MLS or The Villages to sell a house

[Peazoup]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?

[splashes]

Absolutly the villages ask for beth pope 352-552-1511 traffic is the most important

[Stu from NYC]

Great question.

Think we would find someone from both camps and interview them and than decide

[retiredguy123]

I would select one of the best agents in The Villages company and give them a chance. But, only if they agreed to a 90-day listing and allowed me to fire them at any time, if I lost confidence in them.

[427dave]

We went with The Villages first. They did not do much to try and sell our home. They only showed it maybe 3 times at the most, we think they were using it as an example so they could sell new homes. After 6 months not one offer or open house. We then fired The Villages and went with REMAX, they sold it within the first 2 weeks of their listing it. We do not have must faith in The Villages.

[graciegirl]

I would choose Jim McLaughlin from The Villages.

We sold one house ourselves. If they are presented well, priced reasonably and clean and kinda cute they will be lined up to buy a for sell by owner. Have a respected closing lawyer to do all the legal stuff. We had McLin and Burnsed.

Time after time this question is answered by the fact that The Villages outsell all local realtors.

Yes I like that. I am not a realtor and I really like the way The Villages does things.

[John41]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?

Definitely MLS. Much wider exposure for your property. Neighbors have not been happy with TV realty.

[asianthree]

Have been watching the market very closely. Stats on certain homes listed withTV. Watching little over 40 homes since February. The ones that sold did so within 30 days, and within $15,000 of asking price. But every home that sold either had a water view, or golf view. All had a pool, or room for a pool.

Those that didn’t have those qualities(19 homes) sat on the market for 90 days, some longer. Then Relisted with MLS. All but 6 were listed for the same $$ or about 10% less. So far 11 have sold, and 8 have decreased their asking price.

[manaboutown]

We went with The Villages first. They did not do much to try and sell our home. They only showed it maybe 3 times at the most, we think they were using it as an example so they could sell new homes. After 6 months not one offer or open house. We then fired The Villages and went with REMAX, they sold it within the first 2 weeks of their listing it. We do not have must faith in The Villages.

Your experience was nearly identical, literally word for word, to that of someone I know. I would not list my house with a Villages agent.

BTW she neither smoked nor had a cat.

P.S. I have never been and am not now a Realtor.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

The rogue agents (https://tinyurl.com/yykp3l2w) seem to be pretty aggressive.

[vintageogauge]

Absolutly the villages ask for beth pope 352-552-1511 traffic is the most important

Second Beth Pope, great agent and knows it all. We have used her twice over the last 3 years.

[vintageogauge]

Have been watching the market very closely. Stats on certain homes listed withTV. Watching little over 40 homes since February. The ones that sold did so within 30 days, and within $15,000 of asking price. But every home that sold either had a water view, or golf view. All had a pool, or room for a pool.

Those that didn’t have those qualities(19 homes) sat on the market for 90 days, some longer. Then Relisted with MLS. All but 6 were listed for the same $$ or about 10% less. So far 11 have sold, and 8 have decreased their asking price.

That is strange, the re-sales where we live, Fenney, seem to sell rather quickly water or not. We have had 4 neighbors sell there homes and all were pretty much within 30 days, 2 of them were sold the day they were listed and all 4 were with TV agents. There are a few that don't sell but there is always a reason for that, greedy price or something wrong with the house or lot that it's on.

[jacksonbrown]

Zillow = the largest real estate market IN THE WORLD!

g00gle "real estate in the villages fl"

Villages Realty is number seven on the list.

[Cobh521]

I would use an MLS agent as you have more exposure than The Village. Your home will be on zillow, realtor.com, trulia, homes.com, homesnap, instagram and facebook. I would also advise you contact Katy Kelly at RE/MAX Premier 352-355-7982

[tvbound]

The rogue agents (https://tinyurl.com/yykp3l2w) seem to be pretty aggressive.

Thanks for the link, it's pretty interesting for anyone anticipating purchasing in the near future. Firing a school volleyball coach, because she quit being a Villages salesperson and went to work for another real estate company, seems pretty harsh and petty given that her coaching is totally unrelated to her job of selling houses.

