[nancyh]

:dontknow:They have close outs, that they list for less than yours. Which ones do you think the buyer will go with?
Also do they show yours for a highere price and bring then to the new?
Seems to me, they are not interested in seeling your until all of theirs are gone?

i wish you all the best of luck :dontknow: :dontknow:

[Muncle]

I don't know if that is a conscious tactic of the sales office or not, but that is certainly the impression they give. When I bought 2 1/2 years ago, it was a different ballgame. Properties of the Villages had just been created, much to the chagrin of realtors in the area, as well as those back home who were getting referral fees. There were some resales, certainly not the numbers today. When you bought a new home, you got no options. You took what was available and had from maybe 30 minutes to a couple hours to make a decision. You snooze, you lose to the many other buyers waiting in line. But you all know the history.

In the last year and a half, it's been a new world. In my neighborhood, we've had several homes go on the market in that time. Whenever a seller has gone with Properties of the Villages, they've signed a listing contract. The initial price has generally seemed fairly high, enough to make those of us in the neighborhood get a warm and fuzzy about our house values. In all cases, there have been at least a few open houses and other Properties agents do show the house. Then the sellers begin to notice that there are no offers. Late in the listing period, the realtor suggests dropping the price a bit. A couple homes have actually sold at this point. Then the listing contract expires, the seller goes with an independent realtor, and the house sells pretty quickly. Often the new realtor will recommend a cut in asking price. Other times, they've stayed with the price to which Properties had just dropped.

I don't know for sure if Properties actively uses resales as "bait and switch" tools to sell new homes as part of their SOP. I've not seen it done in a patently obvious manner. I'd like anyone who's bought recently to share their experiences to see if it fits the impression.

[kerry]

i had my villa listed with the villages. i was told to price it at what they told me . it did knot sell. i soled it for sale by owner. it went very nice .


if i Had to sell a place in the villages. i would sell it on Fabio :bigthumbsup: :#1:

[DDoug]

Get ahold of Lori Mogan at Foxfire Realty she helped us when we bought two years ago and she knows this place very well and can set you in the right direction she is good and very honest . If you dont want to know the truth dont ask her.

[Bubbalarry]

I bought finally in August and settled in September and believe me they do not try to sell your home unless they have exhausted all chances of finding you a new one. Even then you have to push them to see a resale.

Here is my experience on my visit and views of homes on-line prior to my visit.

First I was sent pics of properties under construction and for sale as new. With none or very little discount.

We had asked to stay close to Sumter Landing as this was our choice of area initially.
We were told they were all sold out, that nothing was available in the area. Not even seller resales.

We had yet to discover the resale site of TV properties, until a outside Realtor gave me the website info. Upon finding this site and seeing homes for sale asked my sales rep for info about the home only to be put off or given as little info about it as possible. Now some have Virtual Tours most don't or didn't when we looked and asking questions for the sales rep to go and look was a waste of time with so many excuses we finally didn't bother.

So we hooked up with an outside Realtor who showed us the resales they and others that were listed. They had no access to TV listed properties because TV does not put your property on the MLS, the put it on the VLS (Villages listing service) and Realtors can't sell them or so they claimed.

Upon our arrival and setup appointments with both we started out with TV rep. Funny how everything was sold in the new homes near the square. Or so we were told, to find out later this was bogus only after they tell you that we have gotten these new homes here just released for us to sell. BS, they had them all along. They wanted to sell out another community first at higher prices before ever showing you others with big discounts that are in older communities. None of which were resales. Only after turning everything down in the closeout communities will they show resales and since there are many people buying these days they have little time left for you and wish to move on to another customer.

If your persistent they may come back as our sales agent with TV did by my constant pressure of wanting and ready to buy. Then and only then did these new communities with big discounts and also paid for settlements come up.

We found one in Hadley Village (Hillcrest Villas) down by Havana CC. Its very close like 1 mile to RT 466A and the new Publix. It wasn't a designer our first choice but a maintenance free Villa unit with no grass to mow.

