Sold by Villages Realtors
 

so, so disappointing that yet again "The Villages" real estate people had an open house across the street from us...and yet again, they left almost all the lights on in the house after they left

what's with these Villages Real Estate people....this is like the 5th time this has happened...seems like they just don't care...or maybe they are poorly trained

they want to be seen as professionals, yet they can't seem to turn off the lights before they close up the house after hosting an open house

come on....and they want 5 or 6 %

so once again, I've called the guy next door that has a key and once again he'll go in and shut off the lights. Hope the owner gives these sales people a piece of her mind.

So it's only The Villages agents that leave the lights on? So because of that they don't deserve 5 or 6%?

yeah...she went with the Villages agents and they are the only ones that have EVER hosted the open houses that they have had so far. After EVERY showing the lights are left on. Never happens in between open houses....this house has been on the market for 3 months now

So you're saying that you're okay with a realtor showing your home and walking away without turning off the lights that they turned on to "show the house" and you think that that's worth paying top money for???

the owner isn't local...leaving the lights on costs her money...

you think this behavior is worth 5-6% when there's an alternative???

In my experience seems like realtors do not care since they dont pay the electric bill.

When our house was for sale in Va we were asked by various realtors if ok to show the house say 5-6 pm,

We would leave come back after and pretty much all the time a bunch of lights were left on.

Must have happened with at least 8 realtors who showed our house before it sold.

The title of this thread is meaningless as there is no such thing as a Villages Realtor. Their in-house agents are not Realtors.

Such a good point you made and such a good neighbor YOU are since you don't have a key to do what the realty agent is being paid well for ! Some would not bother to go get another person to unlock the house and SAVE big time $$ for your absent neighbor. Give yourself a pat on the back.... and an extra cookie, you deserve it. That's what the "villages" is supposed to be. My personal experience in using a agency to sell a house was not good so I only did it once in four times. I had the lights left on ALL the time... they didn't really mind because it was not coming out of their money. I had my sprinkler system left running once, why shut it off, the agent was not paying for the water, and, I found out, she was in a hurry, was supposed to meet another agent for an early dinner, had cigarette butts crushed on my garage floor once ! Agent said people she was showing home to could never have done it ! She suggested perhaps one of my two grown sons may have come over AFTER the showing, and smoked while they were int he garage.... trouble was, neither of my sons lived in that state (Iowa) and neither smoke....LOL... so, "some" agent, who did NOT want to loose a sale, allowed a person going through my house to go to my garage and smoke, knowingly ! Again, good for you for standing up for your neighbor, an agent is not ever going to care as much as you do.

A sales agent . as bad as car sales people???

Was of the understanding they must pass the Realtor license of Florida to work there. This they are Realtors.

That seems to be the norm.

Passing the exam makes them licensed real estate agents. Real estate agents who join the National Association of Realtors (allowing them to post listings on the "multilist") are Realtors.

They are NOT realtors.

Smh.........

Sorry for your loss of sleep. Realtor's nightmare, lights and locks.

Unless the owner has asked you to watch their house, its not your business. You say this happens alot? Well, shame on the owners for continuing to use these realtors

It’s not just the villages, I had REALTY EXECUTIVES they left doors unlocked, lights on, and sliding door open. She also put a extra lock box on the garage so it was not track able. She was the nastiest Realitor, she talked about us to the neighbors and the buyer saying nasty things. I would never recommend them to anyone.

let me think....oh, because they're wasting her money

and what else could they have left on, that could start a fire

I think you're a good neighbour for looking out for their money not being wasted unnecessarily. I'm saddened by so many people on here who are saying you should not care. :ohdear:

Technically you’re absolutely correct. Most people however don’t realize the distinction. As a former Realtor, It cost me about $1000 a year to have that “R” on my card. In fairness, I had to pass a national test to qualify along with state test. Also could do referrals all over the country with other Realtors, which Villages sales agents cannot do. I bought my home here using a Villages sales agent. Must admit she did a great job! So, in the end it’s really more about the competency of the person.

It is none of his business? Oh, my gosh. What about being a Good Samaritan, and a good neighbor? I would definitely want the original writer to be a neighbor of mine. Because that is how I am. I help in taking care of people. When selling my parent’s house, a package full of insulin I later found out, was left inside the house. How hard would it have been for a realtor, any of the 8 realtors who had been there during that time period, to have looked at the address, and walked it next door. By the time I saw the package and took it over to him, the insulin was no longer any good. That’s what happens when people don’t believe in taking the extra step to help each other out.

Realtors
 

Why even use a realtor unless you have moved or out of town. ? I would much rather sell by owner then to pay 5 or 6 % to someone who has very little to do in order to sell.

Wrong. Yes they do have to take the Florida state test to become sales agents for the villages. Thus they are real estate agents but they are not Realtors. To become a Realtor you have to pass a national test and then you have the privilege of paying about $1000 a year to join the national board of Realtors, the state board of Realtors, and the local board of Realtors! The consensus being that Realtors have more education and require more training! In fairness I worked with a Villages sales agent to buy my home, and she did a great job.

