Only traffic in my house is on open houses. We live in what they call the most sought after village. My realtor never walked anyone through. Go figure.🤦🏻*♂️

Realtors
 

Thankfully realtors are a dying breed. Whatever your markup was for paying them, just think how much quicker your house would have sold without it. The markup is a sales killer!

Golfers Should Purchase Pre-Owned Homes in North & Central Villages
 

Golfers shopping for homes in The Villages should NOT purchase a New Home in the Southern Areas, which lack enough Executive Golf Courses. Rather, they should buy a pre-owned home in the Middle or Northern areas which have plenty of Executive golf courses nearby.

It is no longer profitable for investors to sit on a home for years.Home prices, taxes, and bonds are too high. It is much better to invest money where you can get an easy 5% or higher. Carrying high monthly expenses with the hope of getting a great return at a much further date goes against common sense.

The sky is falling is absurd. Not buying because the bond is $50k, illogical. Not buying because you have a feeling you are paying more than your neighbors, illogical too.
I have friends that have been competing with 200 other people to buy in Eastport, lost out 5 times now but still trying. Every new house in Eastport will sell. If I was the developer and wanted to make money, have each new home sell to the highest bidder. You have up to 200 people wanting to buy each house/property, it would be a gold mine. Thank god the developers don’t do that.
If your house is in good shape, reasonably priced, in a good area, it will sell in weeks. I have a friend out of state that I assisted in checking out houses and he bought 1 that was on the market only a few days. I also know houses that over exaggerate their home/location and have come down hundreds of thousands or more and been on the market for many months.

As for buying a home with a $50k bond, I have friends that have moved from existing villages to Newell and they are very happy. They bought on a pond and said they saved over $150k for a pond house in the other areas. They were already paying $35k bond, so saving $150k on a lot but increasing their bond by $10k, that’s a h3ll of a deal.

Some of the areas that have a fire sale, I wouldn’t buy them at a $100k discount. But at $50k discount and you want the house, you can brag to the old neighbors you got the better deal. If you wait, somebody else might come in and buy them.

If I was looking, this would be a good time to buy mainly because I pay cash for our home, no financing. For the seller, this is great. Cash offers don’t need an appraisal, inspections, no contingencies, etc, and it can be a very short closing date. For the buyer, I can get a better deal.

Golfers don't focus on Executive Courses.

:ohdear:

Yeah, that is what we did.

We closed on our house in 2016. The interest on our bond was 6% and our savings account earned 1%.

So we paid off the bond.

May I ask which village you live in?

You are Correct Sir.

Agree. How many of the homes sitting on the market a long time are buyers asking way more for the home than the market will bear? Also, what many are missing is the MLS listings. Did some of these homes that not sell via VLS simply relist with the MLS? The VLS sales are only half of the total sales in the areas picture.

I have been a golfer since 1958 and even went to Univ. of Florida on a full golf scholarship. I will be 79 in a few weeks. I hate riding in golf carts.

My wife and I love the new pitch and putt courses, especially MickyLee. We played there yesterday but quit after 9 holes because it was so hot. Then we drove across Bexley Bridge to look at the new areas and took Marsh Bend Trail up to Magnolia Plaza, where we got two milkshakes at Foxtail coffee shop.

It was a wonderful day.

Unless you’re an investment flipper then who cares your going to sell maybe 5-10 years down the road anyhow. Go to the pool and relax. Does this mean you’re not buying soon as you have said?

Anyone who purchases anything without looking at every single economic aspect is a fool. The driver here is what you are selling and what people are willing to pay. Simple.

A home with the bond paid off is just another selling point along with a pool, extra bedrooms, baths or any other improvement that makes the property stand out among the competition.

I have to admit, a $48K bond is a lot of extra money you will need to pay every year.

My wife and I will be in TV for the month of May and will be actively looking.

People look at things differently.

1. The sky is falling for those who cannot sell their home. You believe it is their fault, I see it differently.

2. You do not mind carrying a $50,000 bond. I prefer to buy a preowned with no bond. I would rather use the $50,000 to make upgrades to the property. Without having to pay a monthly $250 or more bond payment, my savings will help to offset the price of my upgrades. Plus, I get to live in a home that is to my liking not some standard cookie cutter home. If I bought a new home, there would be upgrades needed: landscaping, gutters, painting, bird cage, etc. $50,000 for a bond plus more for upgrades? I would rather not!

3. I do not have a FEELING I am paying more than neighbors. Go on VLS and check the prices for Dabney and Lake Denham. There are hundreds of REAL price reductions.I am not making this up.

4. Why do I not want to spend more for the same home as my neighbor? If I am ever in a need to sell scenario, I would rather be the lowest asking price in my neighborhood than the highest. Having to compete with a neighbor who paid $50,000 less than me could mean I have to reduce my asking price by that amount. This means I may have to sell for a loss. Not a good thing especially if you are in a need to sell position.

5. I do not buy a home at a lesser price to BRAG. Informed decisions keeps money in my bank account. Exactly where I like it!

