buyer's beware (sales, apartment, to rent)

[hakeen]

I am trying to buy a house, the problem is, I got late nite call from a broker asking me to change lenders, i said no. The next day, the agent called me, she said, the seller will not accept my lender, who is countrywide,the broker wants to have friend write up a loan for me, is this some kinda trap or trick ?
please give me some feedback

[AudioDon]

Lenders are getting quite a bit a attention from the media due to subprime lending practices. Country wide may have been one of the companies mentioned specificly. It would be foolish for a seller to single you out, especially with the market being as slow as it has been. It's easy enough to get another approval from another company, you might want to get another company.

[SoCalMomma]

It sounds like your realtor is going to get kickbacks from the lender, why else would they steer you away from one of the largest lenders in S. California. That sounds kind of odd to me...

[Roma]

I would double check everthing before signing anything. Be careful when signing a contract. Make sure you understand what you are signing. Take the contract home with you before signing and go over it yourselves. Sometimes but NOT always Realtors can be a little tricky (they are sales people) (but I have worked with some great ones), they are vital. I hope you have someone you can trust. And I hope you are not doing one of those subprime loans unless you really understand what they are. Subprime loans can work for some people but again NOT all. So just do your homework!

[Angel_0037]

I would talk to a realtor about this before signing anything. I went through re/max and they were great.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by SoCalMomma

It sounds like your realtor is going to get kickbacks from the lender, why else would they steer you away from one of the largest lenders in S. California. That sounds kind of odd to me...

Countrywide is about to go belly-up, so I can understand why the realtor would discourage people from borrowing from them.

[snb3]

Originally Posted by hakeen

I am trying to buy a house, the problem is, I got late nite call from a broker asking me to change lenders, i said no. The next day, the agent called me, she said, the seller will not accept my lender, who is countrywide,the broker wants to have friend write up a loan for me, is this some kinda trap or trick ?
please give me some feedback

Looks like everyone involved wants to get some extra spiffs.
As a buyer in this buyer's market, everyone should be kissing your feet. As a seller, I see agents/brokers dying for buyers.

Looks like the broker is trying to pressure you into changing your lender at the last minute to split kick-backs with a friendly lender. I'd decline like you have. If nothing has been signed, I would find a new broker. If the seller did not accept your offer, it most likely had nothing to do with the lender since it wouldn't matter how the seller gets his money as long as you have legit credit to get loans from more than that "friend".

Remember, there are many starving agents/brokers out there looking for buyers as yourself.

I would even report this to the agents association, there might be some "anti-steering" laws or provisions.

[Angel_0037]

I remember one time when I was looking to rent an apartment, I went through this realtor place called precision realty in New Jersey. The guy that was helping me asked me out the first time i went and when i declined, I did not get no help and i paid them 150.00. I kept calling the place but got no reply back or anything. I just let it go but wish I did something about it being he probably has done this before and will keep doing that.

[DontH8Me]

Originally Posted by hakeen

I am trying to buy a house, the problem is, I got late nite call from a broker asking me to change lenders, i said no. The next day, the agent called me, she said, the seller will not accept my lender, who is countrywide,the broker wants to have friend write up a loan for me, is this some kinda trap or trick ?
please give me some feedback

Is the seller going to incur a prepayment penalty from their current lender, and therefore asking you to obtain your financing from the same lender? That is a legitimate request, although as far as I know there are fewer and fewer loans of this nature.

Sounds to me like something else (monkey business) is going on here, and you may want to report your "broker" for unethical or possibly illegal conduct.