So, I am looking at a house that's for sale, literally a 10 minute walk from work. I think it's going to be in my price range, perhaps even less than I'm paying now. My question is this: Should I get my own realtor, or should I just work with the listing agent? Are there pros and cons to either way?
Realtor question
- Thread starter gearsoup
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If you can get the price you want, don't bother with a realtor of your own. It's not that complicated really. I bought mine for sale by owner and it was a piece of cake. The mortgauge broker will be a ton of help. Just pay attension to the intrest % and points. Look on-line to see what they are running at and make sure you are there or below.
Debbie Bodwell is a mortgauge broker here in Auburn and was freekin' awesome. A total dream to work with. She walked us right through the whole thing.
Debbie Bodwell is a mortgauge broker here in Auburn and was freekin' awesome. A total dream to work with. She walked us right through the whole thing.
Redline
Member
Pro is that you can get the listing agent to be more flexible with the price on the home. Typically, a listing agent gets around 5%, IIRC, of the sale price. The buying agent typically get's about 2%. 2% of $200k is $4k...
The downfall to this is your own agent would typically be more critical of certain things, where the listing agent might not give certain things (in your interest) the right amount of attention.
If you know what you are looking for, then yeah, save some cash. Otherwise, get your own agent so you can be sure things go smoothly and everything is double-checked.
The downfall to this is your own agent would typically be more critical of certain things, where the listing agent might not give certain things (in your interest) the right amount of attention.
If you know what you are looking for, then yeah, save some cash. Otherwise, get your own agent so you can be sure things go smoothly and everything is double-checked.
ShagginWagon
New member
You should buy our house. FSBO = No broker!
MLS ID# 893149 on realtor.com
MLS ID# 893149 on realtor.com
Maybe you missed the part where I said: 10 minutes walk from my shop.
Plus, the house we are looking at is only 118k.
Though I've never bought a home, I've been through most of the process a couple of time already.
I will try to see if I can fit into any "first time home buyers" programs..
Plus, the house we are looking at is only 118k.
Though I've never bought a home, I've been through most of the process a couple of time already.
I will try to see if I can fit into any "first time home buyers" programs..
ruggedman
New member
+infinity for Debbie Bodwell.
I played basketball with her son and my parent's have bought two (or is it 3) houses through her. When it came time to buy she made it really easy for us.
As far as the Realtor goes, if you're the buyer, go ahead and get one, dont use the seller's agent. There's a good chance they wont work with you without another agent too if it's not FSBO. They make it so easy to get everything done and the payment for the realtors will be coming out of the cost of the house so the price is already inflated up to represent that so you wont pay a cent. And once a seller signs with a realtor they cant get out of the contract for like 3 months to a year off the market (we tried on one house we were looking at).
My buyers agent was Sue Picano with Caldwell banker. She was easy to work with and did all the work so my g/f and i just showed up signed some papers and voila we were home.
Congrats man. Home ownership is the best!
What are ya gonna miss? The mortgauge co. requires all the inspections and title searches. The inspector is hired by the mortgauge co. so they are not playing favorates.
I'm tellin' ya, you get a realtor involved, they just might find a "problem" with that house but have the perfect one for you that they happen to be listing. I had it happen to me. After I found out the only "good" houses were ones they listed, I made them sign a paper saying I don't have to pay a commission if I find a house myself and it's for sale by owner. The next day I told them good bye.
I'm tellin' ya, you get a realtor involved, they just might find a "problem" with that house but have the perfect one for you that they happen to be listing. I had it happen to me. After I found out the only "good" houses were ones they listed, I made them sign a paper saying I don't have to pay a commission if I find a house myself and it's for sale by owner. The next day I told them good bye.
Hmm, we weren't required to have an inspection...but we did have one. We paid for that. The APPRAISAL was what was required by the bank to make sure they weren't loaning more than the place was worth.
If it's your first home, I'd realtor up. If you get the right people to work with (realtor and mortgage person) the process is not scary, not overwhelming, and very cool.
