I think many people buy new homes and, seeing that they are already "landscaped", assume that there will be no additional cost in that area. It is true that the homes come with grass and basic shrubbery, but you will be in a very small minority if you choose to use the builder-provided landscape package for the long term. Most residents, especially in the designer and premium homes, add a significant amount of landscaping to their property. This can be anywhere from a few thousand dollars to many tens of thousands. Many also decorate their driveway.

Also, many, if not most, add things to the interior of their houses, including new paint, granite counters, built-in cabinetry, window treatments, new flooring, etc. Drive through any neighborhood that is up to four or five years old and you will almost certainly see a contactor's truck that is involved with some sort of interior upgrade/change.

There is the rub. There was a opinion issued by the IRS, there was bond counsel, there is error and omission insurance from the bound counsel. After a period of time the Opinion from IRS was changed. Now there are lawyers making a nice living of this case. It goes on and on and may not be solved in the near future, who knows?

Your biggest surprise expense when you buy a new home would probably be FLOORING. The carpets you get here will be threadbare by the second month. Footprints on the rugs will drive you crazy. So, expect to pay anywhere between $5,000 to $10,000 for new flooring.

Seller's Disclosure
 

I am well aware of a disclosure "form", as is anyone who has bought or sold property. However, there are "Disclosure Laws" as to what must be disclosed. I did google this before I posed the question to you. I could not find anywhere in the "Disclosure Laws" that the IRS bond investigation would apply. If you find a law, please post it. Otherwise, it is not a "Disclosure" and therefore speculation. In fact, if it were a disclosure, and not disclosed there would be a lot of lawsuits.

I think your original question has been hijacked ........... so, if I may put my 2 cents in:

There are certain expenditures in Florida that you cannot live without, make sure they are covered in your rainey day account:

Air Conditioning and Water Heater ---- both of these have give or take a 10 year life span, and you cannot live without either - expensive to replace.

Most everything else you can work around, but you do need air and hot water. ALSO - Health Care. If you are on medicare this will not be a huge problem, if you are not yet old enough to be on medicare - ouch!

I, obviously, cannot speak for anyone else, but to us retiring and voluntarily giving up two good incomes was very frightening and we went back and forth about it for several months before biting the bullet and doing it. We made numerous lists of pros and cons and spoke to as many retirees as we could and came to the conclusion to jump in and enjoy the rest of our life - we did and we do.

Please stay on topic.... unexpected expenses ... and please do not direct comments at other members.

We did exactly the same thing.


And...as for the other issues on this thread, it makes me so glad we chose both times to deal with a developers agent to sell us a house. Thank you Jim McLaughlin.

Jim,you are an honest and decent man, even if you don't have to work TOO hard for a living. (JUST TEASIN') Jim has ended up being our trusted friend. He is old enough to live here and does live here in his SIXTH home with his equally wonderful wife, Patti.

I kinda like the no pressure sales agents to deal with rather than the more intense realtors that we have dealt with in the past in home buying

People who move here are not novices in home buying. We are probably the most collectively savvy bunch of home buyers because of our age and experience.

Some information for the OP.

You can live here very comfortably and happily without upgrading your landscaping, getting your driveway and garage floor done, having downspouts added to the sides and rear of your home, without adding a water conditioner, a home security system, or a pool.

I think you can trust the information given to you by The Villages about the cost of living. But YOU know YOU best and your own spending habits. We all change somewhat when we retire. Every single one of us wants to outlive our money.

Welcome home. It's pretty much all good.

gas seems pretty cheap to us, we just got back from San Francisco.....$3.97 at the cheapest and $4.69 at the highest.