[mrrmauu]

Originally Posted by Wing-nut2

On Friday my wife and I signed a contract on a new house. On Saturday we went by the house and found The Villages was holding an Open House at our new house. I told the agent assigned to the open house that I had purchased the house the night before and I was surprised to see my house being used as an open house and did not appreciate the crowds of people tracking dirt etc. on the carpets. He told me it didn't matter what I wanted, the new policy was that any house under contract could be used for open houses up until closing. He stated The Villages feels that they are paying the electric bill and taking care of the grass, so it's theirs to use as they see fit. People saw the advertisement in the Daily Sun and expected to see the house advertised and were getting mad when told the house was no longer available. But even if they are allowed in, it's still sold. Attending previous open houses where a house becomes under contract has happened to me before, so I understand. But, the house under contract, was always closed and locked never open to view and another house was used for the open house.

I called my agent and explained what was going on, and asked why I was not informed of the new policy. My agent basically said the same thing that people wanted to see the house that was advertised and The Villages had an extreme housing shortage The advertising was sent to the paper in advance and the ad could not be changed. OK, so why not open another unsold house with the same floor plan? In fact, the house across the street from me is the same floor plan.

I understand that someone might want to see a Lantana for instance, but if the house is sold, why open it up to the public? It's not available for purchase anyway. There is a Model Center with all the floor plans available for people to see. With the housing shortage those models should always be open to the public not just a few.

Now some may say I'm wrong for even worrying about this issue, but I've seen open houses were people use bathrooms, climb on counters to check the tops of cabinets, bring their dogs and let them run free (we won't go there), holes punched in walls from door handles, trash thrown on floor, and all kinds of things tracked in. If you buy a house after it's been used as model, you know what you're getting.

So if you have recently purchased a house, you may want to check with your agent to see if your house is on the "rotation list" for open houses. Also check the Daily Sun to see if your house is advertised as being an Open House.

I'm repeating what the agent told me about The Villages new policy. This may or may not truly represent the policy of The Villages.

I get your frustration but they probably already had the open house advertised. Since it was within 1 day of the signing I don’t blame them for still using your house. If they list open homes in the paper they should actually be there when people show up to see them.