[Laker14]

I have been looking at houses via the internet since we left TV in April. I have looked at tons of houses on Trulia (same as Zillow, for my money) and The Villages. What I will say as a prospective BUYER, is that The Villages is pretty half-assed as far as their presentation of a property on-line. Most of the time the pictures won't even load. If I were selling, I'd go with MLS.

[vintageogauge]

Thanks for the link, it's pretty interesting for anyone anticipating purchasing in the near future. Firing a school volleyball coach, because she quit being a Villages salesperson and went to work for another real estate company, seems pretty harsh and petty given that her coaching is totally unrelated to her job of selling houses.

The word "Rogue" says it all. I wouldn't go near them.

[graciegirl]

Thanks for the link, it's pretty interesting for anyone anticipating purchasing in the near future. Firing a school volleyball coach, because she quit being a Villages salesperson and went to work for another real estate company, seems pretty harsh and petty given that her coaching is totally unrelated to her job of selling houses.

I am not sure what you are talking about but I do know that the criteria for a child being a student at The Villages Charter School is that the parent is employed by The Villages. I think of it as a good thing overall. It encourages responsible people to move here to have a really good education for their children.

That is how it is. You must be employed by The Villages to have a child in their Charter Schools. This sounds like it may be connected. Is it?

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Just given the focus of the TV sales force, sorry, marketing department, which is new construction, I would list an existing home with MLS. MLS sales are mostly resales, so they would have least conflict of focus. But that's just me, individual results will always vary.

sportsguy

[asianthree]

That is strange, the re-sales where we live, Fenney, seem to sell rather quickly water or not. We have had 4 neighbors sell there homes and all were pretty much within 30 days, 2 of them were sold the day they were listed and all 4 were with TV agents. There are a few that don't sell but there is always a reason for that, greedy price or something wrong with the house or lot that it's on.

We are looking at our 4th house. My research is based on what we need. New area was not in the mix of house hunting. I would love to move to the new area just for the running and biking trails, but due to parental units we need to stay in a certain area, and need larger footprint. Use a pretty straight forward approach for analysis.

[juscause]

Absolutely, I would list with them simultaneously. Why limit your options---if the Villages balked, I would go with the outside agent only.

[neikenberry]

FYI, TV agents will not show a house that isn't a TV agency listing. I'd go with MLS agent. Serious buyers of a used home will look at all agencies.

[egmcaninch]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?
Personally, I would use an agent from TV. They have the best & most complete information to share with prospective buyers. If I could recommend someone, it would be Nannette Tolleson. She has 20+ years experience in TV and is very honest.

[villageuser]

We tried the agents for the Villages twice. We thought the years (17 years) in between would have improved the service we got from them. Nope. Same practice. They care nothing about the resale homes. No online exposure, unless one is specifically looking at the Villages website for homes for sale. Note: people coming from other states are usually searching through other online apps.
The second time around, we fired the Villages real estate agent, paid the fine gladly since we had had NOBODY come look at the house, got a wonderful agent from Keller Williams (Crystal McCall) and sold the house within a couple of months.

[Skunky1]

If you want good solid representation choose a Realtor. The village sales agents are not Realtors and therefore not governed by the NAR code of ethics.I suggest looking for your style of house online and decide which agency would give you the best coverage. Buyers are smart these days so overpriced houses do not sell.

[8notes]

We live in central Villages, near Sumter Landing. There have been 3 or 4 houses on our street for sale, all were MLS, and all sold within a month or two, some within days. It is important to have the home properly priced. I do think The Villages gives good recommendations as far as price. I knew someone that went with an outside realtor, who suggested she price her home a little higher than what it seemed to be worth. She was excited that she thought she could get more than what The Villages had told her. It sat on the market for at least a year. After making some staging improvements and lowering the price, it finally sold. I would probably get an estimate from The Villages as far as price, and go with that price when listing it with MLS.

[Skunky1]

Village agents do not cooperate with outside brokers. This limits the amount of buyers that could see and buy your house.

[Susan1717]

I would absolutely use a regular mls agent and not the villages. They control who sees your property snd irs not available on the mls listing. Also if you list with the villages outside and regular realtors are NOT allowed to show your house!! I snd many people I know had a nightmare by listing with vilkages. Also it’s impossible to get out of their contract and they try and hold you to it for months after the 6 months by small print! They used my home to sell their new property!!

[Susan1717]

Sorry for the autocorrects on some words!

