Smart to rent while looking for right home?
 

We are relocating to TV from Illinois (yippee!) early next year and are thinking about selling our home then renting something small in TV until we find the house we really love and can pay for it outright. Would do unfurnished rental, movers bring all our stuff then once we find a home we can gradually move some stuff ourselves then furniture with local mover. May be a bit more pricey but less stress? Fear is selling current home and flying down to TV for a week and having to pick something just because we have to and not loving it! Has anyone done this before with the renting before buying? Would love ALL opinions, thanks! 😊

I think it's a good idea. It let's you get a feel of the different areas. It takes awhile to get familiar with getting around here and if you don't have any friends or relatives to help you get situated then I suggest renting first. We didn't but we had friends that had been here for a few years before we came. We then passed the experience onto more friends as they moved here. Had them stay with us several times, rented them golf carts and basically got them familiar as to where to shop in and out of The Villages and basically educated them on the different house models and types of lots. Good luck with your decision.

We did exactly what you are thinking of doing. We sold our place in MA, then flew down for a long weekend before that closing and found a long-term, unfurnished rental (we actually found it online and came down to see it and sign the lease). We ended up staying in the rental for about 6 months and it cost us one month's rent to break the lease, but we took our time and found exactly the house we wanted. After we closed we took our time moving the small stuff in, painting, etc. then had local movers move the furniture and big stuff. I think we only paid around $700 to the local guys and they were very good and had us into the new house in one morning.

I've seen way too many stories of people who move 2 or 3 times within TV (and also know a few that did that). Moving is a hassle so we only wanted to do it the way we did.

Our opinion is that what you're thinking of doing is a great idea. Welcome to TV!!

we sort of did the opposite. We had been coming down during the winter and renting for several years trying to decide what to do and knew basically what we wanted. We rented a home to come down and buy before selling our up north home. We ended up buying a freshly built home in Fenney and will now go back and decide what to do with our other home and belongings with no rush. We wanted to do it this was as Fenney has some great prices on new homes which pulled us out of the re-sale market.

We just retired from western suburbs of Chicago. We rented here for five months in the summer as rents are cheap. Wasn't affordable for us in the winter months. We rented at sun city for five months this winter. Great idea to Rent first. So many areas to choose from. Every time I meet someone they give me tips on buying a house here. Very helpful. I would say absolutely rent until you know your options. We went through property management in the villages.

We came down for a week, saw several model houses, and picked the model we wanted. At this time, we were able to buy a lot and build, so our sales agent found a great lot, and we built the house, let it sit empty for around 4-5 months, until we were ready to move. The mortgage rates were such that we decided to use a mortgage and invest the proceeds from the sale of our house up North. Very little stress.
Welcome to TV, hope all goes well.

Thank you for the info! Do you have the name of the local moving company you used? Although we are not going for a while, it's always good to have a personal reference when it comes to any kind of service!

We agree about the rental rates and are actually going to push our home sale back a couple of months so we begin rental no sooner than April. We will be using TV property management company, as well, and after April we can rent weekly so that's a benefit if we need to go that route. Thanks for the info!

Usually unfurnished is a yearly lease. If you sell up north I would store furniture. Rent couple weeks at a time in different areas of the villages. We rented in three villages before we bought. But even if you do buy doesn't mean you can't change your mind and move to another village.

Renting for a while and getting a feel for the pros/cons of different villages, while not being pressed to hurry up and find a place to buy...is definitely a great idea. :thumbup:

I came down to The Villages from N.J. in May 2015. I went to 5 out of 13 appointments that I had at other developments. When I stumbled upon TV I called the remainder of the places I had not made it to yet and cancelled. I knew within a few hours that I had found our new home. Wrapping it up in Jersey was rough but once you get here and get set all the tough things you have to get through to get here are not that big of a deal anymore. I was fortunate that a group of fine people from TOTV who have the patience of a saint counseled and guided us when different questions came up. I consider them very good friends. I also try my best to help new people with advice.

We all have a different path that gets us here. The main thing is to get here in one piece. Slow and steady wins in this case. We came here to buy a new home near Brownwood and ended up in Orange Blossom Gardens. You just never know. Now that we are coming up on our one year anniversay here my wife has mentioned looking at Fenney again. We shall see. Enjoy your journey its the greatest here!

Each person has to decide what is right for her. I came down and 5 days later bought a villa. Came down a year later and bought my 2nd villa. Gotta love TV! I live in one and rent one and life is good!

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A good local mover is Jim Collop's Get it Moved, 352-753-5047, Moving services – Lady Lake, FL - Jim Collop's Get It Moved

This is a very smart idea. While it might be pricey during prime months (Jan-April)..renting the off season is very affordable.

We have a home in an area that we love that will be available from May-Dec 2018...$1000 per month..includes all utilities. It is furnished. My suggestion is that if you fall in love with a house and are ready to make the big move..move furniture just once, into your new home.

Hope to hear from you:
Jean
585 694 3279
jricciuto@rochester.rr.com