I'd Guess Every Poster Will Agree With This Suggestion...
 

...YOU'RE BRINGING TOO MUCH "STUFF"

If there's one big difference between our houses "up north" and the way houses are built in Florida--in TV and elsewhere--there is a lot less storage space, and of course no basements.

You absolutely cannot get rid off too much "stuff" before you move. Places to start?

• Clothing--the lifestyle here is a lot more casual than back home. And of course, there's only about a "season and a half" weather-wise
• All that stuff in the garage--how many "projects" do you think you're really going to do down here? There's way more fun things to do than use all those tools you've accumulated over the years.
• Furniture--will all that heavy, dark, old furniture really look good in your bright, new Villages home? Start with that dining room set. How often are you going to have twelve in for dinner?
• Kitchen stuff--how many sets of dishes and flatware do you really need? And all those nifty appliances that you bought from TV infomercials? They take up a lot of room, and down here we eat out a lot...really a lot.
• Garden stuff--all those power tools? Are you really going to be out mowing the lawn and trimming the hedges when its 90 degrees and dripping humid in the summer? Particularly when you find that you can get someone to do it for you for $50 a month or so.

And that's just a start.

Like I said--you're bringing too much "stuff".

Russ;
In our case we paid cash for our new home in 2008 and the closing costs were just a few hundred dollars. Can not speak for what it may cost if you take out a mortgage.

Russ,
I bought a patio villa in 2009. I paid cash and closing cost was reasonable. If it will help you I can PM you the cost. Let me know.

No thanks - I assume it won't be much if cash. I think some people who are mortgaging may have different deals that make is seem high but I doubt it is much different in TV than anywhere else. Maybe some of the other 'fees' that TV has (monthly amenities, yearly county maintenance etc) make it seem higher.

Welcome back Kahuna!
 

Your wisdom has been sorely missed.

The closing costs are significantly higher with a new home because TV includes several charges for water, electical, and sewer connections that are not there with a re-sale. Secondly, there's a Florida inpact fee if you are moving to TV from out of state. In 12/04, our closing costs on a new CYV were just over $13K. My mother purchased a re-sale a year later. She was moving up from Ft. Lauderdale and her closing costs were around $5K.

George

My wife and I came to the Villages about 2 1/2 years ago on a Lifestyle Package and did not buy at that time. Prices were quite high. This year we decided to take a house-buying trip to Florida. If we did not find something, we were going to stay in Maryland. We went first to St. Augustine, found some nice houses but not on the beach and prices were high plus high insurance. Next stop was The Villages. We first worked with a Villages Realtor and then with an outside Realtor. We bought a pre-owned home with the outside Realtor.

We settled on our Villages home BEFORE even listing our home in Maryland. We had a contract in 8 days on our Maryland home, though! Packing was a nightmare and going through 24 years worth of "stuff" and deciding what to take was nerve-wracking.

The first couple of days in The Villages was "iffy" with a couple of unfortunate incidents of merchants renegging on sales - but that is a different story. We just will never go to the jewelry stores in Spanish Springs or Lake Sumter Landing again and will advise all others not to shop there, either.

On the whole, we love it here. We have a golf course home on a championship course - no balls hitting house or golfers looking for balls in our bushes. We have a low bond on the house (being pre-owned for 7 years).

I like the lower insurance rates than on the Florida coasts, the warmer weather than in Maryland, and especially NO TRAFFIC as compared to the DC suburbs.

Stirring the Pot Just a Bit...
 

What about the "Lanai Kiss"? Is that much of an issue for those of you who have one? Is a road view preferred? Not sure that either is ideal. Any other suggestions regarding lot choices are also welcome! Thanks for all the great tips so far!

Allen

:024:

Usually new construction entails above charges for water & sewer hookups,
utility installations etc.
Built a home in Pa and priced a home in SC and these costs were upwards of $10,000.
The developer here includes these charges in the price of the home so if you purchase a new home the closing costs appear reasonable. Our costs were under $1,000.
The sales rep told us that this way when you get a price on a home that is the price, there are no surprises.
Not a bad idea.

What's a "Lanai Kiss"?

Sorry... I thought that was a common term. It means two lanais facing each other in close proximity... :kiss:

If I had it to do over, I would go ahead and stretch the house ike we originally wanted. We wanted to stretch the master bedroom and lanai 1 foot and we told that it was $10k a foot to do so. In the long run, it would have been worth it.

Only 1 thought. Do not understimate the size of house you want or need. MANY of us move multiple times, because we fail to really know what we want. We bought a large courtyard villa, because we thought we would be here part time. The Villages is too great a place to be, and lots of cheap plane fares make it easy to get from Orlando to anyplace else (think Disney). We ended up with a large premier home and are so glad we did that move to stay here permanently.

I wish I would have picked a house with a golf cart garage!!!!!