Listing resale with MLS or VLS?
 

In a few weeks we will be listing our current home for sale. We bought this house through an MLS agent and the new one through VLS. Trying to decide how to list this place (MLS or VLS).

I have read that VLS sells more homes than MLS but that some of their agents really push their clients toward new homes. Also, the VLS contract is specific about what the buyer has to fix (post inspection) and sets a max amount, whereas MLS deals can fall through in post-inspection negotiations. Are there other issues to consider? How would you list your home for resale and why?

Thanks.

kathy

I think it has a lot to do with the location of the house for sale. My personal experience has been that VLS has little interest in selling resales North of 466. I would list my house for sale in TV, if north of even 466 A, with an MLS Realtor. Sally Love did a great job for us."

Had another house listed with VLS located near Lopez. One open house, few showings. After a couple of months we held an open house . The third day, we sold it. We still had to honor our contract with TV, but we sold it.

I think a lot depends on the realtor and your willingness to price the home fairly. We used VLS to sell our first home in TV. Listed it on Labor Day morning and it was gone the same day. We had it nicely decorated (selling furnished) and had a market based price. Our Villages realtor (Nikki Perry) was very helpful in suggesting the price range we should consider and giving us suggestions on placement of certain accessories in the house to ensure it showed well. In addition, she helped us thru the process since we were at the summer home at the time. I would suggest interviewing a couple of realtors and make a decision. I highly recommend a call to Nikki.

Are you buying a new home in TV. If I am not mistaken Villages Sales offers some kind of incentive if you sell and buy through them.

Don't take this the wrong way because every sale is unique. I would be concerned if my house sold on day one or if there was a bidding war for it. That would cause me to question if the asking price was too low.

When looking to buy our pre-owned home our (very nice) VLS agent was unwilling to take an offer to a seller that was about 12% less than asking. Her rationale was that the VLS homes are always priced accurately and sell within 5% or so of asking. She went on to say my bid should be in that range. I politely declined to follow her advice and stated my offer would always be based on my perception of the value of the house in the current market. I found a better deal with the MLS agent I was working with a few days later.

Had same experience with VLS - Said must be within 5% - bought from MLS also

We already bought our new house (through VLS). We are moving in ten days. We plan to list this house after we move.

k.

I sent you a private message

I was told it's a 1% rebate.

It is ILLEGAL for an agent NOT to take an offer on a property unless the seller has put something in writing regarding a low-ball offer.
That agent should have been reported to the Florida Real Estate Commission.

Overall I have found that Villages' agents list a property for a higher price so that if the house does not sell within a reasonable amount of time, they can make a price change and reduce it.

From what I understand, you have no leeway in the amount of time for the term of the listing if you list with the Villages.
I believe the minimum is six months and if you re unhappy with the service you are getting (or rather, the lack of service), it's too bad.
MLS Realtors have the luxury of making changes in the listing contract, but not so with Villages' contracts.

The agent did take the offer. But I'm sure it was something like "here is an offer that I'm sure you won'
t want to accept" She contacted me a couple of weeks later and said it was not accepted.

Probably 99% of the public would be thrilled beyond words if their home sold within one day!
The other 1% would probably find some dumb reason for not being happy! :1rotfl:

Before a seller lists their home, their agent should have done a market analysis so they would know the exact price range for listing their house. Then there would be no question as to price.

I have done lots of selling on eBay (used to teach adult ed classes on buying and selling online) and I always research extensively before listing an item. Unless it is some unusual/vintage/collector-type thing, I know what it should sell for and most of my items sell quickly. However, there is always a momentary feeling of "hmmm, maybe I could have gotten more" when I get the email saying, "Your item has sold!" Human nature, I guess.

k.

And I'll bet that house sold within 5% of the listed price.

Possibly, the comps in the area were about 15% less.
The agent thought the corner lot was worth the extra 15%.

As a used car dealer who is a good friend told me - there is an ass for every seat.

Sorry, but The Villages agents are not Realtors.

If I had a house go on the day it was first listed at its asking price I would realize it had been priced under market value by my agent.

Not always the case since every sale is unique but the person that benefits when a house sells on day one is the realtor. Think about it...if a $300,000 house sells for 5% less than it should in the first week the owner loses $15K. The realtor only spent a week of effort and lost (assuming 7% commission) about $1,000.

Not saying realtors purposely or routinely undervalue property - that would be counter productive in the long run. Just saying realtors have much less to lose when it is.

That isn't necessarily true.

It definitely would not be true if your agent gave you a copy of a recent competitive market analysis of the last three months of sold homes in your area which you studied backward and forward.

Those kinds of facts don't lie and tell the real story.
The price of your house should petty much be based upon those facts with plusses for upgrades and minuses for anything negative.

Interview at least 3 agents and require then to bring a market analysis based on recent sales of comparable homes.

Go to open houses of comparable homes to see the competition. Sometimes you will meet an agent you click with that way.

If they allow dual agency in FL, don't do it.

