What we did before we sold: We bought a new home down in Eastpt section sight unseen and also bought a preowned one up near Lake Miona at the same time, and my wife purchased a third on a whim on acreage with horses up near the polo fields. Then we moved down and took turns. We lived in each house for 4-6 months deciding which area and home was best. Then we sold the other small ones at double the purchase price, then I woke up back in my sad little world covered in several feet of snow.

I would never buy without seeing, so many factors including it could be your last home purchase and making a mistake could be a life long disaster. Spending a month in the villages before buying was the best decision we made..Put the horse in front of the cart..if you have to sell home first, maybe rent a bit in villages till you find your forever home

How do I buy a house in the villages
 

I am about to sell my house in Santo Domingo by owner. I could do a FaceTime video with you

Fellow Minnesotian here.

Are you from hell or outside the x94 loop? You won’t find Minnesota nice drivers south of 466a. If you are from inside the loop, they drive a lot like 394 during rush hour.

If you from inside the loop, the property taxes south of 44 will be closer to the 2% you are used to else north of 44 is closer to the 1% most of Minnesota has.

Furniture from Minnesota is different. Tendency for a lot of people is to bring their furniture down and then they end up getting rid of it for Floridian decor.

Do you have animals?

How many cars do you have? We just moved from Alhambra because of the one car garage. We loved the neighborhood and our pond, but hated shuffling cars all the time.

What activities do you like? South has more walking/biking trails and softball is migrating that way. Nothing funner than having to wake up an hour early to get to the ballfields on the other end of the villages. The Eastport complex is opening soon and will be added to the rotation next year.

Are you planning on being full time or a snow bird?

DM me if you have more questions.

People move all the time in the Villages. The houses are small and moving is not that hard so the purchase of a Villages home need not be viewed as a lifelong commitment. That realization takes a lot of pressure off the initial purchase decision. At least it did for us.

Can you also buy brand-new remotely, or do you HAVE to come sign papers in person at the Sales Office? Will an out-of-state notary suffice for signing the fed-ex'ed escrow and closing docs?

Buying from a distance
 

My husband and I are realtors and help people in this situation often. The great part of your story is that you have been here for a visit and know the lay of the land. I assume that you have a general idea of the location you would like to shop. We typically take the following steps with buyers shopping from a distance:
Establish their budget
Learn what type of home they would like. (villa, designer, premier...)
Do you care of the exterior of the home is vinyl or stucco?
Are you hoping to stay in a certain square footage?
Number of bedrooms and bathrooms?
Are you willing or wanting to tackle updates of any kind, if so, to what extent?
Is an interior lot or a view preferred?

Following those questions we can get more specific with your wish list. If you like, we set you up to receive email listings of properties that meet your general wishes. We then video tour people through the home. Sometimes couples make the decision to come down for a visit to see the top couple homes in person and other times, they purchase without taking the trip.

Find a Realtor that you feel comfortable with. I understand that can be a challenge from a distance as well. Have phone conversations and interview the realtors. If you Facetime, hold interviews in that manner so that you can actually see the Realtor. This is a job interview for a Realtor. See who clicks with you and you feel you can trust.

Hope that this gives you some ideas.
Lee Harper

2 realtors, one MLS and one VLS?
 

I have also been looking at buying a house. Went to Eastport and the VLS 'realtors' that I talked to said VLS realtors can now show houses that are on the MLS. Also, to see any house on the MLS the MLS realtors will require you to sign an agreement. This is a must these days. The VLS realtors will tell you never to sign that agreement and to use them. Very confusing.

Huh. I'm under the impression that many (most? All?) VLS Agents are just that. Sales Agents. Not real estate agents or realtors. That would preclude them from showing ANY thing on the MLS.

That's what I had heard up until one week ago when I heard otherwise from 2 VLS agents.