Furniture Costs & Home Tour Video - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ps-Aa9NixL20aKc.html

I am so done with all wasteful fees: condo fees, HOAs, etc. I want a small piece of property in a safe and clean neighborhood and no fees whatsoever. Those fees include someone else's salaries that tell me what to do or not with my life which are crazy.

Thanks so much for the video. It reminded me how glad I am I left Florida when I became a widow back in 2020. I now own a home that is my home on land that is my land. It makes me so happy. Thanks again.

All and all, I would never even consider moving here based on all the extra fees. thank you for posting all the fees and the report.

That’s why me and my husband retired in Arizona the homes here are practical prices and the weather is beautiful out here no humidity

By the time I’m retired I would rather own a mortgage free home with NO HOA fees and NO unreasonable HOA rules. Some of these HOA organizations have been known to foreclose on homeowners who fall behind in their HOA fees…despite being current on their mortgage payments!😱

This is crazy. I just decided to subscribe to your channel because you both are real and speaking forth truth. That being said, Truth speaks volumes. I'm 69 and just sold our beautiful subdivision home that had so much of the fees that you described. Bought several acres in the Appalachians and working at eliminating the grid. Got a beautiful modular home (paid cash for home and acreage) that is built to the same hud standards of your patio home. You guys are doing everything that my wife and I are escaping from. But, your entertaining and very real. I would never do what you have done in particular to the ongoing world and US events. Yet, i support your channel and look forward to how you both will continue to be monthly charged and how you will handle economically price increases. May God give you both wisdom and incredible knowledge of handling life's events. The Villages truly are a recreational place. Our motto is "Live simple, be free" Blessings, Wayne

Thanks for sharing. You may be shocked how high your electric bill will go in the summer if you keep it at 65 inside.

Tiiffany & Michael, you guys are awesome! My husband and I enjoy watching/listening to your videos. You provide great information, and we love your positive attitudes. Stay happy, stay true to you. God bless.

Great info. Thanks so much for breaking this down. Look forward to other similar videos in the future. 👍

Thanks for a very informative video, I appreciate the time you took to make this video.

Good to hear the recent cost comparison! Thank You!

Very helpful video! Your numbers are a bit higher than The Villages ballpark estimate but I suspect that would be the case with our numbers, too, if/when we bought there. You really broke things down nicely. Overall, I think you get a lot of bang for the buck living there.

Thank you for sharing this information. You both look so happy in your beautiful new home. ❤

This was incredibly informative! Thank you so much for your time and effort in putting this together!

The bottom line is always to do your own due diligence, no matter where you buy. At the Villages you are truly buying into a lifestyle. It sounds like a fun environment, thanks for keeping it real.

Great idea on the spreadsheet, looking forward to it!

Go solar, solar, solar, my husband and I put up solar panels on our new home and we have not had an electric bill for nine months

My wife and I moved to the Philippines over 10 years ago....I have to laugh and feel sorry for people living this kind of lifestyle. I grew up in middle Florida and sad to see how it has changed with these styles of developments. I am 70 years old now...don't regret it one bit. I owe nothing to anybody and live in a western style house, eat healthy and have a stress free life. Would not want to live anywhere else.

Thank you for such an informative video!

From my understanding, the irrigation is the city water measured on a separate meter. The irrigation water percolators into the ground instead of entering the collection system and being treated at a wastewater treatment plant.

Thank you for the information. Sounds great. Here in California our electricity bill is over 300 dollars and goes higher in the summer. The state government just proposed an additional fee on our electric bill based on your income. I can’t wait to move to The Villages.

Great videos. Thank you for documenting everything.. ( so I will not be surprised "negatively"). We have been spending our winter evening watching The Villages video & your has been the most beneficial. The last thing I want to do is fall short financially. We will do a lifestyle visit this summer. Thanks for all your time... Will

Hi guys, my wife and I moved in about the same time as you did. We are down in Lake Denham. I find that your numbers are about in line with what we have found to be accurate. Our gas and electric are comparative to yours but we have a slightly bigger home. When we moved in we figured the numbers were low so we adjusted them up about 35% and that is pretty close to what we are actually paying. Anyway, we love your channel, keep up the good work

Loved your video n subscribed, thank you!

Great information, I'm trying to do a spreadsheet myself to see if my husband and I can afford living there....I was budgeting much less than your bills and we are looking to purchase a new designer home, Yikes!! We may have to rethink our price point. I'm surprised your taxes were so high! Thanks for all the updates!