We own several properties around the USA and found this perfect for our winter needs when we visit Florida. So to those selling through TV beware that the agents first choice told to sell are new not old. If they tell you different it's BS.

BTW we never got to meet the Realtor and view the resales from them as these discounts were so good we just didn't bother. The costs and the unit we purchased was that good for us.

[Boomer]

This commentary on the market there is from a buyer's perspective. This thread may be more about sellers but thought this might fit in here.

We visited TV recently to find out if we want to consider buying a home. We did not do the Lifestyle. We rented for a month. That amount of time gave us a decent chance to get to know the territory.

The real estate market is unique. You really should have two agents if you want to buy a resale. I knew that going in. The agent from TV had been recommended, and I found the MLS agent by reading agent bios on the broker's web site. Both women were highly professional.

I really liked both agents, but I did wonder what would have happened had I not liked the VLS agent. Could I have changed? There were a couple of VLS agents that we ran across in open houses that I could not have worked with. But I am sure they were perfect for other clients. Try to do a little homework on agents before you arrive. Prestige Properties had agent bios on their site.

And if you are comfortable with FSBO's look at those, too. Use an attorney.

Another thing that is unique about the market there is that there are no signs in the yards south of 466, except for open houses. They are in the windows but really hard to see sometimes. You can't just drive around and have something catch your eye.

VLS ads dominate The Daily Sun. You have to look a lot harder for the MLS and the FSBO's.

At the time we visited, the reality of the slowing of the market had not quite arrived. The Beverly Ball site did not have the listing of the most recently dropped asking prices.

Make sure you understand the bond and how you want to handle it. Is it worth paying up front? A seller with a paid bond, especially on a newer property, will want to recoup that in the asking price. But should they realistically expect to do that in today's market? You have to decide what a paid bond means to you in your own investment picture. I went in thinking that a paid bond was important to me but came away thinking differently.

AAA has a TV map and TV itself sells a nice map. Get your bearings.

TV is so big and has so many homes for sale that buyers may have a lot of choices now.

Happy Hunting - but be sure to do your homework first.

[Muncle]

040 Hey Boomer, thanx for your post. It was very informative and, in general, seemed to bolster a lot of the impression I'd developed. You seemed to address the entire experience in a very organized, logical manner. But you did leave the other shoe dangling a bit. Did you buy? New or resale? Independent realtor or Properties of TV?

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Hi,

Found it interesting to read what everyone has written. We had a TV Real Estate Agent, Brian, he heard what we wanted and primarily showed us what we requested. He asked us if we would like to see other homes that he thought we might be interested in. We saw them and they were quite nice.

We primarily looked at resales and asked to be shown the new houses just to have a way to compare what TV was offering.

He was honest and answered all questions. He is quite knowledgeable. We ended up buying a resale that a friend told us about.

This house was listed with TV, but since we saw it on our own, we did not go through a broker. The contract that the seller signs states that they can take it off TV listing prior to the end of the contract without a penalty.

Hyacinth Bucket

[JohnN]

My TV agent was horrible, a younger guy much like a sleazy used car salesman, when we come back to buy, we're going to see if we can get someone else.

We'll also look at MLS resales

[gigi22]

We just bought a house in Hadley. Our salesperson from The Villages, Karen Scarbrough, really listened to what we wanted and found us the perfect house. It does happen to be a new one, but she often sent me e-mails of pre-owned homes that she thought we might like. I never felt that she was pushing a new home at us. She often told us that she wanted us to have the perfect house for us, be it used or pre-owned. She was good at calling us and sending e-mails, while we were at home, up north. When visiting The Villages, you can request a salesperson. If you have a referral form for the Lifestyle Preview, you can request one on that, too. I looked at The Villages preowned home section, as well as the MLS listings every day. I, also, looked at the FSBO sites, but didn't see much. I felt like I had a good understanding of what was out there and the prices that homes were going for.
I would recommend Karen. While going to open houses, we, also met other Villages salespeople, and I would have felt comfortable with most of them, too.

