[2rts2tv]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

We moved into a rental and are seriously house hunting. I won't feel like we're frogs yet until we find our permanent place. But it's exciting to be here anyway!! :^)

Hunting for our new home is also exciting, but lots of work and sometimes frustrating. We're getting pretty good at searching and visiting and working with the TV folks (and the MLS folks too...but don't tell the TV folks...LOL!), but we'd still welcome any advice you'd like to send our way.

By the way...did I say it's exciting to be here!?! :^)

Polar Bear: Please keep us updated on all the details of your house hunting progress. I'm still learning a lot from everyone's experiences and it's helping us get a little more clarity on how we should proceed moving to TV! Good Luck in your house hunting!

[olgreeneyes]

I think I would start by narrowing it down to what model home you would like. On our LSV we were in a courtyard villa and loved it, especially since we have dogs. That meant we had to compromise on garage space, which we are ok with. We also knew we wanted mostly grass, not the large patios in the newer homes, so that meant resale.
Location would be the next thing to consider, do you want mature trees and landscaping? Want to be close to shopping?
Take your time, enjoy the hunting. Each home you look at will probably have something that you like, so just try to think of what's the most important to you.
Good luck and welcome.!

[kittygilchrist]

Welcome, Polar Bear! As a fellow dog owner, I looked at first at CYV's. It is a huge challenge if your pets have been used to a fence not to have one. I'm also on a street which when built out will have no easy access to public domain.
I know we are both committed to responsible dog owning, so perhaps walking your dog near the intended house would be a test to try.

After a year of shopping preowned, I was stunned by the most spectacular view I've seen in The Villages and bought the lot immediately..no regrets...even tho walking the dog when it's not too hot and not raining isn't easy.

[elizabeth52]

Congratulations! I am envious. We are in the final stages of preparing our home to put on the market so that we too can make the move. I have am very interested in hearing how your search continues and what you learn along the way, so please continue to post as you go through this
exciting experience. We also plan to come down and rent while we search for our perfect home. While doing my research, I am always looking at rentals and have found many rentals will not take a large dog, so I guess that is going to be another hurdle for us to cross. Good luck in your new adventure!

[Parker]

I'm not sure the 'perfect' home really exists. I know folks who, in their attempt to find it, built one from scratch, only to discover they wish they'd done this or that differently. Look for location first, then for the right 'feel'. You'll know it when you see it. Good luck and welcome!

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by 2rts2tv

Polar Bear: Please keep us updated on all the details of your house hunting progress. I'm still learning a lot from everyone's experiences and it's helping us get a little more clarity on how we should proceed moving to TV! Good Luck in your house hunting!

I also love hearing about other people's house hunting adventures in TV as those posts are a learning experience for me. Let us know how things are going for you Polar Bear.

[ssmith]

Oh so happy for you....we Wannabe's live Vicariously through others....so if you can share your adventures!!!!

CONGRATS!!!

[Polar Bear]

Well, the next big step has been taken. We have a contract on a house. What a journey. And it's not over yet...keep your fingers crossed for us. We actually made an offer on a different house earlier and lost the house to another "bidder". It's all turned out for the better so far though. We like the house that we have a contract on even better. So now it's all the paperwork, insurance, etc., etc. to get to the finish line.

It's funny, the house we're buying is one of the first ones we looked at. We liked it even then, but we had no idea how it compared to everything else that's out there, so for weeks we've been house-hunting literally from sunup to sundown...and often after that. After we went back and looked at it a second time, we saw a lot we had missed because we were such newbies the first time. And we didn't fully appreciate the location either until we'd been here for a while. It's great!

House hunting is fun and exciting, but at times very trying and tiring. We had no time at all just to live here and do all the things we plan to do. The day after we went to contract, all of a sudden it seemed like we were lost...nothing to do...in a good way of course!! We still don't feel like we're totally home yet so we can fully jump into all those things, but at least finally we can see the finish line.

Now we just have to wait on closing and deal with all the stuff that we should never have put into storage in the first place! But we'll manage.

Anyway, if you're going through the same things we have, just hang in there. Be patient and keep looking and working at it. It will pay off!

[gomoho]

So Polar Bear I'm sure we are all wondering what Village did you buy in and what model???

[Polar Bear]

A Bougenvillia (sp?) with Florida room in Mallory Square. We're very pleased. :^)

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

A Bougenvillia (sp?) with Florida room in Mallory Square. We're very pleased. :^)

Good for you. Excellent choices. We are all waiting until the ink dries to welcome you HOME.

[kittygilchrist]

welcome to TV!

[chief5686]

Could someone tell me why The Villages makes it so hard for a Disabled Vet to use there VA loan to buy a home there. We were told that we can not buy a new home with a VA loan because the builder will not deal with the VA due to how long it takes.
Put a bid on a per-owened home Sunday and even though our offer was better was told because we were using the VA for financing the seller took the lesser offer. Was also told that since the VA has the seller pay for certain closing cost when I do close on a home I will have to reimburse the seller with cash for these closing items.
Gee was wrong there? We can lose life and limbs for you but you dont want us to buy a home.
This was told to me by one of The Villagers Realtors.
Please help me get into the Villages with a VA loan?

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by chief5686

Could someone tell me why The Villages makes it so hard for a Disabled Vet to use there VA loan to buy a home there. We were told that we can not buy a new home with a VA loan because the builder will not deal with the VA due to how long it takes.
Put a bid on a per-owened home Sunday and even though our offer was better was told because we were using the VA for financing the seller took the lesser offer. Was also told that since the VA has the seller pay for certain closing cost when I do close on a home I will have to reimburse the seller with cash for these closing items.
Gee was wrong there? We can lose life and limbs for you but you dont want us to buy a home.
This was told to me by one of The Villagers Realtors.
Please help me get into the Villages with a VA loan?

You answered your own question. No one disrespects you or devalues you or doesn't applaud your service. It is simply business. You are dealing with individuals. You may have broader choices and better luck if you go with a conventional loan.

[Duvalboomer]

Originally Posted by Parker

I'm not sure the 'perfect' home really exists. I know folks who, in their attempt to find it, built one from scratch, only to discover they wish they'd done this or that differently. Look for location first, then for the right 'feel'. You'll know it when you see it. Good luck and welcome!

The "perfect" home does exist but the bad news is we bought it