If it's your first home, I'd realtor up. If you get the right people to work with (realtor and mortgage person) the process is not scary, not overwhelming, and very cool.
wzrd
New member
I would hire your own buyer broker, if i were in your position. :mblah05:, to represent your best interest in the deal.First time out [buying property]there is a lot of things that can go wrong if you dont know what your looking for. :evil1: Both brokers split the usual7-9 percent fee,so it wont cost you anymore to have a profesional :hello:looking out for you.I have bought and sold land ,both with and without realtors..be carefull it is a cut throat busines,worse then car sales. :glasses9:
katnip
the car is black. I swear
use the listing broker. comp the house yourself, look to see what similar houses (size, acreage, # bed, baths, location) are the same. see how long the house has been on the market, typically if it's been on the market for a while you will be able to get it for a good bit less than the asking price, if it's a resent list, you are less likely to get it for much less, yet. Typically, realtors will suggest owners list for more than is reasonable so there is wiggle room. A house listed at 118K can probably be had for between 105K and 112K.
make the offer, list every contingency possible, so you have an out. you don't have to exercise them all, but get them anyway. especially inspections, get a building inspection, esp, if the house is more than 20 y/o. make sure the financing contingency is reasonable to what you can afford. give them a reasonable time to think about your offer, but not too long! if you do a walk thru prior to the offer, make sure you look at everything very closely, esp, with the Mrs. see if there is anything that is not 'modern" and you think you may want to replace, consider the age of the roof, furnace, etc, will they need to be replaced in the next ten years? ask for a copy of the deed and disclosure at the walk thru and review all for questionable items. if you think seller points might be applicable, put that in the offer
get the owners title insurance, it is expensive, but worth every penny if there is ever a title issue!!!!!!!
you can do it yourself, just remember the seller is paying the commission and the broker works for the seller, but they also want a quick sale.
ok, I could go on forever. i'll shut up now!
make the offer, list every contingency possible, so you have an out. you don't have to exercise them all, but get them anyway. especially inspections, get a building inspection, esp, if the house is more than 20 y/o. make sure the financing contingency is reasonable to what you can afford. give them a reasonable time to think about your offer, but not too long! if you do a walk thru prior to the offer, make sure you look at everything very closely, esp, with the Mrs. see if there is anything that is not 'modern" and you think you may want to replace, consider the age of the roof, furnace, etc, will they need to be replaced in the next ten years? ask for a copy of the deed and disclosure at the walk thru and review all for questionable items. if you think seller points might be applicable, put that in the offer
get the owners title insurance, it is expensive, but worth every penny if there is ever a title issue!!!!!!!
you can do it yourself, just remember the seller is paying the commission and the broker works for the seller, but they also want a quick sale.
ok, I could go on forever. i'll shut up now!
Kat,
Thanks for the input! It's what I want to see.
I've already taken an informal walkthrough. The house has been off and on the market for the better part of a year. The owner lives in Florida and didn't want to deal with it over the winter. They did have a buyer for it last year, but financing fell through.
The houese isn't anything to write home about. Small yard, simple house, make believe garage. The house appears to be mid to late '60s.
Here's the link: http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=04268&bd=4&typ=1&sid=58d081b0e93c4b89a5ce791144dfee11&lid=1098889443&lsn=8&srcnt=57#Detail
Thanks for the input! It's what I want to see.
I've already taken an informal walkthrough. The house has been off and on the market for the better part of a year. The owner lives in Florida and didn't want to deal with it over the winter. They did have a buyer for it last year, but financing fell through.
The houese isn't anything to write home about. Small yard, simple house, make believe garage. The house appears to be mid to late '60s.
