Talk of The Villages Florida

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-   -   Possibly the worst VLS home close experience? need advice.... (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/realtors-mortgage-property-management-companies-261/possibly-worst-vls-home-close-experience-need-advice-336633/)

Bobendres 11-12-2022 05:48 AM

Escalate for sure

Rwirish 11-12-2022 06:04 AM

You signed the closing papers!
Well …..

SilverMema 11-12-2022 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAFwUs (Post 2156713)
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.

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.

GizmoWhiskers 11-12-2022 07:08 AM

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!

nn0wheremann 11-12-2022 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAFwUs (Post 2156713)
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.

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

donnbecky 11-12-2022 07:58 AM

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

Dlbonivich 11-12-2022 07:59 AM

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

bark4me 11-12-2022 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Two Bills (Post 2156722)
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.

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

seecapecod 11-12-2022 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAFwUs (Post 2156713)
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.

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.

jj121232163 11-12-2022 08:25 AM

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.

seecapecod 11-12-2022 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asianthree (Post 2156865)
Isn’t there a Code of Ethics, for MLS? If there wasn’t any keys would not have signed. Guessing the MLS agent knew what you were walking into, and choose not to participate. Sadly you were not the winner, MLS agent got their commission, guessing neither care about their reputation.

An MLS agent could not have been involved if the home was sold through the VLS.

BlueStarAirlines 11-12-2022 08:32 AM

As others have said, I would have not closed unless the house was completely empty, all repairs completed, and cleaned. There is no recourse now, you accepted the house conditions and went to closing. This is why the Pre-closing walkthrough is so important. Even new builds have the walk through before closing......

DonnaNi4os 11-12-2022 08:33 AM

Wow! Welcome to the Friendliest Home Town. That’s simply unacceptable on so many levels. Didn’t you have a walk-thru? I am so sorry this happened to you and I hope the problems are resolved quickly. Since papers are signed you may not have much leverage. This Jersey girl would not have put up with any of it.

elle123 11-12-2022 09:20 AM

Lawyer?
 
It's always a good idea to hire an attorney when you buy a home even if it's not legally required.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAFwUs (Post 2156713)
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.


Indydealmaker 11-12-2022 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAFwUs (Post 2156887)
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.

Please name the poor performing agents, and/or give them an opportunity to reply in this forum. Poor communication should not be allowed to exist.


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