[CURLYSANDY]

Good morning all. We are from the UK and are currently purchasing a lovely home in Antrim Dells. We do have a few questions please:
1. Unfortunately, due to commitments, we are unable to come and stay and enjoy our home until late September. We know that the HVAC still has to stay on even when empty during the summer months, but what temperature is recommended during the summer season?

2. Would like some recommendations please for home insurance companies.

3. Is there a choice of electricity, broadband and water utility providers or are we limited to just one company for each utility?

Many thanks in advance for any assistance.
Sandy (really excited)!!

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by CURLYSANDY

Good morning all. We are from the UK and are currently purchasing a lovely home in Antrim Dells. We do have a few questions please:
1. Unfortunately, due to commitments, we are unable to come and stay and enjoy our home until late September. We know that the HVAC still has to stay on even when empty during the summer months, but what temperature is recommended during the summer season?

2. Would like some recommendations please for home insurance companies.

3. Is there a choice of electricity, broadband and water utility providers or are we limited to just one company for each utility?

Many thanks in advance for any assistance.
Sandy (really excited)!!

Keeping your AC set to 84 will help keep the humidity to a minimum. My neighbor also opens all the drawers in the house a couple of inches when she's away, to prevent them from sticking due to non-use for months at a time.

Electricity is provided by one of two companies, depending on which one services your area. No idea about your part of the community, we have Duke up in the Historic area. You don't get a choice on who supplies your water.

Broadband will depend on your address. Common options are Xfinity, Spectrum, and Quantum. There are others but you'll find at least one of the three I just mentioned, in most parts of the community.

What you /could/ do for your first year for insurance, is to check with The Villages Insurance. They don't do the actual insuring, they're a broker that can hook you up with a company and a contract. You might find a better deal once you're settled in, but this can work for people who need to get set up before they're actually down here.

[Toymeister]

We cool to 84 degrees in an unoccupied home. No choice on electric or water, choice on broadband.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Keeping your AC set to 84 will help keep the humidity to a minimum. My neighbor also opens all the drawers in the house a couple of inches when she's away, to prevent them from sticking due to non-use for months at a time.

Electricity is provided by one of two companies, depending on which one services your area. No idea about your part of the community, we have Duke up in the Historic area. You don't get a choice on who supplies your water.

Broadband will depend on your address. Common options are Xfinity, Spectrum, and Quantum. There are others but you'll find at least one of the three I just mentioned, in most parts of the community.

What you /could/ do for your first year for insurance, is to check with The Villages Insurance. They don't do the actual insuring, they're a broker that can hook you up with a company and a contract. You might find a better deal once you're settled in, but this can work for people who need to get set up before they're actually down here.

^ Excellent, succinct, straightforward, and accurate response. Follow up suggestion would be to try to link up with other UK folk here in TV and get a resource pool going. PS- I'm amused you are going to have to start getting used to some of your own "Imperial" measurements. 84F is 28.8889 Celsius. ;-)

[Dusty_Star]

Antrim Dells is lovely & a superb location. Congratulations.

Your power company will be SECO Start New Service – SECO Energy You do need to contact them to set up a new account. When I did it last year there was a $5. connection fee.

You can get fiber optic for broadband service, this is the best. Fast service, great availability Access to this page has been denied. They will give you a permanent $50 deal for 500 Mbps - fast enough to stream multiple media throught the Villa.

The water will be provided by Central Sumter Utility (CSU) - no choice there. The water does not need to be turned on, it will already be on.

Any other questions, please feel free to ask.

[Dusty_Star]

Originally Posted by Dusty_Star

Antrim Dells is lovely & a superb location. Congratulations.

Your power company will be SECO Start New Service – SECO Energy You do need to contact them to set up a new account. When I did it last year there was a $5. connection fee.

You can get fiber optic for broadband service, this is the best. Fast service, great availability Access to this page has been denied. They will give you a permanent $50 deal for 500 Mbps - fast enough to stream multiple media throught the Villa.

The water will be provided by Central Sumter Utility (CSU) - no choice there. The water does not need to be turned on, it will already be on.

Any other questions, please feel free to ask.

I noticed that after posting the link to Quantum fiber says something like: Access denied
ignore it, it works fine.

[CURLYSANDY]

Many thanks for all your comments, so helpful!!

[Papa_lecki]

Go with a broadband company that does not require a 12 month contract, so you can change if you need to when you get here.

[badkarma318]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

Follow up suggestion would be to try to link up with other UK folk here in TV and get a resource pool going.

There are at least 2 Brit clubs (not sure whether they are made up of actual Brits, or just UK enthusiasts).

[Ashley from UK]

Hi Sandy
Great decision.
We bought in 2020 just as covid hit and had to wait 2.5 years before getting to see our home for the first time.

Electric & water no choice.

Broadband & telecoms are EXPENSIVE over here compared to home. If you need internet all the time then you can go with a fixed contract. We have just signed up with Spectrum 300mps for $35 a month. We were using Xfinity pay as you go @ $45 for 30 days. No contract - we just paid when we were here. It was 75mps which was fine for the two of us to run 2 phones, laptops & Smart TV.

TV is mega expensive if the prices quoted by others are correct. We bought a Samsung Smart TV and have free access to UK Sky news, over 100 channels. We signed up to Netflix premium in UK and that works well here.

Tax & insurance is something else to watch out for… eg. How many days your in the US vs UK, not just in one year but over a period of 3+

PM me if you want to know anything else, tips advise etc.

[La lamy]

You'll also may need to have someone come into your home to check everything is okay if you want your insurance to stay valid.

Empty Nest Service | Home Property Management

thevillageshpm.com

This is a company that can help with this.

Congratulations and all the best with your new adventure to retirement heaven!

[DonnaNi4os]

Welcome. In addition to everything that has been said in previous comments, please set your humidistat to 60 or 58.

[dennisgavin]

I would recommend a house watch service to come into the house and flush toilets and run water in sinks, tubs and showers to keep them from drying out and allowing bugs to come up through the pipes. Also I think 84 is a bit high, I Would recommend 80.

[BostonTom]

We use Mike & Molly home watch services They check our house weekly. It only cost $75 a month worth every penny. They send you weekly reports and pictures.

[sdeikenberry]

You need someone to monitor the landscape and weeds over the summer, weeds grow fast. You should turn off the house water for the summer, but leave the irrigation water on.