Here's the link: http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=04268&bd=4&typ=1&sid=58d081b0e93c4b89a5ce791144dfee11&lid=1098889443&lsn=8&srcnt=57#Detail
katnip
the car is black. I swear
cute little place, looks like it has had a lot of updates, which is good. the partial basement is def. a discount on the purchase price. if it isn't on town water, sewer, get inspections for both. you will have to pay for the inspections, but worth their weight in gold. if it is something you guys like, make an offer. personally, I wouldn't pay more than 110K as it looks online. If you keep it well maintained, it will be something you can sell at a profit down the road if you outgrow it. but keep in mind the lot size, will it work for the kids? if you are currently renting and it is close to work probably worth your while to try to buy it.
again, contingencies, contingencies, contingencies, they will save your ass and get you out of the contract should something show up that you can't live with. you can usually get out on financing clause with the help of the bank officer.
good luck and if you have any other questions, shout!
kat
again, contingencies, contingencies, contingencies, they will save your ass and get you out of the contract should something show up that you can't live with. you can usually get out on financing clause with the help of the bank officer.
good luck and if you have any other questions, shout!
kat
The lot will def. work for the kids. We are currently renting ($850/mo), and the yard is smaller than that.
It was originally a 2br with a small living room. Somewhere along the line, they extended it 14 ft or so. So it has a full basement under the original house, and a block foundation on the extension.
The interior is rough. It's not in dire need of work, but it's defenitely in need of a little TLC.
It does have a dug well (big negative IMHO) as well as a septic that was just pumped. I have seen the disclosure paperwork. Really not crazy about the well, but the wife grew up on one of those, so it's not too big of a deal. We are also very close to several springs and whatnot.
As far as how close it is too work:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=31+Wiley+Rd.+Norway+Maine+04268&daddr=15+Ayer+Drive,+NOrway+Maine+04268&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.052282,94.833984&ie=UTF8&ll=44.227857,-70.641232&spn=0.008872,0.023153&t=h&z=16
It was originally a 2br with a small living room. Somewhere along the line, they extended it 14 ft or so. So it has a full basement under the original house, and a block foundation on the extension.
The interior is rough. It's not in dire need of work, but it's defenitely in need of a little TLC.
It does have a dug well (big negative IMHO) as well as a septic that was just pumped. I have seen the disclosure paperwork. Really not crazy about the well, but the wife grew up on one of those, so it's not too big of a deal. We are also very close to several springs and whatnot.
As far as how close it is too work:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=31+Wiley+Rd.+Norway+Maine+04268&daddr=15+Ayer+Drive,+NOrway+Maine+04268&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.052282,94.833984&ie=UTF8&ll=44.227857,-70.641232&spn=0.008872,0.023153&t=h&z=16
OK. A quick note. It's 4:42AM here and I've just finished another way too late night of too much wine.
I'm sick of all the misperceptions of how real estate agency works.
I'll be basic. And short. And probably not complete. Disclosure - I got out of real estate, so I have no side to support.
First, your seller has probably signed a contract with their realtor to pay them 5%. Or 6%. Whatever. They are legally obligated to pay that.
Second, that realtor/agent has OFFERED the buyer side half of that commission, usually 5%.
If you 'go' with the listing agent because you _think_ you're going to get a better deal and all realtors suck and they make too much money and I can do the work myself and blah blah blah then that listing agent will make the FULL 5%. And work for the seller. Who's working for you?
Get your own agent, learn from him or her, and let the seller pay the fee. When you sign a buyer's agent agreement, you can set whatever terms on it you want. If you want to exclude FSBOs, try. I think you're making a mistake if you do that, but you can. Buyers are hard to come by, so an agent might be pretty damn happy to sign you up even with that clause.
About FSBOs - THEY want to save a 5% listing fee. YOU want to save the 2.5% buyer's agent fee. Who's going to win?
/rant off.
I'm sick of all the misperceptions of how real estate agency works.
I'll be basic. And short. And probably not complete. Disclosure - I got out of real estate, so I have no side to support.
First, your seller has probably signed a contract with their realtor to pay them 5%. Or 6%. Whatever. They are legally obligated to pay that.
Second, that realtor/agent has OFFERED the buyer side half of that commission, usually 5%.
