[dizz42]

Just returned from our 2nd visit to TV and fell in love all over again. We rented for a week from a private owner and went to open houses, did drive-bys, etc. However, don't ya know, we found a house we love. Since I am the OP of a thread here called "Cold Feet", I have to say, this time, it was not cold feet but more like "cool heads". We came home and are now getting ready to list our home with hopes of a quick contract. The big question is, of course, "Will the TV house of our dreams still be available possibly months from now?" Any stories of the-one-that-got-away or if-its-meant-to-be-it-will-be? I have to say we are letting all of this up to The Man Upstairs.

[Army Guy]

It really depends. We were looking at CYVs, and the one we fell in love with, stayed open for 4 months till we bought it! It was even an "open House" during that period.
But I think our case is the exception more then the rule. I think pre-built inventory moves very quickly!!
I am just glad we lucked out and were able to get ours.

Army Guy

[l2ridehd]

I always take the "if it was meant to be" approach. There will always be another home you will fall in love with. Worst case is you rent for several months with your items in storage while you find it again. Look at the worst possible case, decide if you can live with that and then go forward. The other side of that same coin is to look at the worst case of how long it might take to sell your home, move, and then decide if buying your dream home now and owning two homes for that amount of time works.

Case 1 is the cost of rent and storage while you try to find another home you love.

Case 2 is owning two homes for a projected amount of time.

Depends on your budget, do you want to start the moving process while you sell, does renting work for you, storage an issue, can you take vacations to utilize the second home, the market where you live, and just how unique that home really was.

[NJblue]

In our case we fell in love with a particular lot ... not just because of the location but also the price was inexplicably low relative to its neighboring lots with comparable views and size (i.e., $50K less than the lot next door). We decided to buy it even though our house up north was not even on the market and not ready to be put on the market for several months. Of course we then ran into the perfect storm by finally putting the house up for sale the same week that the bottom fell out of the stock market and the economy in the autumn of '08. However, we did eventually sell our house and despite double house payments for about 7 months we still came out considerably ahead based on what we would have had to pay for any other comparable lot. (Our sales agent told us that 20 minutes after we locked in our lot someone else tried to buy it, so we would definitely had lost it.)

On the other side, if it were only an issue of location/house and not price, I think we could have waited and all would have turned out OK.

However, our neighbors (the ones who paid $50K more for their lot) also acted on the spur of the moment and bought in TV without first selling their house up north. For them things worked out perfectly and they were able to sell their house within a week so they could close on both houses within a few days of each other.

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by dizz42

Just returned from our 2nd visit to TV and fell in love all over again. We rented for a week from a private owner and went to open houses, did drive-bys, etc. However, don't ya know, we found a house we love. Since I am the OP of a thread here called "Cold Feet", I have to say, this time, it was not cold feet but more like "cool heads". We came home and are now getting ready to list our home with hopes of a quick contract. The big question is, of course, "Will the TV house of our dreams still be available possibly months from now?" Any stories of the-one-that-got-away or if-its-meant-to-be-it-will-be? I have to say we are letting all of this up to The Man Upstairs.

Absolutely and positively-do not- fret about that. So many people move here convinced they found the house of their dreams.... only to discover "something better" and sell, repurchase... ofter 2-3 times. The pace they are building homes and the many new homesites confirm you will always be able to find your dreamhouse here.

[Army Guy]

I agree with rshoffer that you should never buy by emotion or impulse. Matter of fact, it is funny now, but when our TV Rep showed us our "dream house" we told her no didn't like it. It was not till we got home and I started looking at locations, etc that we fell in love with and finally bought it.
So take your time, but remember location!

Army Guy

[dizz42]

Thank you all, for your encouragement and words of wisdom.

We are so forlorn when we talk about "that house". Here at home, we are doing all we can to get moving (literally!) but the draw of that particular house just keeps calling. We have crunched the numbers and having 2 houses would be OK for a while. After about 6 months, the scales are tipped between paying for 2 houses and selling our current home and renting while we look. In this market, we are just not sure how long it would take to get a contract. My mother used to always say, "When in doubt, don't" and that has carried me through lots of big decisions. There is no doubt that we love the house we found, just how to get it. As l2ridehd said, our mantra will continue - if it's meant to be, it will be. God willing, it will! But, oh, it's not fun!

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by dizz42

Thank you all, for your encouragement and words of wisdom.

We are so forlorn when we talk about "that house". Here at home, we are doing all we can to get moving (literally!) but the draw of that particular house just keeps calling. We have crunched the numbers and having 2 houses would be OK for a while. After about 6 months, the scales are tipped between paying for 2 houses and selling our current home and renting while we look. In this market, we are just not sure how long it would take to get a contract. My mother used to always say, "When in doubt, don't" and that has carried me through lots of big decisions. There is no doubt that we love the house we found, just how to get it. As l2ridehd said, our mantra will continue - if it's meant to be, it will be. God willing, it will! But, oh, it's not fun!

Rent for 3-6 mos.... you will never regret taking your time. getting a feel for The Villages, different locations, homesites, models, new, pre-owned is overwhelming.

[JohnN]

house of my dreams is the house I find at the right time, I don't fret it,

there are so many houses in TV, there is always another

keep a cool head

[Boomer]

Never love something that can't love you back.

Boomer

[JeanneBeannie]

Dizz!! You were here and you didnt let us know?!?!?!

I agree with all the folks above. I am also a believer in "if its meant to be, its meant to be". But I also know that is hard when you are so excited over a certain house. I lost out on a house I loved, but saw so many other beautiful homes that were just as nice. I am sure you will find your dream home!

Next time let me know when you are going to be here please!!

Jeanne

[dizz42]

Originally Posted by JeanneBeannie

Dizz!! You were here and you didnt let us know?!?!?!

I agree with all the folks above. I am also a believer in "if its meant to be, its meant to be". But I also know that is hard when you are so excited over a certain house. I lost out on a house I loved, but saw so many other beautiful homes that were just as nice. I am sure you will find your dream home!

Next time let me know when you are going to be here please!!

Jeanne

Hi, JeanneBeannie and you are so sweet! Also, big congratulations on living the dream! Hopefully, my husband and I will be TV'ers soon too.

This trip was very last minute as we got tickets to see the shuttle launch (it was awesome!). Staying in TV was so much fun and after launch day, we had the rest of the week to tour around. We shall see if the house I mentioned will end up being "thee one". We are definitely in a wait-and-see pattern but it is tough to stay positive. Thank you and all the other TOTV folks for your advice and encouragement. Next visit to TV, which I hope is soon, I'll give you a heads up.