Realtor hard to reach - is this normal? (Rockwall, Howe: homes, buyer)

[the_nemi]

Even we saw over 40 houses and finally got the one we liked at start of month #6. We did like a lot of houses and even put an offer on almost 8-10 houses but could not get it for number of reasons.

1. full cash buyer - happened twice
2. someone else bid more than we did (happened when we were not offering full price or over the asking price)
3. our offer went in a little late (the houses were sold the same evening they were listed)

These were the most common reasons we did not get those houses.

Since this is out first house we had a learning curve and took a little time to understand how the market was fluctuating and getting in our best offer. Finally we were able to get a house we liked and was close to what we were looking for.

She was very accommodating and she usually had to drive around 25 miles to get in the area we were house hunting.

But there were a couple of times we felt like she was getting frustrated (long drive and time she has invested in showing us houses), turned out she was busy with closing on some other properties once and but not the second time.

I am sure you will find the house you like in the end.

[mSooner]

I'd get someone new closer to where you are looking. It will save both of you a lot of hassle

[rikity]

We're in the process to start exploring properties in the Dallas area as well and will be full on house hunting later this year. I'm a first time buyer so a lot of this is new to us as well and it sounds like we might have the same issue as the OP since a realter can only travel so far. Can someone let me know if this is a good idea and if it's common. Since the area we'll be looking cover a big area, is it wise to work with multiple buyers agent with using each agent only for a specific area where they are closed to? Or would there be some sort of ethical or legal reason that say you should only use a single agent at a time?

[HockDad]

I think you need a new agent. However, first, I think you need to narrow where you want to live. You can't drive all over the metroplex, call your realtor when one house looks great, and expect that they are going to show up 1 hour later.

If I was you, I would fire your current realtor. Go out on good terms. Then drive around, and when a house looks interesting, call the sellers' agent and make an appointment to view it (they will be more interested in helping). if you find a house you really like and want to make an offer, find a buyer's agent. We selected our buyer's agent by viewing numerous homes on Sunday open houses and keeping notes on which agents were the most motivated and helpful. We then compared our notes with some friends. Once we found a house we liked, we hired a buyer's agent. It worked like a charm.

[keribeth818]

Originally Posted by HockDad

If I was you, I would fire your current realtor. Go out on good terms. Then drive around, and when a house looks interesting, call the sellers' agent and make an appointment to view it (they will be more interested in helping). if you find a house you really like and want to make an offer, find a buyer's agent. We selected our buyer's agent by viewing numerous homes on Sunday open houses and keeping notes on which agents were the most motivated and helpful. We then compared our notes with some friends. Once we found a house we liked, we hired a buyer's agent. It worked like a charm.

The problem with this approach is the current market. You need an agent that knows about listings before they come on the market or one that will be responsive in an hour because that's how quickly homes are selling. Calling a seller's agent to show and then finding a buyers agent takes way too long when you have literally hours (at best) to submit an offer once the house hits MLS.

[HockDad]

Originally Posted by keribeth818

The problem with this approach is the current market. You need an agent that knows about listings before they come on the market or one that will be responsive in an hour because that's how quickly homes are selling. Calling a seller's agent to show and then finding a buyers agent takes way too long when you have literally hours (at best) to submit an offer once the house hits MLS.

That can certainly happen, but that is not the norm. If that was the case, when I go to Ebby.com, there would be zero houses on the market, instead of thousands.

However, you could also use the seller's agent and increase your chance of landing the house , you know, since they would get double commission.

[art_teacher_mom]

You have already used a lot of this Realtor's (and his brother's) time.
I think at this point you definitely need to be driving by houses before-hand like others suggested. Then if it looks good, make an appointment.
You contradict yourself when you said he's not responding quickly enough, but then also said he would take you to see one house on your list because the other appointments didn't confirm, and that shouldn't he have WAITED to take you to see all of them? Which is it?
Generally, very successful realtors (selling 50 houses a year is successful in that industry when the average is 2 closings a year for the rest) don't work with many buyers. Buyers are super time consuming. One can handle 4-5 buyers a month at most, while they can take up to 30 listings. You are sucking up a ton of his time and he has to choose where to spend it.

IMO, very few Realtors actually know if a house is built well. I say, if you find a house you like, make an offer. Then find out if it's built well during the inspection period. If not, back out before your option is up. You will have only lost the option money, which is usually $100.

If you have signed a buyer's agreement for his brokerage to represent you exclusively as a buyer, you can't just start using someone else or calling Listing agents. Read what you signed to make sure. See when the termination date is.

Also, very few listing agents will show their listing to an unrepresented buyer around here, I've found. It's dangerous for them and usually a waste of their time.

The Dallas market is on fire. Taking 6 months to buy a house in this market just isn't going to work. Choose a house that isn't broken in a location that makes sense for your life and put a contract on it. There is no such thing as "the perfect house."
That's like searching for "the perfect spouse". LOL

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by rikity

We're in the process to start exploring properties in the Dallas area as well and will be full on house hunting later this year. I'm a first time buyer so a lot of this is new to us as well and it sounds like we might have the same issue as the OP since a realter can only travel so far.

You need to find a RE Agent who does some Relocation work and travels. Being in Las Colinas and centrally located, I currently have homes in Forney, Melissa, Prosper, Flower Mound, Coppell, Frisco, Valley Ranch, Keller and currently showing Uptown condos (very spread out)

There are some good agents who do cover a large territory because our clients need that service. I get many out of town buyers who work in Las Colinas who want to explore all the cities that would be within an hours commute time.

You just need to find the right one.

[4Movingeast]

We closed last week and the buyers actually called our listing agent themselves. They were not represented by a buyer's agent and had called several agents from referrals but couldn't get anyone to return calls. So we ended up with 3 full price offers that weekend, 2 of which our listing agent had both sides. I was worried about it but it worked out fine for us- we got a full price contract and our agent indicated to our buyers that since we chose their offer out of 3 we did not anticipate to be "nickel and dimed" after inspection.

On the buy side for us, I will say our agent is patient, pleasant, and while very busy never makes me feel like I am wasting her time or being too picky. She tells me she's in the hunt for the long haul and wants us not to settle.

[dallas_cowboy]

Originally Posted by HockDad

I think you need a new agent. However, first, I think you need to narrow where you want to live. You can't drive all over the metroplex, call your realtor when one house looks great, and expect that they are going to show up 1 hour later.

If I was you, I would fire your current realtor. Go out on good terms. Then drive around, and when a house looks interesting, call the sellers' agent and make an appointment to view it (they will be more interested in helping). if you find a house you really like and want to make an offer, find a buyer's agent. We selected our buyer's agent by viewing numerous homes on Sunday open houses and keeping notes on which agents were the most motivated and helpful. We then compared our notes with some friends. Once we found a house we liked, we hired a buyer's agent. It worked like a charm.

Good luck following this approach in this hot market. Houses with good price, location and condition sell within 3 days and most of them get offers days before they hit the MLS, because seller's agent forward their listings to well known realtors and friends before putting on MLS. Our agent was showing us houses before hit MLS and good houses which were published on MLS had multiple offers on 1st or 2nd day.

I personally would not like to put any offer without looking at market price of other recently sold houses in the same neighborhood which can be done only thru an agent.