Possibly the worst VLS home close experience? need advice....
 

I'm am more than a bit displeased and not sure how to proceed.
Brief background:
We are current 1yr residents of the Villages, on a LT lease on the farthest south end's new construction for the sake of finding what/where we wanted to be.
Found a VLS home in the north end that checked most of the boxes and proceeded with purchase at the beginning of Sept.
Seller bumped the close out to 60 days after accepting our offer, citing they "needed more time" we agreed w/out complaint, even though the slipped in extension was not appreciated.
In fact, needs to be noted, we went with the flow at every step. Not a single complaint voiced, not a single thing asked from anyone.

Literally everything got pushed back to the very last minute, as in the last 2 weeks. No time cushion at all.
VLS "assistant" would constantly pipe us totally wrong info, then take a week to reply, if at all when we asked for clarification. we just rolled with the bs.
Home was literally just cleared of belongings this past weekend (or 56 days post offer acceptance) Some repairs were done very sloppy/shoddy and other things to have been repaired (badly leaking outside spigot being 1) still not done at all.
We were also told home would be "thoughly cleaned to VLS standards" by start of this week! Anyway,

Today was closing day.

Closing time was pushed back 2hrs due to weather. No biggy. Understood.
Closing location was then changed 1 hr before new closing time.
We were not told any of this BTW, had to find it all out on our own. Still trying to go with the flow and adjust accordingly, but the no preemptive contact from anyone starting to not sit well.

No one shows up at the now revised closing time & location, except the title clerk and us, despite being told repeatedly, they'd all be there and everyone knew the new time/location.
The weather was not an issue by then, we drove it, the title clerk made it from outside the villages, bank staff was there no issue, in fact it had stopped raining hours earlier.
Title clerk just wanted to go home, but least she showed.
Kudos for that.
Sales office where we were to get our new gate cards & rez IDs post closing (original closing location), would not let us in, even though there were people inside and we were told we were "excepted". It was 2 hrs before their posted close time. Grrrr.

So, I sit here, end of the "big day" we waited 2 months for.....,
I have No KEYS, garage remotes, etc to our new house.
(because neither agent showed at close)
The house has not been cleaned out, as promised.
House still has belonging in it we ask to have removed.
Some repairs not done.
*Inside was trashed during the move out (nails and screws from wall decorations being pulled out, littered every floor, literally hundreds of holes & scratches in the walls, dirt, clumps of pet hair & debris everywhere, including a small amount of junk we asked to have removed during the walk thru last monday..none of it has been corrected or remedied.

Our agent txt says "another week" to get a cleaning crew over, but I was told "I have to arrange" that thru the sellers agent - whose name & contact we were never provided, despite our asking.

I don't know when we are to get keys, etc. Have to now drive back down to get ID cards in addition to all this.
Not a single congrats or made to feel welcome at all by anyone, just a big fat nothing at almost every turn....SMH.

I'm not sure where to go from here?
Do I escalate these issues to a higher level and if so, whom?
Certainly this is not how it is..is it?
Advice appreciated. thnx.

When you look back on this day, you will say I bought my house in the middle of a hurricane. You could nick name your new home as “Nick or Nicole”.

I had a hard time getting my keys too, to the point I wrote on the Title company’s invoice that I will pay them WHEN I get the keys as my real estate agent wanted to look after my home while I was a snowbird and the agent simply wouldn’t part with the keys. The Title company said it had nothing to do with them and I said if no keys I won’t pay. They called the broker, what’s going on? I got my keys they got paid etc. The house was not clean, I hired someone, loved the home, it was worth it. Hubby pulled the nails, color matched the rooms, fixed the small problems. I cleaned inside, but found help easily later. I had a home inspector check the home before my offer and again before I moved in. A few things had to be done and they were or I’d let the Title company know. Lol, I know, it had nothing to do with them, but the more visible you make your situation, the more help you get.

Good luck, in a few months you will chuckle about all this.

Sorry that happened. But, if you signed the papers, you own the house. I wouldn't have signed. I also wouldn't have delayed the closing for 60 days or given permission for the seller to leave anything in the house. There is not really much you can do now, except that you can remove the belongings and change the locks. One thing that I would clarify is that, as a buyer, you don't have an agent.

For the life of me I cannot understand why you completed the purchase
You have basically agreed too, and accepted the situation.
Go to main Villages VLS office as soon as it opens.
Find the head honcho, and get an answer.
You want the organ grinder, not the monkey.
Forget Phones, emails. etc. get a person in front of you, and don't leave until you get it sorted.
JMO.

