[Whalen]

Once our house sells we want TV to be our next home.

Common sense says to rent in TV for 3-6 months in order to be able to make a careful, informed decision about the home we buy.

But the "Bad Angel" is saying "buy, buy now; what are you waiting for? You ain't getting any younger".

We are coming down for our 2nd lifestyle visit on Tuesday.
There are some really beautiful new homes availlable for good prices so I know we'll be tempted to listen to the "Bad Angel".

So our question is............
Did you buy in haste and regret at your liesure or did you buy in haste and never look back?
We would appreciate sharing your experiences.

Thanks,
Dave & Gail
AKA Homeball & Whalen

[F16 1UB]

So you're "Waiting" to buy after you sell. We didn't buy in haste because we'd been watching TV homes for 2 years. We'd visited 3 times and on the 3rd time was our intent to buy. We'd picked out pre & new homes, weighed all options, and bought new because of price reduction. If we had to do over probably nothing would have changed. The difference between you and us is that we haven't been able to sell our north home YET and miss TV terribly. Friends are instantaneous if you want them. Neighborhoods are ALL nice. If you drink the water you're doomed to buy immediately. Good luck with your sale and buying adventure.

F16

[OpusX1]

We rented last year for Jan. Feb. & March. While here we went to many open houses. Drove around a lot in a golf cart. Found a four year old Courtyard Villa in an area we really liked and bought it after being here about 3 weeks. Set the closing for 3/1/07 but closed 2 weeks early and started moving in so we could meet neighbors and be part of the neighborhood. The Realtor that we rented from found another renter so we got most of our rent back, lost about $500 but it was worth it because we got to go to two neighborhood get togethers and meet a lot of neighbors before we had to go back north. I do not regret renting because we did get a great lay of the land and now feel really good about our location and our winter home.

[NJblue]

We bought on our first lifestyle preview last July (although we also did spend an afternoon in TV in April). We found a lot that met all of our expectations and for some unknown reason was priced over $50K less than a similar-sized lot right next door. We decided to go for it and have never looked back. Since then I have been monitoring new and used homes similar to what we had built and have found nothing that even comes close to it in terms of value. Everytime I show my wife a similar home costing $50K-$75K or more than ours we give each other a hi-5 and say it was the best decision that we could have made.

I would say that IF you know you want to buy in TV and IF your financial situation allows you to buy now and IF you have unique requirements/desires and IF you find something that meets those needs at a reasonable cost, then go for it. However, if all of the above are not true, then you may want to be more patient and methodical about your choice.

Certainly if your requirements can be met by what constitutes the majority of TV homes (i.e., an interior lot), then there will always be a multitude of such homes available - both new and used. In that case, there really is no hurry. Prices seem to be either stable or dropping and if they do start to head back up, it likely will not go into skyrocket mode for quite some time.

[Kepple]

Hey, we are from Springfield OH also. We are currently renting and hope to put our OH house up for sale this spring. I'm sorry to hear that yours hasn't sold. That doesn't sound like a good omen for us as well. We head back north in a week. Been here two months and it feels like home. We sooooo wanted to buy, but just couldn't swing the two houses. The time seems right for buying. . . . just not good for selling up north.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Whalen

Once our house sells we want TV to be our next home.

Common sense says to rent in TV for 3-6 months in order to be able to make a careful, informed decision about the home we buy.

But the "Bad Angel" is saying "buy, buy now; what are you waiting for? You ain't getting any younger".

We are coming down for our 2nd lifestyle visit on Tuesday.
There are some really beautiful new homes availlable for good prices so I know we'll be tempted to listen to the "Bad Angel".

So our question is............
Did you buy in haste and regret at your liesure or did you buy in haste and never look back?
We would appreciate sharing your experiences.

Thanks,
Dave & Gail
AKA Homeball & Whalen

WE thought about renting, but bought instead in 2007. We have two dogs and a cat, and I didn't want a hassle about animals when we tried to rent. Also, I wanted our own comfortable and clean king-size bed to sleep in.

We bought quickly, held out for a great deal, and have never regretted it for one second.

Your Bad Angel is telling you the truth .. You ain't getting any younger. And a long and healthy life isn't promised to any of us.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by NJblue

We bought on our first lifestyle preview last July (although we also did spend an afternoon in TV in April). We found a lot that met all of our expectations and for some unknown reason was priced over $50K less than a similar-sized lot right next door. We decided to go for it and have never looked back. Since then I have been monitoring new and used homes similar to what we had built and have found nothing that even comes close to it in terms of value. Everytime I show my wife a similar home costing $50K-$75K or more than ours we give each other a hi-5 and say it was the best decision that we could have made.

I would say that IF you know you want to buy in TV and IF your financial situation allows you to buy now and IF you have unique requirements/desires and IF you find something that meets those needs at a reasonable cost, then go for it. However, if all of the above are not true, then you may want to be more patient and methodical about your choice.

