Buying VLS resale questions

[herbaru]

When considering purchasing a VLS home will the TV sale agent show you comps? Also I assume you can make price offers? How helpful have folks found TV sales reps to be while purchasing a resale?

I do understand to see all resales I need to work with MLS realtors too.

Thanks!

TV soon...

[Luckydog]

Don't forget FSBO's (For Sale By Owner). We just purchased a small ranch in TV sold directly by the owner and feel we made out very well.

[kstew43]

Do your own research...... don't agree/trust everything the sales people tell you remember there job is to sell you a house.

Check out with the neighbors why the house is for sale, check the tax records to see how old the home is, what the previous owners paid, how many times it has been sold before..... and inquire abouth insurance rates, power bills, ect. Hire a qualified home inspector....

Drive around the neighborhood at night, morning ect..... talk to everyone you see....

We must all become informed buyers.....:highfive:

[graciegirl]

Do your own research...... don't agree/trust everything the sales people tell you remember there job is to sell you a house.

Check out with the neighbors why the house is for sale, check the tax records to see how old the home is, what the previous owners paid, how many times it has been sold before..... and inquire abouth insurance rates, power bills, ect. Hire a qualified home inspector....

Drive around the neighborhood at night, morning ect..... talk to everyone you see....

We must all become informed buyers.....:highfive:

I VERY much agree.

[buggyone]

The previous suggestions are very good. I would also look on Zillow.com for their estimated price. That site also tells the age, times sold, prices sold for, and taxes as well as good aerial pictures of the area. Realtors hate this site as it gives too much useful information to a potential buyer.

Definitely, on any resale house, make an offer lower than the asking price. The agent is required to present it to the seller.

[BettyCrocked]

When considering purchasing a VLS home will the TV sale agent show you comps? Also I assume you can make price offers? How helpful have folks found TV sales reps to be while purchasing a resale?

I do understand to see all resales I need to work with MLS realtors too.

Thanks!

TV soon...

You can and should make an offer below asking price. HOWEVER, do NOT tell the Villages agent what your top dollar is. He/she is not your agent and does not represent your interests (most will tell you this, some won't).

[njbchbum]

try doing a web search on something like 'recent home sales in the villages florida' and you will get hits - some better than others. my favorite is The Villages Recent Home Sales - Sumter County Florida (http://www.expertrealty.com/sumter-county/the-villages-recent-home-sales)

[eweissenbach]

Very good advice - these people are smart!!!!! Also, take the bond payoff into account in the overall cost of the home, and consider the upgrades and location. The location can make a huge difference in the value, such as golf front, or lake view. Upgrades can also make tens of thousands in value differential.

[gingersnap]

We have purchased 3 homes and sold 1 home within 8 months...all within The Villages. All transactions were done through TV Real Estate Sales Agent Dan Baker. We have been very pleased with every single transaction, some being made as we were up north in PA. Dan is a super guy. He knows his job, answers your questions and just goes above and beyond to help with anything! We were not originally assigned to Dan when we made our initial contact to TV Sales Team. However, we found him in the Spanish Springs office one day and he was so helpful. He has become a true friend! Good luck in your search!

[graciegirl]

When shopping for a home, the two of us do better on our own and now that the internet offers so much information it makes it a lot easier. We had dependable friends who lived here and could and did tell us like it is and explained the bond and the areas, saying that the older homes were north and the newer homes were south and pointing out the area with the most deed restrictions. We wanted as much deed restriction as possible, we had lived with it and saw how it protected you.

The problem was what kind of home. Like many we started out looking for a snowbird home and thought we wanted to be in a walled village of villa homes. It seemed safer to go away and leave to us for some reason.

After touring villas, and ranches, now called cottages, we fell in love with The Camellia/Gardenia, a designer. One of the most popular styles at the time in 2008. We then were amazed at the difference in prices due to lot placement and view. It could be pretty much the same home but be priced 100K or more differently because of the view of the lot. We were also very surprised to find that a lot backing on a street was a superior lot and cost more.

We had looked at all of the homes on the villages site and on the MLS sites and changed our minds MANY times. We found our first home by seeing it listed in the paper on our lifestyle visit, walking around the outside without our agent and finding the garage door was unlocked and letting ourselves in. We loved that it backed to Odell rec center and we could walk out the back and use their pool and we loved the neutral interior and the price which I think was $229. We called the agent, said we wanted it, went in to sign the papers and I got cold feet and walked out. I couldn't do it. It was the most impulsive buy we had ever made. We drove around and went back to the house and saw an agent showing it to another couple and I said...OH no. That is my house. We signed the papers and owned it for four years and it was the dearest group of friends and neighbors that anyone could dream of.

When we decided on living here year 'round we decided to get a little bigger home with a little bigger garage for the three of us. We had Jim McLaughlin who patiently answered all questions honestly and helped us both times. The second time he showed us a lot of resales before we decided to build.

