[ToniR]

We just did the same thing, bought a turnkey house that closes next week. We can't get down there until September because of my husband's job, but after that we do plan to rent out seasonally.

I can tell you that I talked to pretty much every property management company I could find. They all want a lot of money and when I did the math on renting seasonally and paying what they want, it was just a lot of money and we were not even going to break even.

So I decided to just get a property manager and do the renting myself. I found a great property manager, Mike and Molly, and I have high hopes of being able to rent over the winter.

I know people have talked about Hometown Properties and they were very nice, but they want 20%, plus you have to pay the rental tax and the cleaning fee, they don't pass it along to the renters like some of the others do, plus they're very specific about what you're allowed to have and what you must have on your property. I wasn't willing to pay the extra money for all that stuff. But hopefully you'll find a way that works for you. Good luck!

[TMHwestford]

Originally Posted by celticsj

Hello, my wife and I are closing on a house in July. We are both teachers and have signed teaching contracts for this upcoming year, so we cannot move to TV until next summer. We hope to rent out our property until we can move here permanently and need help doing this. Is it better to hire a property management company or list it ourselves and then hire services to clean and take care of lawn care for us? Any suggestions or recommendations are greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

We had a great experience renting our new CYV seasonally between 2016 and 2020. We chose to only rent in season and we collected the rent upfront, we also only rented for five or six months term to one tenant. We felt doing it this way reduced our risk of getting bad tenants. We used Villages Homes 4 Rent. We do have family in TV which helped with getting the renter into the house and managing some of the small issues that came up but I don't remember there being a lot of issues for our family to deal with.
We had a mortgage at the time so we we didn't make money but it took the edge off the cost of owning the house and renting in season only allowed us to visit for a few weeks during the summer.
The rental market was very good during these years but I haven't kept up with it since we retired so I don't know if it's more competitive now. One thing we did that gave us an edge was to allow a small dog, we had one ourselves, we could charge a little more and there were fewer rentals taking pets at the time.
I say if you feel you can rent it go for it, you'll figure it out. It may be a good time to buy right now, maybe??? Good luck.

[goneil2024]

Being a landlord has its own set of risks and rewards. Unless you are experienced landlords be sure to hire folks that are and have appropriate legal, finance and risk management/insurance professionals review your documents and plan. A plan may seem like a great idea until something goes wrong, someone is injured or your tenants decide not to move out when agreed.

This is my opinion not advice.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by goneil2024

Being a landlord has its own set of risks and rewards. Unless you are experienced landlords be sure to hire folks that are and have appropriate legal, finance and risk management/insurance professionals review your documents and plan. A plan may seem like a great idea until something goes wrong, someone is injured or your tenants decide not to move out when agreed.

This is my opinion not advice.

I agree. You cannot just buy a house, turn it over to a management company, leave the state, and expect to make money. You must be involved.

[dougjb]

If you are considering a management company, I would avoid Down Home like the plague.

When I turned my property over to them to rent, they did a very unsatisfactory screen of my potential tenants. Then they rented it for less than I authorized them to rent it for...without consulting me first. Then, I had some issues with a new house needing its one year warranty checkup. They failed to follow through and properly submit my punchout list which left me with no recourse. Then when I saw the irrigation use being very high, I tried contacting them to send someone to adust the sprinklers. Not only did they not do that, but they failed to even return my phone calls, emails, etc.

While very nice when you first deal with them, please do not expect the people at Down Home to be at all responsive or professional. They cost me a boat load of money. The only thing they were good at was taking their fee from the rent payments. I would suggest to anyone seeking a management company that Down Home is one to skip from consideration.

When I went through renting the property myself, I found that, by careful screening, you can wind up with close to perfect tenants who pay rent on time and take care of the property (without paying exorbitant management fees).

Good luck in your endeavor!

[Nell57]

Wow….apologies for all the negative comments.
Hope the few positive ones give you enough information to help you out.
Sometimes TOTV has some grumpy keyboard warriors who like to rain on everyone’s parade.
You’ll meet MANY happy people once you make this your new home.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Renting finance:

100% rental in an LLC:

There are two definitions for success:
1) Cash flow positive, after all expenses.
2) Net income after tax positive.

Nbr 2 is impossible in TV until depreciation is low, and rental inflation occurs.
Nbr 1 is gold and the goal. . and can be done.

The key is 20% the rate and 80% high occupancy. .

otherwise, just expect to pay your property taxes and some utilities with the rent.

[jarodrig]

Don’t forget that you’ll most likely need to pay taxes to Florida for renting your property. Here is a cut/paste from ChatGPT for your consideration.
Renting out a home in Florida as a landlord has several tax implications at both the federal and state (and local) levels. Here’s a breakdown of what landlords in Florida should be aware of:

⸻

������ 1. Federal Tax Implications (IRS)

Since Florida does not have a state income tax, the federal tax rules will be your primary concern:

✅ Rental Income is Taxable
• All rental income received must be reported on your federal income tax return.
• This includes rent payments, security deposits (if not returned), lease cancellation fees, and any services provided in lieu of rent.

