Cost to cancel "for sale" contract with the villages??
 

We are extremely unhappy with our experience with "The Villages" as a preowned sales Rep and at 2 months our place should have sold the first month. The Villages has made nothing but mistakes in our property's advertising both print and online ads. I was WARNED about the Villages but did not listen. HAS ANYONE EVER CANCELLED A CONTRACT FOR SALE OF THEIR HOUSE WITH THE VILLAGES?????? I was told they charge you for each Open House and our Sales person has had many but still has not sold it! Any input appreciated. Thanks.:police:

Cancelling For Sale Sales contract with Villages Sales
 

The terms of the contract should be outlined in writnig and you probably agreed to them.
What I would like to ask?
Did you complete a disclosure document with the sales agent?
Did the sales agent explain the importance of the disclosure document?

A clean well-maintained house that is priced right WILL sell.

It's called a Listing Agreement. If you signed a 90 day agreement then just wait a month and it will run out. If you signed a 120 or 180 day then you can call the broker and say, don't sell my home, they'll have to take you off since they can't sell a home the owner doesn't want sold. However, as you know they may charge you for any expenses they have incurred. Also, any clients that saw the home while it was listed with them, you'll owe them a commission if they come back and buy the home within a certain period of time.

I am sorry you are leaving us.

But as to the contract, why don't you just ask them? I have never heard of any such charge and I have been reading this forum for a LONG time. Houses that are clean, not smoked in, priced right and haven't a lot of permanent personal décor choices move fast here. Usually Villages sales people know what is a good selling price too.


Usually when rental snowbirds go home and remember how much they like it here they start looking for homes. May and June are very good months for home sales in The Villages.

Was you home listed at the price recommended by The Villages?
If so, I don't blame you for complaining.
If not, have you thought of considering a price adjustment
rather than cancelling the contract?

Unhappy service
 

You are aware that The Villages can not list pre-owned home on the MLS system which is a valuable tool to sale any home. With that said, the decision to sale any pre-owned home with the Villages Sales Dept can hinder a quick sale. Not to say always, but this is might be the issue. Most people just assume that any home listed is placed in the MLS, a question you should always ask! Good Luck

I respectfully disagree with your last statement, Bonanza


I am not a realtor, never have been a realtor never sold houses anywhere, but many local realtors are understandably very annoyed that The Villages won't allow them to sell the new homes.


BUT....More homes are sold by The Villages system than all other agencies combined.


Most homes now are found on the internet by individuals looking for a home..


If the home is not sold here quickly than it is over priced.


If I were selling my home here I would put it on this forum and close using McLin Burnsed. Cost two years ago for their services was $750. McLin Burnsed probably handle more closings than any other individual law firm in this country.


Three or four years ago when all home sales were in a slump, The Villages sold ????? percent of all homes in the country. (someone help me remember the percentage)


I am not putting down realtors Bonanza. I just feel they really aren't as necessary here in The Villages as they are in other places. Plus a few of them are nastily anti developer. AND of course I am very pro developer.

May/June question
 

Hi Graciegirl, I am new to the Forum and this is my first post. We are looking to buy in TV. Are there usually more homes listed for sale during the months of May and June, or were you referring to completed sales of homes already listed? Thanks

I don't know this for sure Paula, and welcome to the forum. I think I remember our villages rep telling us that late spring and early summer was his very busy time.

I was told by a former neighbor, if you want to list your home for sale with them, they will only do a years listing contract, meaning no 3 or 6 month contracts.
Since I have no desire to move around in The Villages, this is NOT coming from experience, only what I have been told. Maybe someone who has put their home up with The Villages could confirm or set the record straight for all of us.

No that's not true. You don't have to sign anything that says 1 year. I've sold a home through the Villages and my step son is a realtor here in the Villages.

You are right that some costs are incurred with breaking a contract. I didn't think so but I emailed our rep and here is what he said;


"Good Morning,

Always good to hear from you.

When We list a home the contract is for 6 months.
If the contract is broken before the end the seller would have to pay for any
advertising or expense like that."

I have sold a home with The Villages.
We used Debra Park, a professional and awesome Sales Rep.
When I wanted to reduce our price, she wouldn't let me.
She assured me it would sell within a month at the listed price, and it did.
VLS definitely doesn't require a year's listing contract.

Bonanza, I beg to disagree.
There are two real estate systems in The Villages, MLS and VLS (Villages Listing System).
VLS has the advantage of an onsite sales office, trolley tours, open houses advertised daily in the Daily Sun, etc.
It's my understanding that VLS sells MORE listings than all of the companies on MLS combined.

I don't know the answer to your question, but it seems to have been answered by a few that do know. My thought is....have you contacted the sales department and discussed your issues? Perhaps they could assign your listing to a different agent. Another step would be to proof all ads yourself (you said there were mistakes) and just insist on being more pro-active, to make sure they get is right.

I have been a Realtor, and I have listed and purchased through Realtors, and I always kind of shake my head at the "errors". Several of our transactions would never have happened if I had not stepped in and "pushed" a bit. Shouldn't be necessary, but.........

Good luck to you.

OK ALL! I started this post and will tell you I was a licensed REALTOR in NY for 2 years AND am familiar with the LIBOR's & NABOR's "CODE OF ETHIC'S". THE VILLAGES SALES PEOPLE ARE NOT "BOUND" by this code of ethics. FACT!!
AND I do know what the contract says as far as fees to terminate....I just wanted to know if anybody else had done this............THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT..:)

Unless it was written in your listing agreement I would doubt they can charge you for anything. In a normal Real Estate Listing( MLS) Agreement there is No Charge to cancel, but not sure what you contract has in it. Read the Listing agreement and it should have all the detail as to cancelling.

