[mulligan]

There is very little you can "spec" other than the footprint and cosmetic finishes. That said, any deviation should be obvious at the pre-closing walk-thru.

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by Georgeand Cindi

Hi! My wife and I, after making an impromptu stop at the The Villages last summer (3 short days) fell in love with it. We decided that this was the place we wanted to live and put our home in Colorado up for sale. Fortunately a cash buyer appeared out of nowhere and we, much to our surprise, were able to sell our house during the winter months (hurray). Consequently, we made reservations this June for a 7 day Villages Lifestyle visit. Though buying a house during this short time span is not a necessity, we would, candidly, be very disappointed if we did not find a home to purchase. We are determined to downsize and feel that courtyard villa would fit our needs perfectly. We have a Villages real estate agent and will depend on him to show us all the pre-owned and newly constructed CYV’s available within our price range, however we really do want to explore all our options, which could include viewing a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure property. (Good idea?) I have done some research but would value a "Villager's" input. Has anyone had a positive experience with such a (foreclosure) sale? Does anyone know the approxiamte timeline for a closing if you are a cash buyer? What might be major league ballpark figure (percentage) we should be looking to save off of the market value of the home? Any other suggestions or recommendations regarding our upcoming Lifestyles visit? Thanks!

First of all. to TOTV. I see this is your first post.

Congrats on selling your condo.

Originally Posted by njbchbum

best advice i've read for villages home buyers:
1. use a villages realtor AND an mls realtor
2. do not rule out viewing pre-owned homes as they will likely have a lower bond payment and might already have some of the upgrades you are looking for

This is good advice as the MLS has "buyer" type agents. They should be able to advise what a home will sell for as they should be working for you.

You might want to consider renting for a while to figure out what is best for you as you seem to be considering many options.

[Forsyth]

Husband died, new job starting around July 4. I've got to sell, Fast.
All offers reviewed. Asking $192,000. Lived in 1/10 through 6/11.
Courtyard Cabana Villa 3BR/2Ba, brand new professional $$$$ landscaping, designed for LOW maintenance. Golf cart. King size bed purchased 2010. Turn-key if you want it. Volume ceilings, ceramic tile, upgrades, wonderful, young neighbors.
Teresa Forsyth
1733 Kingfisher Ct.
Kingfisher Villas
Pennecamp
352-750-0897
352-446-7624
Tell your friends.............I've got to move and this is stressing me!

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by tbmorrisonjr

I would strongly suggest staying away from either. I was involved with a shortsale last year, listed thru The Villages pre-owned department that turned out to be a nightmare. The lender was out of state. Had to go thru the bidding process and then at the last minute the lender requested additional paperwork and funds from the seller. I walked away at the end of 90 days. The foreclosure I tried to purchase after the shortsale mess was never able to get closed. The lender was GMAC from Colorado. The price was agreed upon but the local non-Villages agent was never able to get the closing package. I walked away after waiting 60 days to close. I ended up buying property from a non-Villages agent. There are many ways of buying property other than thru The Villages Sales Dept. I suggest checking the paper for non-Village listings and property for sale by owner. The Villages Sales Dept will have a greater inventory to choose from but the prices will probably be higher too. At least you can negotiate with pre-owned property as opposed to paying the asking price on new property thru The Villages. Good luck on your house hunting...

I hope there aren't very many short sales here. I know bad things can happen but I hope people are moving here who have planned for them and saved for them and have enough money for them and not just hoping things will work out for a job. If people default on their loans a lot, we all will be hurt in the value of our real estate investment, just like up North.

This may get political real quick.

[jblum315]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

You cannot join The villages golf clubs, you cannot play The Villages courses if you live in the three adjoining counties. Basically you cannot do anything in The Villages. You are welcome to spend as much as you like in the restaurants.

That's why houses in adjoining counties cost substantially less. Villages amenities are for residents only.

[Golfer in Sanibel]

Cherie and I considered a foreclosure or short sale. We discarded the idea. It seems the homes we found in this category were in need of extensive updating and repair. At this point in our lives we are not willing to take on those issues. There are plenty of hobbies in TV without making another. Plus, the homes in TV have not had the drastic devaluation you see in other parts of Florida, because of the high growth and demand. Thus, by the time you buy the home and do the required updates you would have as much or more invested as you'd have building a new home. By building our home we were able to get exactly what we wanted, decorated to suit our tastes. Voila, we are happy and excited.

Also, we found a CYV with the laundry in the garage to be uncomfortably cold in the winter and way too hot in the summer. Many people are OK with it but we decided we were not.

Best of luck with your decision.

[JohnN]

We've been in TV part-time for 4 years in a patio villa and just sold it to come here full-time into a CYV. Studying this for some years, resales sell for about 96% of asking price, though that varies of course (estate sales are really the best way to find a deal). New construction is priced as is, but we bought new both times, and feel you get a better value. That's subjective of course.

Come on over to the Fairwinds villas that just opened in St.James, that's where we are. It's a great spot for a lot of reasons.
You'll love it here, guaranteed, best decision we ever made.