Thanks for the information it is very helpful

Get a smart irrigation controller that monitors weather and doesn't water when it rains. Not a big deal when you live FT here, but for those that don't would be very beneficial

Good info. Thank you!

Enjoy seeing the costs/ month. You two make it very easy to understand. Doing a video on taxes would be very helpful as I can’t wrap my head around the homestead exemption. Also, it will be nice to see all expenses added in your 3 or 6 month video as this will give us an idea what is spent per month. Thanks for doing these videos Michael and Tiffany, Jay and Karen St. Louis, MO

I would love more videos, especially the bond thing. I really appreciate your honesty.

Thank you for explaining the bond. I have seen and wonder how some home sales had bonds and others no bond. Thank you for the info.

Love the video. Very informative. First time watching your videos and just realized when you started talking about rv’s I watched those videos previously. Kept saying to myself these guys look so familiar. lol thanks

Thanks for sharing. I've been in the retirement planning mode (5 yrs out) and I've been watching some of your Villagers KZfaq mates (Jerry & Linda, Rusty Nelson, Gary Abbott, etc) and I believe they each have some recent vids with budget information. Great to see both the budget line item (always worried about missing something) as well as the actual costs. I've been building out my retirement plan in a spreadsheet as well. Not sure of your scope for your spreadsheet (basic monthly living expenses?) so mine might be way overkill as my plan is a year-by-year look incorporating inflation, potential IRMAA, Fed tax calculations, RMDs, etc. I'm happy to share if interested.

For those who think a bond lowers the selling price of a house in the Villages or anywhere else, you are mistaken. That is salesman talk. It sounds logical, but it doesn't work that way. Check out prices of other communities and you will see what I mean. I never considered buying in a CDD community. I did buy in a 55+ community close to the Villages. TV has a lot to offer for sure, but there are 151,000 people there now and growing. Think about that for a while.

Thanks for this! I would love to see one of these for July or August. I live in Texas and my electric bill is the highest in July and August and plummets from December through February, where it starts to increase again. Since it's never very cold for very long and December is warmer than January and February, my electric bill in July and August is usually 175-200% of what it is in December. I don't keep my home in the 60s, but I do find I still run the AC even in the winter just for some air flow because when there's no heat or AC on, the air just gets gross and stagnant. I would love to open all my windows up when it's colder outside, but winter in Texas is also cedar pollen season and I am miserable in the cedar pollen. I hope that in Florida, I wouldn't have any cedar pollen to worry about and could open some windows more often. OH! If you do not already have a dehumidifier, definitely get one. Oee reason I turn the AC on in the winter is to keep the humidity down inside. Running a dehumidifier helps a lot. Get a big one so you don't have to empty it as often.

My understanding on the ROOF issue is this. The Florida legislature passed a new law in 2023 about roof replacement. Insurance companies are no longer allowed to force you to replace your roof before 15 years old. If it is 15 years old you can have a licensed roofer come and inspect it. If they determine it can last another 5 years the insurance company cannot force you to replace it. However, I guess it is up to them then of what to charge you for insurance.

interesting information, my brother and his wife are moving down there when they retire and they’ve already purchased their property home etc. but they’re you know totally getting prepared before retirement which is coming up quickly. I hope they enjoy it down there.

Very helpful! Thank-you.

Yes, I can't believe they leave off the fact that we have 2 water bills, I'm in a designer house under1,600 sq ft, amenity, water, sewer & trash runs $330-335. Need to point out that you either pay off entirely or yearly on the bond, you can't make any extra payments on it because you have a little extra cash one year. I wish they included it in the price of the house so you could get credit for the interest on your taxes. Might need to include buying new furniture since a lot of us didn't bring our old stuff with us or they decide what looked good in Vermont doesn't cut it in Florida, and you need a golf cart because they are just plain fun to drive around! Other than that I think you guys did good - I went over the numbers a zillion times to make sure we could afford it, thankfully the new furniture will be paid off this summer. And eating out is a big thing here.

Thank you for all the great information. We will not be moving to the Villages for a while, have to finish teaching but would love to meet you and looking forward to more videos and living in the Villages together in the future. Suzanne and Bobby Clark

Good information! Thanks 😊

Really love the cost breakdown that’s some great info, thanks

Awesome video! Please do a separate video on the Bond...So confusing and we are interested in moving down at some point. Thanks!

Good info, thanks! I'm about to find out for myself, we just put a deposit on a Veranda in Dabney and will close on Feb 5th. Really looking forward to getting there, it's been a long time coming.

