TV sales vs outside realtor
 

Why do some people list their homes for sale through an outside realtor instead of listing it through The Villages ? As far as I can tell both charge the same commission. I am not certain, but I would assume you can't do a listing with both.

From my casual unscientific observation, it appears to me that the homes listed through an outside realtor take longer to sell and sell for less. That could be totally disputed by somebody with real data but that is just what I have noticed.

Nope, you must pick one from Column A or one from Column B. Both at once is not going to stand. There is data to support sales times and prices but it is skewed by location and condition. Put the home is great condition and price it to hit a Triple instead of A Home Run and save the commission which makes it a Grand Slam.

We sold our villa through Debbie Gentry of ReMax last January. She brought us 5 offers and in less than a month, we had sold our villa. Didn't talk to Villages realtor. Our neighbor next door to our house had his house listed with The Villages for a year.....nothing, not an offer or a request to lower the price. Debbie Gentry of ReMax sold it in 6 days. I'm not a relative of Debby's nor do I work for her or with her. I think more people are looking with outside realtors. We didn't but maybe should have.

Huh?

From personal observations in our neck of the woods TV realtors houses for sale do not move as quickly as the resales offered by independents

Sally Love has sold several houses near us in under 30 days-on the other hand a house listed by a Villages agent has been on the market for 5 months

These houses are so wanted, so desirable, here in The Villages.. If you price the house right and have it clean and if you have it staged properly, it will sell right away without any agent and then you can have McLin and Burnsed close for you. They probably close more homes than most closers in this whole country. Closing cost about $750 about six years ago.

If a house is on the market here for any length of time it is dirty, priced too high has too much junk and bad colors and too many personal choices that cost money to change. Some people insist on pricing it and don't listen to a realtor OR an agent. And do not study comparables.

That is my opinion. I don't sell real estate, never have but we witnessed personal homes sold and our kids homes for a total of 12. I also like to watch what homes are selling for here, just because it is sort of a hobby.

As I understand it the agents who work for The Villages RE sales office are licensed Florida real estate agents or brokers but they are NOT Realtors.

When I looked for a home to purchase in The Villages the Villages agent steered me toward new homes as the developer's priority is obviously to sell newly built homes. Indeed I never could get him to show me even one resale home. Existing homes are the developer's competition. I have heard the agents of TV's sales office are more highly compensated to sell new homes than they are to sell resale homes.

We used Cissy Smith of Realty Executives.. She did a great job and the house sold shortly after listing.. Check out her website.

That is not true. I asked our sales agent here who has become our friend. He showed us a lot of used homes before we decided to build our second home here and that is when I asked him. New homes and used homes are about the same price in many cases, always depending on location and view. Some people cannot be talked into a new home and that is all we have ever wanted. Love NEW homes.

I'd like to see that in writing from the proper person in authority before I believe it as I have verbally heard the contrary from more than one agent. A verbal comment from an agent may or may not be meaningless or misleading but I see it as carrying little or no weight.

Perhaps "incentivized" (in some fashion to sell new) would be a better descriptor...???

When we came down this past May, our Villages realtor, Beth Pope, showed us the re-sale homes that were available that met or requirements. She then took us to Fenney, after viewing several models we walked into a spec home and boom, it was all over, much lower in price than used with a lot of extras. We are very pleased with Beth, the home, and Fenney.

We worked with two different Villages sales people when we purchased our homes here, neither of whom tried to steer us to new construction.

She's right...again! We sold and bought this way...on our own.

Maybe it was just bad luck, but when I wanted help looking for an existing home in TV,
I contacted the Villages sales office, but after over a week+ and a second call with no response.
I started looking myself on Zillow, and found a property
I was interested in, contacted the ReMax agent and away we went.
Bought remotely, great agent, she was my eyes and ears.
Ended up really pleased with our purchase.
I don’t see where every home here in TV,
sells like hotcakes, since there are a lot
of homes on the market at any given time, both new and resales!

incentives are in existence for new home sales vs resales....and selling in Fenny is a huge win for an agent.

straight from the horses mouth.

We tried to get our sales agent to show us some resales as well. he showed us two, and they were in such deplorable condition that we went back to looking at new. I'm happy with what we got, but I would do it differently next time. I would work with one each, sales agent and MLS sales person.