Wait, you actually signed the closing papers? I would not have and put up a stink - threatening non performance, financial damages, anything to get attention.
Id still do it today, though your position is much weaker today than it was yesterday. But threatening to publicize the whole thing including naming names might get a fire lit under someone.
Sorry, but you have been way too accommodating throughout. Squeaky wheel and all that....

& that folks, is why amateurs should use Lawyers when purchasing real estate.

The hurricane really screwed it all up for you. I would have probably just asked them to push it back a few days, but so it goes.

That said, If you signed, you own it. Go to home depot, but a couple deadbolts and either break into the home or get a locksmith to open it for you and change the locks.

You should change the locks anyway since you never know who might have a key.

As far as the trash and garbage, there's always something. Just clean it up and move on. If there was a list of agreed upon fixes, hold them accountable. If you don't have it in writing, don't expect anyone to fix problems unless you nag them relentlessly.

You should have done a walk-thru just prior to close. You could have made notes and had it addressed and held off signing until an agreement was made.

At this point though? It's yours, go enjoy it and waiting for other people is just going to be frustrating.

Just wondering
 

have you ever purchased a home before? Sorry for all that but really. How and why did you sign papers when the other side was not there? Something doesn't make sense.

So sorry to hear that you went through this. Our VLS agent was the best. We closed from up north and she made sure that we had everything we needed. She also made sure that everything on the inspection list was taken care of. She sent us many pictures. Our close in The Villages went a lot more smoothly than our close up north. Some VLS agents are much better than others and we were lucky to get her.

Sounds to me like you bought from one of three different Sellers:
1. A person(s) getting evicted and leaving unwillingly;
2. A person(s) under financial duress who did not want to leave willingly;
3. A person(s) amidst a divorce or relationship breakup who did not wish to leave willingly.

Regardless of which, the above advice is exactly right. Since you signed and it is essentially fait accompli at this point, you can either choose to be bitter and hateful, or be happy it is done and move on with lock changing, cleaning up, repairing, etc. to make it "yours" and put this unfortunate experience in your rearview mirror.

Either way, good luck, and CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW (to you) HOME !!!!!

The hurricane has nothing to do with it. All the hurricane caused what a slight change in time and location. Did the hurricane cause the previous owners to not clean up their mess? Did the hurricane cause agents to ignore their obligations?
Sorry, for your experience, OP. I guess you see what being nice gets for you.

How was the pre closing walkthrough?
If the stuff was still there and the house wasn’t cleaned, that’s on the SELLER, not the VLS agent.
Not sure why you settled without an agent and the keys. But the agent got his/her commission.

You own the house, don’t expect it to get cleaned out or cleaned.
Find a service to get the stuff out, and enjoy
Congratulations on the house.

Guessing the agent knew what you were walking into, and choose not to participate. Sadly you were not the winner, agent got their commission, guessing neither care about their reputation.

Not MLS, he said he used a VLS agent.

Thank you for those that have helped by reply & congrats.
After way too much BS, we are supposed to meet to get keys, etc this evening.
Cleaning & repairs I suppose are on us at this point. Given how other things have been handled on the sellers side/agent, that's probably for the best.

As far as the pre-close walk thru; that was conducted this past monday. It was the 1st time we had seen the house void of 20yrs of personal items inside. We noted the issues of concern and we were "assured" at that time, the remaining item removals, cleaning, repairs, etc would be handled before close!
That was 57 days into the 60 day process and 3 days before any storm arrived. So yes, that doesn't make sense why it wasn't done.

We were not told, none of that had not been done - until after close.

Since no one showed up for close as repeatedly promised and we had to jump thru constantly changing last minute hoops, just to get that done, we had no access to the house to see one way or another and as of the time of this writing - still dont. Hopefully tonight.

Regarding the seller, she is out of state (so I'm told). All matters were done via her VLS selling agent. All her signings were done electronically. We have purchased two previous properties in WA state, never once had the seller attend closing, but agents did attend and all things were done well before that particular date without hiccup.
The whole process was filled with lots of final hour BS, tons of unkept promises and the whole "trust us, we're the villages, we got this!", which has lead us to where we are now....

A previous reply, said it best - we were simply too accommodating and this was the result.
Lesson Learned!
Perhaps this thread can serve as a warning to others.

Hope you got a great deal on the house.

Seriously? The hurricane pushed off joining the seller and the buyer properly.

I have purchased multiple homes. I would NOT have just signed off contrary to what the OP did.

That said, since they DID sign off, it's time to move on. Clear the garbage, change the locks and own it. Maybe you get some help fixing some issues, but I wouldn't count on it.

Thanks for the reply. The storm on the night before close, was not entirely all that occurred here. It was just the bigger issue of many along the way. It seems to have been used as an easy excuse for multiple people to bail from their responsibility at the end of the process.