Certainly if your requirements can be met by what constitutes the majority of TV homes (i.e., an interior lot), then there will always be a multitude of such homes available - both new and used. In that case, there really is no hurry. Prices seem to be either stable or dropping and if they do start to head back up, it likely will not go into skyrocket mode for quite some time.

Our story is almost identical to NJBlue. We found a house this April that abuts the Odell Center and it was a bargain. Boy am I glad we chose it. We are so close to all activities there and the landscaping is lovely to look at out our back door. I am financially frugal and not an impulsive buyer and my husband is too. We are so glad we bought. I have found many new houses like ours, (Camellia) that are less expensive and with Roman showers and blinds, and squared kitchens. and side by side refrigerators and other enhancements, but we love our location. Our friends bought too on their lifestyle visit and they have lived there for three years and are still pleased.

You will find lower prices than what is on the website when you get here. I think that NOW is the time to buy. One week ago The Villages listed all of the Premier models, I think there were nine of them. All close to 500K and more. ONLY ONE is left.

This is the best real estate investment you can find. (Do you think TV will hire me?)

[jojo]

We flew down when our home in Ohio sold much faster than expected ( in ten days). At that point we were homeless. We were prepared to build, rent or buy. I am so glad we found a house that was just right for us. I wanted to avoid a double move for many reasons. I felt confident about the decision because we had visited TV several times and largely because of the TOTV site and information.

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by Whalen

Once our house sells we want TV to be our next home.

Common sense says to rent in TV for 3-6 months in order to be able to make a careful, informed decision about the home we buy.

But the "Bad Angel" is saying "buy, buy now; what are you waiting for? You ain't getting any younger".

We are coming down for our 2nd lifestyle visit on Tuesday.
There are some really beautiful new homes availlable for good prices so I know we'll be tempted to listen to the "Bad Angel".

So our question is............
Did you buy in haste and regret at your liesure or did you buy in haste and never look back?
We would appreciate sharing your experiences.

Thanks,
Dave & Gail
AKA Homeball & Whalen

Yes we bought in "haste".... somewhat in response to the canned realtors statements, "i can put this one on hold for 3 hours but after that it may be gone". Since we purchased our home a year ago we've learned sooooo much that we didn't know then. Absolutely follow your "common sense" and rent for 3-6 mos. You'll still be a Villager and you'll have a blast looking at homes. Also, get a realtor from The Villages AND a multi-list realtor and work with both at the same time.... that's very important.

[MMC24]

We did 2 lifestyle trips plus 2 additional trips on our own. Additionally we rented for a month before we bought 2.5 years ago. We had two months between the acceptance of offer and the closing of our home back in Connecticut so we took advantage of that time to rent for a month in TV. The reason we took this route was to make sure of the style of home and which Village we wanted to live in. We looked at both pre-owned and new. This extra month gave us the time we needed to make an informed decision.

My advise is to rent for a short time to allow you time to decide and not be forced into a hasty decision.

[Whalen]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice, we really appreciate it.
Someone on this forum once referred to her imaginary friends on TOTV. I now know what she meant.
For people that I have never met, you are all so kind, informative, and most of all willing to share, it's truely amazing.
We're looking forward to one day meeting you all.

We fly down tomorrow and when we get back we'll let you know who wins,
Common Sense or the "Bad Angel"

Thanks again,

Dave & Gail

[graciegirl]

Welcome you two. May you enjoy every minute of your stay in Paradise.

[SteveFromNY]

We bought in haste and only regret not having a slightly larger lanai and a golf cart garage. Both very minor annoyances, and not a real issue. So I have no real regrets. I really like the home and the area, and wouldn't change that for a second. The lifestyle, which is the real thing you're buying, isn't house or neighborhood dependent, so you can't miss.
We bought 3.5 years ago in a market where the prices were rising almost daily (or it seemed that way) and we had that exuberant sense that "Who cares if we like it - if we don't we'll just sell (and make a load of money)", so the thought of doing more analysis than we did seemed foolish at the time.
However, given the conditions of the market today, and the likelihood that you can find a real deal on either a new or pre-owned home, I'd agree renting before purchasing would be a sound idea.

[JohnN]

My darling wife was really hesitant to buy (we visited 3 times about a year apart total), now she loves it. Not only no regrets, but happy we did.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Whalen

Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice, we really appreciate it. Someone on this forum once referred to her imaginary friends on TOTV. I now know what she meant. For people that I have never met, you are all so kind, informative, and most of all willing to share, it's truely amazing. Dave & Gail

I agree that TOTV people are just wonderful. Informed, willing to share, friendly, helpful .. you won't meet a better bunch of people.

If you're here on the 3rd Friday of December, don't forget to join us at Crispers for the 3 PM TOTV lunch!