The Latest In Our Summer Saga

I've sat down to write a Journal entry several times in the last two weeks, but something always interrupts me or distracts me and before I know it, it's two or three days later. Staying focused on anything has been a challenge.

We got to The Villages in Florida on Friday, June 30. On Saturday morning, July 1, we made an offer on a 10-year-old, 1,188 square foot Patio Villa (Cabot Cove floorplan), and the offer was accepted before we left the agent's office. The closing was set in the contract to take place on July 12.

So, we've been scrambling since then. We've been interviewing property managers, setting up utilities and insurance, and determining what changes and upgrades we wanted to make. We've been getting estimates on lawn care and pest control. And I've concluded that buying a house, even when it's a fairly simple transaction like this one, is a pain in the rear.

 

In the meantime, we went to a Fourth of July cookout on my in-laws street, and Linda has been working her new tea business.

Also, the air conditioner on our Jeep was not cooling and, with 90-degree temperatures just about every day, that had to be fixed. We took it to the Jeep dealership on Friday, July 7. After replacing most of the air conditioning parts, they called to say it still wasn't cooling and they had to go back to the drawing board. They determined the evaporator was clogged and had to order a new one. But because they've had our Jeep so long, and they didn't get the diagnosis exactly right the first time, they aren't charging us any additional. They have done a great job keeping us updated and even provided a rental car for us this past weekend. Finally, we got it back today, a week and a half after dropping it off.

 

We had a termite inspection on the house and it came back clear. There was also a home inspection which came back with some fairly minor items. We were prepared to pick and choose what we wanted the seller to fix before closing, but we were told that seller's here pretty much just fix everything in the inspection report unless it is a "For Sale By Owner". Well allrighty then.

We closed on the house on July 12 as scheduled and moved in that afternoon. We've been testing all the appliances and plumbing and making sure there aren't any major changes that need to be done before we offer it for rental.

Although we bought it furnished, we're changing out a lot of the furniture, and we've put new carpet in the bedrooms. Linda is upgrading the art work and decorations, and it's very nice. Renters here take very good care of the homes, and we want this little house to stand out from many of the others so it rents easily.

We've had appointments or deliveries almost every day since the closing, and everything seems to happen at once. And we're always getting calls asking if they can deliver earlier than we had scheduled.

One furniture delivery came the night before it was supposed to be delivered. One delivery driver called at 9:00 p.m. one night to tell us he would arrive at 7:00 a.m the next morning. A Habitat for Humanity donation truck showed up an hour before it was supposed to. The customer service around here has been amazing although it's a good thing the early arrivals haven't yet conflicted with our schedules.

And the phone calls have been crazy. "We're calling to confirm your order." "We're calling to tell you your order is on the way." "We're calling to tell you our delivery driver will be there in 30 minutes or less". "We're calling to see if everything was delivered." "We're calling to make sure there were no problems with your order or the delivery". "We're calling to ask that you please complete a survey regarding your experience." Sheesh. Multiply that by four or five deliveries and it's hard to stay focused on anything.

 

Though our new house is a third of the size of the last house we lived in, it's three times the size of our RV, so we wouldn't have any trouble living in it when the time comes. Linda has it looking really nice, and we'll be posting photos and rental information soon.

 

In addition to all the house stuff, I've been playing a little golf - one of the hundreds of potential distractions here. There are 12 championship courses with 18 to 27 holes each and 36 nine-hole "executive" courses (shorter courses with mostly par 3s and a few par 4s).

Residents can play all the executive courses for free if you are walking (which is encouraged).  That's where they get the advertising slogan "Golf Free For Life!" However, if you drive your cart on the executive courses, there is a $4 "trail fee" or you can purchase a six-month or annual trail fee which is a better deal if you play 3 - 5 rounds per month. The executive courses are rated by difficulty and there are courses for beginners all the way up to more challenging courses for seasoned golfers.

Residents are automatically members of the 12 championship course country clubs. There are no initiation fees, dues, or minimums - you just pay each course's greens fees and there is no additional cost to use your private golf cart. The championship courses are "semi-private", and the fees are similar to what you would pay at other semi-private facilities around the country. But there are different fee structures for residents, guests of residents, and non-residents, and the rates change season to season.  The most serious golfers can purchase six-month or annual "Priority" memberships that include discounts on championship course greens fees, priority tee times, the Executive courses trail fee, and more.