The "storm" was not a hurricane as it came over the villages.
We've had worse summer storms since I've lived here.
It was all but over by noon if I recall.
At LSL, 5hrs later when we were there for the thrown together "revised" closing...no wind, no rain, no damage of any kind, approx 150-200 people out walking about, eating, shopping, driving around, listening to the music. We drove there without issue of any kind, as did the title clerk. We waited for other parties to arrive as stated they would. They never did...there was zero reason why other involved parties could not have made it as well IMHO.

That said, I fully understand others would not have closed.
We in hind sight should not have. There were concerns over having already gone from 30 to a 60 day close vs our timeline to move, Todays holiday closures, possibly losing our interest rate lock and most importantly - the previous assurance - that these issues would be resolved prior to close with no way to confirm that, sans any real estate agent available.
As already stated: We trusted VLS agents to do what they stated they would do.
They didnt. Simple as that.
Lesson Learned.

Most of us do learn "the hard way" !
 

We learned the difficult (and expensive) lesson in our first home purchase. Like so many young couples, we were assured we did NOT need to "worry" about the extra expense of an attorney and told "there will be an qualified attorney present". At that age and experience level, we had no idea that was "code" talk, that the attorney was for the bank, in no way cared what happened to us legally. Never let that happen again through out our career moves. We did from time to time have an agent try to talk us OUT of hiring our own attorney ("gently" of course, just "oh, no no, that's not at all necessary, "they'll have one there" (again, THIS time we knew who "they'll was and were able to answer, "oh, excellent, OUR attorney will be there also". The non working plumbing, broken automatic sprinkler systems, poorly maintained gutters, walls filled with holes, scratches, major dry wall damage that never looks "right" unless who have the entire sheet replaced, taped, "mudded", and completely repainted. Usually can find a charity who will remove the unwanted furniture but not always ! Things left are seldom, if ever, the kinds of things a consignment shop will accept; they usually leave the items that would COST them to have removed. Some will leave an broken or poorly working spa, an item that costs substantially to have someone come and haul away. Wish this had not happened to you. Those who wrote that you should not have signed are correct, but, though weak, you may be able to make it so public and so embarrassing for those involved, that they may "do the decent thing"... but don't count on it. Even the "home inspector" (recommended to members of our family who bought here after we had built our house) recommended by the villages sales rep they used, was a $300 useless expense. The kitchen had multiple electrical problems, the roof he passed as having no problems, leaked seriously 6 weeks after the closing, and the AC which was inspected and predicted to have 8-12 year life left, completely quit when the first summer weather arrived in May. The closed in February. Another lesson never consider choosing an "inspector" from a list you are given by "your" agent, who may well be the "agent" of the SELLER only a "finding" agent for you. As Jimmy Buffet warned us long ago.... LAND SHARKS, those are the ones you have to never turn your back on ! Hope it gets worked out, that you can finally get over all the additional expenses this has cost you (it's really difficult to forgive when you've tried so hard to be the accommodating one).

We hate TV real estate service….

Yes, yes, and yes!
One of the things I did was listen to who the agent recommended and made a list of them…to make sure I would not use those people even accidentally.

I am continually amazed at how many buyers use the phrase "MY AGENT" when referring to the person who is showing them houses and facilitating the purchase of a house. That person is NOT their agent. He or she is the agent for the seller, not the buyer. When you buy a house, the licensed real estate agent and the broker work exclusively for the seller, and any money they receive is paid to them by the seller. Buyers really need to understand that they do not have an agent that represents them in the offer and negotiation phase of the sale of a house.

:boxing2::boxing2: Time for Vito & Rocco! :boxing2::boxing2:

I've done 21 closings with a lawyer and one without a lawyer. I don't care who has done it down here for a house at any price level. We will Lawyer Up Next Time For Sure!

I learned a valuable lesson. I hope my suffering helps others. THE FUNNY THING IS I SORT OF KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT I AIN'T NO LAWYER.

So not having your own agent might have been some of the communication issues. When we bought we closed through the mail and when we came down we had to call community watch to get our keys.

60 days to close is a very common time frame for closing. We we bought a new house in The Villages was the first I had heard of a 30 day close. That 30 days was actually extended to 60 days for awhile.

I understand you being upset but your story changes as you were telling it. First the time and location were changed and no one told you to later you received so many calls about the changes that everyone should have known about the changes. Also no one showed up other than the title company but later you said all the people from the bank were there.

You having an agent would have been helpful. Not sure where the sellers agent was, she probably could have made a call to get the keys etc.

Hopefully the cleanup and repairs don’t cost you too much. Many still hire cleaners even if the place looks spotless just to be sure. Good luck moving forward and Welcome to the Villages.

