[BobnBev]

Seems like people are as confused on this issue, as they are about roundabouts.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by BobnBev

Seems like people are as confused on this issue, as they are about roundabouts.

It's amazing how such simple things can be made so much more complicated than they are, once crowd sourcing raises its ugly head.

[BrianNotFromNYC]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

That's just plain wrong.

There are 2 Listing Services for pre-owned TV homes. One is the The Villages Listing Service and the other is MLS.

The 2 services do not, in any way, work together.

If you chose to use VLS, you won't necessary be dealing with the Listing Agent. You'll be dealing with a VLS Sales Agent. If that Agent is also the Listing Agent, it's simply coincidence.

If you want to see all pre-owned homes that are available in TV, you'll need 2 agents. One from VLS and one from a local real estate company that subscribes to the MLS system.

A VLS agent won't sell you a home on MLS. An MLS Broker won't sell you a home on VLS.

FSBO is a horse of a different color. Some MLS agents will help with buying a FSBO home, some won't. There's no central listing service that has all FSBO's.

The OP asked if they needed "more than one". Dealing with one Broker is a big enough PITA, dealing with more than one at a time is even worse and you'll most likely end up with issues. Talk to a few, get recommendations and choose one. If you don't like that Broker after a while, switch to another. That same advice goes for both VLS & MLS properties.

Correct. And the more people you "employ" cause that is what you are doing behind the scenes, the less room to negotiate a lower price as everyone wants money from the seller, and the seller wants their highest payout.

Some FSBO refuse to deal with an agent on your behalf because the agent will want to be paid. That often results in a haggle ending in 2% or so to bring you to the table. Having an agent is just really having a person arrange everything you can do for yourself. So it all boils down to this. Do you, as a buyer of a FSBO want to pay someone to keep track of everything needed to do a sale and pay this person (indirectly) $5,000 or more.

As to the long running issue of VLS versus MLS, the main advantage, IMHO, of a VLS sale is they close on 12-15 homes EVERY day except Sunday. So it is a well oiled machine. And if you want the home ASAP, then there's a much better chance of closing faster on a VLS property. Once inspection is done, if you push, you can close in 2 weeks. Try that with a MLS. I imagine the 2 weeks (we did it) requires a cash deal or a very willing bank loan officer.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

There you go again.

Somewhere approaching 90% of all home in The Villages or anywhere in the USA, have a real estate agent involved. If the home is listing with an MLS (or VLS), the owner has signed an agreement with a Broker, that gives them an exclusive (in 98% of the cases) to sell their house.

You can surely elect to deal with only the Selling Broker, in which case, you're doing yourself a disservice in most cases, because YOUR (the Buyer's) interest is not protected in any way, shape or form. Buyer's agents are FREE and by law, they represent the Buyer's interests.

The OP asked if you "need" multiple agents to buy property in the Villages.

The answer to the question he asked is - no. You don't need ANY agent to BUY property in the VIllages. You don't need one, you don't need multiple. You don't need any at all.

I'm sorry this doesn't fit your narrative, but it doesn't change the answer to the question he asked.

[jjombrello]

Also, based on several recent cases, I would require the seller to verify that the property is in compliance with the deed restrictions that apply to the particular villages. A number of people have been burned on this and the boards of each district seem to be totally unforgiving on any relief. The MLS/VLS should be required to verify this, as well.

[HJBeck]

Originally Posted by kp11364

Hi all,

I know when looking to buy in TV you need a MLS and a VLS agent (and check out the FSBO listings).

But the question is - do you need more than one MLS agent? My assumption here is that if the MLS (or VLS) agent is doing a poor job, you get rid of them and get another.

Thanks.

Sometimes the Realtor only wants to show you the houses they get the most commission on, so I believe one should review the multi listing book yourself before you agree to buy anything.

[frayedends]

Originally Posted by HJBeck

Sometimes the Realtor only wants to show you the houses they get the most commission on, so I believe one should review the multi listing book yourself before you agree to buy anything.

Absurd comment. First off they have an ethical duty to show you everything that may fit your needs. Secondly not showing everything they risk you buy nothing. Lastly the commission is almost always going to be exactly the same in the same area.

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by HJBeck

Sometimes the Realtor only wants to show you the houses they get the most commission on, so I believe one should review the multi listing book yourself before you agree to buy anything.

