[Medtrans]

We have been to TV 3 times now, having just returned from our lifestyle preview. We looked at homes as TV is our retirement destination in 1-year and 167 days, but who's counting, and of course we found "the house". It had everything on our wish list, and more, except 2 things. No 3-car and it backed up to other lanai's. There was more space between them than others we have seen and wonderful landscaping but still..my question is what is the general opinion or experience with a home like this. I have read many downsides to this and it has always been a concern and yet when you see "the house" you are willing to consider this. Now we are back to -1 here in Chicago and are questioning whether carrying costs might be worth it for the 18 or so months. Looking forward to your replies.

[JB in TV]

Are you saving it didn't have a golf car garage, or a 3 car garage? Big difference.

[l2ridehd]

It seems every home in The Villages has some compromise that you accept. I have yet to find any that are perfect at a price I would pay. Make a list of everything you want, try to select the absolutely must have, the very nice to have and those that you can live without. A three car garage is really nice, but could you get by with a two car oversize? Are you willing to pay for that back yard privacy you want? Golf course and view lots are a huge premium. Once you have the list and the must haves, compare it to that house.

[784caroline]

Just remember the house you can change (if you have some room), the location, lot or restrictions you cannot.

From talking to others the 2 biggest reasons for people wanting to move are 1) no golf cart garage, and 2) kissing lanais or lack of some privacy.

If either of these are high on your list (and you can afford it)..you may want to keep looking until you find it!

[misky]

Originally Posted by Medtrans

We have been to TV 3 times now, having just returned from our lifestyle preview. We looked at homes as TV is our retirement destination in 1-year and 167 days, but who's counting, and of course we found "the house". It had everything on our wish list, and more, except 2 things. No 3-car and it backed up to other lanai's. There was more space between them than others we have seen and wonderful landscaping but still..my question is what is the general opinion or experience with a home like this. I have read many downsides to this and it has always been a concern and yet when you see "the house" you are willing to consider this. Now we are back to -1 here in Chicago and are questioning whether carrying costs might be worth it for the 18 or so months. Looking forward to your replies.

One of my criteria when I bought was no kissing lanai's. Been here two years and I mafe the right decision. It might take some effort to find one, but for me it was worth it. As far as carring costs, I assume you mean buying now and renting until you get here. I rented mine unfurnished for a year. There is a market for unfurnished long term rentals.

[Medtrans]

It had a 2-car garage but that we can compromise on. It was the lanai issue. The lanai behind the house was further back than most and had extensive landscaping. We will not find a house with everything else it had for this price next year. We would not be renting it unless we did an unfurnished long-term. I guess we have to think about our carrying costs versus how much more we would pay for this house next year. Thanks for your thoughts. I'm still picturing me on the golf course as I had one of my best rounds ever at Evans Prairie last week.

[OBXNana]

We settled on 2/12/14. We had our personal wish list. With only spec homes being built, having ruled out the existing homes currently on the market, we had to trim our list considerably for the house in order to get the privacy we wanted with the lot.

The decision was difficult and our theory was in time we could change some of the things we would have liked to have in the house, but we couldn't change the location without moving.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Medtrans

It had a 2-car garage but that we can compromise on. It was the lanai issue. The lanai behind the house was further back than most and had extensive landscaping. We will not find a house with everything else it had for this price next year.

I think your "gut" is telling you that a kissing lanai is not for you.
Location is the most important consideration when purchasing a home.
Just one tiny little opinion.

[JB in TV]

We narrowed our choices to only homes with a golf car garage. It came down to a Begonia, or a Gardenia. Both virtually the same house, except the Gardenia has an "outside" Golf car garage, meaning it allows a nice big window on the front of the house in the breakast nook, an area that is taken up by the "inside" Golf Car garage on the Begonia. Then we were down to two choices: a Begonia with Granite counters and a Gardenia with Formica counters. Realizing we could change the counters, but not relocate the golf car garage, we went with the Gardenia. We changed the counters to granite an are very happy.

[SALYBOW]

We bought a home wit an extended lania. It is 35 ft from our backyard neighbors lania, but directly behind id. They landscaped, we landscaped andd we hardly notice them. The funny thing is we can still holler back and forth from each other. I
guess if it was much closer, it might be a problem.

[Medtrans]

Scaly bow...the house I speak of is in Buttonwood so perhaps it could be me you shout out at through the lanai!

