[Xavier]

Originally Posted by mgm4444

I would like to see itemized bills that the previous owner had to pay for home bills. Utilities/taxes/amenity, etc. Is this provided when going to buy pre-owned? Also, not clear on sales reps. The Villages Sales reps can't sell you a pre-owned, only new? Not sure why some posters say to use both The Villages and MLS or other if you're going to buy pre-owned. Buyers pay for the home inspection? - thanks in advance !

The Village agents can also list and sell preowned. That's who we went through. There is some feeling that The Village agents would prefer to lead you to new homes. It would seem logical that they might have a monetary incentive to do just that. We found that our agent was extremely helpful and professional. If a preowned hasn't been listed by The Villages Sales Office, they can't show it. That's where MLS comes in. As you drive around The Villages you will also see plenty of the "For Sale by Owner" signs.

I can't remember if they had average utility numbers before we bought. They should have the tax numbers though. We have found that the taxes and utilities are pretty reasonable compared to what we paid up north.

You'll see plenty of the preowned homes and be able to take video tours at The Villages Website. That's where we found ours.

Xavier

[logdog]

Originally Posted by Xavier

The prices on the new homes are very inviting compared to similar homes that are preowned. You may want to keep in mind that the closing costs on a new home may include utility connection charges, an impact fee and possibly other charges that you wouldn't have with a preowned. Our closing costs on our preowned home were between $3,000 and $4,000. We've talked with people who bought new and have the same style home with a similar location and their closing costs were about $10,000 higher.

We bought a new home. Our closing costs were zero. All we had to pay was pro-rated taxes and assessments. There were about $9,000 in closing costs but they were all paid by the seller (The Villages).

[Xavier]

Originally Posted by logdog

We bought a new home. Our closing costs were zero. All we had to pay was pro-rated taxes and assessments. There were about $9,000 in closing costs but they were all paid by the seller (The Villages).

So you paid the advertised price - period?

[Carla B]

I agree with logdog. In 2008 we paid zero closing costs on a new home. Nevertheless, on a preowned house, if upgrades have been done that you like and the bond is low, it could be a much better deal. Upgrades add $$$ very quickly to the price of a new home.

On a preowned house the absolute "must have" for us would be double-paned windows.

[chuckinca]

You can probably get double paned windows installed for around $4000 (just a guess based on $7500 we paid 4 yrs ago in Norcal for 18 windows)


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[logdog]

Originally Posted by Xavier

So you paid the advertised price - period?

There's no negotiating on new construction in The Villages. We did, however, save about $12,000 by buying a neighborhood closeout. On resales, you can negotiate selling price and closing costs. New homes, pay The Villages price and no closing costs.