I am a lot like you. Most of us if we are thinking to sell our house would be closely watching the market ourselves which is easy to do in this age of online information. Plus many of us have seen a few of our own homes sell in our past, and probably our children's and neighbors as well, and most of us pay attention to the value of homes in our area and what kind of placement and additions add or subtract from a home's value. It isn't like it used to be when only a real estate agent could get their hands on what homes sold for. We are intensely interested in this because for most of us our home is one of our biggest financial outlays and assets.

P.S. Kathy. I have 87 items for sale right now on Ebay. Fun and one can always use the cash.

The CDM, CA house I am in now I had a signed purchase contract for the asking price through the listing agent who could keep both sides of the commission with my offer within four hours of the sign going up in the home's front yard - in 1996, before the internet listing services we now enjoy. The next day at an open house she received three solid offers, two of them for cash, all three above asking price through other agents.

Obviously the house was underpriced. I knew that as I had been looking in that neighborhood for a year. Diligence pays off!

BTW, Zillow shows the house to be now worth about five times what I paid for it in June of 1996 which turned out to be the very bottom of a big market dip in the area.

Pardon my ignorance for a change, but what is a CDM, CA house?

You were very fortunate when you purchased your house and it would seem that there was something better in your offer than the other three.

It makes you wonder if that agent gave the results of comparable sales in the neighborhood, and shared the results with the seller. OR -- perhaps, because the times were at the bottom of a bad real estate market, she advised the seller to list at a low price to create interest and get the house sold.

I believe at that time (1996), The Villages real estate cooperated with all brokers, and not only their own Villages' agents. Do you recall if that is correct during that time frame?

Don't take Zillow's estimate of house values to heart. Those figures are usually grossly overpriced.

My understanding is that VLS listings are not in the MLS, so if you list with VLS you are only selling to people that are buying through the VLS. Whereas, if you list through the MLS, those listings are available to all realtors to sell.

Realtors
 

The Villages realtors can not show MLS.

That is because Villages agents are NOT Realtors. Only Realtors can use the MLS for which they of course must pay a fee.

[/COLOR]Of course Zillow's estimates can be off the mark but based on recent sales one of which was two doors down this one is at present on the number.

If I were selling my Villa in TV, I would try to sell it FSBO. It is easy to get a good grasp on market price by checking recent sales through the County assessor websites, Zillow, and the Villages website. If you settle on the price it would likely sell through a realtor and discount it 2-3 % you will likely sell quickly provided you market it smartly and have open houses. We purchased our Villa from an individual that was about to list, but hadn't yet done so. One of his neighbors told us he was probably going to sell soon so we stopped and talked to him, indicating we were interested. He allowed us to look at the Villa and it was exactly what we were looking for in the exact location we were interested in. He told us he had talked to a Villages salesman and they told him they would want to list it for X dollars. We took that figure and offered him 96% of it and he accepted. Three weeks later we owned the Villa.

Once in a while, we all get lucky.

You were lucky in that your timing was perfect and everything fell into place at the right time! :clap2:

If you list with VLS they will knock off 1% on the commission since you sold with them.

I listed with VLS and sold in about 3 weeks. I bought a MLS listed home that was on the market for 6 months. The MLS people will tell you they can get more money for your home to get the listing then it sits on the market or you have to do price drops to get it to sell.

MLS will not market your home like the Villages look at the paper everyday to compare. The Villages sells 70% of the homes with MLS about 30%.

If your Villages agent pushes new homes get another one, our agent never did push one over the other and showed us what we wanted to see.

You have signed a contract, even with MLS you are locked into that Broker until the contract expires.

If you want to sell your home with or without agents or realtors, clean it up, get rid of junky looking stuff, inside and out and make it look like a magazine as much as possible. You may like shabby chic but downright junky is asking for failure.

Personally, I would go FSBO to sell a home in TV. No Realtor or Villages agent is needed if the house is priced right, clean and well presented.

More and more homes are being sold FSBO all over the country. Friends of mine just sold their house in Hawaii FSBO, no problem.

For villas or houses with lots of drive by traffic I think I would try FSBO, and if that didn’t work out I’d go with the Villages, as they seem to do well with homes under $500K. Over $500K they seem to flounder a bit, and there is where I’d go with an MLS realtor.

As others have mentioned...I would go the FSBO route first.

My second choice, would definitely be a MLS Realtor over what is not much more than a 'checkout counter person'...under the VLS system.

As for Judge Judy, and maybe it's just a career hazard of reality television personalities, I find her arrogance and of being able to always control that which is shown and not shown...as often being just plain nasty. :shrug:

Whenever I have listed a house for sale, I have always told the listing agent that I want to see any and all offers to purchase. They are working for me. A seller should not be offended by any offer. If you get a lowball offer, just say no or make a counteroffer.

Do VLS agents fall under the Florida real estate commission? You are correct that the agent has to present all offers.

I agree, and here is a site for FSBO listings:

Search Homes By State | ForSaleByOwner.com - FSBO

If you want to sell your house, get rid of the junk, inside and out and stage it prettily. This may be the time to buy some stuff to replace the old stuff you have. Spending some money and doing some work will pay off with faster sale and bigger bucks. This is general talk. The OP already knows this.

I like to look at pretty homes;


home staged nicely - Bing images