There are three things and only three things that will sell a house . . .

Condition, Location and Price.

Price encompasses everything. When all else fails, price is king!

You forgot the most important thing. If the wife wants it you will buy it. The other things be damned

Thank you, justjim,

I just spent a little time looking at TV ads and the MLS ads for pre-owned designers. It seems like when a designer is on a corner or on a larger lot or on a golf course, the lot becomes the featured selling point.....

But there does not seem to be any acknowledgment of how well an inside lot, with a smaller designer, can work for potential buyers who do not want the hassle of a lot of yard care.

For those potential villa buyers who might not mind a relatively manageable amount of yard upkeep (which can be hired) smaller designer lots can be worth knowing about, for comparing features and overall costs.

Also, pre-owned designer streets usually have a higher percentage of year-round neighbors for those who prefer a more established neighborhood. -- Even snowbirds sometimes like the idea of somebody being around, even when they are not.

I used to watch the villa market. I looked for a long time, and from afar, convinced that a villa was what would work best for us. But then...........:)

Thank you Ria...Mission Hills is beautiful and so close to Sumpter landing but a bit out of the price range that we are looking. We purchase a CYV in Pennecamp for investment this past June and have rental lined up through until May. We're likely looking for another CYV mainly because of the ease of maintenance and also I do believe these are easier to rent than a designer.

Personally, I love the Gardenia, Lantana, and Iris floorpans and if buying for myself to occupy, I'd want the expanded lanai and birdcage but that won;t be a for a couple more years.

Good luck on your sale. I think I've sen you home listed and if it is the one I'm thinking of, it has a lot to offer!

Boomer - thanks for the incite. I've kicked around the idea of an inside designer as many of these can be had for only $20k-$25K more than the larger 3BR CYV homes and do offer more sq footage. right now, it's a numbers thing. If I was buying for myself, it's the way that I'd probably go but for buying a rental, the CYV makes more sense for us right now.

Mark

Hey Mark. Just a thought. I have done extensive research on rentals and patio villas far outweigh courtyards for rental purposes. Price, convenience, maintenance and rental income make it an attractive consideration. Just thought I'd give you something to chew on before making your next rental purchase. PM me if you want further info. Rae

Sent from my SM-N910R4 using Tapatalk

Questions About Turn-Key Sales
 

Any thoughts on whether selling turn-key narrows or expands the field of potential buyers?

Any thoughts on the idea that a turn-key house will sell faster if priced to compete directly with other houses of the same type that are not turn-key?

In case you're interested, we have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 3-year-old CYV in Fernandina with granite countertops and a large birdcage that we plan to list for sale in January. Let me know it you might be interested.

Turnkey houses have their pluses and minus'. There are a large number of folks that would love nothing more than showing up with a suitcase and starting their life here. There are also some number of folks looking for investment property, and a turnkey property means they can put it up for rental now. That said, if the furnishing look worn, they aren't attracting either of those groups. So to really discuss turnkey, let's assume the furnishings are in fairly new shape, like a model home.

Those looking for investments are less invested in the style of furnishings. It doesn't matter if the house is decorated in rustic, sea cottage, modern, tropical, or contemporary. Any of those styles will rent out equally well. As long as it isn't something very specific, such as a Blue and Green Norte Dame fan theme, people won't shy away.

However, if when you look at the group of folks looking for their own home for either seasonal or year round, even nice furniture can be a turn off. If the couple have their heart set on a beach cottage home, and the furnishings are mid-century modern, they might give pause, even if the bones of the house are perfect for them. If they have to replace the furnishings, and empty version of the same house might be more appealing. However, if the house is priced the same as an empty house, you won't be losing the folks that need to refurnish the house, and you will be gaining those that love the decor that is there.

If a family finds a house where the furnishings are perfect, but they will have to move the furniture to redo floors or take popcorn off ceilings, or make even larger fixes, then an empty house might have an advantage. It depends how in love they are with the furniture.

You might want to add the Lily to your list. Usually wider lot, all bedrooms are spacious. It's like the Lantana (or Iris with bigger bedrooms) and the 2nd bedroom in the front of the house 12x16 makes a great TV room so your LR doesn't have to be dominated by the TV.

We recently bought a new home in Osceola Hills because we liked the fringe location.

When we looked at a map of The Villages, we saw a lot of houses east of Buena Vista and thought how hard it must be for all of those people to get out. We went to the Lake Miona rec center a few days ago and the traffic congestion there was terrible, at least by our standards.

Thank you for your well thought through answer.

Our last two houses (not in TV) sold quickly, one in 3 days, the next one in 3 weeks. If we decide to sell our TV house, it will be turnkey. Even though we have bought and sold quite a few houses throughout the years, this would be the first turnkey.

Your last sentence in your next-to-last paragraph is what I have been thinking.

We thought about selling last year, but when we got there we changed our minds. But maybe this time.

I think this is true. I submitted a request for more information on a pre-owned home in Charlotte on Monday and as of now (Friday) still haven't heard from TV

We want to be in the Villages when my husband retires in 2019 So, We bought a pre-owned in June 2016. We had been looking since July 2015. We have moved 10 time, remodeled every home we have bought SO,,,, We were very particular,,, no bond, 90 % turnkey and close to Lake Sumpter Landing.
Suggestions
The longer your home is on the market,,people looking will wonder why?? Take it off and re-list with new agent in March. We went through 3 agents before finding the right one. Some agents in the Villages are pretty aggressive and want to sell new. We loved Stacey.
If you have a bond, suggest you take out home equity or line of credit to pay off.
Up grade your kitchen and masterbath if you haven't already. If you have carpet, instead of replaceing it, offer $$ back at closing because we all have different taste.
Everybody has opinions, these are just mine??? Good luck!

Fringe location
 

Good point about being on a fringe location---at least for now. When, and if, they start building south of Rt 44 (in earnest) Osceola Hills may no longer be on the fringe. For now---a lot less traffic than the "center" locations in The Villages. We like our location and designer in LaBelle too.

Thats really disturbing what CMS posted as we have our house for sale. We also found out that most of the sale agents dont work on week ends. I wonder how many potential sales they may have lost because of that. I'll say one thing I would not recommend any one list with TV for pre owned home sale. Sorry we did. Contract will be up in a month and not again.