[wavylines]

I am selling my patio villa in the Village of Deluna. I tried the VLS agents twice but no sale even after price reduction. I am not going to go that route a third time and would appreciate some names of experienced real estate agents (and their contact information if you have it) with a proven track record of resales in The Villages.

Thank you for any help you can give.

[margaretmattson]

Originally Posted by wavylines

I am selling my patio villa in the Village of Deluna. I tried the VLS agents twice but no sale even after price reduction. I am not going to go that route a third time and would appreciate some names of experienced real estate agents (and their contact information if you have it) with a proven track record of resales in The Villages.

Thank you for any help you can give.

Try using an MLS agent that has a YouTube channel. They will video your home and place it on their channel for their many followers to see. Some agents have thousands of youtube followers. Cameraman and Jana Raber is a popular site. Robyn Cavallero also has many followers on her site. Good Luck! It is a tough market but don't give up.

[wavylines]

Thanks! I will check them out

[MightyDog]

I don't have an agent recommendation but, selling real estate ultimately comes down to price, condition and marketing.

I've transacted several homes over 30 years and have been avidly following the TV RE market for about 8 months. My observations are this:
1) I can't help but wonder what some of the agents are smoking (probably some of the sellers too). As rough estimate, it seems that 75%+ of properties are listed at prices too high. There was an increased demand anomaly in the TV market for a couple years instigated by Covid disruptions that has since dissipated. But, sellers or agents don't seem to understand that. By looking at Property History on Realtor.com or Zillow, etc, you can see buys in latter 2020 thru about halfway thru 2023. Many have been Listed for sale again in the last 12 months at prices 20 to 30% higher. That makes no sense unless substantial (and marketable) improvements were made. Lots and lots of markdowns and houses are sitting for long periods, going stale.

2) There is a HUGE range of experience and ability in the realm of RE agents. Any agent name you get, go look at their website and For Sale listings. Look very closely at the images -- are they good, well lit (no photos on overcast days!), from useful angles, informative for a buyer, enough of them? Read very closely the text descriptions they write. Are they helpful and informative to a buyer? I was looking at the listing for one nice house in the Chula Vista area. The photos were excellent and first half of the description was decent but the second half (a lot of text!) was basically promoting TV. That made no sense - buyer are already well-aware of that. There were more details about the house/property that could have been described but, weren't! Given that many people are looking at listings from faraway places, that is a detriment. I write my own descriptions for that reason when selling but, I'm a marketing professional so, know how to do it.

3) This can't be emphasized enough -- owners need to DECLUTTER in the interior (put trinkets and excess stuff away in a closet - ask the agent to be honest w/you about what should be pulled; it's to your benefit) and clean-up the exterior. I see some listings in real need of a pressure-washed patio, driveway or siding. Spend the money, do it! Nobody likes to look at visibly dirty and the photos need to be GOOD. Prune landscaping too.

4) Sellers have to be realistic about price especially when they have something(s) that current era buyers are very unlikely to want. Like dark green countertops or ancient, dirty carpet, etc. They have to price down for the replacement cost of those (and the hassle factor for a buyer who may have just had an exhausting move from far away). Neutral-colored components that are still in good condition, they don't have to price down b/c it just becomes choice on part of the buyer to replace.

I could go on but, seems to me, that sellers often don't realize that THEY need to do a lot of homework before listing their property. Select your agent carefully, ask them to be ruthlessly honest and pay attention to everything they do. They aren't the boss, you are and will be paying them plenty of money when it sells. But, they also spend a lot of time that could be entirely wasted (no earnings) if the seller is unreasonable and no sale occurs.

Lastly, I'll say that, having followed the TV market for awhile, when a property goes up that is in good condition, is marketed well and priced right - they often get snapped-up in less than 10 days. Like I mentioned in the first sentence above. Good luck..

[Decadeofdave]

Cissy Smith
Susan Wellington

[badkarma318]

Ira Miller. He worked for The Villages for years, then went to the MLS side for quite a while, and now has opened his own brokerage. He also has his own YouTube channel. Just search for "Ira Miller The Villages, FL", or "IM Realty The Villages, FL".