[Waverunner]

We too are a few years away from retirement. During a visit, we looked at new and pre-owned homes in a specific price range and didn’t find any that appealed to us. We then saw a furnished model on a golf course that was magnificent, but way over the price threshold we had set for ourselves. We spent that evening figuring out that we didn’t want to settle for a lack of privacy, wanted the larger garage, The Villages would probably be built out at the time we retired, (perhaps only fewer pre-owned choices), and that we could afford to go higher to get the home we wanted now. We upped the price range and the next day, saw quite a few homes that fit the bill (knowing we could always go back to the furnished model at the end of the day). We found a new home that day, with a great lot and location with the features we wanted. We decided to buy it. We determined that we could actually make more money buying now and renting the house than we could get from current interest rates. (Plus historically, there has been a steady increase in home values in TV. Our thoughts were that maybe we wouldn’t be able to afford this home if we waited to buy it in the future.)

Our TV Sales Rep was invaluable and helped guide us through. On the day we decided to buy, he took about 80 photos of the house, inside and out, which he gave us to use in our rental ad. He introduced us to a great TV rental listing site, and he recommended that we list with them immediately (pre-settlement). We took this very sound advice and rented the unfurnished property ourselves within a week of posting the ad and three weeks before we went to settlement. We also got window measurements. We live out of state and in the three weeks leading up to settlement, we arranged for a washer/dryer installation, ordered custom window blinds, selected lawn and other service providers and arranged to epoxy the new garage floor. A little hectic, lots of decisions, but great recommendations and guidance. We had settlement, the installations were done and the new tenants took occupancy five days later.

We have a great home to look forward to, have peace of mind knowing where we will retire and can spend our interim time planning and focused on the goal of getting to TV. We can’t wait!

[Waverunner]

We too are a few years away from retirement. During a visit, we looked at new and pre-owned homes in a specific price range and didn’t find any that appealed to us. We then saw a furnished model on a golf course that was magnificent, but way over the price threshold we had set for ourselves. We spent that evening figuring out that we didn’t want to settle for a lack of privacy, wanted the larger garage, The Villages would probably be built out at the time we retired, (perhaps only fewer pre-owned choices), and that we could afford to go higher to get the home we wanted now. We upped the price range and the next day, saw quite a few homes that fit the bill (knowing we could always go back to the furnished model at the end of the day). We found a new home that day, with a great lot and location with the features we wanted. We decided to buy it. We determined that we could actually make more money buying now and renting the house than we could get from current interest rates. (Plus historically, there has been a steady increase in home values in TV. Our thoughts were that maybe we wouldn’t be able to afford this home if we waited to buy it in the future.)

Our TV Sales Rep was invaluable and helped guide us through. On the day we decided to buy, he took about 80 photos of the house, inside and out, which he gave us to use in our rental ad. He introduced us to a great TV rental listing site, and he recommended that we list with them immediately (pre-settlement). We took this very sound advice and rented the unfurnished property ourselves within a week of posting the ad and three weeks before we went to settlement. We also got window measurements. We live out of state and in the three weeks leading up to settlement, we arranged for a washer/dryer installation, ordered custom window blinds, selected lawn and other service providers and arranged to epoxy the new garage floor. A little hectic, lots of decisions, but great recommendations and guidance. We had settlement, the installations were done and the new tenants took occupancy five days later.

We have a great home to look forward to, have peace of mind knowing where we will retire and can spend our interim time planning and focused on the goal of getting to TV. We can’t wait!

[LeeM]

Thats great Waverunner...sounds like it all worked out beautifully for you!

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

It seems every home in The Villages has some compromise that you accept. I have yet to find any that are perfect at a price I would pay. Make a list of everything you want, try to select the absolutely must have, the very nice to have and those that you can live without. A three car garage is really nice, but could you get by with a two car oversize? Are you willing to pay for that back yard privacy you want? Golf course and view lots are a huge premium. Once you have the list and the must haves, compare it to that house.

Totally agree. Back when you build your house and choose all the options you wanted, would have been the perfect time to buy. Unfortunately, even if you buy a new home, it will come built without your input.

I don't think there is such a thing as getting everything you want. You have to decorate to your taste anyway. Ask yourself, "what is a deal breaker"?

Just like life, is a compromise, you have to do what is right for you!!

Decisions, decisions, and more decisions.