[jet10s]

Originally Posted by jblanding

From a buyer and seller's perspective:
We put our house on the market with The Villages Properties in early February. At the time, our house was showing and we had a couple of open houses. For the past month, showings have been rare and the Villages suspended all open houses. So very little activity from a seller's standpoint. As buyers, we found that some people did not want their houses to be shown during the shutdown and some even took them off the market. Fortunately, we just found a house we love and the owner who was looking to downsize suggested we swap houses. So we sold and bought a new house in the same day. I am not sure that happens very often so we were lucky. Depending on what section of the Villages you are considering and your price range, there are many anxious buyers out there. It is a good time to be buying especially with lower interest rates but we did not see a lot of drop in prices. We live in the north end of The Villages and with our price range, size and other requirements there were only 6 or 7 houses to consider. A little farther south near Sumter there are probably 50 and probably more even further south. Also, all the individuals (appraisers, inspectors, bankers, etc.) needed to make a closing happen are working and signing all paperwork can be done electronically. If you want a really wonderful real estate agent, contact Linda Canada-Stuck at The Villages Properties. When she found out that the seller of our new house suggested we swap houses, she jumped on it and the deal was sealed.

Good Luck to you -- In 2013 we also exchanged houses -- similarily to you -- however there were no realtors involved and we closed with a title guarantee company - both parties have remained happy and never looked back -- and as I said at the time {only in the villages{