[BoneLakeBennie]

Originally Posted by Regorp

My wife and I wonder how someone can spend up to 500k for a beautiful new home and use it so sparingly. Such a waste, so we choose to live year round and forget about CT. Florida is our home!!

We're kind of hijacking the thread, but... everyone is entitled to their opinion. So, would purchasing a weekend getaway place be "such a waste" because it is only used 2 days a week?

For us, the reason we purchased a retirement home in FL and snowbird is to avoid dealing with the cold winters in MN and basically having to be inside all winter. We kept our house in MN so that we don't have to deal with the heat and humidity of the FL summers. If a person can afford it, why not have the best of both worlds?

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by GoRedSox!

Another Relax Home Watch customer....they are so excellent that I really am able to have peace of mind when I'm not there. I know if I need to reach them, they will either pick up the phone or get back to me immediately. They are wonderful.

It's very sad that a business that returns calls is considered wonderful.

[MrFlorida]

You could always rent it for the 6-8 months that you are not using it. Then it would pay for itself.

[GoRedSox!]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

It's very sad that a business that returns calls is considered wonderful.

No, no, no, they are excellent in every aspect of this service. They contact me every single week with an update. They help us out in a variety of ways. Relax Home Watch is reliable and do every single thing they represented they would do. They are very nice people. And yes, they are easy to reach. I highly recommend them, I know that anyone who needs this service will happy with them.

[GoRedSox!]

I am going to start a separate thread for Snow Birding in general...this is a broad topic that impacts a lot of people. My first question will be whether there is a reliable estimate of what percentages of Villagers are snowbirds.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by BoneLakeBennie

We're kind of hijacking the thread, but... everyone is entitled to their opinion. So, would purchasing a weekend getaway place be "such a waste" because it is only used 2 days a week?

For us, the reason we purchased a retirement home in FL and snowbird is to avoid dealing with the cold winters in MN and basically having to be inside all winter. We kept our house in MN so that we don't have to deal with the heat and humidity of the FL summers. If a person can afford it, why not have the best of both worlds?

Not only do I agree with this, I don't see it as a "waste" ever. While one might ride the ups and downs of short-term transiency, one is not really "Spending" the money or "buying" a home.

IMHO, what one is doing is simply parking the money while still able to use it and enjoy it. While the overall rate of return may not be what one may get in other investment vehicles, there reaches a point in one's life where that is no longer the end game.

My life's job is neither to create wealth for children I do not have nor to give it to nieces or nephews who only occasionally visit (no fault of their own- they lead their own busy lives working and raising families). No, my life's job is to create wealth so that I reach a point of comfort where Mrs. EDJ and I can start to spend and enjoy that wealth.

Having spent our lifetimes in SoCal, moving to the southeast was a financial and philosophical "no-brainer." However, we have learned that we do not always enjoy the winters, mild as they are. When the winter becomes longer and darker than we like, and the boat and jet skis are put away for the season, it is nice to have a nearby landing pad to go and enjoy sunnier and warmer weather that is already packed with our conveniences, comforts, and preferences (our furniture, our decor, our other car, etc.). It helps that landing pad is only a day's drive or a 2 hour flight away.

So, "buying" a winter home in my mind isn't spending the money, but rather parking it into a lower yield long-term investment that I get to enjoy now while not freezing my derriere or shoveling white crap.

If I need it for medical bills or nursing homes decades down the road, it can be liquidated - probably at some profit gain.

[jmpate]

Could I have the name(s) of the 1 Stop Shops you mentioned today?

So few yard companies do all the services and I'm fed up with the extremely poor service we've gotten with several groups & we've lived in TV for 3 years!

JMPate'

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Lots of yard guys won't treat the rock/chip areas inside the landscape bricks for weeds, bugs, etc.

Some firms are one-stop-shops and do it all.

[CarlR33]

Originally Posted by BoneLakeBennie

We kept our house in MN so that we don't have to deal with the heat and humidity of the FL summers. If a person can afford it, why not have the best of both worlds?

yea, it’s unbearable here in the summer. Go to the pool until lunch, go to the house have lunch hang out in the A/C, take a nap and head back to the pool late afternoon. Unbearable!

[La lamy]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Based on our experience, it’s no less expensive owning a home whether or not you’re actually there (assuming you don’t rent it). When not there you’re electric bill will be a little lower, and if you typically use a lot of water your base water and sewer charge could be a little lower than the actual usage rate. Besides that, there is no savings on homeownership, but there are added expenses such as a home watch service, having to pay someone to pull/spray for weeds, mow, spray for bugs, trim hedges, etc… since you won’t be there to do it yourself. And then there is the homestead property tax benefits that can save you real money, but you won’t be eligible for.

That being said, the worst part about being part time is knowing your home, that you are paying good $$ for on an ongoing basis, is just sitting there empty and you wish you could be there. And when you finally get to your home, there is always a lot of deferred maintenance work to be done, and ditto when you return to your other home. Bottom line, owning and maintaining multiple homes can begin to really wear on you over several years.

