We are in the process of buying our second home in TV (in less than a year ... yeah, I know ... ) The first was an MLS listing and this one is with VLS.
Yes, when you sign a contract to sell through VLS you agree to repair anything that is broken. There is no such agreement in MLS contracts. The benefit of that is you don't have to negotiate about repairs (and houses don't fall out of escrow because the parties can't agree on what the sellers should fix.) The downside (from the buyers' standpoint) is, as you learned, that you have to accept cosmetic issues. Most such things, however, are fairly obvious when you view the home or read the listing.
Which system is better? I think the VLS system is obviously better for sellers (and realtors, who don't make money unless the sale closes). As a buyer, I liked not having to request repairs from the seller. It was just a given that they would be done. We always assume we are going to have to fix/tweak/change/update some things cosmetically in a resale anyway and we take that into consideration when deciding what we want to pay.
BTW, the reason that sellers are encouraged to leave during showings is NOT because they might be too honest/open with potential buyers, as someone suggested. It is because a potential buyer cannot feel comfortable commenting on the house in front of the owners, who are likely to take negative feedback personally.
kathy
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