[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by NatureBoy

We've been planning this move for several years.

How could you have been planning this for years if you didn’t have a temporary living plan?

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

You also need an MLS realtor, VLS agents can not show pre owned MLS listings. You are limiting your inventory by not having both.

Very true and often Village agent are strongly encouraged to push people into new.

[Stu from NYC]

We rented for a month to get a better idea as to the lay of the land and where we wanted to go.

Moving to a second house is not cheap.

[thelegges]

How is it that many don’t read a post. OP is looking for insight on what to do with mail options. He has a place to stay, furniture in storage, just wants to know where to send mail during transition.

OP we used the post office for a box. Did a temporary address for 4 months, it’s $1.06 on a credit card. If you find a house, you can stop the forwarding of your mail online. You can also readjust to a later date. Any mail that you receive make it paperless, after move you can change back to paper after you find a house.

[NatureBoy]

Originally Posted by thelegges

OP is looking for insight on what to do with mail options.

And any other general advice on dealing with the "homeless" time between houses.

Yes, we have living arrangements. But hearing that other people rented for a few months with no problem is helpful. (Plans do fall through and having a plan B is not a bad thing.)

All the advice about buying used vs new is not as helpful. We've been watching the TV real estate market for several years - almost bought in Chitty Chatty when it opened. We want a veranda. Full stop. There are almost no pre-owned verandas available - and the few I've seen are way above my budget. (I think there is high demand for them so the price is accordingly cranked up.) And my wife is looking forward to having a fresh new house.

OP we used the post office for a box.

My wife looked into this and according to her, we have to rent the P.O. Box in person, so that will have to wait until we are in FL.

Any mail that you receive make it paperless, after move you can change back to paper after you find a house.

That's not a bad idea. I have some bills that could be switched to paperless.

[BayLady57]

Originally Posted by NatureBoy

And any other general advice on dealing with the "homeless" time between houses.

Yes, we have living arrangements. But hearing that other people rented for a few months with no problem is helpful. (Plans do fall through and having a plan B is not a bad thing.)

All the advice about buying used vs new is not as helpful. We've been watching the TV real estate market for several years - almost bought in Chitty Chatty when it opened. We want a veranda. Full stop. There are almost no pre-owned verandas available - and the few I've seen are way above my budget. (I think there is high demand for them so the price is accordingly cranked up.) And my wife is looking forward to having a fresh new house.


My wife looked into this and according to her, we have to rent the P.O. Box in person, so that will have to wait until we are in FL.


That's not a bad idea. I have some bills that could be switched to paperless.

We closed on the sale of our R.I. home on 4/29/22 and once it was under contract we secured a 2 month rental in TV through Villages Hometown Rentals which had a pet friendly patio villa available which we needed as we have two cats. The day before closing we had our belongs packed in one large and one small POD and they were picked up by PODs. The same day we picked up the rental van we would be traveling to TV in, then after that we dropped off our car to the place that would be transporting it to a terminal in Orlando, and immediately after closing we began our 2 day trek to TV. Once we arrived at our rental we made arrangements with Groome shuttle service that brought my husband to MCO and from there he took a taxi to the terminal to pick up the car. When he got back to the rental with our car he then brought the van to the drop off place in Leesburg and our TV agent gave him a ride back to our rental. With regards to mail, I switched whatever bills I could to online payment, and we did a two month temporary address change to our friend's address that live in St. Catherine and we go to their house to pick up any mail as needed. Having been in periodic contact with our TV agent for nearly two years through 2 lifestyle visits, we knew we wanted a new 3br CV in one of the newer areas. Nothing wrong with pre owned or other areas but this was our personal preference. The following day after we arrived we spent time with our TV agent who showed us a list of the new homes that were being released for sale the following day and an Avondale CV with a golf cart garage in lower St John was on the list to be released and in our price so our agent took us to see the home. It was love at 1st sight, but we had to climb the next hurdle which was our agent had to beat out the other agents to get a hold on it for us when it would be released for sale at 8 am the following day. Our agent called at 8:40 to let us know she got the hold and we had 2 hours to decide if we wanted to move forward with the sale and we said an immediate yes!! We bypassed putting down the $2,500 to secure the hold and went right to the 10% deposit, and early evening we signed the contract with a scheduled closing for 6/3. Since signing the contract we have been busy setting up services, managed to get new PCPs, dentist, specialty doctors with upcoming appointments scheduled, and already had our hair cut by our new barber and stylist. We also purchased a few pieces of new furniture and a washer and dryer because we had to purchase our own. Our PODs are currently in a storage facility in Gainesville and we will call when we are ready for delivery. For us, we had to go this route as we wanted to be cash buyers, so we had to sell before we bought since this was the only way we knew how much CV we could afford to purchase. If you have your heart set on a new veranda model home, you really need if you don't already have a TV agent. I can pretty much guarantee you having just been through the purchase of a new home myself, all those pending homes you see listed daily on the TV website the buyers of those homes had a TV agent who got holds for them when they were released for sale. We had already signed the contract a few days before our CV made it up on the website as pending. Same thing happened to my friend who just closed on a Sycamore model home in Deluna. Just be prepared when purchasing new although the price may be lower than a pre owned same model, you are going to have a higher bond as ours is just shy of $32k. So you will need to decide what is of more value to you a higher cost pre owned with lower bond and likely many expensive upgrades, or lower cost new home with a higher bond and no upgrades. Best of luck on your relocation to TV and hope yours goes as smooth as ours did.