Thank you for sharing the cost info.

Thanks for the info. ❤ You will find there are fees for almost everything you do in the villages. Golfing, clubs, trail fees, etc. You will have access to all of these, but everything isn’t free as some folks might think. Some clubs are restricted to a waiting list and do not take new members until openings occur. 8:21

Thank you so much for the 411 on the Villages! i will subscribe to see how life in "The Crucible" proceeds. Construction question: is there any wood framing in the new home you purchased? i've battled Asian Flying Termites for over 20 years in SoFlo and never again will i purchase a home in Florida in which wood is used in the construction of the home.

well done folks, thank you, my wife and I have considered a move there for about a year now. This has been more informative than most. Much appreciated, best of luck to you

Thanks for the information about the monthly charges, I am trying to figure out if I will be able to retire this year, I Love your videos

Your videos so far have been awesome! This one is super helpful and exactly what we are trying to learn about TV! Thanks for taking the time to give us this info! Feel free to do another video asap we are learning a lot from your channel!

This is so interesting. I compared our Michigan costs to the same Villages sheet and it came out about a wash! Bur now my eyes are a wide open and my mind as well! I will be looking forward to your six month comparison. Thanks guys!

You both look like you are really enjoying your "lifestyle." I could live there or someplace similar but my husband couldn't. I decided to duplicate the lifestyle as much as possible and found you can do it even in a rural town. I joined our small town recreational facility. It's less than $200 a year and offers about every kind of exercise you'd want. We joined a fraternal organization for social opportunities. That cost $26 a year. Between that and our church we have something to do everyday if we choose. We do have to do our own yard work which I'm sick of but with all the money we've saved living in our paid off house on 3 acres, we could hire a lawn service. The villages appeals to me because of the convenience but like I stated earlier, my husband would hate it. I think it is wise to have the conversation of what you want in retirement and then compromise so both are happy. My husband doesn't need the social stuff but I do so we stay in our home and drive to our activities.

This was SO helpful for my mom!

Great video - thanks!

I have a great friend from Michigan who moved there a few years ago & loves it! We retired to a Pulte 55+ and love it too!

Thanks for the info!

You will probably reach a compromise on AC setting, takes a bit to get used to the warmer/more humid climate. It's been awhile for us but we now set central AC @ mid/high seventies, higher when we 're going to leave home for awhile. Ceiling or box fans are a huge help as well.

great presentation..thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing, are you certain your stated tax amount didn't include the yearly Bond & maintenance?

Thank you thank you thank you, this video is perfect!

Good information to have

FWIW....we live in a 1578 sq ft home in NC (central). Some of the things we cannot compare as we don't pay for: Amenities, Bond, Sewer (Septic), Water (Well) and Gas (total electric). But we pay $15/month for trash (once per week), $115 electric (budget amount based on usage), $125 for insurance and $140 for property taxes. I don't think your costs or even the costs the villages mentioned are bad at all. I was expecting much more to be honest. And the value of our home is about $100k more than the estimated sale price. And you are right about insurance. Our cars, rv.s and house insurance has increased significantly over the last couple of years.

Very good video, thank you for all the great information as I am considering moving into the area in two years. I do have a couple questions about the water consumption bills and sewer bill. Do you have two separate meters for the water? One for the potable water (in your house) and one for the non-potable water used for irrigation only? So you would only pay for sewer on the potable water and not the irrigation water?

On a few other videos I have seen on "cost of living in the villages" two separate line items were called out. One called FIRE and one called BOND MAINTENANCE. Are you seeing either of those in any of your bills, or are some residents just having those both rolled up into the BOND, or their taxes ? Thanks for sharing as I am building quite the spreadsheet of these cost assesments to figure out how much more, if any, we will pay to live in the Villages vs our current home in MN. So far, it looks like Amenties and BOND are the only real deltas that will hit us.. which is good. We will be down for a LSV in mid March and hope to see everything live and in person vs always watching videos. Thanks again

Having a hard time keeping up with the name changes, but I found you again! We'll miss you here at FG! Hope you will keep in touch! Happy Birthday, Michael!

Thanks for sharing

Your explanation of the costs were clear and very frank. Thank you.

Great video, good info.

In my little town…. We have a brand new subdivision coming in…. And all of those homes are getting a 2nd tax on their home. So sad that we as Americans just accept it. The Villages are really high living. Yes Ins. Of any kind is absolutely outrageous!!! State of Missouri even tells you what type of Ins. U must carry and the amount ! Thanks for the video….. helpful to know. I still miss your Tiffin.