If you 'go' with the listing agent because you _think_ you're going to get a better deal and all realtors suck and they make too much money and I can do the work myself and blah blah blah then that listing agent will make the FULL 5%. And work for the seller. Who's working for you?
Get your own agent, learn from him or her, and let the seller pay the fee. When you sign a buyer's agent agreement, you can set whatever terms on it you want. If you want to exclude FSBOs, try. I think you're making a mistake if you do that, but you can. Buyers are hard to come by, so an agent might be pretty damn happy to sign you up even with that clause.
About FSBOs - THEY want to save a 5% listing fee. YOU want to save the 2.5% buyer's agent fee. Who's going to win?
/rant off.
Good morning, Smosh
As for the contingency thing, we had a line in our offer that we could walk away from the deal if we failed to get a "satisfactory inspection." Meaning that we could love the place, but if we got cold feet, we could mention something the inspection that was SUPER picky, and we could walk away and get our deposit back.
As for the contingency thing, we had a line in our offer that we could walk away from the deal if we failed to get a "satisfactory inspection." Meaning that we could love the place, but if we got cold feet, we could mention something the inspection that was SUPER picky, and we could walk away and get our deposit back.
ruggedman
New member
Smosh's post is the best best on in here. A buyer's agent is working for you. If it appears they have alterior motives tell them they're BS'ing you and not providing you with the service you want. Also tell their manager/boss! Ours was awesome, we told her what we wanted, where we wanted it, and she kept us informed. The Portland area market around 200,000ish is REALLY smoking. You have less than a week when something comes on if it's not a dump, sometimes even if it is. We lost a lot of chances on houses before we got our buyer's agent simply because we found out about the house too late.Good morning, Smosh
As for the contingency thing, we had a line in our offer that we could walk away from the deal if we failed to get a "satisfactory inspection." Meaning that we could love the place, but if we got cold feet, we could mention something the inspection that was SUPER picky, and we could walk away and get our deposit back.
We found one we wanted, we put an offer in (which would have been very hard w/o the agent!). It's all legal terms and mumbo jumbo so you can create stipulations for going OUT of contract once you're in it. The home inspector will always find things that are negative about the house, so you can always say it "failed" and get out.
XJ, the dug well is a negative for me too, but think about it...a new well isn't a HUGE expense, and it's money in the bank. I'd say get a buyer's agent, tell them what you've found, see if there's anything comparible that you like more in the area (they'll do the research for you it's their job!) and then begin the offer process on whatever you like.
Quit flushing your money down the drain on rent! Take the plunge! Next to the HDTV the house is the best thing i've ever bought.
katnip
the car is black. I swear
a buyers agent is a good idea if you are actively looking, but if you find something you want, no need. either way, both realtors are getting paid by the SELLER. Maine has a dual disclosed agency law and information sharing between firms can be interesting at best.
we used one up here, because we started out looking from away and I just stuck with her. I looked online for houses sent the MLS to her and she got the listing info and I went from there. But I also worked in real estate law for 15 years, so I was familiar with the entire process and at times I'm sure I annoyed the shite out of her. Did I need a buyers agent, no, but I felt obligated to use her since I had her looking for a lot of houses before moving up here.
a buyers agent is a good idea if you want to actively look and want to "window shop" either online or by driving around and if you do, you should use them for a sale. but with no commitment to anyone and you found the place you want, are comfortable with the contracting process, make an offer. You are not going to loose either way, you are NOT paying the commission the seller is.
is a buyers agent a good idea? maybe! Necessary? probably not!
we used one up here, because we started out looking from away and I just stuck with her. I looked online for houses sent the MLS to her and she got the listing info and I went from there. But I also worked in real estate law for 15 years, so I was familiar with the entire process and at times I'm sure I annoyed the shite out of her. Did I need a buyers agent, no, but I felt obligated to use her since I had her looking for a lot of houses before moving up here.
a buyers agent is a good idea if you want to actively look and want to "window shop" either online or by driving around and if you do, you should use them for a sale. but with no commitment to anyone and you found the place you want, are comfortable with the contracting process, make an offer. You are not going to loose either way, you are NOT paying the commission the seller is.
is a buyers agent a good idea? maybe! Necessary? probably not!
stiXXX
Active member
I have my real estate license, though I quit practicing a year or so back.