✅ Deductions You Can Take

You can deduct certain expenses related to the rental property, including:
• Mortgage interest
• Property taxes
• Operating expenses (repairs, maintenance, utilities if paid by landlord)
• Depreciation on the property structure (not land)
• Insurance premiums
• Management fees (if you use a property manager)
• HOA dues
• Legal and accounting fees

✅ Depreciation
• You can depreciate the property over 27.5 years (residential real estate).
• This is a significant tax benefit, reducing your taxable rental income each year.

❌ Passive Activity Rules
• Rental real estate is considered a passive activity, so losses may be limited unless:
• You are a real estate professional, or
• You actively participate and meet income thresholds (up to $25,000 in losses may be deductible if your modified adjusted gross income is under $100,000).

⸻

������ 2. State & Local Tax in Florida

✅ No State Income Tax
• Florida does not tax individual income, so rental income is not taxed at the state level.

❗ Sales and Use Tax on Short-Term Rentals
• If you’re renting the property for periods of less than 6 months (e.g., vacation rentals or Airbnbs), you may be required to:
• Collect and remit state sales tax (6%)
• Pay county tourist development taxes (varies by county, usually 1–5%)
• Register with the Florida Department of Revenue and possibly your local tax collector

✅ Property Taxes
• You’ll still be responsible for annual property taxes to the county.
• Homestead exemption typically doesn’t apply to rental properties (non-primary residences).

⸻

������ 3. Recordkeeping & Filing
• Use Schedule E (Form 1040) to report income and expenses.
• Maintain clear records of income, receipts, contracts, and any capital improvements for depreciation tracking.

[merrymini]

I had been a landlord for over 30 years before coming to the Villages. I have had highs and lows. Cannot be bothered with that ever again but good luck to you. With all the properties being utilized that way, I am surprised that so many houses find tenants.

[Twimom]

Originally Posted by celticsj

Hello, my wife and I are closing on a house in July. We are both teachers and have signed teaching contracts for this upcoming year, so we cannot move to TV until next summer. We hope to rent out our property until we can move here permanently and need help doing this. Is it better to hire a property management company or list it ourselves and then hire services to clean and take care of lawn care for us? Any suggestions or recommendations are greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

We just built a new home in February and used Rent From A Villager to do a long term unfurnished rental. We got a lovely couple who we now call friends who are also looking to build in the Villages. I also refuse to do short term rentals. We're from the northeast and get our lawn care done for us by Dean's. Tenant pays us for internet, electric and gas. We spent a week at closing on our new home and got to know our neighbors who have volunteered to keep an eye on our house. It's been a great experience so far. For us, we tried to get to know our renters as best we could prior to renting and of course did an experian background check.

[fflmaster]

Originally Posted by Twimom

We just built a new home in February and used Rent From A Villager to do a long term unfurnished rental. We got a lovely couple who we now call friends who are also looking to build in the Villages. I also refuse to do short term rentals. We're from the northeast and get our lawn care done for us by Dean's. Tenant pays us for internet, electric and gas. We spent a week at closing on our new home and got to know our neighbors who have volunteered to keep an eye on our house. It's been a great experience so far. For us, we tried to get to know our renters as best we could prior to renting and of course did an experian background check.

Did you purchase in full or have a mortgage? Also, is the rental plus internet and electric covering all your expenses?

My wife and I may be interested in purchasing now, but renting out for a few years until we can retire.

[Moderator]

Reminder:

Users are prohibited from directing comments toward another user.

Instead, please direct your comments to the relevant topic.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by fflmaster

Did you purchase in full or have a mortgage? Also, is the rental plus internet and electric covering all your expenses?

My wife and I may be interested in purchasing now, but renting out for a few years until we can retire.

Just a suggestion, but I would rethink the idea to purchase a house a few years before moving to The Villages. It will be a hassle to rent it out and you could even lose money in the end.

Do the math and don't forget the lost investment income, the higher insurance rate for rental property, the higher property tax because you cannot claim a homestead exemption, and the Federal income tax you will pay if you do show a profit and if the house increases in value.

[thelegges]

Have to ask those who are so Negative about buying prior to retirement, did you go this route and have financial failure?

We bought multiple homes in TV and rented long term, before we retired with none of the issues posters are saying not to buy/rent before retirement.

I would like to see Posters give there actual experience of gloom and doom from renting. Opinions are nice, but give zero value for OPs questions.

I know there are multiple posters who have given positive help on TV rentals. But rarely such negative comments.

[Marmaduke]

Originally Posted by Aces4

A one year tenant isn't that difficult and if the OP wants to make really good money without tying up the home for the year, rent it seasonally. You have to remember some people providing advice for your question don't like renters and will make doing so look extremely difficult.

There are many people with rental properties in TV's and I hope they respond shortly with some good insight for you.

Well, I can tell you that I have no interest in renting after watching the hassles that our neighbors are going through.

They have the Mgt company and barely get rentals, that's the first thing. Very nice houses and Location.

They found out the hard way that they can't afford both houses, an extremely costly rental mgt company and 1 day tenants. They are at their wits end.
I think it's the Management Companies, (who shall both remain Nameless!!) but,in both cases, we're right here and watching the house sit vacant.... for months and the owners bedding the revenue.

Not a position I'd want to be in while living far away.