Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Hi,

We just closed in late November on a resale. Closing cost was $25 plus whatever the previous owner paid in advance i.e. taxes.

We chose to pay to have the house inspected, but that was our choice. Title search fee was paid by the sellers.

We could not believe how little we paid at the closing.

Hyacinth Bucket

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Sorry to hear that you didn't hear about it. We have been working with sales for a few years and could not make a connection on a place that fit our needs and only after we had started looking into Savannah Courtyard villas did they come up with the model we liked at the price we liked and with the discounts and free closing costs did we buy.

My wife and I didn't need to buy and we were a very hard sell. We could have rented without any reservations since we only come down for the winter months. Mostly me, she comes for February. I will tell you that perhaps the weather at the beginning of August this month was awfully hot and humid. That may have had an effect on sales overall. They TV weren't very busy but had allot of units to sell, we just hit them at the right time.

Example the same unit down and away from us sold in Feb 07 for 260+K and settlement fees. Whereas we only paid 228K period. 040 040 040

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

[quote=travelstiles ]
Efrahin, I agree that it is very difficult to get a straight answer on specific questions regarding both new and resale homes from TV real estate agents. I was a licensed RE broker in NY for over 10 years and am very surprised at how little information is given to prospects by TV salespeople. We first looked at homes in May during a visit, and have been actively looking online and speaking with TV agents for over 6 months.
We only received the email on the discounts when we inquired about it, and experienced numerous other "issues" which convinced us to purchase through an MLS broker instead.
The MLS site, among other things, gave us complete information up front, such as section, lot and block numbers, specific information on how to calculate the taxes, printable copies of the various floor plans on TV models, and when we made our offer the agent got back to us within 6 hours with a counter, and we finalized the deal in less than one day.
------------------------
Travelstiles :agree:
I was also a real estate broker for 20 years and ended up buying through a great MLS broker.
My advise to new buyers: If you are dealing with the Village agents, ask lots of questions, especially about bonds and closing costs. And get things in writing.

Loving it in the Villages
Barefoot

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

I just came back from a LifeStyle Tour this weekend.* Our TV salesman was John Stamper - he was great!* Let me put it this way:* His information about used homes was more credible and verifiable than was the information about new homes provided by a recommended MLS broker.* I will make sure John knows we want to be notified about every deal that comes down the pike.

BTW, we are now more convinced we need to be in TV.* Our target is October, unless a deal we cannot refuse :beer2: comes up earlier.

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

I used to manage a branch of a Title company and the fees paid by whom can be confusing if you're coming from the North. On pre-owned the seller usually pays for the title policy but if you buy a new home from The villages, you'd be responsible for the title policy. I've seen the same thing throughout Florida. If you're buying from a builder, you're usually responsible for this cost.
If you purchase through a For Sale by Owner, anything goes since you usually negotiate everything between yourselves.

Also down here, I'd say the majority of people don't use an attorney for closing. I know that where I worked, we had an atty available if any large problems pertaining to the closing or clear title came up. In Florida, the closers (paralegals) usually do the closing.
Hope this helps a little!

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Boomer BeBack

It's good that you're doing your homework before you commit to buying.

From my experience, if you decide to buy a "For Sale by Owner" home, you definitely need to get the Disclosure Statement from the Sellers. This is standard in Florida no matter if you're buying from an owner, thru MLS, or thru The Villages (VLS).

A "For Sale by Owner" or a resale thru MLS, the seller usually uses a title company to provide the Title Policy to the Buyer. The title company usually issues to the Buyer a Certificate/Binder at closing and the Original along with the Warranty Deed is mailed to the Buyer after it is recorded at the County's Courthouse. Usually the Seller pays for this Title Policy, but it is a negotiable item. Cost Example: House Price $100,000 x .0067 = $670 for the policy and $60-$100 approx. for the title search. The title company also handles the closing paperwork and provides their offices to hold the closing.

As stated in one of the above posts, when you buy NEW, the Buyer pays for the Title Policy. If you get a mortgage, they also require a title policy issued to them that is paid for by the Buyer. This is a lower amount since the Title company has already done the research.

If a Buyer is paying cash in a "For Sale by Owner", the Seller and Buyer can go directly to the County Courthouse and have the Warranty Deed recorded themselves. This might have been the case in the post that said they as Buyer paid $25 for closing.

When buying from a "For Sale by Owner" or a resale thru MLS or VLS, the state document stamps are usually paid for by the Seller, but again this is also a negotiable item as to who pays. When you buy NEW, the Buyer pays for these state doc stamps. Cost Example: House Price $100,000 x .0070 = $700.

A home inspection is always a good idea no matter who you're dealing with to buy a house. In a resale situation, there's usually an agreement in the Sales Contract as to how much a seller agrees to pay for any needed repairs found in an inspection. This is a negotiable item in a resale. NEW is a different situation where you deal with The Villages Sales Dept and their builder, etc.

Another good thing a Buyer should get from the Seller when buying a Resale is a Termite Bond. If the seller has maintained a termite bond all along, it is a simple matter of transferring the owner's name to the policy/bond. A termite inspection is always a good idea and this is done along with issuing the bond. Inspections cost approx. $45 and are paid for by the Buyer. Bond renewals are approx. $120/yr.

