I bought mine at 51.. We ran into some people when we were looking that were buying their second home and they were in their 40s.
We all plan to move their when we retire - just getting in now for various reasons - lock in the price, and let the renters help pay it off.

Not SNOBS, should be singular. Only one poster treated renters with that attitude and my dad always had good advice for me about arrogant braggarts.

is it possiable to find a rental for a thousand dollars a month around the villages {cat freindly} call814 7465545 Rich in PA

Furnishing our rental
 

Thanks to everyone who provided the helpful guidance on how to go about getting our rental furnished. I've got a friend who's agreed to help me tackle this, so we'll probably be heading down there shortly to get busy on it. My guess is once she's seen The Villages, she'll end up getting a place of her own! :clap2:

I assume you would have other roommates in addition to the 'freindly' cats.

I get that with increase building there would be an increase in rentals. But is the % of rentals on the increase? This rental condo has 88 units with 2 dogs..that go when they die!

Who is your property manager? Are you happy with them? We are thinking about renting but unsure of what to do.

Are you wanting to rent or renting out.

Only risky if you have poor financial planning

In addition to the monthly maintenance costs (electric, phone, internet, cable TV, yard work, pest control, water, amentity fee, taxes, insurance, etc., which go up yearly) of owning a rental house, don't forget that things wear out. Appliances (stoves, dishwashers, refrigerators, disposals, etc) have to be replaced, roofs have to be maintained, air conditioners and hot water heaters have to be replaced, interior and exterior painting every few years, there is wear and tear on the furnishings, which sometimes have to be replaced. There is not enough rental income in the high season to cover everything, so you can expect a negative cash flow. In addition to the monthly expenses, sale's tax is owed to the Florida State and County where you live. There is a huge fine if you do not pay it.

I would think that a high season rental would/could pay for basic costs. The villa we're considering to buy has the best view anywhere. BUT it is 14 years old and has the original roof, A/C, etc. Here on Islamorada this condo complex has HOA fees of over $600+ a MONTH! WHY? It is getting old!

My rental income for Jan-March paid the bills for the entire year. I typically rented out about 6 other months and that was gravy.

because it was part of the rental agreement you signed?

Greg Nelson, I would think renting a home could hurt rental values. It depends on the person that's renting. Are they clean, do they appreciate other peoples properties & investments, do they have pets they clean up after. We rented for 2 yrs. before we bought, & I gaurantee you it was cleaner when we left than when we rented it, but the person we rented from kept a very nice home. So to answer your question Greg, if you get good renters, it shouldn't hurt the value of the home. But then again every pre-owned home that's went up for sale that I've seen, the owners want just as much for a lived in home as a new one.

Senior Wisconsin, Rental prices have gone up from what we paid our first years by $1,000.00 each month for Jan. Feb. March. Now the rentals are getting too expensive. We can stay in a hotel and get free breakfast and maid service for less.