[interested]

I will soon be interviewing realtors to sell my house so I can move to TV. Do any of you who have sold recently have any advice or suggestions of questions to ask? What criteria did you use in picking your realtor? Also, I just want to say a big thank you to all of TOTV. Between the economy, a five bedroom house that we have lived in for thirty years with an attic and basement that we have to declutter, and the cold weather, TOTV has been a ray a sunshine. I read it everyday; sometimes twice a day. Can't wait to get down there. Thank you to all.

[sschuler1]

We are getting ready to start interviewing realtors too. We had our home on the market last year, and did not sell the house. We have decided to list with a different realtor this time. We spoke with quite a few realtors on the phone and asked them to send us information about their team. We were interested in seeing statistics on their sales rankings and we wanted to know where they would be advertising the listing. We have narrowed the search down to the realtors that did what we requested. We are now going to call those three realtors and have face to face interviews. We want to see their reactions to the house and see what they have to say about whether they can sell it. We know that they will all say they can sell it, but sometimes you can tell more when you are face to face with someone. We hope our instincts will be right this time and we will find someone that can sell this house! Good luck with you search as well.

[wdwduo]

My only suggestion would be to negotiate for as short a listing as possible...maybe 3 months? In NJ, the norm is 6 months, and that's a really long time to be stuck with a Realtor you're not happy with. Trust me, I know!
jackie

[golfnut]

We signed a 6 month listing but with a clause that said with 10 days notice either party could break the contract with written notice. While I agree it's good to have the best listing agent you can find, getting on the MLS may be the most important issue. We sold last fall in 60 days, through the buyers agent....GN

[clyd709]

If the Desjardin.s are still in the Realty Business they are wonderfull. Paul and His Wife and Sister. I dealt with that team for over 8 years both in and outside of the Villages. They were very nice people and worked very hard to sell your property. I bought through them and sold through them and both times had very good results. The last I knew they were with the Villages Realty. Good luck in finding a good Agent.

[JohnN]

There are some old threads on this topic if you do a search.
We used Debra Park with TV last year and she was very attentive and found us a great place.

[Mallory]

You may want to consider The Villages Relocation Department. I don't have details but I'm sure you could get them through your Villages Sales Rep.

[katezbox]

It is DEFINITELY worth using TV relocation. If you call the main number, they will connect you. Our person was Karen Madsen and she was wonderful. They will recommend three firms in your area that you can select from. The best part is that is you use TV relocation , you get a 65% discount on your moving costs (again they will give you three mover recommendations). Basically the realtor up north and the ones you use in TV rebate part of their commission and that funds this discount. That takes care of the good...

Now for the bad and the ugly..

The market is still really terrible. We were extremely fortunate to sell our home in a 2.5 month timeframe last December and to a buyer who did not need financing. The realtor said that in a "normal" market the house would be
sold in a week or two. While 2+ months doesn't sound bad, it is really horrible having showings and no nibbles. You wonder and wonder how long this is going to last.

When you choose your realtor make sure they are internet savvy - many buyers, especially those from out of town, search the web first. I would only select a realtor who does this full time and one who is not afraid to tell you that you need to de-clutter the family room or paint the entryway. Ideally you want your realtor there for every showing - no lock box - so they can ensure that the house looks its best before the buyers and their agent come through. It's amazing what turning on lights will do. Also, be sure they plan to invite other realtors in their office and other local realtors to agents' open houses in your home. There are a lot of houses on the market, and the best way to be sure your gets to the top of a buyer agent's list is for them to know the property.

Sorry for such a long post - but having just been through this I wanted to share what worked for us.

kate

[interested]

I appreciate your responses. We are planning to use the relo service and will be interviewing the agents they send us soon. Can't wait to move! Coming from Audubon PA.