[NIPAS K-9]

try doing a web search on something like 'recent home sales in the villages florida' and you will get hits - some better than others. my favorite is The Villages Recent Home Sales - Sumter County Florida (http://www.expertrealty.com/sumter-county/the-villages-recent-home-sales)

thanks so much for posting that site. I:BigApplause:t will assist me in my search a lot.

[gomoho]

FYI - my neighbor put her home on the market at what would have been the top $$$ for it. She had 4 viewing the 1st day and 2 offers. Yep, there was a bidding war and she got more than she was asking - remember this was the 1st day on the market. There are not a lot of good options this time of year if you are looking for resale. So if it is a well cared for and looks good and meets most of your needs you better move on it quick. It is definitely a SELLER'S market in The Villages.

[Schaumburger]

In May I rented in Del Mar. The house next to the home I was renting was for sale listed through The Villages sales office. The house did not sell. I get new home listings e-mailed to me just about daily from an MLS agent. This house is now back on the market as of 2 days ago now listed with an MLS agent. The current listing price is now $30K less than the listing price was in May.

[Schaumburger]

The previous suggestions are very good. I would also look on Zillow.com for their estimated price. That site also tells the age, times sold, prices sold for, and taxes as well as good aerial pictures of the area. Realtors hate this site as it gives too much useful information to a potential buyer.

Definitely, on any resale house, make an offer lower than the asking price. The agent is required to present it to the seller.

What would be considered a "lowball" / insulting offer on a resale home? Or would this depend on how long the home has been on the market, or the reasons why it is for sale?

[Lbmb24101]

FYI - my neighbor put her home on the market at what would have been the top $$$ for it. She had 4 viewing the 1st day and 2 offers. Yep, there was a bidding war and she got more than she was asking - remember this was the 1st day on the market. There are not a lot of good options this time of year if you are looking for resale. So if it is a well cared for and looks good and meets most of your needs you better move on it quick. It is definitely a SELLER'S market in The Villages.

It is a sellers market outside TV too.
Our in laws had 12 TWELVE offers on their very old house in Brighton NY, we had 2 offers on ours in North Atl, and my cousin sold his (Atlanta) in e wks
Another friend sold hers in 1 wk.
Housing market has changed in the last few months! :)

[e-flyer]

Zillow is a good website for general info., how long it's been on the market, taxes, previous owners, selling prices, etc. Typically, Zillow's estimated value of the house is too low. Zillow had our house back north estimated too low, we sold it in a week for $80K more. Then Zillow adjusted the estimated value to our selling price. They may be more accurate here in TV, not sure? When we were looking at used homes in June, we told our Real Estate agent that we wanted to see a new listing when we arrive at TV in 3 days. She told us to make an offer sight unseen pending our walkthrough when we arrive. I said to her, "are you nuts, make an offer without seeing it first?" She said, "I don't think it will last" She was right, the next day, they accepted an offer and boy did I have get an ear full from my wife.....we ended up buying new, because there just wasn't much available used in our price range that we liked. Best of luck in your search.

[Barefoot]

What would be considered a "lowball" / insulting offer on a resale home? Or would this depend on how long the home has been on the market, or the reasons why it is for sale?

It would depend on how close the list price is to market value. Some people price their home to sell quickly, and hopefully to generate multiple offers. Others may price a similar home $30,000 higher to test the market. Presumably if the home has been on the market for a few months, and if it was initially over listed, it may have experienced a series of price reductions, and it may now be priced well.

It's up to the purchaser to research similar houses, take all upgrades into account, add on an appropriate amount if it's a view lot, etc. A good agent can be invaluable in providing information on comparable solds. Or a buyer can do the work themselves by using Internet sites which have already been mentioned, and by attending as many open houses as possible. Also talking to neighbors about what they like and dislike about the location can be invaluable.

[asianthree]

try doing a web search on something like 'recent home sales in the villages florida' and you will get hits - some better than others. my favorite is The Villages Recent Home Sales - Sumter County Florida (http://www.expertrealty.com/sumter-county/the-villages-recent-home-sales)

thanks for the site

[swrinfla]

Just to relate a little about my friend's recent experiences.

She long ago decided that she wanted a pre-owned, mostly because of its assumed 'mature landscaping." After nearly 18 months, she closed on the sale of her house up north. Two days later, she was here and we visited at least a dozen houses, both VLS and MLS.

Her desires and budget (under $200k) limited her options more than they would have a year ago, but, in the end, after 2 days of looking, she knew where she wanted to be. The place was a little run-down (the wife had died 3 years ago, the husband gave up caring for it as much as he should, plus he began to go downhill, too), so it was pretty easy to offer $6k less than asked.

Sellers agreed immediately. Buyer arranged for almost $7k of improvements, upgrades, etc., and we believe has added $15k to the value.

All accomplished in 2 weeks, too!

Stressful 2 weeks, to be sure, but she's now settled in and has embraced The Villages lifestyle for sure!

SWR
:beer3: