in 10 years we have moved 4 times already. 3 were brand new homes and one was a pre-owned. we are now in a brand new Patio Villa on the south side in Marsh Bend. they have done big improvements to the patio villas--made them bigger and give you a lot more for your money. also, we loved the gray tones in the kitchen/bathrooms rather than the normal brown tones which we have always had. in our other homes we never, ever used our lanai and this house was built without a lanai but i do have a separate garage for my golf cart and a separate garage for my car. and the best part of moving so many times is that we we always made a substantial profit on the homes we sold, otherwise we would have never moved.

We researched TV for 2 years that included two 7 day lifestyle visits where we visited over 50 pre-owned houses for sale.

One year into our research we knew we wanted to root in TV and began looking to purchase.

We started out with a mindset of....”one and done”.

It took us almost 2 years to find what works for us. We held out until the “perfect” house emerged and that paid off. We have zero desire for any other home because this place checks more boxes then we started with.

That said - when one of us dies the other may sell to scale down. But that would be the only reason.

WOW, glad you had better luck picking a wife, sales commissions are a lot less than alimony

We purchased a new CYV thinking it would be an ideal house long term for us. After about a year, we realized it wasn’t the best fit (primarily due to size - inside and back yard).

We found that we entertain more here than we ever have elsewhere. And we participate in more activities, which equates to more stuff. We also enjoy having a larger screened outdoor area, weather permitting, and our CYV couldn’t accommodate that.

We sold and purchased a larger house in a different village. Renting prior to purchasing might have helped with our initial choice, but only if we had rented long term (6 months or more), in the specific house model we were contemplating utilizing our own furniture, and in the specific village we were contemplating. That would have been challenging to do, and we would have still moved twice.

My advice is to consider the lifestyle you want, do as much research as you can, and pull the trigger. If you decide to make a change in a year or two (or five), you will likely not loose money when you sell. This is especially true if you are purchasing with cash (closing costs for a mortgage can add up fast). We sold and closed our CYV in under 90 days during Covid for near asking price. The cost to move within TV is pretty reasonable.

It probably set us back a few thousand to make the transition between the two houses factoring sales proceeds less cost to move, closing costs and commission to sell. Not to mention the pain associated with moving. But those costs helped us make a better final decision for our “new” long term home.

Not moved yet but keep looking
 

We like our house, and really like the neighbors. But the garage is small only room for a car and a cart and laundry. I would like 3 car so there is plenty of room for parking, and one with a work bench along the front. So we have kept an eye open for houses in the area, and nearly pulled the trigger on one, but my wife really did not want to go through the hassle of moving. Then when Covid hit and the pools were closed, we looked at houses with pools, even found one in our area. But it sold very quickly, and again we were thinking for too long.

We had only rented for three months before purchasing. And it takes longer than that for you to see all the various areas. So I could see someone purchasing and learning more, and deciding on a move. An example might be moving closer to a town square. Also, you might have purchased an existing home, and now they have opened up new construction, and you have always wanted to "build" and move into a brand new home, instead of renovating the one you live in now.

Also, if you get the Daily Sun you get a daily insert of homes for sale. And this gives you a lust for an upgrade. It is amazing the draw of those ads.

Realter influences, I know my moves
 

are not influenced by a Realter and I doubt many others are, my life was always about moving from one place in the world to the next , and sometimes.very, very fast according to how close the the potential new regime was to the capitol lol , I still move a lot not because the grass is greener (although it usually is) but because I like the change , just like at 81 I still enjoy alternating winters in Miami Beach Hawaii and Thailand maybe not this year
change is good and it cost me nothing to move, and puts a little money , sometimes a lot of money in my pocket

To go larger, smaller, neighbors, pool, views, less maintenance, etc. No more profits to be made here. Houses high so u may break even but moving is expensive too

The only stats TV keeps is how many houses you buy. We know a few people who own over 15 homes here, as rentals. I think the stats are made up by whoever you are speaking to. Plus does it really matter who moves where. Many here came from military and moved so many times they lost count. So couple moves here is normal, especially when one spouse is gone