[DolphinTime]

The word "Rogue" says it all. I wouldn't go near them.

Those "Rogue" agents sold our Villages home in less than a week for only $2,000 below asking price. They are honest and professional realtors who had the guts to stand up against mistreatment by The Villages. I highly recommend them!

[TimeForChange]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?

Call 352-446-6001 Jason. Largest following in the County. He will help you price it right. Jason is honest and very hard working, reference the above post.

[JimJohnson]

We did ours by listing free on ZILLOW and saved $30000.00 that the villages wanted to list for us. Sales people from MLS or The Villages are their to get as much of your money as they can. The only person you should consider trusting is yourself. Research, and be both the seller and the sellers agent. When we listed, we spelled out that we would not pay any commission to any agent on our side nor on the side of the buyer. Users moving to The Villages don't need help. We did pay for Burnsed to handle all closing.

[DecaturFargo]

I woipd go with the realtors who broke away from The Villages/Developer. They won their suit. Lots of respect for them.

[nanci2539]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?

I sold my home in four hours for 20% over asking. I didn't use a agent from TV because of the experiences my neighbors and friends had. I highly recommend

Cheryl Parisi-Ciolfi at Foxfire Reality
Her mobile is 352-661-4126 or email her at cherylsellshomes4u@gmail.com

[stargirl]

Ditto 427dave. We had a beautiful home on the lake, 9th hole of Hemingway, listed it with the villages and couldn’t imagine why it wasn’t selling for almost 6 months. One day our tenant stopped in during an open house and heard the realtor tell the people “I can get you in a brand new home for less money”. Cancelled our listing, went with realty executives at the same price, sold in TWO days!

[Paporter]

Definitely MLS. Many have witnessed, Villages sales agents steering buyers to new homes, verses resale of their homes.

[B-flat]

I find this discussion very interesting and eye opening. We have a CYV for sale it's been on the market for about 90 days, new roof 2020, new AC 2020, new washer and dryer, new microwave and new refrigerator, extended lanai and master bedroom. We've cut the price a few times and are now priced $17,000 less that we started for are at $215,900. We are using an MLS realtor at times we've asked ourselves should we have used VLS, this answered some of our questions.

[ladyarwen3]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?

We came down last year to buy; I had both a Villages agent and a MLS agent. The MLS person was great! He had a lot more to offer; and he worked FOR ME and not for TV. The woman from TV was very nice but she just didn't have enough inventory of pre-owned homes for me.

Doug Lange with Realty Executives ended up as my agent and if (I should say WHEN) I go to sell this house I will be calling him. When we called him to make an offer on the house, he recommended a LOWER offer. Less commission for him but he understood the market and knew what my home was worth.

[graciegirl]

One of the reasons I personally don't like to work with MLS realtors is obvious in many posts on this thread. They will say almost anything. They pressure you. They are too often like "Charlie Hustle". I think there are a lot of MLS realtors or retired realtors posting on this thread. I have never heard or read any reliable post that any agent for The Villages ever tried to "push" new homes.

I loved the fact tha when we came here to look there was NO pressure in any way from the sales agents from The Villages. I later learned they didn't need to pressure. People were standing in line to buy houses from them.

We have had built 11 new homes in our lifetime. The first one was when we were 22 years old. We had saved the 20% down payment for four years at the age of 22. We had built a home that cost around 14K. I am not a realtor. Neither is anyone in my family. The last realtor we used was John Boehner's wife in Ohio. Debbie is a professional and was a neighbor and friend. The first thing she said was repaint everything neutral. Tear out those bushes in the front. Get new lawn furniture or new cushions. Get rid of all the extra furniture in the corners of every room. In a down real estate time ten years ago we had a bidding war. (Three bids) The girl knows her business. She is very unlike most realtors I have known. I HATE to be sold anything. I HATE it. But that's me.

I think there are good selling agents and bad ones. If you price the home right here and not try to make a killing, just a tidy increase, and if it is clean and not smelly and not junky...It will sell right away for far more than you paid for it, with or without an agent or a realtor.

That is my opinion.