You can usually cancel an agreement but would not be able to list again until your current contract expires

My experience fwiw -- two years ago we listed our house with an MLS agent and after six weeks, had only a handful of showings and one screwy buyer who held us hostage before ultimately bailing. We then terminated with the MLS agent and re-listed with The Villages. They immediately had numerous showings and we got 3 offers within 2 weeks. Maybe coincidence, maybe not.

Oh, and there were a couple of minor issues in the home inspection -- a chipped window latch and I forget what else. When I balked at having them fixed (because I was so fed up with buyers at that point) our agent paid the $65 for the handyman herself. I would absolutely use the Villages sales office again.

An open house is more of a ploy for the agent to gather prospective buyers for other resales rather than a marketing tool for your house. It is also used by prospective sellers to find an agent they may feel comfortable with to hire. Simply put, the open house is an extension of the sales office using the homeowners house as a platform to market other houses and to line up buyers for those other houses.

Properties of The Villages sells around 700 homes a month. It seems as if they're doing something right.

Being listed on The Villages website may be better than being listed with MLS.
If someone up north has heard about The Villages and wants to look for a home, they might Google "homes for sale in The Villages FL" and the first site they'll come to is TheVillages.com.

Outside realtors don't have the advantage of the lifestyle visits that The Villages offers.

When I was looking into The Villages I Googled it and came up with TheVillages.com website. I call a number and was told about the lifestyle visit. I signed up for it, was down here a few days later and got hooked up with an agent who showed me about ten homes in one day.

The MLS is a great tool outside of The Villages, but I think that Mr. Morse and company may have found a better system for buying and selling within The Villages.

When we came to buy our house, we'd initially contacted an outside realty office and set up an app't for viewing several homes we'd spotted online. But we also set up an app't with a Villages agent as well. The outside agent seemed confused while driving (even though he had a gps). He had us on the north side of 466 so it couldn't have been due to the gps not knowing. He just couldn't follow the directions. We did think we wanted app'ts for the 2nd look the following day...BUT our app't with T.V. agent was first. She took us through several neighbors and homes along with a tour of the rec center and adult pool areas. We didn't get that with the outside agent nor did we feel we were a priority. Long story short, we got our new home with T.V. agent AND the process of purchasing went smoothly. I'd stick with T.V. for re-selling, should that ever happen! As others have stated...homes need to be de-personalized (is that a word??), staged and a price should be within the comps of the area.

The primary reason a house doesn't sell is price. There are other variables but it must be priced correctly for the current market.

The villages sold two homes for me and neither were on the market more than 3 weeks. They have a huge advantage with all their contacts. Always read your contract carefully whether selling with The Villages or with an MLS Realtor.

I am not pro-developer nor am I anti-developer because taking such a position only creates obstacles to clear thinking. My interest is to what is happening with people who purchased property here because perhaps there problems/solutions also fit mine. In other words as to the developer I am the housing unit on--------street that sold in -----at$$$$$$ and not a person

As to the realtor issue I view that the same as I do using an investment advisor. I want an advisor who has no ties to the product they are trying to sell me which actually means the advisor has a brokers license.
So I don't want a sales agent who works solely for the developer because a) they don't adhere to a code of ethics b) they may not be trained well c) I wouldn't have confidence in the advise they offered .
Frankly i am surprised that the state/county would allow people to sell homes who are not properly licensed and bonded, especially since even a manicurist has to have a license in this state

I only express an opinion and I do not advance an argument

If you want to purchase a new home in TV, you must buy through the Developer's office. Resales you have a choice to use MLS Realtors or the Properties of The Villages. IMHO The Developer has the advantage of the most prospects.

In addition, many of the TV sales force are former Realtors and well trained and very professional. No "pressure" from their sales persons.

Based on observatioins during the last 4 years living here in my neighborhood, I've never seen a home on the market more than about 3 or 4 weeks. Of course I have no idea what the asking price and selling price differential was but was suprised how soon the homes sold. All these homes sold were thru The Villages and if I was to sell then that's who I would use.

I totally agree. We have looked at several houses with Penny Chamberlain of Villages Real estate. My SO is a real estate investor an could not believe her knowledge, even tried to trip her up. Said he never came across anyone like her, even lawyers. Way over my head!!!

Timing!
 

We moved one year ago from one resale house to another. Bought & sold through The Villages with a smooth transaction within one month. One point that I would like to make is that Resale homes were flying off the market last summer......ads in the paper constantly had "Pending" banners across them. Prices started going up, and the market started to tank in September for Resales, & I don't believe it has recovered. Obviously, price & location are main selling points. A house across the street from me has been on the market for 1 year.....first listed with The Villages, & now with an outside Realtor for the past 3 months.....still not sold! I think that part of the reason you haven't sold your home is the fact that for some reason, the RE market is in decline again, & resales aren't selling as quickly as they were a year ago. If there aren't any buyers, you won't be selling your home anytime soon, so price, location, & condition are the main determining factors in how quickly you will sell your house!

The sales agents IIRC used by the Villages are licensed by the state. There is no requirement for a sales agent to be a REALTOR. REALTORs have a code of ethics but sales agents have state regulations as well, but they are not as rigorous. The state laws do not require you to be a REALTOR to sell homes nor businesses.

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

While your other concerns regarding the possible differences between a Villages sales agent and a MLS REALTOR may sway a person on way or the other, it is unfair to suggest that those working for the Villages are somehow skirting licensing requirements.