Help Buying a House? (Caribou, Machias: apartment, lease, home equity)

[Mainer61]

What is it you're looking for in a house? Country? City? Beachfront?

[spaige]

My goodness, all offers are to be presented by law. It is too bad there are realtors/brokers out there who aren't in it for the client, but for the all mighty buck. I wish they would go away. IT gives a bad taste. I am so sorry to read these posts. It will make me so much more vigilant. Good luck to you all who use a broker and for those of you who choose not to, I say the same. IT can be done without a broker, but might be more of a hassle in the end for some. IT looks like seniorman has had bad experiences and I am sorry, but you also know how to get what you need taken care of without goring through realtors. Kudos to you. My cousin and husband are like you. They want to make their deals without realtors and here I am.
Take care all
sue from Maine

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by spaige

My goodness, all offers are to be presented by law. It is too bad there are realtors/brokers out there who aren't in it for the client, but for the all mighty buck. ...

Sue - Anyone who has dealt with realtors has these stories.

A person has to come to expect such behavior.

When you think about it. The phrase: "Used car Dealer" automatically brings an image to your mind. Why? Well, over the process of decades, used car dealers coast-to-coast have worked hard to develop that image.

So it is with realtors.

It makes sense.

This is why we have laws. Laws to define what a used car dealer can do, and laws to define what a realtor can do. If they were all honourable, or even if most of them were honourable; when we would not have laws to regulate them.

You can only build a metaphor through-out our society, when most individuals fit well within that metaphor.

Which later brings about the laws written to try to keep those sharks operating within defined roles, and somewhat ethically.

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

I once was selling a house, and I had to travel overseas.

The listing agent and I conversed via the mail.

I would ask if it was time for us to lower the price, and she would 'advise' against lowering the price, rather she would than raise the price. We did this many times, until she stopped writing me.

I had a very difficult time trying to sell that house. I had to continue to make mortgage payments on it each month, and then each year the property taxes.

When I was finally able to once again return stateside, three years had gone by. I had been paying mortgage payments on an empty house, that I dearly wanted to sale. We defaulted on the mortgage, and convinced the bank to do a short sale. When the bank sold it, the house sold for,













the price that we had originally asked the listing agent to list it for.

Has she stopped raising the price once. It would have sold, and I would have not paid three years of mortgage payments on it.

I ran into the same thing once............so I just said to the realtor....look, this is my house and my money that is tied up into it. This is what we are listing it for and if you cannot do that then I will find another agent. We sold the house

[mollysmiles]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

Molly when our time to move to Maine comes... you will have to DM me with the names of the realators you distrust. I don't like even "little white lies." I think you are 100% on the mark that it makes you wonder.

I definitely will!! I have one that I adore, so I'll give you her name too

[maine4.us]

Forest: I am saddened by your experience. I on the other hand, experienced nothing but professionalism with the realtor I chose in Eastport/Lubec. We looked at so many houses that were under contract that I began to doubt the ability of our agent. In fact, we didn't buy a house while in Eastport/Lubec, and boy did we look. As we were leaving the area, the last thing I did was to talk to my realtor on the phone. She knew what we were looking for, and knew our price range. About two weeks later, we received a call telling us that a house we looked at had been drastically reduced (35%). She said it won't last long at that price, which still a bit out of my price range. The kicker was that it had been completely remodeled. I thought about it overnight, and agreed to the asking price. I knew that negotiating on this one would lose it for certain. I FEDEXED a binder overnight (haha, 2nd day arrival past Machias) and we started the process. I used an attorney in Machias for the closing, and the rest was history. There was a small problem regarding the deed, and right of way to the property (because it was done almost 100 years ago), and the closing was delayed about 10 days, but everything went through just fine. In fact the closing was done through the mail. I used a Florida bank for the mortgage, and the loan was fee free.

There were a couple of other realtors that I would definitely steer people toward. An example, there is a beautiful waterfront piece of property just outside of Lubec. The asking price is reasonable, but the house is as they say up here is "in need of a fire." The realtor told me it was a sentimental property, that the owners (2nd or 3rd generation) had an emotional tie to the house that made the value of the property greater than it actually may be. Considering the fact that the property was on both sides of the road, and had a huge waterview/frontage, it was worth the money, My DW loved the house, but all I saw was a gorgeous lot. The realtor went out of his way to fully disclose every issue with the house. My father was a builder, and I know he was telling the truth. I just couldn't pay the asking price and have to tear the house down and start over.

I would say that we are on opposite sides of the fence on this one! I am truly sorry you had such a terrrible experience.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Iluvme

Forest: I am saddened by your experience. ....

I have owned homes: in California, in Connecticut, in Washington, and in Scotland, and now in Maine.

I have bought and I have sold homes. I have had numerous dealings with realtors. Some of those dealings have been fairly quick, uneventful and the realtor got his commission.

Once a goofy realtor decided to call us three times a day to remind us to bring the exact amount to the closing, and everytime the amount kept changing. Then on the day of the closing, he called me twice while I was at work, changing the amount. So we brought it, in cash. I held it until after all papers were signed and the deal was done. When I handed over the cash, he freaked. I told him, "fine, if you refuse to accept US legal tender how long do you think a judge will hesitate to render a verdict when we sue you?" The other realtor thought it was funny, and we had a big laugh.

I have dealt with many realtors. I have dealt with many used car dealers. The difference between them is minimal.

I have posted my entire story about finding and buying a home in Maine. If you take the time to read it, you will see that I have dealt with Maine realtors. I dealt with them, until I was exhausted.

And it was only after all that, that my eyes were opened to the realm of far cheaper homes that are bought and sold every day in Maine.

[mainer2]

Houses are soo inexpensive.....save and pay cash for a home in maine. No loan needed that way.

[Elcarim]

Where exactly in Maine are they THAT inexpensive? I'm not being sarcastic - just haven't seen any that low. Are you independently wealthy?

[maine4.us]

What do you call expensive? I have seen houses for less than a BMW. Granted, they aren't much, but they get your foot in the door until you can do better! You have to really look to find a bargain. The last 6 years elevated Maine prices too, but bargains can be had!