[Kenswing]

Originally Posted by Veracity

This is simply not true. The "lottery system" is used only for new-construction houses so as not to create "bidding wars" which could unreasonably inflate the prices of new houses (and The Villages and their sales agents would be making windfall profits on certain homes). If they were to take the highest bidder, instead of using the "lottery system" they could not control the price of some houses from going through the roof, and many newly constructed houses would most likely be beyond the reach of the average home buyer. Bidding wars would probably be in the best interest of The Developer, but they have instead come up with a system to protect consumers against price gouging. We threw our name into the hat for a couple homes in Richmond which we did NOT get. It does not cost anything to enter the lottery for the opportunity to buy a specific house. We were told that if we won the lottery that we would have a short amount of time to put down a deposit to finalize the deal because there would be others on the waiting list. No one forces you to buy the house, even after winning the lottery. They don't care if you back out because they will simply offer it to the next person, until they eventually get a serious buyer who puts down a deposit. You have 24 hours to move forward...or not. Each time we entered the lottery, our Villages Sales Agent told us to consider the noise from the turnpike. Eventually, we gave up on Richmond because we were getting too close to the turnpike for our liking. Sure, we were disappointed that we didn't get the house we wanted, but someone else is happy, and no one got the house by paying more than what it is worth. Our sales agent is looking for another house and with the recent slowdown in the housing market, we are certain that we will find a great location within our tolerance to the turnpike noise (we want to be south because that is where we are currently renting a house and we love the walking paths and nature trails in the southern area). I think that people are very quick to blame the Developer, or a Sales Agent instead of themselves for their own impulse buying. There is enough demand for these houses, that there is no need to put pressure on anyone to buy. If anything, we found that they are trying to tamp down the pressure by using a a process that does not pit buyer-against-buyer and gives people the opportunity to easily back out, but like everything else, the buyer needs to do their own due diligence and know what they are buying. That's on you, not The Developer and not the Sales Agent.

Perfectly stated.