[NatureBoy]

Thank you for the summary of your experience. Definitely a few nuggets to learn from.

Originally Posted by BayLady57

The day before closing we had our belongs packed in one large and one small POD and they were picked up by PODs.

We are having a moving company pick up all our stuff and store it locally.

The same day we picked up the rental van we would be traveling to TV in, then after that we dropped off our car to the place that would be transporting it to a terminal in Orlando,

We're having one car door-to-door transported. The whole vehicle transport phase is quite a racket.

Our agent called at 8:40 to let us know she got the hold and we had 2 hours to decide if we wanted to move forward with the sale and we said an immediate yes!! We bypassed putting down the $2,500 to secure the hold and went right to the 10% deposit, and early evening we signed the contract with a scheduled closing for 6/3.

Can't say I'm looking forward to that pressure. But we've looked at house models and the building plans, so I think I have a good idea of what we want.

For us, we had to go this route as we wanted to be cash buyers, so we had to sell before we bought since this was the only way we knew how much CV we could afford to purchase.

Yep. We have a budget and are hoping the new verandas fall within it. Based on the prices of other verandas & designers, I expect we'll be close.

If you have your heart set on a new veranda model home, you really need if you don't already have a TV agent.

Yes. We're working with the agent who did our Lifestyle visit a few years ago.

Just be prepared when purchasing new although the price may be lower than a pre owned same model, you are going to have a higher bond as ours is just shy of $32k. So you will need to decide what is of more value to you a higher cost pre owned with lower bond and likely many expensive upgrades, or lower cost new home with a higher bond and no upgrades.

Yep. Lots of variables.

Best of luck on your relocation to TV and hope yours goes as smooth as ours did.

Thank you. It's nice to hear success stories.

[BayLady57]

Originally Posted by NatureBoy

Thank you for the summary of your experience. Definitely a few nuggets to learn from.


We are having a moving company pick up all our stuff and store it locally.

We're having one car door-to-door transported. The whole vehicle transport phase is quite a racket.

Can't say I'm looking forward to that pressure. But we've looked at house models and the building plans, so I think I have a good idea of what we want.


Yep. We have a budget and are hoping the new verandas fall within it. Based on the prices of other verandas & designers, I expect we'll be close.


Yes. We're working with the agent who did our Lifestyle visit a few years ago.


Yep. Lots of variables.


Thank you. It's nice to hear success stories.

PODS worked out well for us especially getting the 10% Veteran discount so our cost with storage was around $3,800. Our friends that live in St. Catherine used and recommended Sterry St. Towing which is local to R.I. and southeast MA company which provides car transport to Orlando during snow bird season and our cost was $950 which we thought reasonable considering the price of gas. Good that you know the model you desire and what you are willing to spend to get it. After owing a fairly large home for us anyway for 32 years on a 15,000 square lot, and after doing many updates and repairs on it over the course of about a year to get it sell ready we knew we wanted to down size in both house and yard as well as have a little privacy and a 3br CV checked all those boxes. And fortunately for us we listed just before the interest rates began to creep up and sold our perfect for a family with children home to a younger couple for $50k over asking after a little bidding war took place with 2 other potential buyers. And this put us in very good shape to cash purchase the new CV we desired which cost $176k less than what we sold our many years mortgage free home for. The CV we purchased especially with it's golf cart garage and yard big enough to put a pool in which we have no desire for that having had a pool at our previous home, plus we are less than a 5 minute walk to the only pool in St. John is enough house and yard for us at this stage of our lives. This is a one and done for us and know if anything happens to either one of us our CV will be easier for either to manage alone including financially. I was a 44 year old recent widow when I met my current husband, and without his physical and financial assistance I highly doubt I would have been able to afford to keep and maintain my home so purchasing a CV made the most sense for us. Again, wish you the best of luck on your journey to TV.

[Veiragirl]

Just don't buy one anywhere close to a Pickle Ball Court. TOO MUCH NOISE