[Boomer]

Hi Conn8757,

Congratulations. I think it may have been you who wrote here a couple of months ago about whether to put your house on the market at that point or wait. (Please forgive me if I am remembering incorrectly, but I am pretty sure it was you. I got all into that discussion.)

It looks like you made the right decision. Selling a house in this market is a reason to dance in the streets. You might as well start dancing in the streets of TV as soon as possible.

Your quick sale may have surprised you. That happened to us when we downsized a few years ago from the bigger house on acreage. 3 days. It sold. I was in a state of shock I think. I had not expected that to happen. But I knew that it needed to happen. I knew that we would not get any younger and I was so ready to get rid of all that square footage that we did not need.

But it happened really fast. And we had nowhere to live. But I was absolutely ecstatic and we took the money and ran. It all worked out for the best. And I look back at all of it in wonder. It was exactly what needed to happen.

Sounds like that might be the case for you, too.

I wish you the best on your new adventure.

Boomer

[jojo]

Good news for you. Our house sold in ten days with a two-month possession and we felt homeless. We came down to TV knowing the parameters and criteria for the house we wanted. We looked three days, found a lot as a back up to build and on the fourth day found the perfect house. I absolutely did not want to do a double move and the rent routine if I could avoid it. There is much available and not many variations in home types so it is more location that matters. I posted several times while down here about villages etc and received great feedback from the wonderful TOTVers Felt confident and no second guessing when we made the decision.

[Boomer]

Hi again, Conn,

I got so carried away with congratulations that I forgot to throw in my thoughts on the other part.

What would I do?

I would rent for awhile, unless the right house, in the right location, at the right price was falling right in my lap. Renting is one of the few things where money can buy you time.

We are considering a second home there. That decision is harder because we will not give up our downsized house here in Ohio. But we will not make a final decision until we rent again.

So anyway, those are just my thoughts. I would stop and breathe a little. And get the lay of the land. Even if it costs what seems like wasted money. That rent could end up being one of the best investments you ever make.

But that's just me.

But who knows -- maybe the perfect home for you will be there waiting and you will find it right away.

Please keep us posted. And again, congratulations!

Boomer

[conn8757]

I may be counting my chickens before they hatch as we countered on their offier and they have until Tuesday to accept.

Boomer - you are right - I was the one that was thinking we should wait until spring to put it on the market. Now it looks like things could be happening very fast. I do have 3 sons with families here, so I can give them whatever we don't want to take. I don't want to move our furniture twice and am thinking we rent a POD and rent a furnished villa - when we find a house, we move our furniture to it. We know we want to be in Lake Sumter, but from there, all the villages appeal to us. We love the Somerset, but cannot afford it. We are thinking something in the 1400-1600 square feet range.

We just want to ride around in a golf car - we may be the homeless couple sleeping in their golf car.

[F16 1UB]

We have had our house on the market for about two weeks - had 2 people look at it this week. The first one made an offer today - low - we have countered, but the realtor says couple #2 may offer also. We have our fingers crossed it sells.
My dilemma is if it sells, the buyer wants to take possession of our house before Thanksgiving.


Conn8757 - Man, I wish we had your dilemma. BTW, we bought our house in 1 day. Had been looking for years at floorplans and visited TV 2 previous times. You'll know when you find it. Congrats to you. Dilemma huh?

[efrahingarcia]

It has taken us 9 months to sell. The buyers always want to close fast, but if they really like the house (mostly the wife) they will consider 60 days.
The Villages salesmen all want to sell you an old house (they apparentely make more commission). Dont let then push you, take your time. We are going there Oct 14 to see if we find something we like. I have the blessing that one of my sons has a beach house and offered for all the time we need it, mostly because nobody goes to beach in these Long Island winters.

[gfmucci]

We sold and then rented (in our home town) before we bought here. Rent anywhere, either in your home town or in TV - or near TV where it can be much cheaper. And even if you have to sacrifice your living conditions for a few month to rent for $1,000 or $1,500 a month, you'll appreciate your new TV home that much more.

There are plenty of afforable and decent rentals in the nearby communities of Fruitland Park, Lady Lake, Weirsdale, Oxford and other nearby communities.

It would be worth your while between signing of the sales contract and closing to spend a week down here to pick out a rental.

Spend at least a couple of days looking in TV for a home to purchase while you're at it...you might be pleasantly surprised if you could by-pass the rental step.