To be a Realtor, you must be a member of the Board of Realtors in the county you would like to sell homes. You must pay your fees which can run between $500 upwards to $1000's per year and this entitles you to access to the MLS (Multiply Listing Service) and gives you access to any listings on that service with a lock box code or chip.

A Villages sales agent, is not a Realtor, they did pass the state license exam to enable them to sell real estate, but they do not pay to be a member of the board of Realtors so have no access to MLS. They can sell only Village properties listed with the builders broker. Therefore they are considered sales agents.

Does anyone remember how much the least expensive home that's gone now, cost?

Did it have one or two bedrooms?

1 bedroom, patio villa with no screen porch $135,000

I doubt few care except for the folks who belong to the club who CANNOT sell new properties and who sometimes post negative things about new areas where only new properties are sold.

To refer to a real estate agent who is not a member of NAR as a Realtor is improper and misleading. It is analogous to calling any old jeans "Levi's" when they are not Levi's but another brand.

"Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services."

"The NAR has begun citing members for using the term “REALTOR®” to indicate a person’s occupation rather than their membership in the Association. If your marketing is similar to these examples, use “Real Estate Agent” instead of “REALTOR®” or you will also receive a notice from NAR. The REALTOR® marks serve the special function of identifying members of the National Association and should never be used interchangeably with terms such as: real estate agent; broker; salesperson. While HRRA encourages members to proudly display the REALTOR® logo on their marketing and branding pieces, members should make themselves knowledgable on issues of proper use."
http://www.hrra.com/_docs/media/trademark.pdf

:agree:

Disclaimer: Although I hold a real estate broker's license in the state of New Mexico I am not a Realtor, have never been a Realtor and have no intention of becoming a Realtor.

Does anyone remember what the least expensive 2 bedroom patio sold for? I tried looking this up and I sent an email to the salesperson who sold me my home. And I appreciate you for taking the time to reply.

Those "non-realtors" sold 4,400 new and used homes in TV last year, That's a lot of homes and they most likely don't care what title they have as long as they are selling. I have nothing against MLS agents but I think down here in this unique atmosphere The Villages agents are kept more up to date on what is going on and what is going to be. Either way they all get sold eventually as long as the sellers don't get greedy. Are prices going to go up? Of course they are if for no other reason the cost of material and labor keeps going up. A little off topic but the furniture stores around here must be loving the continuing growth along with many other retailers and service oriented businesses.

There are plenty of MLS agents/brokers out there, all over the country, who aren't "Realtors" and they do just fine. As noted above, Realtor has become a generic term to describe one who is licensed to sell real estate. Generally, the only people who take offense to that are the ones who have invested the time and money to become certified "Realtors". When I was a kid, I remember my friends referring to any dirt bike motorcycle as a Honda, no matter if it was a Yamaha or something else. I have heard people refer to Pepsi as "Coke". This is not a new concept.

Post #35 cites evidence of the NAR policing its mark; if it fails to sufficiently do so "Realtor" could of course become generic

Here is more: Trademark Protection Program | www.nar.realtor

"Generic Use
A trademark can be lost due to genericity, or the process of becoming generic over time, if the owner doesn't promptly object to people using the mark as an ordinary verb or noun. Terms like "thermos," "aspirin," and "cellophane" were once corporate trademarks, but lost their trademark status once the terms passed into the general public lexicon. Courts include the degree to which a trademark owner has policed her trademark as a factor considered when determining whether trademark protection should be voided due to genericity."

If I remember correctly, when Fenny first came on the market last year, the cheapest 2/2 1.5 car garage was $153....? and the 2/2/2 car garages were going for $156?

We were considering one of them back then....I can't be exact off hand but I believe I am very close, but if you really want to know for sure, check out the sumter county tax records, square footage for patios and it will tell you the exact amount.

thanks

when people ask the questions, and they did, I answer them.....

:boom:

there were patio villas down here around $140,000 last year.

thanks