[merrymini]

The villages agents are licensed with the state just like MLS real estate agents. The “realtors” name is proprietary but does not mean much. The realtors for the villages are here to sell NEW HOUSES, that is where the developers make money and that is who their employer is. I listed one house with the villages and was not too happy. Relisted with ReMax, Tammy Freilich, and it sold in two weeks. You cannot know which agent is best because everyone has a different opinion. All I can say is that Tammy was over to my home in a hour and the photographer took the best pictures of a house that I have ever seen.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

MLS get more exposure form out of State shoppers. The Villages RE are pushing new homes down south side in my opinion and they limit your exposure.

[graciegirl]

The villages agents are licensed with the state just like MLS real estate agents. The “realtors” name is proprietary but does not mean much. The realtors for the villages are here to sell NEW HOUSES, that is where the developers make money and that is who their employer is. I listed one house with the villages and was not too happy. Relisted with ReMax, Tammy Freilich, and it sold in two weeks. You cannot know which agent is best because everyone has a different opinion. All I can say is that Tammy was over to my home in a hour and the photographer took the best pictures of a house that I have ever seen.

Much incorrect information comes from realtors who cannot sell new houses here.

[Frogfolly]

I would never list my property with a firm like The Villages who try to limit competition, the lifeblood of sales, and who own the newspaper that prints and organizes the listings to their advantage. If they can't compete on their own, but are just after 'cornering the market' .....well, I am for the guys who hustle and make things happen. And, I am a former Real Estate Broker!

[toeser]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?

If you have the ability to take good pictures and write a story, I like using FSBO.com. For a modest fixed cost, you get your house on MLS, Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. If you are willing to pay a buyer's-realtor commission (1%-3%), you will likely get the same amount of traffic you get listing with a higher-priced realtor.

[jwonycr]

We did ours by listing free on ZILLOW and saved $30000.00 that the villages wanted to list for us. Sales people from MLS or The Villages are their to get as much of your money as they can. The only person you should consider trusting is yourself. Research, and be both the seller and the sellers agent. When we listed, we spelled out that we would not pay any commission to any agent on our side nor on the side of the buyer. Users moving to The Villages don't need help. We did pay for Burnsed to handle all closing.

I second this. We didn't use Zillow to list, just advertised our own open house in the Daily Sun. Originally planned to run the open house for 6 days, but it sold for full price on the 2nd day. All closing details, including preparing the contract of sale, were handled by Advantage Title for a flat fee of $400.

[RMarkland]

Have used both sides of the equation. Found that TV was wanting to go with a lesser price than MLS. Listed with MLS at a fair price (still higher than TV) and had it sold in a week, two offers. Something that we forget is that TV is a buyers agent. We ended up paying an additional 5,000 due to the agent telling the seller that we would go that much higher. We never had discussed that with our TV agent. Another item to be aware of, get it in writing from the TV agent, one of ours had a different memory until we reminded them of the facts.
IF we had a choice we would go with a good MLS agent.

[Bridget Staunton]

We sold our ourselves, villages appraised our home $20,000 less than what we sold it for. They want a quick sale which gives them more $ in their pocket. Stay away from TV

[lorilorilori]

Buy from the Villages.
Sell with MLS

Also I am in a 6 months w no action for 3 months. Was not told I could do a 3 month list.
Should have done my homework before listing

[Sgb1959]

MLS get more exposure form out of State shoppers. The Villages RE are pushing new homes down south side in my opinion and they limit your exposure.

As an out of state buyer of existing home in 2019 we tried working with TV remotely from California. Our circumstances dictated we buy remotely though we'd visited in 2018 and knew what we wanted. The guy TV assigned to us did almost nothing in terms of checking out houses we found on their website. We also worked with a traditional MLS realtor who set up reporting sending us MLS listings with exactly what we were looking for. Then based on our feedback that realtor went to the homes we were interested in taking videos and send to us. We couldn't get the TV guy to even go to the TV listed homes to get answers to questions we had. We bought an MLS listed home though there were some on TV website that might have been better fit. Friends we've made here in TV told us their experience in buying with TV was heavily weighted to getting them in the 'new' areas south of 44 & turnpike rather than existing homes. That was our experience and experiences of a friend.

[ron32162]

The MLS is the best. Sally Love Real Estate Inc. She has been in the Villages for 14 years and has the clients and one of the most experienced Realtors in The Villages.

[manaboutown]

I have never heard or read any reliable post that any agent for The Villages ever tried to "push" new homes.

