Closed Yesterday, 8 Months Until Move, Any Suggestions or Tips While We Wait?
 

Hello Again TOTV,

We are now homeowners in Marsh Bend on Demarco Drive, across from the Hogeye Preserve. We have met 3 neighbors during the process, really welcoming folks who are also starting their retirement journeys. Our sales rep, Lisa Marie Puccio is fantastic, always keeping our best interests at the front of her efforts.

We did our mortgage through Wells Fargo here in PA, and worked with Peninsula Title Company of Florida for the closing. Everyone worked really hard to make a tight closing deadline the Villages dictates, 30 days after signed intent. If you plan at all to do a mortgage with a bank other than Citizens First in The Villages, be sure your lender can get it done in 30 days, its a huge amount of paperwork for that time frame.

We had given Lisa a punch list of items that were of concern to us, the biggest of which was the yard, it was 3/4 dead grass/sod. We asked that it be repaired prior to closing, and last week the builder removed the old yard and re-sodded the entire property. Very happy with that result so far. They also committed to paying the August water bill as the sprinklers will run each day to assure the sod gets the proper amount of hydration.

We hired Integrity First Services as our home watch, and Dennis Smith has also been very easy to work with in preparing for the transfer of ownership. We are still getting bids for lawn/pest control, Deans Service having bid so far.

We will be down to get some furniture bought and delivered in October as well. I would love to get everyone's suggestions for things I might not have mentioned or thought about that will need to be taken care of remotely, or tips for planning the move in 2020. Please drop a comment below with your thoughts or pointers you have learned through your own experiences, and thank you in advance for your interest !!

John and Nancy

First, congratulations on your new home!

I know you are not planning on moving here for many months...but you should know that The Villages warranty department expects you to turn in a "punchlist" within 30 days. you said you have done this...very good, as many do not.

Many do not know that some issues are only covered for the first 30 days or so.....ALL screen issues, scratches in sinks, appliances, countertops, mirrors, windows and sliding doors, bathtubs, toilet seats, etc.,etc.

This makes sense, because if there is a large scratch in let's say, your kitchen sink, if you report it and have it on your 30 day list they should take care of it, but 10 months later they can say that the scratch could have easily been caused by your pots and pans, etc. That is reasonable.

Landscaping is also usually only for 30 days.

Many issues, like screw pops, drywall cracks, etc, may not show up for months....so they are reported during your one year warranty inspection. They are common, and The Villages prefer to come out once to fix them all. This is why most folks wait to report those items, because if they find 2-3 we will most likely find more and we include those in our report.

Hope that helps! Again, Congratulations!

Respectfully, Frank D'Angelo, ACI

Welcome...Lisa is also my agent i am scheduled to close Sept 10th. I'm currently Renting. I agree Lisa is great to work with. I'm going with a VA loan which can be a challenge but Lisa has kept up with all their requirements excellently.

Thank you Frank, really great information you are sharing !! Our sales rep has stated that when we arrive in October, we will have a 10 day window to create a final punchlist at that time, sort of like getting the keys officially. We will reference your comments to make sure we are inspecting things correctly!

Welcome to TV! Glad you did not pay Citizens first crazy high closing costs. We saved about $3500 when we bought our first house going through Quicken loans.

Lawn Service - I am not going to recommend anyone specific as I just changed. I have watched this for 5 years and here is my take - if you want it done right and don't care what it costs - go with Massey. They may fall down but if you call they will make changes and make it right. They will charge you $130 a month for this though. I would recommend looking for a small family owned company. I pay $55 a month for lawn and $35 a month for weed and pest spraying. They will do good for 3-4 years, but then may slip. Just keep an eye on it.

Furniture - I can not recommend enough - if you want to pay a fortune - stay in TV. If not - go to Showcase Furniture in Mount Dora - they have excellent prices, they can get just about everything, and they will deliver and set up in TV. I have furnished 2 rental homes using them. Of course, you can furnish a hole house rather cheaply by going to all the second hand places - there is some NICE stuff at them. But it takes time.

Get a good home inspection at one year (not recommending anyone, but a certain guy who posted on this thread before me is excellent). MAKE SURE THEY GO ON THE ROOF AND MAKE SURE IT IS 100% SEALED. Then go up yourself and double check. Lots of problems with that in TV.

HVAC- Chuck Farrell
Golf Carts - Carts and Clubs and Todd Casey for service. Go with a YAMAHA. I have owned EZGo and Club car and let me tell you, Yamaha last the longest and are the least problem. Loved my EZGO but it was just not dependable in the long run. As with cars, buy your carts 2 years old, not new. They depreciate.

Sureclean solutions - any type of floor cleaning
Joe Tucker - any Irrigation problems.
Carrie Wildman at the Villages Insurance - for Homeowners you can't beat them - don't know about Auto.

Oh and sign up for villages kart aid - you just never know.

Good luck!

Unless something changed in the last two weeks, Chuck Farrell is/was not taking on any new customers.

That was 2-3 weeks ago when I wanted him to give me an estimate for replacing HVAC.

I had three companies come out for quotes.
I chose Sunshine. Very competitive...very professional installation...very responsive to any post installation issues/concerns....

Just started using him for yearly tuneups. Might not be taking new installs. Sunshine is fine too, just a lot more expensive for yearly cleaning/checks.