I looked at resales on line. Most had not been updated. Same laminate counters from the 1990s, same carpet(bright raspberry, kelly green, blue, red, etc). That is fine for the seller but as a buyer, more people want neutral. And how many couches does one need in living room. I am not a realtor, but have bought and sold 6 homes since 1996 and flipped two more. I just finished selling my house and helping my fiance sell his. First rule is stage for the buyer. Most of the resales were very cluttered and that says to me it would take forever for the seller to move. I would immediately click on to another. Then there were those few that were updated and done well. We just bought in Fenny with a wonderful TV agent this past weekend and will be there at the end of the month permanently. The deciding factor was a larger yard that was fenced. So every buyer has their criteria. Never sign a contract for longer than 3 months. A year and no sale? Either the house is a mess, no one cares, overpriced, or the agent needs to be changed.

If the developer's sales people were so superior, there wouldn't be a plethora of very successful independent real estate agents/brokers...also selling homes here.


Just think about that for a moment. :ho:

Assuming your neighbor's house showed well, it is quite possible it was priced over market value.
Some listers are adamant about a list price being accurate. They can take a very long time to come to the conclusion that their house is overpriced. Folks, please don't sign a listing agreement for MLS OR for VLS for longer than three months!

Same here. We have owned two resale homes in The Villages because we wanted to live mid Villages.
We've has no problems getting Villages agents to show us resale homes.

I don’t believe anyone said they are superior. But let’s face it they have and sell more listings than the independents

We had a home listed near Mullberry with TV. They showed it a couple of times and that was it. While it was still listed with TV, we held open houses and it sold the second day.

We had to pay TV the commission, but at least it was sold.

Our experience with Paul Caraway of ERA Grizzard real estate is the best! Sold our home in Woodbury in 5 days and helped us secure our new Villages home, which closed in the same week.

Having exclusive rights to sell new homes...easily explains that.

I think you sill find a different outcome, if the sales of pre-owned homes were taken into account.

Thanks everyone. I think what I am hearing here is that the advantage of going with an outside realtor is that they can only show preowned homes. Therefore, they can't divert the prospective buyers attention to a new home. Hence, they will work a bit harder or longer to sell your preowned home than a TV salesperson. Of course, there would be exceptions to this but speaking generally that is the reason people choose an outside realtor. Is this accurate ?

Look Beyond that Cloud of Smoke
 

The Villages Real Estate -- A Poor Excuse for Servicing Homeowners
 

The "real" problem begins and ends with The Villages real estate company.
They refuse to cooperate with outside Realtors and that is why only Villages agents can sell new houses.
Consequently, all (outside) Realtors can only list and sell the resales of other outside (MLS) Realtors.
Also, please understand that all Villages agents are only agents and not Realtors.
They also will not take 90-day listings.

Now -- get this -- Villages agents can sell the resale listings of outside brokers, but they don't and won't!

So what does that tell you?
It should tell you that The Villages is doing a disservice to all residents who want to sell their property.
If the Villages doesn't list it, they won't show it or sell it.
That is, if an outside broker/Realtor lists it, they won't show it.

It's very sad and unethical that the Villages employs this practice. It's the homeowner who pays the price and suffers by not getting the full service they deserve through no fault of all the outside MLS brokers/Realtors.

Yes, I do feel that this is a very unethical practice of the developer.
:ohdear:

Like it or not, Properties of the Villages sell 100% of the new homes and have about 60% of the resale market. They dominate the market. Just compare ads for them to anyone else in the Daily Sun. That said, sometimes the smaller firms can be more personable.

Pauld315, our buying process included using independent and TV salespeople, augmented by attending numerous open houses hosted by both. We also looked at FSBOs. Before we started this process, we had concluded that we did NOT want to build, and that, while flexible, we were oriented to the villages between 466 and 466A. Our flexibility extended to south of 466A, but not outside Sumter County. For both sets of homes, we had a list of homes we wanted to see, and the agents augmented that list with additional suggestions, based upon their knowledge of available homes and areas. As we analyzed the homes we liked on both sides, we found the price / value equation in the following order of desirability: Independent sold homes, Village listed homes, and FSBOs last (generalizing, they were not in as good condition and overpriced). We negotiated on three independent sold homes, ended up with a move-in ready turnkey home (not a requirement but a relief) in our desired area. Both agents listened to our requirements, and did their best to meet our needs. Given the fragmentation of the market, I highly recommend using one from both listing pools.

We sold our first home HERE without a realtor or agent and I refuse to capitalize realtor.