The first Villages agent I used did. He evaded showing me even one resale after multiple requests and steered me to new homes.

P.S. I have never been and am not now a Realtor.

[Roron123]

Definitely MLS

[dplars]

Used the Village once, never again

[Kilmacowen]

Buy from the Villages.
Sell with MLS

Also I am in a 6 months w no action for 3 months. Was not told I could do a 3 month list.
Should have done my homework before listing

Sorry Lori , you cannot blame the agent. You had your house listed with MLS with no action then listed with TV. The problem is your house, although beautiful outside, you have 2 oversized refrigerators in the kitchen and wall to wall cabinets everywhere, including the bedrooms. That's why you're having a problem and I don't mean to be unkind but its very unfair to blame the agents.

[KRM0614]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?
MLS gets seller exposed to all the realtors all states all online forums!

VLS only gets you the people who show your house as a contractor of the villages !

MLS the way to go

[manaboutown]

Frankly, the way homes are sold has changed in recent years, first with technology and then with the pandemic. An out of state or out of the country buyer can easily check all MLS listings and whatever FSBO listings are registered on Zillow. A few years ago my daughter in CA bought a home in MD after viewing it over the internet the very day it went on the market. She had her agent go through it and FaceTime with her. Then sight unseen she signed a purchase agreement with the seller subject to the usual inspections and conditions. It all worked out fine.

Agents I know are currently doing virtual tours for buyers as sellers do not want people trudging through their homes, sitting on their couches and so on during the pandemic.

From my perspective current conditions may work to the advantage of MLS and FSBO listings as they can be found by anybody anywhere in the world with internet access. This is incredible exposure.

Is such breadth of exposure similarly available to Villages listings? It seems to me a potential buyer would need to know to also go to The Villages website to separately view VLS listings. Buyers who have researched The Villages may likely understand this; other buyers may not.

P.S. I have never been and am not now a Realtor.

[Dilligas]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?
As with any home sale or purchase, it is the agent you have that makes the biggest difference. The Villages will be listed in The Villages.com, while outside agencies ONLY on MLS. If you want new...only availabile in The Villages on Villages.com. Many first timers from up north only know MLS. There are more Villages homes listed by Villages.com than you find on MLS. Some of the Villages agents will work with MLS agents (as long as they play fairly) to provide you the best service.

[Carla B]

The first Villages agent I used did. He evaded showing me even one resale after multiple requests and steered me to new homes.

Ditto here. He said, "No, you don't want to look at resales; they are priced higher than new homes." His schedule was very busy. It was at the beginning of a down market and he mentioned that TV was starting to purge their sales force and he didn't want to be a victim.

[graciegirl]

I would never list my property with a firm like The Villages who try to limit competition, the lifeblood of sales, and who own the newspaper that prints and organizes the listings to their advantage. If they can't compete on their own, but are just after 'cornering the market' .....well, I am for the guys who hustle and make things happen. And, I am a former Real Estate Broker!

Well then don't. However Forbes listed The Villages as the fastest growing community in the U.S. They must be pretty successful.

Every business wants to "corner the market" sell up, be the best, have the most sales, .......some like The Villages have such a good product and way of doing things they don't have to pressure and they don't have to give away new home sales either. THAT is just good business.

P.S. There are so many realtors on this thread or retired ones. I grow so weary of the tired sell of realtors with a capital R.

[Nanny32162]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?

I would call Bonnie Berman with The Villages, she is amazing. But I know her, like her, and trust her; we bought a house and sold a house using Bonnie. However, I did like that answer about interviewing both The Villages and outside realtors. We did that when we sold our house in the north, the realtors who we chose sold our house for $30,000 more than another real estate agent said was the max we would get for our house!

[manaboutown]

Ditto here. He said, "No, you don't want to look at resales; they are priced higher than new homes." His schedule was very busy. It was at the beginning of a down market and he mentioned that TV was starting to purge their sales force and he didn't want to be a victim.

My guy must have been a top performer as he had been rewarded with flights on at least one of the company's private jets, dinners in the private dining room and so on. The Villages sales office is there to drive the sales of newly built product. That is what keeps the developer going, making the big bucks. Resales are a sideline, and of course a highly profitable one, but the emphasis is selling new product.

P.S. I am not now and have never been a Realtor.

[Boomer]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?

Find your individual agent, no matter who they’re with.

Many years ago, I had a license for a short time. I took the classes, passed the test, and then went through in-house training with the biggest agency in my northern city.

But all I wanted to do was to learn about the business. I never did much with the license because I had no intention of quitting my day job. I finally let the license drop. It was back in the days when our budget was tight and the costs to maintain the licensing did not make sense.

Throughout the years since, I have FSBO’d 5 houses, but that was a while ago. As our houses got to the point where I wanted lookers qualified, we went with an agent.

I found our agent in an Open House. In the class I had taken back in the 80s, we were told that Open Houses are really for the agent to meet potential clients — not necessarily for the house where they are hosting at the time.

That does not mean that having an Open House cannot be valuable to a seller — done right, of course, it can.

Also, if using an agent, you want one who will round up other agents from the office to give them a quick tour, as a group, to get the word out.

I have found that the best way to find an agent is to go on a reconnaissance mission. Go to Open Houses and eavesdrop a little, watch the interaction with lookers. Listen for lies. Yes. Lies. Or, if I am being kind — omissions. Rarely — but it does happen. I have overheard a couple of doozies. There are a lot of TV agents so there is every type of personality.

As the hosting agent in the Open House gets a lull in the action, chat a bit, ask some questions. You are going to know if it can be a match. I clicked immediately with the agent I chose. She had a lot of experience, knew the territory, was smart, was not a phony, not condescending, or Pollyanna, and had a sense of humor. That worked for me.

If you find a possibility, MLS or TV agent, get their card and after some thought, invite them to your house to see what they think.

In TV it is easy to watch for Open Houses that are similar to yours in model, age, and general location. If you go to those, you can get a real feel for the competition.

(I am north right now so I am not sure if Open Houses are happening much in TV. They are here in Ohio.)

I have thought recently that if we decided to sell, I would be tempted to try a FSBO again and have wondered if people are happy with trying FSBO through Zillow.

Good luck to you. Finding your match is crucial when looking for an agent. Take your time.

Boomer the Mover

[yankygrl]

If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?
I have a villa for sale, I chose a non village sales representative who is a realtor. Not because I have anything against TV but most aren’t realtors. Mine has connections within TV so the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, with current situation of COVID and the fact the market is flooded with pre owned homes, mine is not moving as quick as I’d hope. Fingers crossed the seasonal/snowbird renters are on there way down and I look for a more positive response soon.

[Stu from NYC]

I have a villa for sale, I chose a non village sales representative who is a realtor. Not because I have anything against TV but most aren’t realtors. Mine has connections within TV so the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, with current situation of COVID and the fact the market is flooded with pre owned homes, mine is not moving as quick as I’d hope. Fingers crossed the seasonal/snowbird renters are on there way down and I look for a more positive response soon.

It appears to me that if the house is priced to the market it sells rather quickly.

[Toymeister]

I have never heard or read any reliable post that any agent for The Villages ever tried to "push" new homes.


I was pushed a new home over used by a TV real estate agent. I was specifically told that the agent could get me in a new home cheaper.

Does that make me unreliable or just a liar in your eyes?

[bpascani]

Thanks for the link, it's pretty interesting for anyone anticipating purchasing in the near future. Firing a school volleyball coach, because she quit being a Villages salesperson and went to work for another real estate company, seems pretty harsh and petty given that her coaching is totally unrelated to her job of selling houses.

That could be, because he/she was a coach at one of The Villages Schools, which still shouldn't have happened, IMHO, BUT...just sayin'

[Pairadocs]

I have been looking at houses via the internet since we left TV in April. I have looked at tons of houses on Trulia (same as Zillow, for my money) and The Villages. What I will say as a prospective BUYER, is that The Villages is pretty half-assed as far as their presentation of a property on-line. Most of the time the pictures won't even load. If I were selling, I'd go with MLS.


