Whoops. Almost fell over someone's dentures.

It the homes are that old and have been occupied before.
Even if they haven't been sold before, in my opinion,
they are not new and shouldn't be advertised as such.
They also don't fit the definition of new as presented by RickyD.

Was that an assumption you made, or did your Agent lie to you?

Maybe it is listed under new because of the financing required.
 

If you buy a new home from the developer you can only use a conventional loan.???

If you buy a used home listed by the developer you can use other forms of financing.???

,,/,,

It really is that simple.

I wonder how the seller is justifying (even to themselves)... calling them "new?" :ohdear:

So, if a car dealer has a car, built several years ago, or/and it was leased, or it was a managers car (common in the auto world) and so they put on new tires, touched up the paint or repainted it, replaced upholstery, is it now a new or a used car?
A car dealer named Cal Worthington in North Long Beach Ca. did exactly that years ago. (1957?). I actually had a relative who bought one of his "new cars". He lost his business license and I think he went to jail.
I actually saw that and I also saw one of his rebuilt new cars.
bbbbbb :22yikes:

You must take anything and everything a real estate agent says with trainload of salt. I was shown one lot in TV, on a golf course, with a small retention pond about 200 yards away. They advertised it as “waterfront.” I ask the agent if this was an April fools joke (it wasn’t April), he was silent. And judging by his facial expression, he was embarrassed.

We would all love to trust all those around us, but sadly flawed human nature gets in the way. You must do your due diligence or get an attorney that works hourly and doesn’t care if you buy the property or not. Anyone with a dog in the hunt (commission) is always biased. And I mean biased towards themselves collecting that commission check.

Caveat Emptor.

If you want a better deal, go see Cal!

I never heard that Cal went to jail.

He had a bunch of dealerships (even different brands) all over the west coast...even in Alaska.

He also had some great commercials with his dog...'Spot.' :1rotfl:


"Go See Cal!" :1rotfl:





He was actually a heck of an entrepreneur. :ho:

Cal Worthington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neither. I said it is not disclosed that the villages with gates are accessible to the public. It isn't my assumption, nor is it an outright lie. Omitting relevant information, to me, is deceitful and unethical.

I am not a realtor. I have never been a realtor. There are no realtors in my family. I have no friends who are realtors. Here are the disclosure laws here in Florida. I am not a lawyer. There are lawyers in my family. They are the only lawyers I like. No wait. We have a neighbor who is a lawyer. I like him.


Florida Home Sellers: Disclosures Required Under State Law | Nolo.com

I think a better marketing strategy would have been to advertised as "refurbished lifestyle visit homes", assuming the home had been touched up, in the wear and tear areas. To advertise as "new" is just wrong.

As usual, it is buyer beware. A roof 8 years old is not new, unless they had a 50 year roof installed, Then it would definitely last the lifetime of the original buyer.

People think of new as never having been lived in by anyone. Those who want new, like the thought, they were the only one in "that home".

Other people who don't mind someone having lived there before them, might like a reduced priced but know, it's not "new".

Amen. And on topic.

2B...I agree with some disclaimer should be added in the online presentation of these homes.

The bottom line is these homes will sell. Just like all of the homes that were sold here before them. We haven't heard anyone who has posted they were duped. One poster said she went to an open house at one of them and the sales agent told her they had been used for life style visits.

I don't have the ( what is that Yiddish word my friend Ruthie always used...Chutzpa?) to tell them how to run their railroad. They seem to be chugging along doing fine.

I have been accused of defending the developers. They don't need my defense. The homeowners who have all invested a bundle of dough may be annoyed at all the negativity. But they are grown ups too.

People are gonna think and say whatever they want to. And in the end the homes will sell..

:agree:

Maybe the ad does not have enough room for "refurbished LSV homes". :D

Obviously, they will all sell and the developer will chug along merrily. Some people have an anti-developer point of view, as don't see them as benevolent.

On the other hand, they are people who love TV and thank the developer for creating a wonderful paradise for those who are "looking downhill". :smiley:

If I bought a house with a 50 year roof I may outlive the roof... just sayin'...

Sent from my SM-N910R4 using Tapatalk

Does the use of “new” on the Villages web sales site in the description and classification of these life style visit houses that are eight or more years old reflect a true description of these houses? I believe an additional word or two could and should be added to the web site to accurately define these special case homes as they are not “new”.

The Rotary Four-way test

1.Is it the truth?
2.Is it fair to all concerned?
3.Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4.Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

You may wish to take your concerns to The Villages sales office. There is very little anyone on this forum can do except alert those that they know are considering those properties. It appears that at least in one case the sales agent disclosed the age and circumstances of the property anyway.