So, you can play golf completely free or you can spend quite a bit of money with a Priority membership and several rounds at the championship courses. However, even the most expensive option is far less than any private country club I've ever seen.

 

After getting into the house, we were contacted by Chuck & Melissa, RVing friends that we've seen on the road a few times, but not since 2012. It turns out they have been renting a house here in The Villages, and they have put a contract on another house they are buying. They are going to close next month, but they are keeping their motorhome.

We went out to dinner and had a great time getting caught up. They have been playing golf and getting immersed in many of the other activities The Villages has to offer. They are biking, golfing, playing cards, dominoes, pickleball, and more. Before the evening ended we went to Mystic Ice Cream which has "adult" flavors of ice cream infused with a little alcohol, and it's the first ice cream shop I've ever been to where they had karaoke.

The next day, I joined Chuck at one of the ping pong sessions where the best players in The Villages get together. We played for about three hours, and that was a lot of fun - I used to play every day in college, but that was 35 years ago and I'm a bit rusty.

I'm not ready yet, but it would be easy to acclimate here. I would be extremely busy and in really good shape with all the sports and activities, and I know Linda would be just fine with all the arts and crafts and social functions.

Linda's sister, Karen and Karen's daughter, Caroline, came to visit Monday and stayed with us overnight. Then all the gals in the family went to lunch and shopped all afternoon on Tuesday. 

 

Now, as far as our fifth wheel goes. RVs For Less had completed all of the work related to the repair of the frame and putting the rig all back together as of last Friday. I'll post another entry with more details on that. It took a lot longer than we expected, but with everything else we had going on, we told them to take their time, and it has actually worked out to our benefit.

This week, they are doing some additional work we had requested and installing some MCD shades on our windows. Everything should be complete this week. We were going to head to Tennessee and pick it up next week, but now we think we will wait until the following week.

If we wait until August 1, we can go to River Plantation RV Resort and stay in the same spot without having to move until the end of September after the Fall Rally is over. Plus, if we delay a week, we can have the interior walls of the Villages house painted, and get photos of the final product and get the rental listed without Linda having to come back by herself in a couple weeks. We could have the whole process of buying the house and having it ready to rent in a month's time.

 

Now, in addition to all that, we've been returning emails and setting our RV show schedule for 2018. I still have to get contracts signed but it looks like we'll be doing seminars at RV shows as follows:

Jan 5 - 7 - Atlanta, GA

Jan 12 - 14 - Chicago, IL

Jan 26 - 28 - Phoenix, AZ

Feb 2 - 4 - Orlando, FL

Feb 16 - 18 - Mobile, AL

Feb 23 - 25 - Columbus, OH

April 12 - 15 - Indianapolis, IN

 

We'll have links and more information on those shows soon.

 

And next week, we'll be doing two short segments on The RV Show USA radio show on July 27.

 

 

It will be a Facebook Live event (The RV Show USA on Facebook) on the 27th and then it will be syndicated to radio stations the following weekend (August 5 & 6). I'll get more information on which radio shows in the coming days.

 

So, we apologize for the long delay between posts, and we hope to not go that long again. We're getting closer to having our rig back, and soon we'll be settling back into our normal RV life. Thanks for your patience.  :)

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Comments

[Amy]

Clearly, I am hooked on your blog as when you don't update I miss hearing about your fascinating life & worry that you may not be OK. So glad you both are fine and that all is going well with your seemingly gazillions of projects. Thanks for sharing your life! Enjoy tge rest of yoursummer.

[Jennie. Blakeney]

Hi Howard and Linda - I'm so glad to hear that the blog silence was just due to the two of you being so busy and not some type of emergency situation. Sounds like everything is coming together for you. I always feel like the decisions I'm making are good ones when everything seems to fall into place nicely as I'm going through the process.

We're getting excited about the fall rally!

Jennie

[Sherri Garrett]

How exciting! The Villages sound fabulous. I bet it would be easy to get caught up in all the activities. Good luck with the rest of your month!

[Jodee Gravel on the road in Issaquah, Washington]

That's a lot of busy in a life that normally is so much calmer - not hard to understand being distracted! Glad it's all coming together as planned.

[jackie]

What show will you be doing in Mobile inFebruary?

[Howard Payne]

Jackie,

We are still waiting on details ourselves. All we know at this point is that it's a new RV show in Mobile on the dates indicated. We'll update everyone as soon as we can.