We are snowbirds & only here a few months of the year. I rent our villa out via a website, send contracts to renters & so far no issues. I only rent monthly or more & I get photo ID from then & a decent security deposit. Hope this helps.

Our entire life together we have owned 7 houses. We have always bought from thrift stores, estate sales, or garage sales, we never buy new as far as furniture goes or anything like that for our home. It is a waste of time and and furniture goes up over a 1000%. Always by I from a private owner or thrift stores et cetera.. It's just stupid to buy new , and I would say that about most anything. Except underwear maybe. L. Lol

Ohiobuckeye
 

As long as you’re renting it & not renting it out part of the yr. because you can’t live in it part of the yr. Renting gets a little confusing so I would suggest to go & ask a realtor or go to TV Head Office. I would let TV rent it because if there’s any damages TV will make sure it’s taken care of. I think if you want to live there as a resident or as a snow bird you’ll have to get a 2nd house! I don’t think you can stay in your rental house.

[That law applied only to Section 8 renters & other Federal Government subsidized rents.

.. unfurnished ... ??
 

..
Unfurnished will be a deal killer for the snowbird market ..

We have a home that we rent out long term, unfurnished. There is great demand. Our home has never been unoccupied, and when it becomes available we have many interested prospective tenants. We manage it ourselves, it is very doable. PM me and I’ll be happy to share more information.

We've used White Pelican Home Services for the last couple of years. Steve and his team have done an outstanding job managing our property. I highly recommend them.
Their ph# is (352) 388-3738.

Renting house
 

My husband and I rented a CYV for 3 months when we first arrived. The house was beyond dirty and required us to clean it before moving in. If you hire a house cleaner, do make sure you have someone checking their work periodically because they may not have cleaned well or not to your satisfaction. Suggest the same for mowing, fertilizing etc.
When we were moving to our new home, I mentioned the house cleaning issue to the owner and she was very upset and fired the service. Apparently, it was the first time she used this service. She had a neighbor washing linen and making beds up before the renter moved in. Again, there's a number of things that may go wrong or be incomplete for a new renter.
Prospective renters who come to the Villages expect a good return on their rental fee and the appearance of the property is paramount for repeat business.

Renting unfurnished
 

We were in the same boat. We used a local realtor and rented out our unfurnished home for over a year and had a great experience. The Realtor really helped.

Have had 3 rental properties since 2010, in TV. All unfurnished, long term one year. Most tenets stay for multiple years.
Average interest each year for potential tenants is over 20 per year. Managed ourself, sometimes long distance, with a reliable home watch.

Unfurnished long term, is very much in demand. No furniture to buy, tenets pay for their cable, electric, and gas.

Nope. With short term rentals you have them pay you upfront. It is normally 50% due 45 days after booking and the other 50% 30-45 days before they move in. All of my renters have been awesome too; I've never had an issue with a renter leaving on the agreed upon date.

Rentals - find dependent house cleaners
 

Hi - those of you who have rentals and do the renting yourself who is your cleaning service or how do you go about finding a cleaning service?
MF

Becoming a landlord is not for the faint of heart. Being a landlord several hundred or thousand miles away is even more challenging. Someone mentioned the facebook site Landlords of the Villages.. Perusing that site, you will find many questions from first time landlords.. Before you ink your new home contract, make sure you have clearly laid out your objectives and understand potential rent income, fixed and variable expenses..set asides for unplanned maintenance items (equivalent to an emergency fund)..not to mention an enforceable lease contract, who will be your local contact should (when) things go wrong etc.. It's clear that many on the FB site have bought first .. then start trying to figure the above .. and more .. out. Managing rental properties from property to tenant selection can be very rewarding or your worse nightmare.. Realize also, that your choice of a home that you are going to spend your golden years in may not be the prime property that potential tenants are looking for.. Best of luck to you

Include an ironclad clause regarding smoking.

Smoking is forbidden. That includes:

Interior of home
Exterior of home
Lanai
Garage
Personal vehicle on or off property

Attach a damage rider that's significant to cover a thorough professional cleaning.

Read through it, have a lawyer initial it, read it aloud to the renter, have them sign date and initial it.

Seriously, a smoker thinks that if they smoke off property, they dont carry that stench into YOUR home.

They do, and they will.

Absolutely not. Do not deal with this company. If you have any doubt just research Steve Stiffler