I believe that Village management does monitor and read posts on this forum. It helps to have the voices and opinions of many to help others look to making changes. Thus, I thank everyone who expressed their opinion on or interest in this topic.

Why would anyone post they were duped by the developer only to be belittled and minimized?

I really don't care how Florida law chooses to define requirements for disclosure in real estate transactions. Florida law, for me at least, is not the definitive arbiter of what is honest and ethical behavior. And marketing an 8 year old home occupied by multiple different occupants over those years as a "new home" is simply NOT honest. If the many heirs of Mr Morse wish to risk obtaining a reputation of dishonest marketing, then I guess that is their decision.
Certainly the homes will sell and at whatever price the market will bear, but this fact in itself does not make the sales practices ethical. I have nothing against free enterprise and the making of money, but sometimes greed is just greed.
Just my opinion.

I will assume that changes to reflect a different definition of a “new” home are not going to be made. One of the ten “new” houses up for sale may be sold. Let’s hope that the purchaser is made aware of how the house was used in the past seven or more years. I suppose I shouldn’t be concerned except that I like this place and don’t want anyone to feel snookered.

Feeling no compunction to correctly identify the listings, The Villages now lists 27 (new) homes for sale just around the corner from Lake Sumter Landing. However, we know what they actually are. :icon_wink:

How The Villages markets their homes seem to be very successful. Many people have bought the homes that had been used for lifestyle visits in the past and I doubt ANY of them were worried about being snookered and we haven't heard of anyone complaining about buying a lifestyle home either. All of the homes at Lake Sumter Landing, on the lake were Lifestyle homes. These homes were not previously owned by anyone but the developer so how they are marketed is either new or used. I have never heard of anything that would make anyone worry that being used as a lifestyle rental was kept hidden when it was sold. Why don't you go and ask at an open house and report back to us.

Look around you at all of the lifestyle homes that were sold in the past. Not a peep from anyone about being snookered. Go to an open house of a lifestyle home and ask the agent what they have been used for since they were built and tell us what the agent said.

Right.

Worse--in today's DS supplement, they are marketed as "newly constructed." Blatantly deceptive IMO. I'm very surprised at this.

Bait and switch is typically the domain of unscrupulous business marketeers with no integrity. Using the term lifestyle has little meaning in this context. These houses are eight years old, the ad's in the Daily Sun are misleading. I'm sure they consulted with their legal people first. Unfortunately many people are naive and/or have selective hearing.

[QUOTE=RickeyD;1290239]Bait and switch is typically the domain of unscrupulous business marketeers with no integrity. Using the term lifestyle has little meaning in this context. These houses are eight years old, the ad's in the Daily Sun are misleading. I'm sure they consulted with their legal people first. Unfortunately many people are naive and/or have selective hearing.[/QUOTE]

When someone builds a better mousetrap and succeeds big time, then they have to suffer from envy and jealousy from folks who thinks it was all so easy.

How many people tell their kids," Study hard, Try hard, work hard, you may have to risk your own money, but for heavens sake don't succeed and make a whole lot of money." Do not be a successful developer and use new homes for lifestyle visits and market them as new. I would rather see you be a drug dealer....................

[QUOTE=graciegirl;1290267]
The marketing is deceptive, pure and simple.

The drug dealer analogy, and I say this respectfully, makes no sense whatsoever and IMO does not justify situational ethics.

There are business and personal practices that, while perhaps legal, are morally wrong IMHO.

As I've said before, I am surprised to see this departure from truth in advertising and do not think we would have seen this two or three years ago.

[QUOTE=Villageswimmer;1290285]You are right. I looked at the paper and it does say "newly constructed" and they are not newly constructed and that is deceptive.





I always tell my grandchildren to be drug dealers because I want them to make a lot of money so I can live off them. Thank heavens they have an amazing sense of humor.

[QUOTE=graciegirl;1290298]Wow...

Perhaps they are defined by The Villages developer as new homes because the salespeople of The Villages receive new home sales commissions and the prices are not negotiable?

I'm sure these homes were well maintained so as to create a favorable impression with lifestyle visitors (in fact I believe we stayed in one on out lifestyle visit). In addition they should sell for a good price simply based on their location in close proximity to Lake Sumter Landing town square. So why risk yor reputation for integrity by deceptively marketing them as "newly constructed"?
How about "relatively newly constructed"?

How about " used " ?

How about used for LifeStyle visits? And Warranty extended.

As Groucho Marx said, "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others"

Excellent response.

Maybe its time to contact the Sumter County DA and see what his opinion may be.