This is a very informative video, and you two are a great couple! I was shocked at the $4k property tax, plus HOA and other fees, for some reason I imagined The Villages to be cheaper. Thanks!

Great video! We're in a 2400+ sq ft designer and our average electric is $110/mo no gas here. We find it quite comfortable with the AC set at 78 degrees (74 in the winter) and the AC coming from the ceiling works better than it coming from vents in the floor. We've been here for 12 years and couldn't imagine living anywhere else!

Great video! We visited for 2 weeks and had a great time and would visit again. WOW! It is expensive there!

Thanks for the costs breakdown. We have been FT RVers for 12 years now and are looking to come off the road within the next year. We are looking at several communities in the central FL area including The Villages. We've done a lot of research and you are definitely buying into a lifestyle in The Villages. You just have to consider on a case by case basis if that is right for you. We have considered all of the associated costs with living in The Villages, so we are coming in with "eyes wide open". Just subscribed to your newsletter and would love to ask you many, many questions concerning the buying process and the "warranty" repair process up to this point with your new home. Thanks again.

I honestly can’t wait to move there!!!

We just purchased a lot in Shady Brook and will be there for a premier design visit in June. I have been visiting my Mom in Bonita (second home) for 18 years and I look forward to seeing if the price of our home is as advertised and researched substantially. We priced out the Essex home prior to purchasing a lot based on the model in The Street of Dreams. Stay tuned??

Hello! So glad I found your channel! I will spend some time watching your posted videos and catching up. Thank you so much for all the information you've provided and please keep up the good work! We currently live in Iowa and I am hoping (fingers crossed) we can retire in TV in about 10 years or so. Husband is still on the fence about it but I'm hopeful! Please keep providing as much info as you can, especially for those of us NOT from Florida. Thanks again!!

Great video, I really enjoy your banter and presentation. A coupla comments or questions. Firstly, about the bond: Assuming the current(-ish) interest rate of 7%, would you consider putting the amount in cash you would use to pay the bond off up front into an investment account (since the S&P averages 7% gains over time) and then have it autopay the bond each month? That way you cancel out the huge jump in overall costs (22K vs 48K if paid over 30 years), but maintain your flexibility to sell and recoup any unused bond should life change directions. Secondly, for other required monthly costs, please consider those that nearly EVERYone, especially snowbirds, would have to pay to maintain the house such as pest control and lawn mowing. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to your future videos regarding actual grocery (and alcohol consumption wink-wink nudge-nudge) and recreation costs - all the unexpected add-ons like Tiffany mentioned about party-costumes.

LOL I would love to have a $162.00 gas/electric bill. Our bill last month in Cali was $390 and we leave our heater on 62 all day and 66 for 4 hours a night, even when it's 39 degrees at night. Can't wait to move there and have a lower bill.

The amenity fee is very reasonable IF you're using all of the amenities offered in The Villages. Golf, pools, pickleball, tennis, the rec centers, and more... if you're using all of that stuff, it's actually a really good deal.

I was born & raised in Florida. We are not in a flood zone. We purchase flood insurance every year, anyway. Water is too unpredictable. All it takes is one time. Btw, I love your channel.😊

very informative.

Great video. Obviously looks like you’ve been doing KZfaq for a while??? Did you have an RV channel from your days of full time RV life? Best wishes!

Hello!! Is your spreadsheet up or am I just technology challenged? 😂 Thanks so much! I enjoy your videos and am excited to see the full golfcart one. ❤

Thank you for your video. It is very informative on a monthly basis. Wife and I hope to move in two years. For now we plan to come down for a month once a year and rent a Air BNB

So the bond sounds like it's the same as an assessment. When they do sewer work or put in new sidewalks they assess a portion of the projects cost to each homeowner. You can pay it off in a year or pay it when you pay your taxes just like you said.

Suggestion- check your air filters on your a/c. Some need to be cleaned every month! If not cleaned it will increase your electric bill and also get a dehumidifier to make it feel cooler. Dehumidifier in the summer makes a big difference

Great information and thanks for sharing this. We are considering these new builds but would love your thoughts on the Florida turnpike noise. Thanks Jim

This is very helpful! We bought and I was wondering if can I see your own actual spreadsheet to tweak it for my house? You can use it for your own reference later in life when I fill it out!