I used to be stressed out about my home when I left it, but having smart thermometers that I can control online and security cameras, I don't stress anymore. I highly recommend having a north and south home. Avoiding extreme weather is what I'm after, and it's not a big deal to leave either one with smart technology. If you can afford it, it's the best way to go!!

[mneumann02]

Originally Posted by raisingJB

I am currently considering purchasing a home in TV but I would only live there during the winter and spend summers in my current home. While it is fairly easy to calculate the cost of purchasing a home I would like to hear some input on the cost of maintaining the home during the 6-8 months that I am not there.

Thank you for your thoughts.

We bought 10 years ago and are still snowflakes as we come a total of 5 months a year. I figure when we can get to 6 months and become Florida residents it will save us about $10,000/year. Here is what I've learned:
-Maintaining 2 homes is a major pain but we have never regretted it. Buying was the best decision we ever made. Our home's value has more than doubled in 10 years.
-When not there, you can vacation hold the internet (unless you have security cameras, then it is discounted).
-You can also put on vacation hold the golf trail fees.

In addition to other costs already stated:
-Pool $150/mo.
-Grass cutting- $55/mo.
-Insect and weeds spraying- $75/mo.
-Trees, weeds and bush maintenance- $25- 50/mo.

A MAJOR HEADS UP IF YOU RENT. MONEY FROM RENTING IS INCOME ON THE FEDERAL RETURN AND TREATED AS SALES AND THEREFORE HAS SALES TAX BY THE STATE. (At least this was the policy a few years ago when we rented our home out.)

Final advice is have a great relationship with your neighbors as you will find they will also look out for you, e.g., one of my great neighbors called and said I had an outdoor faucet dripping. He was terrific in helping to get it fixed.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by GoRedSox!

Yes, we would save a LOT of money by having one house in The Villages. It's not insignificant....no more state income tax....no more high property tax on our home AND our cars...no double utilities, home owner's insurance, and the interest that could be made on the proceeds from the sale of the property....it adds up to a sizeable number.

When we are down there, I have to make sure our home in CT is visited, plowed if it snows, the pipes don't freeze, even dealing with the post office and mail order pharmacy is a challenge...and any number of other things. Driving 20 hours in one shot with dogs in the back seat is not fun, when we came back in early May I drove 21 hours straight. I don't know how long we will do this for, but we are talking about moving full-time to The Villages more often and more seriously than ever before.

I have successfully subscribed to the "happy wife, happy life" theory and it worked for me for 24 years and hopefully many more to come and I think my beloved wife is pretty much on the same page with me now that we should reduce to one home and that home should be in The Villages. Good luck to all.

We have been snowflakes for 9 years and spend a little under half the year in the Villages. When we first bought, we were the youngsters on the block, didn’t mind taking care of two homes, and the long drive back and forth never bothered us. Like you, we are dog people, so flying isn’t an option unless one of us flies down for a couple weeks while the other stays up north with the dog (which we each do at least once per year). Now, we aren’t as young as we used to be and taking care of two homes (especially the northern home) and frequently traveling back and forth is growing both old and expensive. At three times per year we are approaching 30 round trip drives of about 2,700 miles each time, while staying in flea bag pet friendly lodging.

I would absolutely like to simplify life and sell the northern home, but as you stated “happy wife, happy life”. As much as I try, dragging her away from the kids, grandkids, and longtime friends is not going to happen without her being totally miserable. Don’t underestimate how lucky you are to have your wife on board with a single Villages home.

The only reason I can justify keeping a northern residence, besides keeping the wife happy, is to continue to have access to world class health care. That being said, I’m getting real close to selling our beautiful log home up north, on several acres of land surrounded by a state forest. It’s just becoming too much work to maintain at our high standards. A condominium with central air conditioning, where everything is taken care of by a management company, is definitely in the future up north. That way, much more time can be spent at the Villages without the burden of what will await me when returning north.

[rustyp]

Originally Posted by Regorp

My wife and I wonder how someone can spend up to 500k for a beautiful new home and use it so sparingly. Such a waste, so we choose to live year round and forget about CT. Florida is our home!!

It's my money and I will spend it as I wish. That's the beauty of having lots of it.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by Regorp

My wife and I wonder how someone can spend up to 500k for a beautiful new home and use it so sparingly. Such a waste, so we choose to live year round and forget about CT. Florida is our home!!

Easy. They sell their Orange Co. CA home they bought for $250K for $1M after a decade, then buy another house for $1.5M and sell that a decade later for $3M. Sell that house, then they buy a house in TN for $1M, A house in The Villages for $500K, and then they invest the remainder. In the meantime, for the next couple decades, both the TN and the FL house continue to appreciate in value as does the remainder being invested.

See, Easy.

[LeRoySmith]

Originally Posted by rustyp

It's my money and I will spend it as I wish. That's the beauty of having lots of it.

Can I borrow 20 bucks

[rustyp]

Originally Posted by rustyp

It's my money and I will spend it as I wish. That's the beauty of having lots of it.

Originally Posted by LeRoySmith

Can I borrow 20 bucks

That would be your wish.