Gone and done it! Now looking for some info....
 

We found a Gardenia model with 3 car garage in Sanibel that we will be closing on Feb. 22. Since we still own a midwest home we will be heading back at the end of February. We will probably be back and forth until we sell it in the next 6 months or so. We will eventually be full timers.

We probably won't be back in TV till early April and I am concerned what we need to get set up before our return. I think I will try to hire someone for yard mowing during our absence but what else do I need to get in place as a minimum?

Even after we come back in April we will probably only be here for a couple of weeks before going back North. So, I am also concerned about receiving monthly bills/making payments for utilities and amenity fees etc. I don't see any easy way around this as we will be going back and forth until we are moved and sell our home.

If I could immediately set everything up via autopay from my bank account this would be ideal, but I am not sure it is possible to set these up before we leave. Anyone else dealt with this during their transition?

We have already set up a checking account with Citizens First and funded it with enough to cover monthly bills for probably at least a year.

I have set up to have homeowner's insurance, bond, and fees to be paid in the monthly mortgage. I am not even sure how many monthly statements there will be as I think some fees are wrapped into one statement??

I am aware of the cautions about prepaying for services. What do you do about paying people mowing the lawn? Do they bill you, or do you prepay a month at a time??

Any help on getting me over the bill paying hump will be greatly appreciated.

As a last thought, when is it appropriate to get driver licence changed over to Florida? I am thinking maybe not until we get moved in full time??

USPS has a website to both hold your mail or forward your mail. For less than a month, I suggest you hold. For longer than a month forward.

Amenity, water and trash are in one bill. You should probably have whoever cuts your grass to trim the shrubs until you get down here full time. An outdoor but sprayer might be in order.

Establish Florida residence as soon as possible to eliminate state taxes. Register to vote. Change your D L.

Watch out for door knockers trying to sell you stuff. The guys for water filtration systems are persistent.

If you are going to be gone for an extended time there are a number of house watch services that go into your house once a week to be sure everything is ok. They also perform additional tasks for a pric e.

We bought our house in March but asked for a 90 day closing date which brought us to the end of June. We signed up with The Villages homewatch until we finally moved here in August. We had a friend who mowed our lawn for us. We did not change over our license and registration until we arrived.
Never prepay for services, have them bill you and have whoever does your homewatch verify that it is being done.

Get a lawn mowing service and set up all your bills on auto pay. You can have all your bills sent north until you move to the Villages permanently. Make sure your irrigation system and A/C are in good condition (your home inspector should do this before closing). Put a new filter in your A/C and set it at 81 - 82 degrees before leaving (to prevent mold when it gets hot). Make sure your irrigation system is set to run a couple times per week for about 20 minutes per zone at around 2-3 in the morning (so the water will soak into the ground rather than evaporating). Turn off your water heater and close the water line valves to your washing machine before you leave. Don't forget to put some beer and wine in your fridge so you can celebrate when you finally get back to your new home. Get to know a neighbor and exchange phone numbers so they can contact you if they see something that needs your attention. Congratulations on becoming Villagers : )

As a regular reader on the forum, you will find many many threads will all kinds of advice and recommendations. The first and best advice is, NEVER NEVER NEVER sign a long term contract and pay for services in advance. A homewatch service is a good idea and not too expensive for the piece of mind it offers. Since you are moving into an established neighborhood, meet a few neighbors and find out who they use for lawn maintenance and why they like them. Beware of a company (formally called Service Smart) called Good Neighbor. They will offer huge discounts for pre paid services and then once they have your money, never show up.

Another thing we did when we came for closing, was open a local checking account and setup auto pay for services and utilities. There a forum topic at the very bottom of the TOTV home page called Nuts and Bolts of The Villages, you'll find lots of very good info and advice there.

It's an exciting time, congratulations and welcome!

Homes Away ?/
 

SOME THOUGHTS from Brawney123
1. Be aware, RIP OFFS are so common
2. IF you pay in advance, prepare to be shocked and Ripped
3. Try to get it all in written contract
4. Bill and Gloria are very reliable, we know them personally, I think he does this and I would recommend him.
Email for Bill:......gawrlance@aol.com
5, Be careful, this is the land of 100,000, seniors who are commonly ripped off big time and just roll over and take it. Do it again to me Sam.
6. Drivers license process is very good here, not sure if it makes any difference which state. Maybe call DMV and ask???
OK you can email me, not looking for a job. Retired but willing to reply to inquiry. We like to help folks and we do volunteer in many areas, sounds real corny right? But is true.You can Private message me here, by clicking on the name on the listing on the TOTV.
:bigbow:

We live in Pine HIlls and our electricity is from City of Leesburg. We were able to set up electric online and use autopay. We got the form to do it in a packet we received prior to closing (we bought a new home). As someone else posted water, trash and sewer all come in the amenities bill. I don't believe we had to do anything to get these services started. It was automatice. At first we paid by check but then converted to autopay.

Best home watch. Click on link below