The OP said that the seller wanted to extend the closing for 60 days because they "needed more time". Why? I would have said no. The house is either for sale or it is not. That should have been a red flag. If you want to sell the house, you should close when the buyer is ready. I have never waited 60 days to close on a house, and I never would do it to convenience the seller.

Story didnt change, I worded things poorly or at least less detailed than I should have perhaps...

Original closing was to take place at LSL sales office 2pm, where we were to have met all parties, sign docs, get keys, get cards, etc. This was agreed on days prior.
Easy peazy.

That plan was changed last minute to a met at the Citizens First Bank next door 4pm. The bank was clearly open and appeared to be operating normally as was most of LSL. That's the "bank people" I was referring to previously. It was they who then directed us upstairs to meet with the title clerk who also showed up.
Other people, most importantly was our acting "agent" and the sellers agent where supposed to be there as well. The sellers agent had all keys, neither of which felt it was important enough to arrive as stated they would!
Sorry if that one aspect of the greater story was unclear.

BTW - We were able to obtain the keys this evening.
Our acting "agent" readily admitted "several people totally dropped the ball on our transaction/close" and none of it at all, could be justified.

You could file a complaint.

"Should you need to file a complaint against a broker, you may contact the Florida Real Estate Commission at (850) 487-1395. Additionally, you should file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office online at Florida Attorney General - Home Page or by phone toll-free at 1-866-9-NO-SCAM.
You may also file a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which acts as the State's consumer complaint clearinghouse, at www.floridaconsumerhelp.com."

In most but not all of my past home purchases I have used a Buyer's Broker. I do not know if that is possible when buying a VLS listed home.

"Even real estate brokers chosen by you to help you locate a home may represent the seller. According to most Multiple Listing Services, a broker helping the buyer locate a home is actually working as an agent of the seller's broker. Therefore, they represent the seller rather than the buyer. Before disclosing confidential information, such as your top offer, be sure the broker is not going to share that information with the seller. There are some brokers that only represent buyers. They owe their allegiance to the buyer. There may be a fee involved for this service, in addition to their commission. Make sure you understand what financial obligation you owe the broker before entering into any agreement."

From: Florida Attorney General - How to Protect Yourself: Real Estate Brokers

As I read and reread the OP's posts I asked myself what I would have done. If I really wanted the house, felt I had obtained a reasonable price, had a decent loan interest rate locked in, felt the sellers were elderly and needed extra time and so on I would have gone on to close. If I had a bad gut feeling about it or discovered I was being jacked around I would have walked. When I was in my thirties I went ahead and closed on a trailer park even though I learned during the closing that the manager was pistol whipped and robbed while I was at the title company. It turned out that was just an indication of what was to follow. Today I would tear up the papers, walk and let them sue me. That park was the worst investment of my life and set me back a couple of years before I finally was able to dump it. Boy, did I learn some hard lessons.

Well done! All is well that ends well. You may want to follow up. Or you may not.

Welcome to The Villages!

You don’t need the other side there. It would have been nice to have been told, though. And that your own real estate agent had shown up.

The buyer DOES have an agent in the State of Florida, unless one signs that they accept a non-broker relationship. It sure does seen like the original poster did not have an agent though. If they did, they should be filing a complaint, along with following the other suggestions people gave.

Lesson learned here — do a walk-through with your agent before the closing and NEVER close if everything promised has not been done.

Escalate for sure

You signed the closing papers!
Well …..

You own the home so I’d be calling locksmith to change the locks asap. I’d also be calling the real estate agent and let the agent know you’d be sending bill for cleaning to them as well as bill for removal of things left behind. I’d definitely be contacting anyone and everyone at the Villages office.
Best of luck.

Google reviewing on the parties you can is your final word. People read them and algorythms affect their standings in searches. Enjoy your new home!

Hire a lawyer, and make it expensive for the bums.

Bad VLS
 

That is not how it normally works. You have really stuck in there. I would have bailed long ago.

A lawyer would have gotten back to him in a month. Maybe he should have hired a well trained ethical REALTOR

Excellent advice. I would do the same. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

Absolutely unacceptable and I wouldn’t look back and laugh at this incompetent process. I experienced a similar issue when trying to purchase a home through the VLS, the sales persons (not realtors) were clueless, errors on the offer price, same lack of response- ended up losing the house to someone else. Was there an attorney involved ? That’s the only recourse I can think of because unfortunately the VLS is not governess by MLS rules.

Lawyer
 

Down here they don't want you to use a Lawyer but paying the fee gives you please of mind, the Lawyer won't let that happen also a house inspection(which the lawyer would suggest) would charge everything.