What I have noticed most is the amount of information NOT given by the Villages in their listings. By that I mean, on Zillow I can see the ENTIRE history of the price the property sold for every time it has sold, the entire TAX history, much more, won't go into it all. The Villages presentation format is always incomplete and I think their idea is (maybe ?) to not give much to get people to call, give them phone number, get all the personal info for their records... just a guess. I think ALL houses sell when they are priced at the "right" price, the price people will pay. Some RE agents like games, inflate price and owners feel GREAT, then the pressure begins on the owner to cut the price in small increments, then to do certain things, paint, get new flooring, saw it go on and on with a neighbor and a good friend. The real answer was to take everything into consideration, and then price it at a fair, price, or just a little less (saves in the long run because you pay taxes, and many other expenses while you wait for it to sell. If you are right on target or just below, it is going to go quickly ! Last three moves we got opinions from 4 different agencies. Took the average of all four, knocked off 5K because they all inflate to some degree, and it sold WHILE they were putting sign up in front! Never really understood the practice of pricing as high as possible and then putting in the ad every month that it has been "reduced". That whole approach seems a loosing one to me, but it must work as so many use it ! ? We did like doing for sale by owner, had so much more control over our life as we tried to balance work, family, having to show house. Also were surprised at the very reasonable price of having an attorney looking out for US, we expected it to be much more, but we found most have a standard price unless there is some out of the ordinary circumstance in the sale. When we used a RE agency, always "seemed" we were not really represented well, the "attorneys" involved seemed more concerned with the buyers bank and real estate agents involved. When we sold FSBO the first time we were actually surprised that it was LESS stressful and we felt so much less helpless (didn't get those calls from an agent who says "I KNOW we agreed no showings during on your mother's birthday on Sunday but....." and the "but" was always I have this client who MUST see it, they are leaving, yada yada. Or I KNOW we agreed NO late night showings but..... Sure, many reading this will feel they want ANY prospective buyer at ANY day or time, and I can see that point of view. Just saying, we've tried different ways and doing it ourselves was definitely the best for us and our stress level.

[nancymiller217@yahoo.com]

But every home that sold either had a water view, or golf view. All had a pool, or room for a pool.

Those that didn’t have those qualities(19 homes) sat on the market for 90 days, some longer. Then Relisted with MLS.

I haven’t made a science of it, but my general observations were the same. If your house has something special (golf/water/pool lot), list with TV, otherwise MLS.

[Halibut]

Does anyone know what the commission structure is for Villages sales agents?

Is their compensation the same for new homes vs pre-owned, or does each have a different commission percentage? Do Villages agents pay a percentage to the developer for every pre-owned sale like most MLS Realtors do to their brokers?

[Rango]

Absolutly the villages ask for beth pope 352-552-1511 traffic is the most important

Another Beth Pope fan here. I bought 2 homes, and sold one using Beth. Her husband Todd and daughter are part of the “ Pope Team”

[Toymeister]

Does anyone know what the commission structure is for Villages sales agents?

Is their compensation the same for new homes vs pre-owned, or does each have a different commission percentage? Do Villages agents pay a percentage to the developer for every pre-owned sale like most MLS Realtors do to their brokers?

It has been reported on this forum numerous times that the commission to the agent on VLS pre-owned listing is one percent VLS one and one half for new, this for selling.

No first hand knowledge but based upon over a dozen reliable posts by honest people it is clear that VLS agents will activity discourage pre-owned over new.

[graciegirl]

I was pushed a new home over used by a TV real estate agent. I was specifically told that the agent could get me in a new home cheaper.

Does that make me unreliable or just a liar in your eyes?

I have always thought well of you Toymeister. I wish that someone would verify that this is widespread or based on something concrete. Do "THEY" give higher percentages to new homes over used? That seems silly. New homes practically sell themselves.

Here is the ad on Facebook for open houses TODAY; Two open houses for new. None for used. We need to see if "THEY" are promoting new over old.

The Villages, Florida's Friendliest Hometown (https://www.facebook.com/thevillages/)

[ufu1395]

What's the minimum length of time I have to advertise my home if I list it through tv? 30, 60 days? 6 months? a year?

[newgirl]

I found the opposite. Village salespeople price high and open house the daylights out of it ( I have yet to go to a village listed open house and have the salesperson sell me that home, they use them to get your name and see you new. Never forget, they work for the developer and it is in their best interest to see new.

[manaboutown]

I was pushed a new home over used by a TV real estate agent. I was specifically told that the agent could get me in a new home cheaper.

Does that make me unreliable or just a liar in your eyes?

