Realtors with Good Ratings/Reviews
 

Does anyone know of a good site that Rates & Review Realtors?

I'm looking at buying in either The Villages or Stonecrest. I've talked to a couple realtors already but when I do a search on them I find out that there are no ratings on them and that they haven't sold many houses. I'd like to see evidence that I'd be getting a realtor that has a good record and is a strong fiduciary to their clients.

Stephen

Stephen,

Many, if not most agency relationships in Florida are considered "transactional agency" in nature, and as such have no fiduciary responsibility to buyer or seller. While fiduciary relationships are possible, they must be disclosed to all parties in the transaction.

To my knowledge, "dual agency" (representing both buyer and seller) are not permitted. They may exist in certain other states, hence confusion when an out-of-state buyer comes to Florida.

Ask your potential agent to disclose their relationship to sellers and to you as a possible buyer.

Actually, we were involved in a transactional broker purchase 2 years ago here in The Villages which didn't turn out well. Apparently in Florida, transactional brokers are allowed (representing both buyer and seller in the same transaction) and the broker does not even have to have either party (buyer or seller) sign a statement to that effect in Florida, unlike other states where we have successfully done transactional broker transactions.
Just watch out when you get a broker--some are definitely better than others!

I always think that a recommendation from a happy customer is priceless.
If you do a search on "real estate agents", you will see agents recommended by members of TOTV.
Search button is above.

It sounds like what you want is a Buyers Agent so you must specifically ask for that and sign a contract with the agent that states exactly that. That means the agent represent you, and only you, in the transaction. First, be aware that in The Villages, 'agents' working for The Villages are usually salespersons and not really licensed real estate agents. Second, these 'agents' can only show you properties listed through Properties of The Villages but not any properties listed anywhere else. You would need an MLS agent to look at any homes in The Villages for sale but not through Properties of The Villages. Third, before making any offer through an 'agent' with Properties of The Villages, very carefully read your contract as most deposits (typically they demand 20% earnest money) are NON-REFUNDABLE.

A terrific, honest Villages agent is Tony Trussler. Listens to what you want and won't waste your time. 1-800-346-4556

Tony Trussler was our agent as well. Great guy, he spent two days with us and took us around to see CYV's, cottages, patio villas, anything we wanted to see and he was never demanding or pushy even though we were just spending between $150,000 to $200,000. We've even been invited to Tony's thank you luncheon for all of the five years we've been here.

On our CYV that we bought, it had been discounted once because they were closing out our community, just 5 units left and while I was on the phone with Tony from Baltimore and trying to decide between a patio villa and a CYV, the CYV dropped another $5,000 while we were talking. I don't know how that happened, but it popped up on the computer at a new price. Tony is a Villages agent, so he can only show you property inside The Villages both new and resale.

I have bought two homes and sold one with Cathy Millhorn. She picked up on my likes and dislike immediately and rated every property based on our comments. She is highly attentive and one of the best!!

Beth Pope

Thank you everyone for your input... it's greatly appreciated!

Steve

We closed today on our patio villa. Charlotte Sumner did an outstanding job representing us through the entire process. We have never had a better real estate transaction experience.

village sales agent cannot sell anywhere except the villages.... Beth Pope is a village agent but could possibly recommend a Realtor who can sell in Stone Ridge.

also..... this is the correct wording of real estate

agent.....a person licensed to sell real property


Realtor......a person licensed to sell real property..... a member of a Board of Realtors...


Broker.......a person licensed to sell real property..... a member of a Board of Realtors
..... a person who also or instead took the Broker class and to become a Real Estate Broker.. different class of agent. more schooling...


every real estate office must have a Broker who hangs their license evident in the window of the Real estate office in the form of wording and numbers as required by the DBPR .dept board prof realtors.. usually the Broker is the Manager/owner of the office.

and now you know.....

Villages agent Lance Hamilton and his wife Sharon are great. Bought our home through Lance who was great at knowing what we wanted and what was available.

they dont want to buy in the villages...... a village agent cannot help them....

trust me... then can only refer them....

word of mouth ........best advice ever...