real estate agents

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: Falken
Doog, I disclosed all faults I was aware of.

Any faults that the buyer found with their inspector was just to be used as leverage for me to reduce my asking price.

I wasn't willing to read the inspection that they had done that is all.

I had my own inspector before I purchased, and I made that PDF available to anyone that was looking at the house.

No, we aren't required to read an inspection done by a potential buyer.

And, it was that buyer who had the inspection done that was the buyer in the end.

So Doog, nothing dishonest on my part.


That would be a violation of real estate law here. That was my point. The last home I sold had 4 faults and all were repaired and still disclosed. My attitude is that if someone wants the property they will buy it. If not too bad for them. BTW, I used a fixed fee internet broker who charged me $600 to list the property on the MLS and then I showed and negotiated myself with this agent in the background coaching me with any legal issues. I saved $10k in RE fees.

 

[UNC164]

Originally Posted By: Doog

That would be a violation of real estate law here. That was my point. The last home I sold had 4 faults and all were repaired and still disclosed. My attitude is that if someone wants the property they will buy it. If not too bad for them. BTW, I used a fixed fee internet broker who charged me $600 to list the property on the MLS and then I showed and negotiated myself with this agent in the background coaching me with any legal issues. I saved $10k in RE fees.


Very smart move Doog - people almost always pay way to much to have a realtor list their house. Paying a fixed fee broker to list your house on the MLS is the smartest way to save money selling a house. You save 50% of the commission minus the fixed listing fee so you can literally save thousands. Doing a traditional FSBO and advertising the house yourself typically don't get enough exposure compared to having the house in the MLS. Also most agents will refuse to show a FSBO that's not on the MLS with tyraditional commission structure.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Forget the agents! At least until you need them. There is an astounding number of real eastate websites across the nation to do your online shopping at. Find what you want first then see an agent, if necessary.

Personally, I search for foreclosures online, and get great bargains.


Agreed.

OP, would you hire a stealership salesperson to help you in a search for a new car? Same principle. Any of the big RE listers will have full access on their websites to all of the house they have listed for sale, you just need to hunt down the house that you want. You probably won't even need an agent for your side of the transaction, but may be better off using a real estate lawyer to help with the docs.

 

[dareo]

I would do all you can to search for a quality home yourself. Then talk to the listing agent. The listing agent will get the entire commission, or 'double end' the deal if he lists it and is your buyer agent. This can be better for negotiating as the agent will lean on the seller more if he can get both halves of commission. If you sign with one realtor and he does not have the listing it will be a commission split situation.

If you don't have a realtor that you have known for many years, proceed with extreme caution.

 

[linkbelt]

No matter what anyone says, real estate agents work for themselves first and last.

The listing agent for the property that you want is the one that i would deal with, if possible.
Verify, verify every statement, if its not in writing, dont trust it.

 

[hattaresguy]

Real estate agents are like any other profession, you will get good ones and bad ones.

Most are OK, some are really bad, a few are excellent.

I have a few agents I deal with who are excellent and we make a lot of money together.

 

[bustednutz]

They're all snakes! Worse then car salesmen. My last 2 agents were worthless. When I bought my 2nd house here the agent acted like I was her best friend. Yes'd me to death. Everything with her was always, "no problem honey" etc.... Really overdid it on the southern hospitality to a fault. The sellers agent was a complete Bag of douchery. Rude and seemed put off that they had to do their job. The seller included a home warranty. (another worthless product) First week here we had a horrendous hurricane off the coast and the house sprung roof leaks everywhere! And this is after having paid for a home inspection. I was fit to be tied. Called both agents and the sellers agent basically told me to shove it and call the worthless home warranty company. My super sicky sweet southern belle of an agent NEVER returned my calls!
They all suck. I'm glad the bubble burst and they all got it stuck up their wazoo's.
Now, allow me to tell you how I really feel........

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: cashmoney

Nope you absolutely don't have a buyer's agent - that's what they want you to think.

The ONLY way you get a buyer's agent is where you sign a contract up front to pay the buyer's agent a agreed upon fee BEFORE they ever show you a house..


^^ This.

You're free to deal with any RE of your choice when you're in the browsing phase.

I know I've jumped-ship in the past. You think your agent is annoying now? Dump'em and see how annoying they get then. LOL! I'd just about rather have a root canal AND colonoscopy than go through that again.

You have to go into it as realistically as possible, knowing the RE is in it for a paycheck. It's their job.

Hopefully you get a good one, that will handle ALL of the calls and paperwork for you.

Experienced REs can be handy for rural property sales, handling all the health dept inspections and paperwork required for wells, septics, etc..

In the end, it all depends on the market in your area. If properties sell within days, why bother with an RE?

I've seen many a "for sale by owner" sit for years, where an experienced RE probably would have had it sold long ago.

 

[Morkal]

I think if you have not a trusted agent than its better to left that because its just the waste of time as well as money.But most of the agent don't act in the same way.As it was the main source of their income.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: cashmoney
Originally Posted By: ram_man
I went into a real estate office and sat down with them and told them i wanted to buy a house. So i guess I have a buyers agent. He has even pointed out problems in homes.


Nope you absolutely don't have a buyer's agent - that's what they want you to think.

The ONLY way you get a buyer's agent is where you sign a contract up front to pay the buyer's agent a agreed upon fee BEFORE they ever show you a house. Then when you buy a house with that agent they would not get any commission from that sale, instead they get just the fee from the contract you signed for representing you as a buyers agent.

Unless you sign a fee based 'Buyers" agent contract what you have when you use a real estate agent to help you look at houses is a sellers agent in disguise, they will independently take you around and show you various homes (many listed by other agents) but if you get serious about a specific home, you need to be fully aware that "your" agent is 100% working for the seller in the negotiations and sales process. It is amazing how many people do not understand this critical piece of info in a very important and expensive transaction.

btw - any agent, including seller agents, are required by law to proactively tell you about any known defects in a property.


EXACTLY. Well said.

OP, PLEASE tell me that you have 20%+ down on this house...

 

[ram_man]

No the interest rate is 2.8% so the monthly payment is so cheap we are just paying double the balance every month. We were able to get a usda loan so a down payment wasnt necessary.

 

[JHZR2]

Oh boy. Good luck. Yuck.

How much is PMI per month?