A Buyer's Agent is paid by the seller, so if you get yourself one, it won't hurt your margins.
Make sure you have an excellent appraiser, they'll save you $$$$ if there's any issues wiuth your new pad.
Also, ALWAYS buy title insurance at closing.
If there's ever a lot/title question, and there's an issue the ins. co. eats it. Priceless, and only a few beans, one time.
Buyer's Agents are like a "personal shopper", if you have a long list of what you're looking for, they're a great idea.
In your specific case, not needed at all, imo.
The idea that "people without an agent can/will take less money" is essentialy a fallacy.
People have their homes appraised and then they set, if not properly advised, frequently unrealistic initial prices for their homes to be FSBO'd for.
Right now, this market is ass-backwards upside down.
For $118K I'm guessing you're in Lewiston/Auburn, correct?
That market has sucked for years, and nothing LA does seems to cast off the pall that being a sh*thole mill town for many years has left.
That being said, I'd be looking for a "kitchen sink" low-ball deal in L.A., or I wouldn't bother buying.
Any Q's I can help with, feel free to ask. If I can't answer, one of my best friends is a broker, I'm sure he can.
I looked at the listing.
It's in Norway.
Good deal.
Still a depressed market, but not LA.
All things considered, you can probably STEAL that place.
(The $557/mo. is figured at 20% down, 30 year fixed note.)
Fyi, it's typically $600/mo. per $100,000 borrowed, plus taxes and home owner's insurance.
I'd get your financing 100% in-line, (bulletproof!) and then offer $109,000 and go no higher than $111,000.
You'll get the house, imo, with little squabbling, for that range.
Good Luck!!
A Buyer's Agent is paid by the seller, so if you get yourself one, it won't hurt your margins.
Make sure you have an excellent appraiser, they'll save you $$$$ if there's any issues wiuth your new pad.
Also, ALWAYS buy title insurance at closing.
If there's ever a lot/title question, and there's an issue the ins. co. eats it. Priceless, and only a few beans, one time.
Buyer's Agents are like a "personal shopper", if you have a long list of what you're looking for, they're a great idea.
In your specific case, not needed at all, imo.
The idea that "people without an agent can/will take less money" is essentialy a fallacy.
People have their homes appraised and then they set, if not properly advised, frequently unrealistic initial prices for their homes to be FSBO'd for.
Right now, this market is ass-backwards upside down.
For $118K I'm guessing you're in Lewiston/Auburn, correct?
That market has sucked for years, and nothing LA does seems to cast off the pall that being a sh*thole mill town for many years has left.
That being said, I'd be looking for a "kitchen sink" low-ball deal in L.A., or I wouldn't bother buying.
Any Q's I can help with, feel free to ask. If I can't answer, one of my best friends is a broker, I'm sure he can.
I looked at the listing.
It's in Norway.
Good deal.
Still a depressed market, but not LA.
All things considered, you can probably STEAL that place.
(The $557/mo. is figured at 20% down, 30 year fixed note.)
Fyi, it's typically $600/mo. per $100,000 borrowed, plus taxes and home owner's insurance.
I'd get your financing 100% in-line, (bulletproof!) and then offer $109,000 and go no higher than $111,000.
You'll get the house, imo, with little squabbling, for that range.
Good Luck!!
BluWRX02
Member
Well not sure who you are going through for financing but Im a personal banker for Bank of America. We have a great program for many people called the No Fee Mortgage. it cut out many to almost all of the fees that you acrue in closing cost. Anyways if you want to find out more I always recommend looking around for whats best for you. Gimme a buzz 207-822-3607 ......good luck on the process...Dan