[La lamy]

Highly recommend many months of renting before buying. Try out all the different activities in different locations, which square you prefer to go to, which shopping area you feel comfortable in. Even figuring out if you don't mind hearing pickleball playing if you are near a rec center, fumes from golf carts if you face a golf course etc...

[tedquick]

Originally Posted by Gulfcoast

I often hear people recommend renting in TV before buying. I'm curious to know who followed that advice (or wish that they did) and what they learned from renting first. Did renting change your mind about where you bought or what style home you wanted?

'''

My wife and I visited 5 or 6 times before we bought. Each visit was a week or two. We wanted to find out how we were going to live in our new world before we purchased. After we determined that we chose our area and then purchased a floor plan that we had decided on during our trips. Actually we bought our home over the internet because we knew the area, and the plan we wanted. We purchased about 7 years ago and love everything about our location, home and village. Best of luck to you.

[JerryLBell]

My wife and I visited on the recommendation of her cousin, who had come through to visit friends who had moved here. We were impressed but not yet ready to retire or buy. We stopped the following year on a vacation and were impressed all over again. We came a third year to do a direct comparison with a list of about a dozen retirement communities we'd researched online. On the drive home to North Carolina, we decided we were definitely going to buy in The Villages. We also decided we really liked a model of home we had toured. We got home, went through the list of houses of that model that were available, picked out one, contacted the realtor and bought it. We weren't able to retire yet so we owned the house for about a year and a half before we could actually retire and move here. We had definitely planned on at least doing the lifestyle visit and possibly renting a month or two before making such a move but we were so convinced by our visits and comparisons that we took a chance and bought without doing either.

Any regrets? Sure. We regret that we couldn't have retired a bit earlier and moved here when we bought. We also regret that we couldn't have retired even earlier and bought and moved here years ago. Retirement life here is the best job either of us have ever had.

[Chloe Girl]

We rented 4 or 5 times a month at a time before we bought. At 2 places we rented, the train woke us up at wee hours of the morning so we knew we didn't want to live in those areas. We finally ended up buying in the north end of The Villages not only because we found the style of house that we wanted but because we are a cart ride away from a care center, imaging center, grocery shopping and easy accessibility to 27/441. You really have to do your homework before purchasing. I've heard a lot of complaints about folks hearing too much road noise from the turnpike or too much noise from the prison. DUH!!!

[Rsenholzi]

I rented for a month for 4 years before I bought and moved down permanently. I rented in different areas- near Sumter and brownwood. When I was finally ready to buy , I told the real estate what model I was looking for and the area I wanted . When looking with her , she took me to the area and model but showed me other models . Didn’t like any until she showed me the model I bought. It had an even bigger kitchen as well as a bigger back yard. I had already decided I loved the privacy of the courtyard villas and only wanted one of those. Ultimately , I bought for the property as well as the kitchen. I was able to add on a larger lanai and put a birdcage over my patio. Renting helped me decided what was important to me- kitchen and backyard and that’s how I finally chose the house I have now. I will not have to move 3 times because of this strategy. My advice- make a list of what is important to you. Look at the models to find those and then rent it in different areas. Once you have done that , you will find your dream house

[nynic]

Moved from Maine 2012 after my husband passed. Had no intention of becoming a Floridian but as an 'old widow lady from Maine
w/2 cats' facing ME winters on our own was not an option. The Lifestyle experience sold me but had to have a preview of the FL summers via a rental. Rented July-August-Sept to see if I could cope w/ the heat. Nine years later we are true Floridians and have made a "climate adjustment"..... do all your running around stuff in the AM! That pretty much applies to June - Oct. RENT FIRST!!

Originally Posted by Gulfcoast

I often hear people recommend renting in TV before buying. I'm curious to know who followed that advice (or wish that they did) and what they learned from renting first. Did renting change your mind about where you bought or what style home you wanted?

We rented for a month in Chatham and learned the train blew its horn very loud. So then we made sure to look for homes out of hearing distance of the train. I imagine some RR fans would love it though.

