[KatieRN]

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!

[Kenswing]

Originally Posted by KatieRN

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!

1. Some people feel they have more visibility by listing with an MLS realtor. And some just don’t like the developer getting anymore of their money.

2. If looking at preowned homes it’s a good idea to have an MLS realtor and a Villages sales agent. They are used to people doing this. If one or the other has a problem find someone else.

3. The only way someone paid $500 in amenity fees is if it was their first bill. Remember, included in the bill with your amenity fee is also trash, water and sewer. Not everyone pays the same amenity fee. It’s close though. When you buy a house you get set at the prevailing rate. Then yearly you get an increase determined by the consumer price index. So depending on when you bought and what your increases were can put you off a little from everyone else.

[Altavia]

Good advise from Kenswing.

Visit open houses first is a good way to find realtor(s) you click with.

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by KatieRN

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!

Look at both MLS and VLS listings. You just never know. BTW, There is no such thing as a "Villages Realtor". Villages agents are licensed but are NOT Realtors.

[Stu from NYC]

Moved here three years ago.

Tried both and started with MLS. What MLS showed us did not work out so tried a village rep and liked one he showed us and the rest is history.

Best to try both.

[splashes]

the best village realtor is Beth Pope 352-552-1511 a real professional that will find your dream house new or resale remember location location

[MrChip72]

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.

[BayLady57]

Originally Posted by KatieRN

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!

My husband and I recently purchased a new 3 br courtyard villa in St. Johns. We wanted to purchase new construction so it was our Villages agent who found us and handled the sale of the home we purhased. If you are open to or only interested in pre-owned homes some will be listed by an MLS agent and others will be listed by the VLS which is The Villages listing services. An MLS agent can only show and sell MLS homes, and VLS homes are only shown and sold by Villages agents. That being said, you will need both an MLS and VLS agent. If you are not ready to buy now, spend your LSV time exploring the community and go to a few open houses on your own. We had two LSVs and did not purchase during either, but after the 2nd we knew the type of home we wanted and area we wanted to purchase in. With regards to amenity fees, that is included in a monthly bill along with trash, sewer, and water which is irrigation and potable. Our recent bill for these services I just paid was $317. The month previous was $357 attributed to more water use as we upgrade our landscaping during that time and had to water our new plantings more to make sure they survived. Although there is some variation in individual amenity frees depending on when one purchased their home, our amenity fee for our 4 month old new home is $179/month. Best of luck.

[Garywt]

Not everyone has their water and sewer as part of the amenities fee. Our fee is currently $177. It started at $159 when we bought 3+ Years ago. With trash fees our monthly bill is $199. We get a separate water and sewer bill that is generally $40-60 a month.

[Dilligas]

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.

[richardc1947]

Get on board with both realtors unless you just want to buy a new home. Approximately 1/3 of the pre owned homes are listed with mls agents.
If someone said their amenities fee was $500, they are mistaken. Most of the amenities fees are in the mid $150 range depending on where you live.
Be aware that there is a bond fee attached to all new homes to pay for the infrastructure for new homes. That fee is in the tens of thousands of dollars. Pre owned homes will have the bond partly or completely paid off. So be sure to ask and include any remaining bond in the cost of homes when comparing.

[bowlingal]

MLS realtors are NOT allowed to show new construction....only pre-owned. The villages team and MLS can both show pre-owned. Get the Daily Sun for listings for both or go to the villages website for listings with " the firm".

[Catalina36]

Originally Posted by KatieRN

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!

Amenities FEE??? Does everyone pay the same???? Your amenity fee goes up every year. The amenity fee changes on the month the original owner purchased the home. I purchased / closed on my home in October of 2020 my amenity fee went up in August of 2021. Depending on who you talk to yes someone may pay less or more. Depends if someones home was originally purchased in February and someone else's home was originally purchased in October. It's about the time difference. But Yes everyone pays about the same. My home was built in 2004. The beginning of 2022 I was paying 168.74, now I am paying 182.68. No one is paying $500. You get a bill every month and the amenity fee, the water bill house and irrigation, sewer bill, etc. That will be much higher because of your individual usage.
Best of Luck

[talonip]

Originally Posted by richardc1947

Get on board with both realtors unless you just want to buy a new home. Approximately 1/3 of the pre owned homes are listed with mls agents.
If someone said their amenities fee was $500, they are mistaken. Most of the amenities fees are in the mid $150 range depending on where you live.
Be aware that there is a bond fee attached to all new homes to pay for the infrastructure for new homes. That fee is in the tens of thousands of dollars. Pre owned homes will have the bond partly or completely paid off. So be sure to ask and include any remaining bond in the cost of homes when comparing.

150 is only the amenity fee. The bill you get will include water sewer trash and the amenity and will most likely be about 300 or more. When we arrived here 8 years ago the bill was in the 240s.

[karenzeee]

Have fun on your lifestyle visit! That's how we started, then rented for a month to look for homes. We used both relators. TV for the new builds mostly, and the MLS for everything else. So much to see and learn in a week during you Lifestyle visit. If you don't find what your looking for, come back and rent to really find the area you want to live in. We thought we wanted a new home for sure, but ended up buying a preowned - turnkey with no bond in the Northern area.

If you don't find what your looking for on your visit this time, check out Rent From A Villager | Home Rentals in The Villages Florida | Advertise Your Village Rental and rent a home directly from an owner for a few weeks or month. It's a fantastic way to really get to know your way around TV.

Best of luck and enjoy the process! Exciting times for sure.