This is a good thread with lots of info. Having two places is very doable. We purchased in the Villages in 2021 and also have a condo/apartment in northern Illinois. The main challenge for us has been outdoor maintenance in the Villages. We have a reliable grass cutter. Lawn care fertilizing, insecticide application, etc is thru a local firm - Massey. However, we have been unable to find anyone to do more mundane jobs - like weeding the landscape beds and trimming bushes ( and boy, do they grow in the summer).

Our home came with an Ecobee wifi thermostat. Ecobee also offers cameras and other security devices. We have used their cameras and can control everything thru our cell phone. We also use Community Watch when we are away. It is a service offered by Villages where someone does a "walk-around" on the outside of your home 3 times a week to look for any damage or disturbance. Costs $5 per week.

We might add wifi control to our irrigation system but have not done so yet.

There are lots of options for mail, but you will need to plan your mail forwarding and holding carefully. One of the best suggestions above is to do as much of the important stuff as you can on-line, so that any mail delays or problems do not cause serious issues. Our mail now is almost entirely junk.

The point of having only a Villages home was mentioned above. We have decided to keep our condo in Illinois for a number of reasons: (1) we have lived there for years, we are in a very nice town, and it feels like "home"; (2) two of our children live near there; (3) our long-time family medical professionals are in that area: (4) in northern Illinois we have easy access and lots of choices to some of the very best specialty medical care when needed (and the likelihood is that you will need it sooner or later) -- we have come to believe that there are very few places in or near the Villages where we can get any comparable medical care (this is simply our opinion, others believe differently); (5) we like the change of scenery from time-to-time, and when we are in the Villages it feels like vacation (You will love it); (6) it is easy to leave our condo when we come to the Villages - lock the door and drive away.

Good luck. I am sure all will be good, and you will love the time you spend in the Villages.

Vacant home insurance
 

Watch out for vacant home insurance! We even had nearby family (within 10 miles) and they made us purchase it when we were here in FL. The cost was triple the normal insurance rates!:boom:

Why do you cover the toilet bowl with plastic wrap?

If you get Xfinity entertainment they have a convenience plan when your away only pay for wifi. If you go Xfinity Internet its much less expensive than the Entertainment package $80 a month, When you go streaming you can take your entertainment with you. I bought ROKU that gives you quite a bit of channels & entertainment and added Sling. Both can travel to any places you go and you pay once. as long as you have hi speed internet.

The plastic wrap keeps the water from evaporating and keeps critters out. I also put a cup of bleach in the water. I clean all of my drains - hot water, baking soda, hot vinegar and rinse with hot water — be sure the traps have water in them before we leave and plug all of them. Bugs and I understand frogs can come up through the drain pipes.

We were told when you leave for extended periods the bugs can come up thru the sewer and exit through the toilet........not sure but that is what we were told

Insulate windows
 

If you have a patio villa with the bedroom windows facing east, install 1 inch insulation boards with aluminum side facing out. No one will see them to know and they really reflect the heat. I do the guest bedroom about a week before I go and I can feel the difference in temps between the two.

Everyone does different things. We have added zero technology to the house and do not use anyone to check on the house. When leaving for the summer shut off water, shut off water heater, bring most things in from the yard (we leave the grill, griddle, fire pit and water fountain outside), bring hoses in, disconnect battles in the golf carts, add stabilizer to the gas, shut off the garage door opener, flip breakers for oven and microwave, unplug tv’s, cover toilets with plastic wrap, close all sink drains, set thermostat to 80 with heat set at 50 and humidity around 55%, we leave the fridge on and get rid of most food, sprinklers are set for 2 days a week as allowed by the Villages, we just cut the cord so we just have internet and that goes on vacation mode.

If we are leaving in the winter for a month or so the list is much shorter. Water, water heater and garage door are shut off, thermostat set at 80 and toilet and drains covered.

Have had good luck with doing this. We do have our landscaper and bug terminator come year round.

I think that covers what we do, good luck.

Honeywell make an excellent thermostat that you can control from anywhere. We also use B-Hyve irrigation controller that can be used from anywhere. Also recommend Simply Safe Alarm system. The best deal on internet is Cyberlink for about $30 month. You will need to keep your internet running year round. Just turn off your water and go!

I can’t tell you what the rules are now but when we lived there we owned a home in Ohio & there & found out in a hurry that we couldn’t use TV home as a rental when we went back to Ohio. TV home I would say treat it as if you always lived there. Because you’ll still have to pay utilities & keep yard mowed & most of all pay amenities!

Advise given to me from a plumber
 

I'll pass along some advice a plumber gave to me: I mentioned that I was going to turn my gas hot water heater off while I was away, since it made no sense to me to pay to heat water I wasn't using. The plumber advised against this. He said its better to turn the hot water heater DOWN, than to turn it off completely. He said that if you turn your hot water heater totally off, all kinds of scum starts to grow in your tank. He said it was better to keep it running at a low setting. And look to see if your hot water heater has a vacation mode. Hope this helps.

I’ve had a lot of homes in Florida and I don’t do anything when I leave except lock the door , sometimes I even forget that because I never lock it when I’m here . I have a friend who comes by maybe once a week maybe less and she picks up my mail at box all my bills are paid automatically including credit cards where full amount is taken , I put the thermostat on 80 and actually my bill is higher when I’m not here because I never sleep with AC on at night and usually shut it down once it’s dark and it only runs at 80 during the day .I realize this is the way of the grasshopper but I’ve never had a bug in the place or any other problem ,if something did happen we’ll help is only a call away , no worry ,

There is a curve in the drain called a trap that holds water to block any sewer gasses and smell. If that water evaporates the sewer gasses will not be blocked and will enter the house.

Does it affect connections in terms of accessing or losing a connection because the speeds on vacation mode are slower?

Interesting thread, and great responses. Very concise and helpful. A few follow up questions:

1. BobGoble2 and PackerFan, do you (or anyone else) have strong recommendations for a water leak detector or system?

2. PackerFan, where exactly are you pouring this cup of bleach?

3. Msilagy, What is Marsil?

4. I have USPS Advanced Notice, they email every day. However, I find them lacking. I was considering something like this, seemed reasonably priced and thorough: Affordable Virtual Mailbox | Traveling Mailbox