Is a buyer's agent necessary for a new home to be built (Indian Trail: sales, buyers)

[sharonmg]

I plan on building a home in chastain village in indian land, south carolina probably in the middle of spring. We made a deposit on a lot to hold it. We have only dealt with the sales manager who I guess works for the builder and probably not have our best interest at heart. At this point and time, would a buyer's agent benefit us somehow? We live in Rhode Island, so I know we have to secure a good building inspector to do a pre-drywall inspection and follow through with the builder because we cannot be there. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

The builder has mainly a fixed price with standard upgrades included that other builders would charge extra for. I need to know why and if a buyers agent should be used. The builder is Cason builders and I have heard nothing but good things about them.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by sharonmg

I plan on building a home in chastain village in indian land, south carolina probably in the middle of spring. We made a deposit on a lot to hold it. We have only dealt with the sales manager who I guess works for the builder and probably not have our best interest at heart. At this point and time, would a buyer's agent benefit us somehow? We live in Rhode Island, so I know we have to secure a good building inspector to do a pre-drywall inspection and follow through with the builder because we cannot be there. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

The builder has mainly a fixed price with standard upgrades included that other builders would charge extra for. I need to know why and if a buyers agent should be used. The builder is Cason builders and I have heard nothing but good things about them.

Please don't buy without a buyers agent -you could really live to regret that decision! You have nothing to lose by hiring one and everything to gain

[south.charlotte&union]

Originally Posted by sharonmg

I plan on building a home in chastain village in indian land, south carolina probably in the middle of spring. We made a deposit on a lot to hold it. We have only dealt with the sales manager who I guess works for the builder and probably not have our best interest at heart. At this point and time, would a buyer's agent benefit us somehow? We live in Rhode Island, so I know we have to secure a good building inspector to do a pre-drywall inspection and follow through with the builder because we cannot be there. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

The builder has mainly a fixed price with standard upgrades included that other builders would charge extra for. I need to know why and if a buyers agent should be used. The builder is Cason builders and I have heard nothing but good things about them.

Sometimes if you don't tell them you are working with a realtor up front (i.e., first visit to the community) they may give you a hard time. A realtor will also monitor the construction process if you cannot be there. I would check with them before you sign the contract to make sure you can use a realtor. If they allow you to use a realtor ask your realtor to review the contract with you. Let me know if I can help

[sharonmg]

all we did was make a deposit on the lot and we are not binding yet. they told us if we changed our mind we would not lose our deposit. We are just waiting for the next phase to be released in the spring

[south.charlotte&union]

That's good...yes, I would absolutely get a buyers agent -- again I would first make sure the builder would agree. Best of luck to you, and as always, let me know if I can help.

[Jake Ryan]

When I bought my home in a Ryan Community I walked into the model by myself on a whim. After visiting a few times with my fiance and friends we decided to buy. Before I signed anything with Ryan Homes I was contacted by a realtor who said he would like to act as my buyers agent and since Ryan give something like 3% to the buyers agent he would write me a check for 1% the numbers may not be exact. When I went to the Salesperson, before I signed, he said that I couldn't bring in a Buyers agent since I first started working with them without one.
Maybe, since this was my first home he was able to get one over on me and I never worked with the realtor because of what he said.

[diamondbeys1]

Originally Posted by sharonmg

I plan on building a home in chastain village in indian land, south carolina probably in the middle of spring. We made a deposit on a lot to hold it. We have only dealt with the sales manager who I guess works for the builder and probably not have our best interest at heart. At this point and time, would a buyer's agent benefit us somehow? We live in Rhode Island, so I know we have to secure a good building inspector to do a pre-drywall inspection and follow through with the builder because we cannot be there. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

The builder has mainly a fixed price with standard upgrades included that other builders would charge extra for. I need to know why and if a buyers agent should be used. The builder is Cason builders and I have heard nothing but good things about them.

Sharon,
We are in MA and are building in Indian Trail. We would never think about doing it from 900 miles away with out a realtor. We can't be visiting the site every week to see progress and make sure everything is being done correctly. That’s where our realtor comes in. She takes pictures for us and emails them to us so we can see the progress. She is also coordinating the Dry Wall inspection with the builder. She knows all of our options and upgrades, so she can watch out for us. We will not be going back to NC till we move in May, a day before closes for our walk through. A buyer’s agent doesn’t cost you anything. My understanding is the cost is built already into the house price and therefore the builder pays the agents commission. Hope this helps some.

Mel

[Apple Annie]

If you have already purchased the lot, and have entered into a sales agreement with the developer/builder, you are the one who would have to pay the commission to the Buyer's Agent in NC. The seller is not going to pay an agent to represent you.

You would be smarter to hire a qualified home inspector to oversee the building of the house itself and get into an agreement with the home inspector. A Realtor, unless he/she also has a general contractor's license in NC, is not qualified to oversee construction. It is out of their area of expertise.

[Charlottean]

Originally Posted by Jake Ryan

When I bought my home in a Ryan Community I walked into the model by myself on a whim. After visiting a few times with my fiance and friends we decided to buy. Before I signed anything with Ryan Homes I was contacted by a realtor who said he would like to act as my buyers agent and since Ryan give something like 3% to the buyers agent he would write me a check for 1% the numbers may not be exact. When I went to the Salesperson, before I signed, he said that I couldn't bring in a Buyers agent since I first started working with them without one.
Maybe, since this was my first home he was able to get one over on me and I never worked with the realtor because of what he said.

I'm hearing more and more about this from others. I can't believe that agents are doing something like this, it is illegal.

Now if they contribute a portion of their commission on the HUD statement and all parties are aware that is a different story.

[linearity]

Originally Posted by Apple Annie

If you have already purchased the lot, and have entered into a sales agreement with the developer/builder, you are the one who would have to pay the commission to the Buyer's Agent in NC. The seller is not going to pay an agent to represent you.

You would be smarter to hire a qualified home inspector to oversee the building of the house itself and get into an agreement with the home inspector. A Realtor, unless he/she also has a general contractor's license in NC, is not qualified to oversee construction. It is out of their area of expertise.

I agree with this. We purchased a home w/o a Buyer's Agent and hired a Home Inspector who came out for our pre-drywall inspection and who will be coming out for our pre-closing inspection. Because we live 20 min away from where we're building, I've been able to spend a lot of time at the construction site myself. I've take numerous photographs and everything I've noted for correction has been corrected along the way by Mattamy Homes. I've been very happy with our builder and their customer service.