A buyer can also ask for the seller to provide a Home Warranty policy for a Resale. These policies can be purchased by anyone (seller or buyer) which provides a one-year coverage of the appliances, heat/air systems, electric and plumbing, etc. The cost is approx. $355-$500 for whoever agrees to pay. Old Republic and America Home Shield are examples of companies that sell these policies. They both have websites.

I know this is a lot of information, but hopefully worthwhile. Good luck in your search.

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Hi Boomer DeBack...
After closing, you will as a buyer get the actual title policy. You'd be surprised at the number of title issues there can be here in TV. Unfortunately, here we do deal with alot of estates and sometimes the families don't realize the proper steps with probate, etc. That's why it's so important to have the title insurance. Also, with title insurance, you'll be made aware of any encroachments on your property.
As to the home inspection, I can't think of any reason not to have one. As with any contract, you can attach riders on to it with any wording that you and the seller agree on. I've seen contracts fall apart after inspections with the buyer not losing their down payment. But, with the newer homes here, the inspections usually come out fine with just minor comestic things.
The Seller does complete a sellers disclosure statement which you will get a copy of prior to closing...
Hope this helps and come on down...It's great living here in The Villages!
Sue

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

When we were up there looking they said when a house came up they call us .We have 2 hours to get the house .THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE. I would never buy a car or a home in 2 hours

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Boomer and Bailey, yeah we don't buy in an instant either. Our visit was preliminary to explore and not to buy. All in due time. However, when we are ready, the two hour thing won't be a problem at all.

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

I feel it's a shame they won't let you pick the options that you like I don't think will buy there but it's FUN TO VISIT :)

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Hi, we never buy in an instant. It took us about 10 years to decide on what type of living room furniture we wanted.

Then we saw this house and it fit many of our needs plus the price was right and I think in less than one minute we made a decision.

In retrospect, it was the right decision at this time for us. Guiding light in all this - price of house.

HB

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Boomer
This is in regard to problems after the title policy has been issued. It doesn't matter who paid for it. If there is something that comes up after closing that was missed on the title search, you just need to go back to the title ins.. company who issued it....Hopefully that would never happen, but then again, mistakes are made.......

I know this seems so confusing! I had to sell my moms house up on Long Island and everything pertaining to the closing was totally different from here in Florida!!
Have a Happy Healthy New Year!

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Boomer BeBack - to reply to your question -

Regarding the question of being able to put contingencies relating to inspections into the Purchase offer for a preowned home.....A buyer can make an offer to purchase putting in any contingencies he/she wants. It's then up to the seller/owner to either accept the offer as written or submit a counter offer with changes they'd be willing to agree to.

In normal real estate resales, pretty much everything is negotiable. I live by the motto "If I don't ask, I won't get!" Also, the worst that can happen is you get a NO reply and you move on from there either continuing to negotiate or find another house you want.

Also, it was mentioned a buyer should use an attorney when purchasing a For Sale by Owner home. In my experience, owners selling their own homes should have no problem at all with this since it's no cost to the seller for the buyer's attorney fees.

In a preowned "For Sale by Owner" or thru MLS realtors, a buyer can also hire a licensed real estate agent to represent them as a "buyer's agent" where they sign an agreement to pay this buyer's agent a set dollar amount or a percent of the sales price. I sold my own home once where the out of state buyer was not able to be present for the inspection or the closing, etc. and their buyer's agent did everything for them for 1% of the sales price. The owner/seller shouldn't have any problem with this situation since they won't be paying the "buyer's agent" commission.

The above examples do not necessarily apply when you buy NEW homes either in The Villages or other new home developers.

A friend of mine wanted to use her own "licensed buyer's agent" when she was shopping for either a new or preowned home through The Villages and she was told they would only sell to her if she did not use her own buyer's agent. She also wanted to put a contingency clause in the offer that the deal was off if she couldn't get a mortgage. This wasn't allowed either and her offer was written up as a cash deal on the house she did eventually buy through The Villages without using her own buyer's agent.

In summary - always ask - always negotiate. You'll never know what people will agree to if you don't.

Readers - feel free to correct me on any of this information. My feelings won't be hurt. I'm not a real estate agent, just a homeowner here in The Villages who likes to share information about my own personal experiences in buying and selling my own home over the years.

Happy House Hunting!

Villages8house

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

Boomer,

The Villages real estate isn't really a hybrid, it's a captive market - a monopoly

it is a combination construction and real esate,
and thus their interest is to move new homes, and the resales are basically a low cost high profit add-on

Re: Closing costs- New Construction vs Pre-owned
 

JohnN,

I know. I was just being nice. - can't help but wonder how an owner who lists with the VLS fares (or should I say "fairs") against TV's need to sell those new homes. I guess, like everything else, the market will bear what the market will bear. TV does it 'cause they can.

I remain fascinated. ...and somewhat interested in buying in 2008.

For those on TOTV who like to read about real estate, there is an article titled "Boy, Have They Got Freebies for You" in the January issue of "Money" along with another article "The Boom Years" that makes some really good points about how to choose a retirement community.