There was a big dust-up involving SOME local realtors about five years ago and there was a meeting at one of the rec centers and it was so ugly, police had to ask people to leave. Janet Tutt as always kept a cool head. THAT is when I learned there were some "undercurrents" from some local realtors. I was appalled.

I got some really ugly P.M.s at that time as well for expressing my opinions. We have sold many homes in the past in Ohio using realtors and we were completely satisfied.

Our last realtor in Ohio was so helpful. She pointed out several things we hadn't seen; our bushes needed to be trimmed way back and all perennials removed. Our outdoor furniture looked "a little tired" to her and either had to go or have new cushions. We had comfortably added a bookshelf and an easy chair in our bedroom that made it cluttered. Our bath needed to be a neutral color rather than the blue we enjoyed....etc. etc. etc.

WE did every thing on her list and priced it with her comparables and sold it in nine days with three buyers bidding against each other. There are really good realtors and there are those not so good. IN my opinion.

How can 200 agents all be painted with the same wide brush?

Yes. There will be those who push new, but think about it.......new has to be easier and faster. Find the lot. Get 'em set up to make their choices. Move on. Of course, there will be some TV agents who push new first.

But not all.......C'mon 200 agents cannot all be the same.

If you are planning to list your house, do a little homework first. Of course, you need to get your home ready to show at its best, but you also need to find the agent that is a match for you.

You might have recommendations from people you know, but if that does not work for you, do a little interviewing on your own. It is really easy to do that in TV.........

Go to Open Houses and talk with the agents. Find your match. If something clicks, set up an appointment -- or at least get the agent's card and maybe make notes. Don't just call up and take whoever the office sends.

I must shamelessly confess to eavesdropping in Open Houses. I have heard agents tell bald-faced lies and I have heard agents purposely omit or avoid pertinent information when responding to questions. I have heard condescension. I have heard that classic "create a sense of urgency" routine. But mostly I have heard professionals that do just fine. TV agents are not programmed like robots. Geez. Stop painting them with a wide brush -- good or bad.

Also, sellers need to pay attention to homes like theirs that are on the market. Be realistic. Get the comps. I think there are sellers who are so enamored of their personal decorating choices that they expect buyers to want to pay extra for their murals or whatever. When a seller lets ego cause them to dig in on a higher price than the comps dictate, said seller seriously narrows the market for the home.

TV agent or MLS? Find the INDIVIDUAL that is a match for you and view the process as if you are going into business together --because you are.

It isn't unethical AT ALL. The Villages inc. are builders and they can sell their own homes without sharing any of the profits with any outside real estate agencies and why wouldn't they? They are in business to make money. Who would just give away money? There is not a thing underhanded about it at all. Outside realtors just don't get to profit from the Morse family and they don't like it. I say that The Villages name itself has clout. This is the fastest growing community in the U.S. That says it all. This is a very desirable place to live and houses don't require much work to sell.

Boomer is right. Keep up on what your home is worth and what similar homes have sold for if you are thinking to sell your home. Don't be unrealistic.

(In regards to your statement....... that VLS agents can but won't sell MLS homes)

I don't think that is totally correct. As a retired Broward MLS Realtor, I must call the MLS listing agent for showing instructions and lock box code for access to inside the home for sale.

As the Listing agent, I can't grant access to any agent who is not member of the governing board of Realtors... I think that would be illegal.

So for that reason...I think your statement might be incorrect.... VLS agents cannot sell MLS "Realtor" Listed homes, and visa versa....
Just saying...

A realtor or Realtor is simply a licensed agent, salesperson or broker, who is a member of the National Association of Realtors, a trade organization. The NAR governs the Multiple Listing Service, fights to keep its "recommended" commission structure against antitrust claims and lobbies for the tax deductibility of mortgage interest and for or against other factors affecting the industry. National Association of Realtors - Wikipedia

They even have a SRES certification. (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) lol

I think you mentioned that you are a licensed real estate agent and developer, Manabout?

Yep. I keep a RE broker's license and have done a bit of commercial - but not residential - development. I still manage some commercial RE in which I retain an interest.

BTW, I never felt the need to join NAR as I was never involved in residential sales. As I view the matter almost all residential agents join NAR through their local board in order to participate in the MLS. Otherwise they are on their own...

Outside TV listings (not the TV broker) get more exposure and commission is probably more negotiable.