I've had my ac turned down to 68 and left on , lights left on and they looked in my fridge

Village realtors only make 1% on pre owned homes and 1.5% on new homes - the rest goes to the villages. Yes many are poorly trained, but when you think about it it's not the villages that should teach them that as they should be courteous, caring and diligent and shut off the lights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OP must be from the Midwest.

Maybe the owner asked the realtor to leave the lights on?

Do not feel like it is The friendly Villagers making these terrible comments. There are a lot of non Villagers on this thread that are angry they can not be here. The vast majority of actual people who live in The Villages are great people.

When I was selling a home using The Villages realtors, the Real Estate agent left the windows open in lanai and after a rainstorm the entire area was flooded.

A littlfe knitpicky? We all knew what the OP meant.

They may pass the state licensing exam and become licensed by the state but they do not join NAR and are therefore not Realtors. Realtor is a trademark. www.nar.realtor

"Nit-picky is an informal way to describe someone who is overly focused on tiny, unimportant details, especially when criticizing something. It can also be used to describe such criticism. Nitpick (or nit-pick) is a verb meaning to point out the very minor flaws or mistakes in something, or to criticize it in this way." from dictionary.com

Realtor is a trademark. Trademarks can be significant and valuable intellectual property.

"While a generic term cannot become a trademark, a trademark can become generic. Ironically, the more successful the trademark owner, the more likely it is that a trademark will become generic, causing the trademark owner to lose its exclusive right to use and protect the trademark. A trademark can become “genericized” if the mark becomes identified with a type of product or service in the public's mind, rather than a particular brand.

Aspirin, yo-yos, and cellophane became generic through consumer misuse of the trademarks to refer to these products. Their owners (respectively Bayer AG, Dupont Cellophane Co., and Duncan Toys Co.) lost their trademark rights in spite of their efforts to police the use of the marks.

Xerox is frequently used as an example of a trademark that was once threatened with becoming generic because of misuse. Xerox needed to advertise and encourage consumers to use “photocopying” rather than “Xeroxing” in order to stop misuse of its mark, and at least for now it remains a trademark."

Generic Terms Under U.S. Trademark Law | Justia

Nope, this OP is from Massachusetts....we have values and integrity there too

As strange as it apparently seems to the folks that are 'jumping all over' my post, everyone on our cul de sac actually does give a damn about each other...

the neighbor with the key went right over and turned off the lights...it's not a big deal
...it's about neighbors taking care of neighbors...same thing we 'signed up for' when we trained in CPR and formed an AED group....and we do ask each other to keep an eye on our homes when we are away

as the old saying goes...if you have integrity nothing else matters, if you don't have integrity nothing else matters

Why shoot the messenger? OP was just remarking that the real estate person should have the courtesy to leave the house, after a “showing”, the way they found it. That seems reasonable to me. It’s not the end of the world but it’s also not very professional either.

not their house so they care. irresponsible

You criticize him for trying to be a good neighbor? I sure would want my neighbors watching out for us.

I've read quite a few responses along the lines of "mind your own business" on this thread.

I'm just wondering where people draw the line between this issue of real estate agents leaving lights on (and the like) and, say, someone breaking into your unattended neighbor's home. There's a big range of activities/events that fall in between my examples of wasted electricity and a criminal act, of course.

Yes, there's the obvious, like flooding on the property, etc. But I'm just curious what would be a tipping point for you, as a neighbor, to care/intervene about your absent neighbor's property? When leaving lights on doesn't pass the bar, what passes the "I should get involved" threshold?

That said, what would you like your neighbors to do if you were away and noticed this kind of issue that the OP described? Would it be just something like "oh well, my tough luck", or would it be "I'm glad my neighbor helped out"?

It is not right that the sales agent leaves the lights on. When I show MLS properties I always ask the sellers agent if they want lights left on or turn them off, I try to get them all. Lamps do sometimes get left on. If lamps are on, usually the owner is still in the house. I leave a business card also.

I would think that if the owner wanted some lights on they would be on all the time.

The OP did a good deed and if he was my neighbor would be thankful and do the same for him.

I ran the numbers. 40 LED bulbs and four florescent tubes left on for one month, it is 89.24.

Now call me the cheap but but I want to use my 89.24 for something else.

exactly my point....thanks for running the numbers

the woman has no husband, cash is limited and she's a nice person

I think it is wonderful for you to look out for your neighbor and I would do the same thing. Do not listen to the nasty people who wish to provoke you. I have a house for sale in NJ and have found realtors or real estate agents to be a sorry lot. Not considerate or conscientious. It depends on the individual and you cannot know ahead of time who is or who isn’t. Continue your good deeds. My neighbors look out for my house and I am grateful for it.