[ChattanoogaTn]

Once more another question that only you can answer to give my wife and I some insight on what to expect so that we can make the decision final.

We are planning to buy a small Ranch or Villa in the $150 k - $175 K and I think I have researched enough to have an idea about cost. What I have come up with is as follows and interested in if I left anything out

Taxes Not homesteaded .... $2400 yr ? Homesteaded ..... $1200 yr ?
Water & Sewer $ 50 Month
Electric $125 " "
Garbage $ 40 " "
Cable TV $ 50 " "
No phone (cell)
Association Fee's $250 " "
Insurance $ 75 " "
Lawn care $ 50 " "

Also how you would recommend or if you would recommend renting when we are not there.

Thank you again for all the great help you have given us. We just want to make sure we don't have any "surprises" as to unexpected expenses

[dfn8tly]

Chattanooga,

Without getting real specific I think some of your numbers are a little off, in both directions.

Under Taxes have you included your Bond payment? This number looks a little small. Also, a Homestead Exemption will not reduce your tax liability by 50% (it's an exemption of $25,000 on assessed value).

Water & Sewer - These charges come on your North Sumter Utility bill (assuming you're buying in Sumter County) and mine run about $60/mth.

Electric - You've made no provision for gas so I'll assume you're looking at an all electric home. My combined gas & electricity run about $93/mth. (my home faces north and is set back so I get very little ambient heat in the afternoon, I also keep my AC set high). So I think you've overstated your cost in this category.

Garbage - This also comes on your N. S. Utility bill. Mine is less than $17/mth.

Cable TV - There are all kinds of packages and combinations. My bill is significantly higher because I have HD and High Speed Internet. Your figure is probably good for initial budgeting purposes an a basic plan.

We don't have "Association Fees", we have "Amenity Fees" - I don't know where you got $250 but I think that's much too high. Each village is a little different but I live in Amelia and mine is $130/mth.

Insurance - I assume you mean Homeowners and Hurricane. I believe your figure here is much too high. You should easily be able to get good coverage for around half of that amount.

Lawn Care - $50 will probably get your grass cut and the lawn edged. This will not be enough unless you're planning on doing a lot yourself. You'll need lawn fertilizing and pest control, shrub trimming and pest control as well as indoor pest control sprayed on the exterior of your home. Yes, I did say "pest" several times. We have a lot of them and you can't let them get started. This is a necessary cost of ownership and I would budget $90-100/mth.

I hope this information is helpful. I'm a numbers person. Before I moved down here I found it difficult to get specific information. Come on down, it's all worth it.

[SteveFromNY]

In the sales package there used to be a page that discussed the expenses. It was pretty accurate for us. I don't recall if it had all of the stuff you mentioned, but it was a realistic base and they update it regularly so it would indicate the current prices.
We pay around $211 every month on a single bill that covers water, sewer, irrigation and amenity fee.
Our elec (1927 sq ft under air) runs between $60 winter and $180 summer.
Gas for us is like $17 mo.
Taxes and bond depend on house price, so use TV data for that.

My house was in TV property management program for 3 years and it worked out well for me. No fuss, no problems. They rented around 120 days per year. That was 3 solid months in high season, and some weeks during the year for Lifestyle Previews. With Creekside homes being used now, I am not sure if they still rent for lifestyle or not.
Renting in this way creates an opportunity to use your house occasionally (the IRS has limitson your use) and deduct many of the monthly expenses and depreciate capital expenses while it's in the program. Of course, you need to furnish end equip the home to a certain set of standards (they have of list of required stuff). It cost us around $10K for the furniture and another $4 for everything else (televisions, towels, cutlery, pots, pictures, flowers (fake of course), phones,etc). You can search as the topic of using TV Property Management has been discussed occasionally. I am a proponent - I like easy. Others are less favorable as they see it as more expensive.
Either way though, renting adds nicely to you tax bottom line.

[jim1941]

I bought a ranch home in January 2009 for $159,900.

Taxes: $196 month or $123 month w/homestead
Water/Sewer: $50.00 month - depends on usage
Electric: $82.66 - February & $60.18 - March (I am single)
Garbage: $52.00 every three months - even when you're not there!
Cable: about $50.00
Internet: about $50.00
Association/Amenities Fee: $135.00 month
Home Insurance: $76.00 month
Lawn Service: $45.00 month - depends on size of lawn area
Daily Sun Newspaper - $55.00 year (start and stop delivery any time)
Pest Control: $36.00 month average - I use Ocala Pest Control
Trail Fee: $141.00 - year - they also have a six month rate or $3.50 per round on the executive courses

I was only there three months. I am back in New York.

Hope this helps.....Good Luck

[Ooper]

Did you forget about the internet?

[ChattanoogaTn]

Once again I "very much" appreciate your help and figure an average of $750 a month should cover everything less Cable & Internet. I also appreciate the comment on "renting" as I'm not quite sure I want to rent as I am skepitcal of people not taking care as I would ( I know ... get Security deposit )

Trying to hopefully sell my lakefront home here in Tenn "when?" the economy turns around but with with wife now retired we don't want to wait on "tomorrow" as we all know "tomorrow" may never get here

Sure are a great bunch of folks at The Villages as I'm just trying to figure all cost involved so that I can make an educated plan to move. This WebSite sure answers a lot of questions as well as the nice people that helped me in regard to this question of what expenses would be required.

[SteveFromNY]

Originally Posted by ChattanoogaTn

O I also appreciate the comment on "renting" as I'm not quite sure I want to rent as I am skepitcal of people not taking care as I would ( I know ... get Security deposit )

I had the same apprehension. It was very well take care of. Remember these are mostly mature folks who are doing very little in the house. Even the stove was like new at the end. We had nothing damaged. Of course, it wouldn't take much to spoil that perfect record. But keep in mind they are short term rentals, and they aren't frat's down there on spring break. TV Prop Mgmt checks the house before and after, requires the entire rent up front, requires a deposit, and I believe screens the folks. Unless you intend to move your personal stuff into the house, I wouldn't worry about it.