[The Great Fumar]

The bottom is very close in the villages housing market as they are now selling about 200 a month .....
If you have found a house that you love then jump on it..Don't be placed in the position of having to say to people "IF YOU THINK THIS HOUSE IS NICE, YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE HOUSE WE COULD HAVE BOUGHT"....
Let me stress on you that " YOU DON'T WANT TO TRADE TIME FOR DOLLARS"""
You can't buy on contingency here so make a decision and go for it..... We did and will never be sorry..
fumar

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Hi, I found this an interesting topic.

I had set ideas of what I wanted if we decided to move here. After posting and asking opinions of others all my "must haves" went out the window.

We knew what we were not willing to give up in life for a home, this made the dollar amount we were willing to spend an easy decision.

I agree with everything that has been written here. Life is short, enjoy today as you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

The house we purchased was not my dream home, but we are making it our home and in the process are making it the perfect home for us.

I agree that the decision to buy a house is not an easy one, but it sounds like you know what you want, so as others have posted, go for it.

Lots of luck.

HB

[chelsea24]

First I would look at the listings online and low and behold I found our "perfect house". So we planned a quick trip to look at it and > of course it was sold when we got there. So our agent took us to other houses and right towards the end of the trip -- we found our "really" perfect house. But we really weren't ready to buy yet. Ours was still on the market and my hubby had to close up his practice. So we went home, stayed in touch with the realtor, and not very far down the road, low and behold > our "really" perfect house sold -- AGAIN! Both times I was heart broken. So we traveled here a few months later, now completely ready to buy and the first day I'm disappointed, hot, dizzy and just not well, thinking of the other two houses. The second day we go out and TA-DA we find our "really, really" perfect house! I wouldn't trade this one for both of the others together! The moral to this story is that there's always another "perfect house" in TV. I think they just keep getting better and better (and so do the incentives)! :bigthumbsup: :bigthumbsup: :bigthumbsup:

[JohnN]

I subscribe to the "can you sleep at night theory" posted above.

We'd love to get a Villages home now, but not just the cost, but the effort involved to keep another house that's not occupied is not appealing. We'll wait until we're "really close" to moving and then may keep 2 for awhile, but it'll be months and not years.
GOOD LUCK

[Boomer]

JohnN,

We seem to be in agreement about the process of decisions about money.

I can sometimes go on a bit when I get into these threads about financial decisions. I try to resist these threads. But I cannot. And sometimes I even start them.

But I always know that my own financial decisions credo really has only two sentences in it: What is the cost of sleep? & Never borrow money that you don't have.

But hey, that's me. And sometimes I can be pretty boring on the subject. But I don't claim to have never made mistakes with financial decisions. In the 90's, I danced a little while with the tech bubble. But I have had a longtime love affair with real estate.

If we buy in TV, it will be a second home and we don't want to rent it. All of the things you say about empty houses play into our decision, too.

We live and learn. And we are all so different in how we approach these things.

I can philosophize for a while longer because we are not quite ready in other ways to move to TV. Time will tell.

[JohnN]

BINGO, Boomer Beback, well said... I'll buy you a drink in TV one day.
I've got just enough $$$ for retirement by planning for years (if I don't live too long LOLOL) and I don't want to dip into it until necessary. Patience is not one of my virtures, but I try.

I can see where this is so tempting for many, and if you've got the cash and inclination, then go for it, but .. I'm too conservative I guess.

[Boomer]

JohnN,

I sometimes believe that there is a genetic component where money is concerned. I know where I got my wiring for this. Maybe we were another set of twins separated at birth, like Freckles and Freckles in the soap opera.

Even when I was really young, the people I worked with asked me questions about what to do about their mortgages. I wore the numbers off an old BAII calculator while showing them their options. And I did not work in real estate or banking.

[gfmucci]

Fumar...you're starting to look more and more like Elvis! :bigthumbsup: ;D (...in your previous avatar)

If we could stretch the closing out to 120 days (instead of 30 days) and the price a tinge lower, purchase now would be a "no brainer."* But, if "tinge" and 90 days are the only things keeping us from this house, hmmmm....

[gfmucci]

Alrighty, then. We did it!!! :hot: :beer2: The developer went and made the price "a tinge lower" with new rebates yesterday.

Here are some photos of why we liked this house a lot...

This one shows the house nearly completed in late December...


This photo was taken by John Stamper, our sales rep. earlier this week...


Back in December, I took this photo from the unfinished family room looking west, across the lake and golf course. We bought the sunsets!!


The view is so neat because the Florida room, lanai and deck are elevated 10 to 15 ' above the adjacent lots and road.

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Congratulations and to the neighborhood.

I think now that you have made this major decision, you will feel more relaxed.

HB

[Barefoot]

gfmucci

:#1: I can see why you picked this view! Gorgeous. I betcha this is one decision you'll never regret. Welcome to paradise. :bigthumbsup:

[beady]

Great view, you are going to love it. I can see you now drink in hand watching that sunset for many nights to come. It will be one of your best decisions.

[villages07]

Well done GF....you're gonna love it. Sometimes you gotta follow your heart.

Is that in Amelia?

[SteveFromNY]

Really nice place. Is that view across O'Dell Circle?

[redwitch]

I'd say that is money well spent! Welcome to TV!!!!