The cost of a GOLF CART ☝🏻🤔 The Villages IS a golf cart community, which most people elsewhere don’t have. And does it offset equivalent cost of owning a car? (that is, do you SAVE money using a golf cart instead of the car?) 🤔 Also, speaking from experience, there are sizable startup expenses with a new home (as you know) 🙄 … furniture, art work on the walls, basic utensils and tools, etc. we have become quite proficient exploring estate sales and have become regulars of consignment stores and the many “Dollar stores” in Florida (which I never used up north) Lastly, besides clothes, any added expenses for the “active lifestyle”? … golf (greens fees here are quite pricey), cardio drumming (have to bring your own bucket, ball & sticks), etc Good stuff 👍🏻 … looking forward to future videos as the journey continues.

Thankyou great info, my expenses on a new designer home will be about half of what I’m paying in New York, which is close to 14 K just for my taxes..

Great data! I have a patio villa near Spanish Springs. Taxes in Lake County were 2x higher than what was expected per realator. I don't have gas -: all electric - summer bill to cool was $120; winter/now $90. All other fees were in line as posted per the villages. House was built in 2019, no bond.

Great video! I'm definitely interested in the 6m and 1y videos, especially as it relates to your total cost of living (including eating out, entertainment, etc). I know that those costs will vary depending on people's tastes, but it is still really helpful for my wife and I to get data points to confirm whether our proposed costs down there are realistic. Oh, and I gotta say - you guys need to look at eventually getting a hot tub! My wife was a huge "long bath" person too, but during COVID she talked me into getting a hot tub installed....and she hasn't used the bath tub since! (But she does shower though LOL.) Very nice to just hop in there whenever, without waiting for the hot water for a bath and/or having to top it off periodically as it cools :-)

Thank you so much for this helpful video. Depending on where you live, this seems "extremely reasonable" compared to all of our prices in Southern California.I would include the bond in the purchase price of the home, I guess. I would love to move but hubby is not a native Californian so he loves loves the weather here. California does have great weather and wonderful geography BUT.........

Great video! I am with Tiffany on keeping the house cool! I would probably get a mini split for the main bedroom so I don't freeze Mom. LOL. Is Dabney in Lake county? Do you know what county Moultrie Creek and Eastport area are in? Sorry - I have no concept - I really need to get down there! Great information - thank you for sharing :)

please do a video on taxes and bonds thanks. love your videos

What is the reason, if you know, for the roof replacement so often? Is there a roof inspection that can be done instead? Just curious.. New subscriber here! We are thinking of staying in some of the RV parks there to check out the area. I will pursue your channel to see if you have any info on some of those too! Thanks for a great video :-)

You seem to be your journey! Did you guys opt for a Tesla in lieu of the requisite golf cart?!!! We moved to Florida in 1969 from NYC! Marco Island was paradise! How things have changed! The Bond sounds like an impact fee or infrastructure charge of sorts. Nice job on helping people manage expectations. Cheers, Michael Albuquerque NM USA

Wow, that is expensive. I have a much higher end house here on the Maine coast and my monthly cost for the same items runs under $500. Taxes are our biggest single cost, followed by electricity/heating. We pay $0 for amenities, sewer, electric, "irrigation" and "bond". Our amenities are the local national Park (Acadia) and the ocean (5 minute walk from our house). Here in Maine the cost of building out the development (your bond) is built into the cost of the house. I am a bit surprised at how cheap it is to buy a house there. Right now the median price of homes for sale in our town is $945K with a range from $800K to 1.3 million. None of the expensive homes in town are currently for sale. The most expensive house currently for sale on the island is $17 million. The cheapest place for sale is a run down single wide in the woods with an asking rice of $359K. A vacant lot runs a bit over $200K. It would cost $100K+ to get water, sewer and electricity at a typical vacant lot. I will say that the minimum lot size here is one acre. We don't have AC in our house so that keeps our summer electric low. On last summer's single hot day (83F) we just opened the windows. I have heard a lot about home owner's insurance issues in Florida. Here in Maine our home owner's insurance has actually gone down for each of the last two years. My yacht insurance is up though by considerably more than my home owner's went down. Auto insurance has been flat at about $1,000 per year for two vehicles with full coverage. They don't charge us for hurricane coverage on the house. Our bad storms are in the winter and not named. In the last month we have has three storms with hurricane force winds including 85 mph winds yesterday.

Considering retirement in TV thanks for doing this video it was helpful, do you mind mentioning if you utilize and exemptions for property taxes?