1) Sad if "your" house is not selling and "you" feel the sky is falling. "You" have other issues.

3) "price reductions"..........sounds like someone felling for selling tactics. Over price, sit for a month and then give a "discount". Look, a price reduction.

The reduction of home prices in new Villages as they close out that Village is very common and has been going on for YEARS! The beauty of The Villages is you won’t lose money on your home. You still build equity. Have to stop thinking as if you’re in anywhere else USA. If you want to buy, can buy, but holdout for lower prices, the buyer will be the loser in the end

Preowned homes are more expensive because they have $25,000 or more to pay in closing costs. This gets added to the asking price. Not to mention the cost of upgrades they made to the home. Since many Villagers sell their homes within 1 to 3 years, I understand why their asking price is higher than new construction.

Those who sold their homes 70% or more over cost were fortunate. Those who bought the homes are now sitting on homes they cannot sell. Their asking price is way above the market. On MLS we see many who bought homes during the covid craze who now must take a loss. Some 40K and more. My daughter is moving slow in buying. She wants to do everything she can to avoid a possible expensive mistake. It seems for every"I made a wad of cash on my home' story, there is a sad reality for those who paid the wad. This is happening because the Developer continues to build at marginal price increases and has no problem discounting hundreds of homes to suit his needs. A buyer has to be careful![/QUOTE]

I know a lot of people that sold homes south of 44 after as little as 1 year up to 5 and 6 years and all of them were sold at a price giving the owners a hefty positive return on their investments, some nearly double what they paid. Also I have never heard of anyone, at least south of 44, that sold their home at a loss. Your daughter moving slowly can be making a mistake.

Many older golfers do. Perhaps a championship nine once a week or every 10 days.

and they purchased years ago and live north of 44.

:ho:

I am not trying to sell a home. I am in the market to buy. Just posting what I have seen on MLS and VLS. I WISH the market was great like some believe. What I have seen and experienced is quite the opposite.

Just a piece of tax advice - the loan payment (principal and interest) should be added to the tax basis of the home. Though the bond payment is on your tax bill it is not considered real estate taxes which could be used if one itemizes. Increasing the tax basis would be relevant in the sale of rental properties or homestead properties with taxable gains

We are doing a lifestyle visit this August from Memphis. I’m curious about desirability of different villages. What are the top 5 most desired in your opinion. We are leaning towards building, but are going to look at secondary.

Every case is so different. If you closed on a new house in 2020 or 21 you hit the perfect wave. Your bond was in the 20-35k range at 3% interest, while your income on investments etc is hitting 8-10% annually. It would be a very poor financial decision to pay off the bond.

Chronic contrarianism is unhealthy particularly if one also suffers from "Developer Syndrome ".

You are probably correct about good golfers. But 80-90 % of all golfers are not very good. And that number may be higher here because most people are over 55 and many people never started playing until they moved here.

If you are not very good, you don’t want to pay $60-$75 a round to be frustrated. You go to the free executive courses.

I do not have developer syndrome. It seems I am one of few who understands what he earns on the sale of his home has NOTHING in common with a homeowner wishing to sell his. TWO DIFFERENT sales transactions neither associated with the other. One can make a profit while the other has a loss. Not a difficult concept to understand.

Currently, many preowned homes are sitting on the market for months even with major price reductions. If you looked at MLS and home histories you would CLEARLY see this. If RECORDED TAX AND PRICE HISTORY is contrary to what posters are stating or the Developers averaged quarterly, sorry, I will believe the recorded history.

Average price on the sale of homes and days on market does not tell the true story. Some can sell their home for one million in 6 months while others can sell their homes for $250,000 in a few days. Averaging together is pointless. Simple third grade math.

This would be call a minority.:):ho:

Do these figures that everyone is posting here include all real estate sales - or just Properties of The Villages?????

If you are interested in buying a particular home, you can type in the address and look at the history from the county records. If the home is listed with MLS, it will also provide you with all price reductions the seller has made. VLS keeps this a secret. And why does VLS keep this secret? Because facts could be contrary to what he wants buyers to believe.

This is not correct.

Determining Your Home's Tax Basis | Nolo

You will need to hit the street of dreams then.

Yet, for some reason, some insist on portraying that the sky is falling...

And
 

Yet some are in the classic Denial mode…all’s great in the housing market? They love to muffle the facts with spin.
I guess if you have blinders on, yes
Again, they come from rainbow, candy sprinkles unicorn land.

Recoup the bond?

It's a debt on the property, not on the seller. Once sold, there's nothing to recoup...

Since you're searching for a home, you should be happy the "market is rough" and all of the "price reductions". Why all of the complaints?

And yes, things are different than during the Covid Boom of the past few years...

"The most sought after Village"? Do tell!

However many Villages there are, that is how many different answers you'll get...

True. We purchased a resale in February 2021. We're the 3rd owners. We paid about $30K more than the 2nd owners, who bought the house in 2018. Our bond was around $20K...