Talk of The Villages Florida - How do you buy a house in The Villages?

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - How do you buy a house in The Villages? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/how-do-you-buy-house-villages-354863/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Villager24 (Post 2390123)

Did two Lifestyle visits, rented two one week airbnbs in different locations. Bought on fourth visit, preowned from VLS agent. Easy to buy remotely. Everything is electronic. Flew in one weekend to sign papers, but just because we wanted to. Taking 18 months to makes changes and furnish before we move there full time. Biggest hassle is finding service people to do maintenance. Just do it.

Can you also buy brand-new remotely, or do you HAVE to come sign papers in person at the Sales Office? Will an out-of-state notary suffice for signing the fed-ex'ed escrow and closing docs?

Buying from a distance

My husband and I are realtors and help people in this situation often. The great part of your story is that you have been here for a visit and know the lay of the land. I assume that you have a general idea of the location you would like to shop. We typically take the following steps with buyers shopping from a distance:
Establish their budget
Learn what type of home they would like. (villa, designer, premier...)
Do you care of the exterior of the home is vinyl or stucco?
Are you hoping to stay in a certain square footage?
Number of bedrooms and bathrooms?
Are you willing or wanting to tackle updates of any kind, if so, to what extent?
Is an interior lot or a view preferred?

Following those questions we can get more specific with your wish list. If you like, we set you up to receive email listings of properties that meet your general wishes. We then video tour people through the home. Sometimes couples make the decision to come down for a visit to see the top couple homes in person and other times, they purchase without taking the trip.

Find a Realtor that you feel comfortable with. I understand that can be a challenge from a distance as well. Have phone conversations and interview the realtors. If you Facetime, hold interviews in that manner so that you can actually see the Realtor. This is a job interview for a Realtor. See who clicks with you and you feel you can trust.

Hope that this gives you some ideas.
Lee Harper

Quote:

Originally Posted by MplsPete (Post 2389978)

Okay, let’s get some of the preliminaries out of the way. I did a Lifestyle visit, about 3-4 days, a year ago, in Newell. I spent July in an Airbnb in the northern village of Alhambra. I don’t want to move until I start my Social Security, so sometime after February. Although my wife was smitten with the idea of a new home, the LONG drive down to Eastport made her less eager, and I don’t want the big bonds of the new houses (I know, many say bonds don’t matter for various reasons, but I don’t want a new house bond.)

Maybe I should clarify my original question now:
How do you go about buying a (preowned) home in a community 1500 miles away from where you live?
Thanks to all who share their experiences.

2 realtors, one MLS and one VLS?

I have also been looking at buying a house. Went to Eastport and the VLS 'realtors' that I talked to said VLS realtors can now show houses that are on the MLS. Also, to see any house on the MLS the MLS realtors will require you to sign an agreement. This is a must these days. The VLS realtors will tell you never to sign that agreement and to use them. Very confusing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottPull (Post 2390966)

Huh. I'm under the impression that many (most? All?) VLS Agents are just that. Sales Agents. Not real estate agents or realtors. That would preclude them from showing ANY thing on the MLS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe (Post 2391027)

Huh. I'm under the impression that many (most? All?) VLS Agents are just that. Sales Agents. Not real estate agents or realtors. That would preclude them from showing ANY thing on the MLS.

That's what I had heard up until one week ago when I heard otherwise from 2 VLS agents.