Questions on buying house in the Villages
 

Hi everyone, I've been a long time lurker on here as my wife and I have been planning on where we will move when we retire. We just finished our second lifestyle visit this week. We found a house we like and are currently in the final decision process on if we want to buy now or wait to purchase after we retire. If we buy now we would not move down full time until we retire in January 2021. Since we are not selling our current home yet, we will need a mortgage which we will pay off once we sell our home in Ohio when we are retired. I know you have to close within 30 days or pay a penalty so selecting a mortgage company that can close within the 30-day timeframe is important. I saw some posts in prior threads that it is helpful to use a mortgage company/bank that has experience with working with the Villages. My wife can get a good rate with her credit union at work, but we are concerned with the 30 day close requirement. Does anyone have any suggestions on who to use to get a mortgage at a competitive rate with low closing costs that can close within 30 days? Thanks!

I’d say buy now if you found a house you like.
If you want to finance the purchase and if you want the closing to go smoothly, I highly recommend you deal with Citizens First Bank.
You may not get the absolute best rate on whatever mortgage or financing instrument you choose but it won’t cost you a fortune over the next year.

I agree 100%.

You didn't tell us anything about the house, how can we give an opinion. Location, model, price, these are big factors. Since you have to close within 30 days, I'm guessing it's a new home. If that's the case, I would wait. Prices are pretty high right now, I can't see saving that much in one year over 2021 prices verses paying utilities, taxes, maybe a homewatch, or deal with renters. Keep your money in your pocket. By the next they'll probably be building new homes directly across the bridge from Brownwood and the bridge to nowhere, will be open. Then Publix, the square, MVP, restaurants, and everything in the established Villages will be a 10 minute cart ride away, or 5 minute car ride.

If this is a resale, then those questions I asked initially, location, model, price would come into play.

I went to my home bank (Wells Fargo) after a mortgage broker recommended by my Villages agent recommended fell apart. Wells Fargo was able to close in the 2 weeks we had left. If you have a good relationship with your bank back home they may be your best bet. At the time Wells Fargo was a bit below Citizens for a 30 year fixed mortgage.

If it is a pre-owned home, you can negotiate the closing, usually 30-90 days. We obtained a bridge loan through Citizens bank so that we could purchase our new home before selling our old home. If you buy your Villages home now, you could try renting it out in the meantime but may be harder if unfurnished. Many people new to TV who are building are looking to rent here for a few months until their home is complete.

Factor in closing cost, to paying cash
Interest for a year to 0
What if your house does not sell right away
You will pay for
Home watch
Taxes
Water
Amenity Fee
Lawn service
Garbage pickup

We used our bank for first home closed 9 hours late due to program issues. Cost $648. For one day
That being said we bought 8 years before we retired and never regretted our decision

Before you take the leap, you might want to take some more time to talk with each other about how various scenarios could make you feel, list the pros and cons. Some people call this "Doing the Ben Franklin." I call it "The Cost of Sleep Test."

I have to wonder about something -- and I do not expect or want you to tell me if I am right.

BUT, anyway, I have to wonder if you have met one of those sales agents whose shtick is to try to create a sense of urgency. It happens. When we first started to look at houses in TV, we were in an Open House in The Village of Amelia. The agent on duty told us, "Ohhhhh, you will be so sorry if you do not buy NOW!" -- I reacted by just smiling my very best knowing smile and moved on. (We eventually bought a little farther south in the LSL section -- which is still a really good location.)

Believe you me, there will always be another house in TV. I wish you the best with whatever you decide.

The only rush you would need to be in, is if you want a brand new home in an area that is currently building new homes. They sell out fairly quickly.

There are more areas the developer has purchased recently, and hasn't actually started building on yet. You can pretty much count on new homes still being available at the end of this year. Just not in the location you are considering currently.

On the other hand, there are people who buy homes that are new, and don't even live in them. They just buy when they can get a good deal and turn around and sell them for a profit. So it's even possible you could end up buying a home that was either never actually lived in, or lived in very briefly and then resold.

On the other other hand, "gently used homes" in the Villages tend to be kept in pretty good condition. You might choose a different color for the walls and/or carpeting, or want to switch from carpeting to plank flooring but structurally any of these homes being resold within a half dozen years of being built would make great options.

I can’t recommend little known Third Federal highly enough. You only need 15% down to avoid PMI, their lock is 60 days and if rates go down you get the lower rate (for a small fee). They closed me in three weeks. And here’s the best part - their low cost program with a slightly higher interest rate (but still less than most banks) cost only $295 for the whole process! They pay for the appraisal, title insurance, everything. It really is the industry’s best kept secret.

If you are buying/building a brand new house, you would be better off waiting. New houses have a one year warrenty and we found several minor issues with our house within that first year that I doubt even a good inspector would uncover. You see so much more when you live in and clean a house for a year. The Villages is fantastic about fixing all issues while the house is under its one-year warrenty. After one year, not so much.

Are you working with the villages? My husband..MLS realtor has VA loans that can take 90 days.. others 60 days.. stand your ground to use your CC union in ohio..it can be done.

Wait to sell your house in Ohio, in one year there will a ton of houses available- and you will be very happy with one of them-too many variables to gamble with owning second house, if you can't pay cash for it--health, and family matters top the list

Man makes plans--God laughs @ them

We also live in Ohio. We bought a pre-owned home down here in Oct 2018 and was able to close in 30 days. We used Huntington - the MLO we had was awesome. An important thing is to make sure you are prepared at the initial loan appointment: bring your paystubs, W2s, tax returns, bank/investment statements ... and when the bank asks for something else, don't delay, get it to them asap. I think that helped us tremendously, plus it wasn't his first FL home purchase deal.

Is your home in Ohio paid for? Could always get a home equity and use that to buy the new home, if there is enough equity. Huntington can, in some cases, go up to 100%. If you go that route, do it now vs later, so it's in place.

I used Suncoast Credit Union and they closed in 30 days. 1 office , soon to be 2, in TV. Low rates. Best CU in FL. Credit Unions in Florida | Suncoast Credit Union
But Citizens is the preferred Villages bank