[gemorc]

We signed a purchase agreement last Saturday for a home in Summerfield. We spent two long days with Vicki White, a salesperson from Century 21. She busted her butt trying to find us a house my wife and I could agree on. We looked at 10 houses with no success. This was not Vicki's fault.

Saturday, we met with our TV agent, Michelle Halloy. The third house she showed us we decided on. TV Properties has a much larger selection to choose from. We made an offer that was accepted within one hour after we signed the agreement. We will close on 12/28/07.

My wife researched all the homes, we looked at, on the internet websites. The house we purchased was originally priced out of our range, Michelle found this house for us out of TV Properties listings.

[SteveFromNY]

We bought a new house 2 1/2 years ago, and our agent was GREAT. He showed us houses and when we went into them he sat on the couch and said "Look around, let me know if you have any questions". He didn't push us at all, and would have showed us countless houses I am sure. We only looked at new homes as a matter of personal preference, but I know when I spoke to him originally on the phone he suggested re-sales. Like I said though, we had a preference for a new one.
His name is Dexter Mayworm, and he and his wife Sharon and daughter Becky all work together in TV R/E office. I highly recommend them.

:bigthumbsup:

[jjdees]

Gemorc,

We worked with Michele Halloy too. She was the very best. No pressure, no pushing new vs resale, just a complete delight to work with. I'd highly reccomend her.

[ditzyfitzy]

Maybe this question was already answered---but, I didn't see it in skimming the other posts. In Ohio--there is a listing agent...and then the buyer gets their OWN agent...and the commission is split between the two agents.

I was told by TV real estate person---that it doesn't work that way here. That all of the TV real estate people work for the SELLERS or DEVELOPER.

So, my question is this: How do I get someone to represent MY interests? I was told, as many have already stated that the outside realtors can not show those listings of TV Real Estate office--and that is about 95% of the listings. So, do you use a TV person to look at everything and THEN go to an outside agent to close the deal? Or do you have to hire an attorney? Or do you just do your own bargaining? This is all strange to me...as in Ohio...I had my own person looking out for my interests as the buyer....she would point out to me what was good and what was bad about the properties that I was considering....
WHO tells you that when you buy here?
Thanks,
Lynn

[RCT]

Originally Posted by Muncle

I don't know if that is a conscious tactic of the sales office or not, but that is certainly the impression they give. When I bought 2 1/2 years ago, it was a different ballgame. Properties of the Villages had just been created, much to the chagrin of realtors in the area, as well as those back home who were getting referral fees. There were some resales, certainly not the numbers today. When you bought a new home, you got no options. You took what was available and had from maybe 30 minutes to a couple hours to make a decision. You snooze, you lose to the many other buyers waiting in line. But you all know the history.

In the last year and a half, it's been a new world. In my neighborhood, we've had several homes go on the market in that time. Whenever a seller has gone with Properties of the Villages, they've signed a listing contract. The initial price has generally seemed fairly high, enough to make those of us in the neighborhood get a warm and fuzzy about our house values. In all cases, there have been at least a few open houses and other Properties agents do show the house. Then the sellers begin to notice that there are no offers. Late in the listing period, the realtor suggests dropping the price a bit. A couple homes have actually sold at this point. Then the listing contract expires, the seller goes with an independent realtor, and the house sells pretty quickly. Often the new realtor will recommend a cut in asking price. Other times, they've stayed with the price to which Properties had just dropped.

I don't know for sure if Properties actively uses resales as "bait and switch" tools to sell new homes as part of their SOP. I've not seen it done in a patently obvious manner. I'd like anyone who's bought recently to share their experiences to see if it fits the impression.

Again, I say, have you looked at the MLS listings? They are CONSISTENTLY higher than TV listings for comparable homes. Now, wether the outside listings are more prone to negotiate, I don't know. I have posted this same in the past, but never have anyone say otherwise, so I don't know.
As far as the agents, I have been up there twice, and Mitzi Terry, works for the developer, and has NEVER pushed new more than resales. I am sorry to hear others say they were, but hasn't been my experience, and have spent about five hours with her so far, have been very pleased.