Originally Posted by ron32162 (Post 2139777)

There are NO Village Realtors only village sales people "Realtor" is a trademark and only can be used by members belonging to the NAR. Village sales people, their principal is the builder who they represent. A mls Realtor their principal is the customer That would be You.

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki (Post 2139699)

When comparing price of new vs pre owned, you need to consider the after market upgrades the pre owned has. Things like painted/coated driveway.garage, water systems, screening, solar tubes, plantation shutters, etc.
That is one reason why pre owned are listed at a higher price.
Don’t forget to investigate the bond. New home are probably in the $30,000 ranges, pre owned may by in the 10,000 to 15,000 range or may be paid off.

Originally Posted by Karmanng (Post 2139818)

VLS dont give you uch information on the homes either when you start asking questions they seem to blow it off

Originally Posted by MrChip72 (Post 2139656)

When we bought this past spring we were pretty much 90% set on pre-owned. We looked at several pre-owned and very quickly after checking out new homes after that we changed our minds to only want something new. The newer builds are generally better laid out, using more energy efficient everything, more modern kitchens and bathrooms, and seem to sell for around the same price as pre-owned. Not to mention, in the new areas the average age is closer to 60 than 80 like some of the original areas.

Originally Posted by Donaz1 (Post 2139729)

In my experience working with both, I would never use VLS. You are not offered the protections that an MLS must adhered to. A friend recently bought an older home owned by the villages. They went ahead and hired their own inspector and gave her the report - unethical IMO.

Originally Posted by Dilligas (Post 2139730)

If you want to see every house for sale in TV, then you will need both MLS & TV. TV handle about twice the sales of resales and 100% of new. The “line” about TV agents are not realtors is spun by MLS agents, because TV can not sell MLS and vice versa……BOTH are licensed by the state of Florida. Some of TV agents get along with MLS and can work together. You can only see MLS homes on MLS, and only see TV homes on TV website. As with any transaction, get agents you like and trust, there are good & bad in both organizations.

Originally Posted by joelfmi (Post 2139734)

Very important location! Location! and community travel if you cannot drive.

Originally Posted by MSGirl (Post 2139798)

................. member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Originally Posted by KatieRN (Post 2139583)

My husband and I are coming for a lifestyle visit in October. I have 3 questions about realtors. 1)Why would someone list with MLS rather than a Villages realtor? 2)If I'm looking for a preowned home should I look at both? 3)Someone on this forum said a friend of theirs was paying 500.00 in amenity fees. Doesn't everyone pay the same? Thanks in advance for the info and advice. Excited to see all the Villages offers!

Originally Posted by Darield (Post 2139872)

Village realtors do not have a realtors license.They are sales people for the Villages. Their focus is on new homes although they will show you homes that are listed with them. The best thing to do is use both. That way you have access to all homes for sale. As far as amenity fees, they go higher in the newer neighborhoods in the South. The bonds in the newer homes are also much higher. We bought an older home near the polo grounds and the bond had already been paid and we have one of the lower amenity fees. The homes and area have a very different feel South of 466A than the ones up North. Look at a variety of areas so you can determine what is best for you.

Originally Posted by msilagy (Post 2139755)

Remember you will have a BOND on new or newer construction. Paid with taxes. Many realtors never mention that important fact!

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive (Post 2139764)

We took the double-barreled approach when buying: working both with a Villages guy and an outside realtor. Both were excellent. Lennie Berger (the Villages agent) was outstanding. We ended up not buying from him (opting instead to purchase a home listed by an outside realty company) but we had no issues with either. If you're looking at new, however, as other posts indicate, you'll have to work with a Villages agent.

We chose pre-owned, for several reasons. More established neighborhoods, generally quieter (our village has only one way in and out so very little traffic), no bond (a biggie), and a whole lot closer to essential businesses and services that the new construction in the South seems to be (we're maybe 10 minutes by golf cart from Lowe's, Wal-mart, Publix, Aldi, Doctor, Dentist, Spanish Springs Town square, a couple of strip malls, etc.).

Enjoy your lifestyle visit! But be prepared for the lily to be heavily gilded. Back in the world I enjoyed woodworking. When discussing hobbies with our Villages "guide" during our lifestyle visit I mentioned that fact. He took us to the woodshop (only one at the time) and proudly showed how it worked, what was expected of the people using it, etc. No mention however that the waiting list was years long (and with the huge influx of people recently, probably approaching a decade). A few other such gildings, but really minor in comparison to what The Villages is, and has to offer.

Enjoy your visit and best of luck buying

Originally Posted by KatieRN (Post 2139583)

My husband and I are coming for a lifestyle visit in October. I have 3 questions about realtors. 1)Why would someone list with MLS rather than a Villages realtor? 2)If I'm looking for a preowned home should I look at both? 3)Someone on this forum said a friend of theirs was paying 500.00 in amenity fees. Doesn't everyone pay the same? Thanks in advance for the info and advice. Excited to see all the Villages offers!

Originally Posted by ron32162 (Post 2139777)

There are NO Village Realtors only village sales people "Realtor" is a trademark and only can be used by members belonging to the NAR. Village sales people, their principal is the builder who they represent. A mls Realtor their principal is the customer That would be You.