[wlou]

We are in VA also and have done all the work to make the house very presentable like you. We are using a local RE agent and he is great. We have been on the market since April of this year and have had 35 people come through! Everyone says, "Oh this house shows great, you will sell it in no time"...Well guess what...Here we sit while our beautiful designer we bought in TV sits empty...sigh...The whole experience is a big pain in the .(whoo hoo! ) ....We have had 5 open houses and another this Sunday...we just keep pluggiing along, reading TOTV , and looking at the LSL camera wishing we were there ..
Good Luck to you, we know exactly how you feel.......

[VT2TV]

Dear SB,
Funny you should mention St Joseph---we have already ordered several of them. They have all sorts of ways to bury them-at the front of your yard, pointed in the direction of your new house, in a flower bed, near the front porch, etc. Where did you bury yours???? Also another future Villager told us that they got some sand from the lot in Buttonwood and have sprinkled it around their yard for luck. My husband is online now trying to find someone to get some sand from our land and send it to us. Aren't we pathetic, lol. We are willing to try anything!!!!!!!!!!
And like I said before, everyone keeps saying we just need that 1 person-WHERE IS HE!!!!!!!!!!! (or she) Thanks for your reply!

[VT2TV]

wlou,
Where in Va are you, we are in Roanoke. We have had 2 people from Roanoke who are moving to the Villages who have sold their homes since June. So I guess it is not impossible. We have talked to our realtor this week, and told her that we want to get our house out there. So we are planning an open house next weekend, and we are now in Long and Fosters weekly booklet that comes out. We are also going to try to have a realtors luncheon, and she is going to see if she can get our house on the main realtors showings that includes all companies. We are going to start pushing if necessary!!!!!
PS. The bad news is that a house just sold in our price range yesterday that had been on the market 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! days. Our realtors had just told us on Wed that this house was our closest competition. Does that mean we are "up next" or that they got that 1 person who is the only buyer for the next ???? however long? Everyone please say prayers for us!

[teekart]

Dear VT,

We planted our St. Joseph in the front yard, upside down, facing the road. Then we proceeded with the prayers that are to be said. We were not very optimistic about selling, so were pleasantly surprised when it happened. It will happen for you too! So now we are full time Villagers and waiting for our closing in a week so we can get into our new designer in Duval.

Just killing time now till next week, so would be happy to go get some Buttonwood sand/dirt and send it to you. PM me if you wish me to do that.

Good luck. SB

[wlou]

We are in Richmond and we had the same experience! We are only one of a few ranchers with an ingound pool. The one that came up for sale May 01, ( we went up April 12) sold in 2 days, while we still sit here 4 mos. later.... ugh*** I have come to the conclusion that the perfect family will one day walk in and fall in love with our place. I think the market is so saturated that buyers have way too many places to look at and consider.I will keep the prayers going for you and you keep them for me and one day maybe we will meet in TV!

[swrinfla]

I am so happy that, when I bought in TV in late '04, the market was considerably different!

Even way back then I was watching HGTV, gleaning ideas all the time. In the end, I decided that getting my 100-year-old house up to par for selling was going to cost me more money and time (for which also read "hassle") than I was willing to invest. With the somewhat reluctant concurrence of my chosen realtor (recommended by The Villages Relocation folks), I sold "as is" in less than two weeks!

Still, what HGTV encourages, especially the staging, makes hugely important sense. Were I in the same market today, I'm pretty sure that I'd follow their advice to a t.

SWR

[VT2TV]

wlou,
We will def. keep the prayers going. I think I mentioned earlier that there were only 2 houses in our price range sold in July here. Then that house that sold after being on the market just 6 days was a slap in the face. I have to confess that even though I am an adult, I had tears in my eyes after we drove by that house and saw the SOLD sign there. Our realtor told us that there just aren't any buyers out there, but today our next door neighbors-who are getting ready to put their house on the market, told us that their realtor told them that there are plenty of people out there, but they can't get loans. I have a hard time believing that a lot of people are "out there". Plus I understand that a lot of people jumped in and bought houses with the stimulus package recently. But unless I understand this wrong-which is a big possibility --people are really better to jump on the current LOW rates right now instead of just buying with the bonus. 8000.00 sound good, but over a 30 year loan, they will come off much better to go with the lower rates. The 8000.00 might help them GET the house, but the lower rates might help them keep the house. If people had trouble getting loans, it might be because they tried to get a too expensive house with the 8000.00, but didn't have the income to keep the payments going. Just a thought.

BTW: our neighbors who are putting their house on the market.....they are doing that because we came home from TV when we bought, and told them about it. They have never seen it, but are going to move there to join us-plus they LOVED the DVD I hate to be selfish, but won't it be just our luck for their house to sell first!!!!!!!! My husband and I are not working, but our neighbor is, and hasn't even found a job near TV yet. If they sell first, I will be happy for them (truely), but SOOOOOO sad for us.