Livin' on a prayer - just funnin'
 

Our house sold a week ago in Oregon for over $50K asking.....called our rep in TV and asked what the chances of buying there with a week or so notice and she said pretty good (I do trust this person and got preapproved by the bank).....we decided to head across country no home bought yet but hopeful this will all work out. Looking forward to being part of The Villages and the next great adventure!

Settlements are typically a month out from acceptance of an offer... So...

They are selling roughly 100 homes per week.

Renting is a good way to start.

Download The Villages App to watch what comes available. You do have to act fast if something you like comes on the market.

Safe journey and good luck!

Congrats and welcome. Keep looking and move fast if you see something you like. Not sure your price range or house size you want but there are a number of Villas in Chitty Chatty. Good luck.

I would rent for at least a month to determine location you want and to make sure this is the place for you

we were in the same boat as OP. just like kids, flying blind into a new adventure, we had no specific plans, just whatever we could fit in the car & $$ to buy. we used beth pope, she was wonderful in all her help, & only had to rent for 12 days before the villa was ready to move in. GOOD LUCK on your move & ENJOY the greatest adventure of a lifetime! you'll wonder why you waited so long, :coolsmiley:

Be prepared to wait 30 days... The issue for us was not financing or the property, it was the closers themselves. As someone mentioned earlier, the closing roughly 100 homes a week. We needed to try and move our close up a week and that was the only thing that kept us from being able to do it.

Best wishes!

I would suggest not being in a hurry to buy a home. Rent for a season, drive around, join groups, play golf, talk to people who have lived here a while. You'll learn something from everyone you meet.

There's no reason to be in a hurry. If you do buy a home in a hurry, don't be surprised if you end up wishing you would've looked around more.

Shop around
 

After you get over here shop around because there are many places outside the Villages!! The Villages are just a Landmark like, “turn left at the old oak tree”. Good Luck

Congrats & don’t rush into anything. Market is tight, yes, but both new & preowned are available. Beth & Todd Pope will do a good job for you but need to know what you like/need. Some areas are built on swamp & all that come with it, some areas have a lot of electrical wires or near highways. Do your due diligence. There are many threads on this subject.

Welcome & enjoy the journey!

The reason is prices go up up up

My neighbors did the same thing. They bought the first house they saw in August on line in The Villages. They took their time and looked around for a home they really wanted (which was right outside The Villages). A nice 40k profit in 6 months. The Village home closes this week to new buyers. Interesting market.

We sold our house in Oregon in May, with similar circumstances. We immediately started doing zoom calls with the realtor and as we were in route, we signed a contract for purchase. Realtor took care of everything virtually. Best thing we ever did. Love our new house and has a fabulous view of a lake and fenced yard (Veranda in village of Hawkins). Enjoy your trip, I know you are excited!

Our settlement date for a contract on new construction signed in mid-January was 5 weeks out and they just changed it to 6 weeks. You have almost zero choice in what the closing date is for new construction as the villages title company, Peninsula, chooses it for you. On a resale, you may have more ability to influence the date, but I know from the sale of another property up north this week that both title searches and appraisals are taking longer then in the past due to volume.

While you are right about there being many homes for sale outside The Villages—and for much less money—the owners there don’t have access to many of the activities that make The Villages worth the money. For example, playing musical instruments is a hobby of mine. I’ve been able to join a number of weekly jams available only to Villagers. I’m having a wonderful time with that. I have a friend who loves contract bridge and Mahjong. She plays at top games and sometimes twice a day. She has a choice of maybe a hundred clubs here. Figure out of you want to be in Florida merely to escape the winters or if you want a life filled with fun activities and new friends.