Absolutely! Close friends of mine have bought and sold many homes in CA, HI and most recently FL. They told me of sitting in the back seat of a Realtor's car. The Realtor was driving and her daughter was in the front passenger seat. The daughter was directing her mother which house to show next from a list. The husband is tall and he was looking over the daughter's shoulder at the list. It showed incentives such as $10K - $20K bonuses on certain houses as well as commission rates. The daughter did not go through the list from top to bottom but started with the highest commission/bonus house and worked her way down from there. These were highly experienced buyers so they recognized immediately what was going on.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

Absolutely! Close friends of mine have bought and sold many homes in CA, HI and most recently FL. They told me of sitting in the back seat of a Realtor's car. The Realtor was driving and her daughter was in the front passenger seat. The daughter was directing her mother which house to show next from a list. The husband is tall and he was looking over the daughter's shoulder at the list. It showed incentives such as $10K - $20K bonuses on certain houses as well as commission rates. The daughter did not go through the list from top to bottom but started with the highest commission/bonus house and worked her way down from there. These were highly experienced buyers so they recognized immediately what was going on.

I have a cousin once removed, who has a friend, whose husband's step-brother had that same problem. It's everywhere. 😂😂

[frayedends]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

Absolutely! Close friends of mine have bought and sold many homes in CA, HI and most recently FL. They told me of sitting in the back seat of a Realtor's car. The Realtor was driving and her daughter was in the front passenger seat. The daughter was directing her mother which house to show next from a list. The husband is tall and he was looking over the daughter's shoulder at the list. It showed incentives such as $10K - $20K bonuses on certain houses as well as commission rates. The daughter did not go through the list from top to bottom but started with the highest commission/bonus house and worked her way down from there. These were highly experienced buyers so they recognized immediately what was going on.

Another ridiculous scenario. If a seller is able to pay out an extra 10K in commission, they would just lower their price by 10K and sell faster.

[shut the front door]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

When looking to /buy/ you don't need any agent at all.
However, if you are looking to buy from a seller who has their property listed with The Villages, then you will be doing business with the VLS agent that listed the property on behalf of the owner.

Also, if you are interested in buying from a seller who has their property listed with a Realtor or non-Villages agent (or from FSBO) then you accept that a Villages agent representing you will have a limited scope on what they can and cannot do to help you buy the property.

It is not limited, it is flat out NO. A villages sales rep will do nothing for a person who is buying a non villages listed property. Nothing but laugh at you.

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by frayedends

Another ridiculous scenario. If a seller is able to pay out an extra 10K in commission, they would just lower their price by 10K and sell faster.

I've seen $10K - $20K bonus signs attached to for sale signs in yards in Albuquerque, NM. During slow markets it is fairly common. Obviously the bonus signs give notice to buyers and IMHO place stigmata on the houses. The Vaughan Company may have initiated the practice if I recall correctly. Doug Vaughan ended up in prison in Santa Fe for a Ponzi scheme. At one time, considering the size of the city, his MLS company was huge, 150 agents in five offices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsiwTKYXr1E

https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/al...g-ponzi-scheme

New Mexico Mini-Madoff Case Provides Lesson For Investors

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

I've seen $10K - $20K bonus signs attached to for sale signs in yards in Albuquerque, NM. During down markets it is fairly common. Obviously the bonus signs give notice to buyers and IMHO place stigmata on the houses. The Vaughan Company may have initiated the practice if I recall correctly.

Just talked to my 2nd cousin, who has a cousin on the other side of the family, whose husband's step-sister knew a guy from Santa Fe who saw one of those signs. 😂

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

The OP asked if you "need" multiple agents to buy property in the Villages.

The answer to the question he asked is - no. You don't need ANY agent to BUY property in the VIllages. You don't need one, you don't need multiple. You don't need any at all.

I'm sorry this doesn't fit your narrative, but it doesn't change the answer to the question he asked.

So you're saying that you can purchase a NEW home in TV w/o dealing with a Villages Sales Agent?

Can anyone else verify this? I've never heard of this happening...

[Kelevision]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

That is incorrect.

The Villages sales operation sells approximately 40% of the pre-owned homes in TV. MLS does not have access to sell those homes.

You indeed need TWO real estate agents, if you want to see all the pre-owned homes in TV.

Why post answers to legitimate questions, when you don't know the correct answer?

Actually, the question was do you need two MLS agents. The answer is NO. You need to read more carefully. You need one TV agent and one MLS. My answer is correct. I’ll explain to you how it works as a realtor myself. IF you only want a new home, you’d go through the villages sales agent. IF you want a pre owned home, you’d need a TV sales agent AND an MLS but you certainly don’t need 2 MLS agents.