[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

Can anyone offer up an expense (ballpark figure) on being a snowbird?

I know it Very's with property values etc., but we had my sister visit last week (just retired) and her daughter, (a doctor) from Wisconsin and the subject was talked about.

1st off what is a snowbird? Are they renters, part time owners, or friends or family moving into a Villagers home.

[Garywt]

We bought a villa and put 20% down and our mortgage covers principal, interest, taxes, insurance and bond, that cost is $1450 a month.

We then pay water, electric, amenities, lawn care and bug care which runs us $450 a month.

We get down to the Villages about 4 weeks a year. The eventual plan is 6 months in Florida but we can’t do that yet.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by toeser

It can be done on a lot less than you are spending.

there are a lot of variables,
yes, it can but also owning being vacant for 6-7 months requires
other expenses. . . its about remote ownership versus
on site ownership. .

which has savings on smaller items ie gas and water, and more other stuff as a remote owner:

home watch which means you need professional or some good neighbors which takes time to develop, people don't jump to take care of other people's houses.
yard service which with the number of houses and local services, hard to get reliable and costs are rising
insurance rates are going up at $1,000 year right now so insurance is a large variable

so to keep expectations realistic, ie, especially when I don't know the wealth level of the inquirer, and if they can easily afford this level, then they can think about it seriously.

i know lots of people jump at appealing spending numbers, and then get irritated when reality is different. . seen it over 30 years. . . being slightly conservative, higher estimates, results in better results to the inrequirer on expections of a large amount of spending