[dkaufnelson]

Yes, great idea to rent before buying for all the above mentioned reasons. Northern sections more established landscaping, more trees [shade], closer to restaurants/shopping, older homes, low bonds if any. Between 466 and 466A more central to Villages amenities; new, southern areas more nature/trees, walking/biking trails, new homes, higher ceilings, higher bonds, often younger residents etc. Courtyards/patio villas have much lower bonds than designer homes of same size. Moving into an established neighborhood is harder to make friends as they don't usually still offer all the neighborhood parties, like new neighborhoods do. Don't buy bigger than you will need for 1-2 people, as most residents don't entertain in their homes and meet at Villages rec centers/restaurants/clubs for entertainment/socializing. Make sure garage size is what you'll need for accommodating cars, golf carts, work space, storage. Big yards require more upkeep, more landscaping and higher water bills. Courtyards much bigger now than many realize [ up to 1800 sq ft if you want ], many have 2 car garages down south and low maintenance makes them great for snowbirds. TV is a great place for those who like to stay very active with many physical/mental, fun activities for everyone, but probably not worth the increased costs to live here if you aren't the active lifestyle type of person. Many other retirement places are cheaper for those who prefer a quiet lifestyle and staying at home relaxing more. Just depends on the type of retirement lifestyle you want!

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by John41

We rented for a month in Chatham and learned the train blew its horn very loud. So then we made sure to look for homes out of hearing distance of the train. I imagine some RR fans would love it though.

Our previous house was in Calumet Grove and we could occasionally hear the train, mostly at night. I actually found it relaxing, as did my brother (who lives with us) and my sister (who lives elsewhere in TV). We think it is because we grew up in an area where we could sometimes hear a train off in the distance.

My husband hated it. I don't think the sound bothered him, per se. He just felt like he paid a lot of money for that house and he shouldn't have to hear noise.

One man's trash is another man's treasure, eh?

kathy

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by kathyspear

Our previous house was in Calumet Grove and we could occasionally hear the train, mostly at night. I actually found it relaxing, as did my brother (who lives with us) and my sister (who lives elsewhere in TV). We think it is because we grew up in an area where we could sometimes hear a train off in the distance.

My husband hated it. I don't think the sound bothered him, per se. He just felt like he paid a lot of money for that house and he shouldn't have to hear noise.

One man's trash is another man's treasure, eh?

kathy

For us would depend how loud the train was. In our previous home in Va the train was about a mile away and it was not that loud or often so no problem.

Now if trains came every 5 minutes or so might have had a different opinion

[Dgizzi]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Amazes me how many people move here and decide to move again and again.

Not exactly cheap to go from house to house.

I know right! Guess they have money to do that. I met a couple who have lived in the villages 5 yrs and this is their 3rd house. I met another couple who live by Brownwood. Their first house was 12 min from town. They moved and now 4 min from town! I moved from Ohio sept 2017 into a 55 and older place, didn’t like it or the town. Got lucky to sell after only 2 1/2 yrs. I ain’t moving no more...I hope..

[JSR22]

I highly recommend renting. We were positive we wanted the largest CYV because of our dogs. We rented a CYV while we were searching for homes. I discovered I felt claustrophobic. Every window looked out to a fence except a small window over the kitchen sink. We bought a large designer with room for a pool. We walk the dogs several times a day and it has worked out fine. The bonus my own pool.

[slpierce21@gmail.com]

Yes rent before buying...you want to make sure you buy in the right area...I love the Sumter area the best

[talleyjm]

Originally Posted by Gulfcoast

I often hear people recommend renting in TV before buying. I'm curious to know who followed that advice (or wish that they did) and what they learned from renting first. Did renting change your mind about where you bought or what style home you wanted?

We bought our Courtyard Villa sight unseen! Visited TV for a week and didn’t find a house we wanted to buy. Went back to Virginia and found one online in TV that we liked. Called our realtor and asked him to check it out for us. He gave us a thumbs-up and said seller was highly motivated - she offered to sell the house turnkey if we wanted for no additional cost. Leather sofas and beautiful high end furniture. We put a contract on the house and saw it for the first time at closing! Second home we have bought sight unseen. And ended up loving both purchases. I think we have good intuition and some luck on our side!

[Elkiehound]

I can understand renting for a month, however wouldn't it be better to research and put all that rental money towards upgrades?