And I'll wager your VLS agent never voluntarily revealed the amount of the bond on a new home. My first VLS agent was so "busy" he showed me only three or four new spec homes. At each one when I questioned him about the amount of the bond on it, he opened his big blue eyes in astonishment like he had never heard of a bond! lol. What an actor! Then he mumbled and fumbled for a while and would only guess at the possible amount. I wonder if any VLS agents when they show a customer a preowned house and claim they can get them into a new one for less ever bring up the amount of the bond on the new home versus the bond (if any) on the preowned home - or the improvements most people do to their new homes such as upgrade the light fixtures, landscaping, replace the cheap builder grade carpet with tile, repaint all the rooms, outfit the closets with shelving and cabinets and so on.

My first VLS agent when asked also tacitly admitted by nodding his head affirmatively that VLS agents are incentivized to sell new homes over preowned. And of course as I have historically reported on several threads over the years my first VLS agent evaded showing me even one preowned home after I made numerous requests for him to do so.

Unless VLS has changed its practice their online listings do not show the year a house was built as MLS listings do.

P.S. I am not now and have never been a Realtor.

[Stu from NYC]

And I'll wager your VLS agent never voluntarily revealed the amount of the bond on a new home. My first VLS agent was so "busy" he showed me only three or four new spec homes. At each one when I questioned him about the amount of the bond on it, he opened his big blue eyes in astonishment like he had never heard of a bond! lol. What an actor! Then he mumbled and fumbled for a while and would only guess at the possible amount. I wonder if any VLS agents when they show a customer a preowned house and claim they can get them into a new one for less ever bring up the amount of the bond on the new home versus the bond (if any) on the preowned home - or the improvements most people do to their new homes such as upgrade the light fixtures, landscaping, replace the cheap builder grade carpet with tile, repaint all the rooms, outfit the closets with shelving and cabinets and so on.

My first VLS agent when asked also tacitly admitted by nodding his head affirmatively that VLS agents are incentivized to sell new homes over preowned. And of course as I have historically reported on several threads over the years my first VLS agent evaded showing me even one preowned home after I made numerous requests for him to do so.

Unless VLS has changed its practice their online listings do not show the year a house was built as MLS listings do.

P.S. I am not now and have never been a Realtor.

We purchased our existing home in Jan thru a village realtor and he did give us the amount of the bond.

Last June we rented and spent a few days looking at houses. The village realtor who grabbed us the first day took us to see new homes in Fenney and when we asked him about seeing existing homes was suddenly hard to reach.

Wondering if they give people incentives that vary and some months they are incentivized to only show new homes?

[dtennent]

Having sold our homes here and up north, I will second an earlier comment that the agent is the key to selling. When I interview an agent, I have them walk through the house with me and suggest items that would sell the house. The great ones will make the suggestions, point out things which will hurt your sale or improve your odds. Here in the Villages, we found that Kathy Collins did a great job in selling our previous house in The Villages and informing us of a lot that came on the market that met all of our location requirements.

One other thing you might consider in selling - When you receive a copy of the inspection, get a handyman to do all the items and sign it when completed (with their printed name). I left this for the new owner and it saved a lot of headaches afterwards.

[RealtorKaren]

Definitely MLS. Much wider exposure for your property. Neighbors have not been happy with TV realty.

I’m a Realtor in Texas, moving to TVs soon. Realtors are members of the National Association of Realtors, and are licensed as well. Most buyers shop online for a home online through sites like Zillow and Realtor.com, and The Villages agents cannot advertise on those sites. So, I think it would be a big advantage To list with a MLS agent, to get the maximum exposure online. My opinion as a Realtor!

[rjn5656]

villages. Rene Webster realtor sold about 6 houses in our neighborhood in a short time. Will give you advince(some you might not like) about how to sell it. Also will stage it for you if needed.

[jimbo2012]

90 days with Villages 15 showings, going MLS next week

[Papa_lecki]

Here’s our buying experience. Had an MLS and Villages realtor.
Villages realtor showed a home last fall my wife LOVED. We estimated it was overpriced by about $30,000 to 40,000, so we didn’t even make an offer. The house sat for 6 months.
Fast forward to now, same house listed on MLS, $50,000 less than with Villages. We would have absolutely bought the house at the price now, but we already found a house.

My theory is the Villages overprices existing homes, so buyers think the new places are a bette buy.