, etc and how long would it take and how far are they. Go to the home in the evening and listen to see if you can hear a train. The net is to pretend you are living where you are considering and how happy would you be. I have a brother who lives in California and visits once in awhile. His observation was "it is just too good". He was right. It is too perfect. Not bad choice!:wave:

Definitely rent first and while you are here, make a list of priorities:
#bedrooms #baths
new or resale
Bond or no bond
carpet or no carpet
Kissing lanai or golf/water/field view
Walled courtyard or open grass or (there are a few) fenced yard
grass or no grass to maintain (no grass =CYV, as many have stones)
1 and 1/2 car garage or 2 car or 2 car and a golf cart garage
Manufactured home or stick built or block built
Vinyl siding or stucco
renovated kitchen/bath or are you open to renovating yourself
gas or electric appliances (some areas only have one of these options available)


Every home search involves a bit of compromise. Prioritize your choices with numerical values to guide your decisions.

It is my opinion that all villages offer something similar and there are no bad villages in TV! Calumet Grove does make me a bit nervous with recent sink holes, but you can google search sink hole locations (past) and see the map of where they have been. I would avoid a busy road (Morse, Buena Vista, Stillwater trail, etc.) directly behind my home as you will hear the road noise. We do have a prison in the south and a train in the north and that bothers some people and does not matter to others. Once you are renting, you can visit your potential neighborhood at any hour to get a feel for the noise and surroundings in the day to day life.

One thing not mentioned among the excellent suggestions..... GOLF! I don't know from your post if you are a golfer so it may or may not, be important to you. It IS important to me and thus we bought in Sanibel. If you look at the map of the villages, and particularly the map of golf courses you will notice some areas have decidedly more golf, particularly executive golf, than others. On the west of Canal street, which bisects the area between 466 and 466a, and south of Lake Miona, there are 9 executive courses with another three that are on both sides of Canal, and one on the east side totally. There are no executive courses east of Morse between 466 and 466a. Not necessarily a deal killer for east of Morse, but a bit less convenient to get to. Also, Just south of 466a there are three more executive courses on the west side of Buena Vista, and four just to the east of Morse. Now, if you are not a golfer or luke warm about the game this all means nothing to you. Also if you want a new home, this means nothing as there are no new homes available in the area described. However, if golf is a big deal as it is to me and many others, the villages close to 466a, are far more convenient than some others. The area described is also convenient to shopping. All villages have their advantages and disadvantages, and all are very desirable for many people, but if exec golf is a priority take a look at the map and you'll see what I mean.

Villages Rental
 

I responded to your request under a different forum.
You are wise to rent before you buy.

Our home is in the desirable Spanish Springs area in the village of DelMar. Minutes from the Village Square

2 bedroom/2 bath on the Chula Vista Golf Course.

Please call/text or email Jean
585 694 3279
jricciuto@rochester.rr.com

I look forward to hearing from you...

Thank you so much for all the words of wisdom. We are coming in our motorhome this week and staying at a campground while we look for storage for it and a rental. I'm excited to settle down as I've been living in a motorhome most of the time since 2011 and I'm ready to get off the road.

I would suggest that your lanai faces either east or north. This seems to be the most preferred direction by most Villagers. The sun is very brutal here in the summer. A south facing lanai will not get much use during those months. Although those with a pool don't mind facing south. I guess it keeps the water warmer for you.
Also make sure your not too close to the pickleball courts. They get lots of use and can drive you crazy with that sound. I saw one on the market for two years. I think that might have been the reason why.
12 Buying Tips For THE VILLAGES in FLORIDA - YouTube

Most people prefer to be near shopping and doctors. Some want to be real close to certain amenities. After 6 months or so, one does not frequent the squares all that often.

Make a list of "must haves" and "would like to have" for a home you want to buy. When you see a home of almost all of the "must haves", that is home for you.

There is no such thing as a bad village but I still say, one might find a villages they might prefer over others but that's just me.

It's a personal choice so it's up to you. :smiley:

Hi...I hope you received my messages...

I have a 2 bedroom 2 bath home on the Chula Vista Golf Course. I do have a golf cart available for an additional fee.

I'd be happy to give you more info..

Jean 585 694 3279 call or text...or email..jricciuto@rochester.rr.com

I have a house for you to rent- I sent you a PM. Everyone on here gives great advice. You will learn a lot from Renting for a few months.

I'm renting in TV for June, July, and August also. First time

We came here in April one year to rent for a month to see how we would like it. By April 9th we had put money down on a home to be built. 10 years later, we're still in the same house. Just dumb luck.

You have received many excellent thoughts and it appears to me that many relate to the kind of house you want to live in. For us, the house was secondary, as long as it met certain minimum requirements, and the location of the house relative to the activities we wanted to pursue was paramount. We had a list of clubs/activities we really wanted to do, so we looked at the Rec News to determine where those activities met, and determined where a central point to live might be. Then we searched in that area. We've been here 6 years now and are still active in most of the things we thought we would do although some have changed, and our central location (Village of St. Charles) has been perfect for us. So please keep that in mind while you are renting and looking for your home. The Villages is so big now that many activities are out of reach from some locations unless you are willing to spend a lot of time travelling. Best of luck in your search and welcome to TV!

The first time we came here we rented in the NW corner of the Villages. That location made travel by cart inconvient to many Southern locations.. Since your first visit will be to get to know the Villages, I would look to rent in the middle if you can. The Villages is a large place and the area between 466 and 466A would be a great place to access all areas easier.

My wife’s friend told her about TV for years, in one ear out the other, Mistake there is no place like it. We rented this past February and March in Rio Grand and loved the location between two town centers Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter. My wife had a constant smile on her face, we rented a golf cart from Lester Golf Cart (great people) and loved just riding around in it. We got our sense of direction by looking at homes from top to bottom and everything in between. She tells everyone that she knew she wanted to be in TV after three days, but didn’t tell me until we looked at 35 homes. We found a beautiful home that just needed some refreshing at a great price in Santo Domingo, keeping in mind we loved being close to all the stores and being between Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter. Maybe after a while we’ll become an “average” villager but not now.

designer home available
 

Hi folks .. Just another opinion here. Since you recently took a lifestyle preview visit, and experienced a villa of some type, I'd recommend a larger designer. Mine is 2100 sq ft. From a size perspective, it depends on what you;re moving from.. I think one of the reasons folks are said to move an average of three times is that they "over" downsize.. regardless of whether they sell all their northern furniture or not..

Our home is located between 466 and 466A, equidistant between Lake Sumter and Brownwood. Unless you are set on buying new down south of 44, you'll get a feel for access to shopping, recreation, entertainment if you set up shop in that rectangle ..

My home is number 5054 on vh4r .. Also sent you a PM and be happy to discuss ..

Thank you everyone. We found a home to buy so we changed our renting plans. We close on the 28th of June and we will be official Village people then.

Welcome and congratulations on the purchase of your home.

We rent our home...2/2 on the Chula Vista Golf Course...
The house is available July, Aug, Sept and Oct and yes we have a golf cart.

Please call or text Jean 585 694 3279

congrats !!!! disregard my private message !