Just a suggestion, if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the Talk of The Villages home page, you will see a thread called "Nuts and Bolts of The Villages". Lot's of great advice and insite.

If there is anything you are thinking about changing in the house, paint color, carpet, etc., do it before you have furniture in the house. We didn't have the time to do that before we moved in. Our former home sold so quickly that we had to move out before we planned on and had to move into our house here before we planned. We want to replace the carpet with tile but with furniture that job will become a bigger project and take longer than if the house was empty.

I might also add that some projects (as #10 GI stated) are easier done right away.

If you are thinking about installing an epoxy coating on your garage floor, or sealing any tile grout, both are typically easier and cheaper to do before items are moved in.

With all the changes folks do, it is not long before you start thinking you bought a "brand new fixer upper"....haha. Enjoy!

Frank

Verify
 

If you are going to sign up a contractor, Landscaper, etc. Before a signing up with these or any other business, I recommend calling the Seniors vs Crime Office in Brownwood
and inquire regarding the data, background etc they may have on the specific business you are planning to sign up with. The Brownwood phone number is 352-753-0702. They are open Tuesday-Thursday 10-1PM

John and Nancy CONGRATULATIONS !!!
We recently purchased a pre-owned home in the village of Glenbrook (its north of 466 and an older home). We used Lisa as well and she was marvelous to work with but we decided on pre-owned and found more to our liking using the MLS. We ended up using Doug Lange from Realty Executives and he is just amazing!!
We also are not moving in until October and are planning on re-painting the interior and adding epoxy to the garage floor ASAP. Dennis and Integrity First is also our home watch guy and he is great. We are using Massey for termites / bugs/ weeds and lawn services. They may cost a little more but they get things right. We plan on furnishing our home from the consignment shops that are everywhere in and around TV. Only planning on moving our bedroom and living room furniture and personal belongings. We will still maintain our house here in NE PA for a year or 2 before its ready to sell. We also will need a golf cart.
I am disappointed that we cannot get FIOS in our area, but i am still researching which internet provider to use. We have Comcast up north andits outrageously pricey.
What part of PA are you coming from??

Lucy Edwards

You have ample time to argue about what to get rid of and what to bring with you. I won sometimes but we still have over thirty winteruse jackets belonging to dear husband. He says I kept too much kitchen stuff. lol

It is very hard to get rid of treasures that no one wants.

It will work out. You have made a very good life choice.

Welcome home.

Who do you call for the garage epoxy floor ??

We typically recommend Tim Miller for epoxy garage floors....

Frank D.

Don't wait 8 months. Move now :)

We used Steve Kling Painting (352 750-0426) for our lanai floor, entry concrete and garage floor. It is best to have this done before bringing things down. This past year, we ask Steve to return to paint the outside of our house.

Think about where you are going to put each piece of furniture. Don't bring it if you do not have a use for it. Order new furniture for delivery when you arrive if you can. (Just reread your post and see you already have this in mind. Good thinking.)
Get ride of stuff you have not used in years.
Your garage will probably be a storage area for items that can take the heat. Think about shelving and what you will store there.
Line up your auto insurance so you have the paperwork to register your cars as soon as you get here. If you have a lien holder you need info from them. Assume you have home owners insurance.
If you do not do your own income taxes keep your current person for the year you move. You will have a part year return for your current state and you may not find someone here that knows your state.
Make your moving arrangements now. Consider if you can get a better deal if you move in the middle of the month do that.
Consider getting to the home a couple of days before the movers. This means pack some supplies in your car to get you through the first couple of days or if the mover gets delayed.
Assume you have a will, poser of attorney etc. If not use a FL attorney. If you have these documents they should be ok but still is a good idea to discuss with an FL attorney. For example the executor of your will has to be a blood relative or a Fl resident.

If you are thinking of crown molding or wains coating, do it before furntiure is in.

I'm already there, mentally !!!

Question, is there any benefit to doing this sooner rather than later?

Great suggestions, thanks for taking the time to reply!!

Many people benefit financially from moving to a state with no state income tax. If this is the case, you want to do all the things that can prove FL residency ASAP in case your previous state asks for proof of when you moved.

You want to be able to show that you are domiciled in FL. That does not just mean "buying a house in another state". It involves doing things that prove you consider that state to be your permanent, legal home (i.e. getting a FL license, registering your cars, registering to vote, etc.)

We closed on our current house last year on Oct. 31 and went straight to the DMV. It was so much easier to say that we were PA residents for 10 months and FL residents for two when filing our taxes. PA income tax isn't bad, comparatively speaking, but we still saved a chunk of change by not giving them money for Nov. and Dec.

kathy

Great info Kathy, and yeah, we be leaving PA in a hurry too !!!

Hi all,

We purchased an Iris home in Village of Southern Oaks, spitting distance from the food trucks and the pitch & putt course. Many of the homes there are just getting ready to be occupied, with another 36+ lots sold and ready to be built. We close at the end of September.

We've been reading all the threads here for months. We arrived this past Thursday, looked at almost 50 homes since, and signed a contract to purchase on Sunday.

We will be moving from Oregon, and start the domicile change right after we close. We will eventually sell our Oregon home, but that will take a while.

Thanks to everyone here for the tips of what to expect, and what it takes to get the home "move-in" ready.

Mike