Help Buying a House?

[dramamama6685]

Zymer, I'm not sure how I've missed this, but in the interest of better late than never, Congrats!

[spaige]

Whofan me said it! You will do well with a buyers agent who can get you through the process with due dilligence. Good luck in your quest. Maine is beautiful.
Sue

[chriscan]

Thanks for the advice! Wish me luck!

[Northern Maine Land Man]

chriscan,

You have gotten some good advice. Let me add to it. You should always have a title search done. That comes after you have a property under contract. There is no point in wasting money on a title search before you even make an offer. All title searches and title insurance are done by attorneys in Maine.

"Is it okay to use the listing agent to show us the house, or are we just setting ourselves up for a headache?"

It's OK, but have a home inspection done. That will give you a fair estimate on any upgrades needed.

"We are paying cash, so no mortgage will be needed."

Still get title insurance. It is very inexpensive.

"Why do I feel like we are entering a den of wolves?"

I don't know. Prudent caution should be used in all significant transactions. I thing Maine people and Maine professionals are more honest that those in the country as a whole. Even the FBI says Maine is the safest state.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

Zymer, I'm not sure how I've missed this, but in the interest of better late than never, Congrats!

LOL, thanks, Drama...now, if we can just manage the finances until the RE market improves (from a sellers aspect) and we can unload the other house. Money is *very* tight right now.


Chriscan-

I'll throw in my vote for a buyer's agent as well. We used one and would not have got this house without, as we had looked at it previously at a much higher price and excluded it from further consideration. She said "You need to look at this house." We told her we already had and it was too much money...but she knew that it could be had for a lot less than it had originally listed for.

A buyer's agent has *your* best interests in mind and, so long as you can tell him/her what you want with as much specificity as possible, can much more easily put suitable properties in front of you.

I also hired a lawyer for the closing- compared to the amount of money being spent I considered it a worthwhile expense to make sure someone was watching out for me legally. Ditto title search and title insurance.

[chriscan]

I found my dreamhouse in Maine thru the internet, I then called the listing agent for more info., he seems like a nice enough fella and said we should come on out and see it. We are heading out soon but I do agree we need someone who will represent us. We absolutely do not know anyone in Maine to ask for recommendations so I guess I will have to bite the bullet, cross my fingers and call the nearest realtor's office and hope for the best.

My concern is, I have been emailing the listing agent a few times for the past week and my husband spoke to him on the phone regarding my dreamhouse, will he be ticked off if I suddenly tell him that I have a buyers agent or will he expect me to walk in with one? Realtors can be touchy and I don't want to upset anyone, I just want the house (if it is not a dump or near a dump).

We looked at many houses in NH last year and it seemed that the buyers agent and listing agent had to be at the house at the same time for a showing, heaven help you if you are a bit late in arriving! It is not done that way where we live, the buyer and their agent just go in a house and look at it and leave a card, etc.

Each state is different and I do not want any surprises.

Thanks everyone who advised & welcomed me.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by chriscan

I found my dreamhouse in Maine thru the internet, I then called the listing agent for more info., he seems like a nice enough fella and said we should come on out and see it. We are heading out soon but I do agree we need someone who will represent us. We absolutely do not know anyone in Maine to ask for recommendations so I guess I will have to bite the bullet, cross my fingers and call the nearest realtor's office and hope for the best.

My concern is, I have been emailing the listing agent a few times for the past week and my husband spoke to him on the phone regarding my dreamhouse, will he be ticked off if I suddenly tell him that I have a buyers agent or will he expect me to walk in with one? Realtors can be touchy and I don't want to upset anyone, I just want the house (if it is not a dump or near a dump).

We looked at many houses in NH last year and it seemed that the buyers agent and listing agent had to be at the house at the same time for a showing, heaven help you if you are a bit late in arriving! It is not done that way where we live, the buyer and their agent just go in a house and look at it and leave a card, etc.

Each state is different and I do not want any surprises.

Thanks everyone who advised & welcomed me.

chriscan,

What part of Maine are you looking? There are several REALTORS on this forum and perhaps one of us knows somebody they have worked with that can be recommended. I don't want to burst your bubble, but I've had many buyers tell me how much they want a home and they know it's the perfect home for them only to be shocked and disappointed when they see it (or the surrounding area) in person. Only once have I had a couple tell me, "we want you to show us this home and we want to buy it." They loved the house in person, but I refused to write the offer until the next day, as I knew they needed to "sleep on it." They are very happy today living in that home, but that is the exception, not the norm. With record breaking inventory to choose from, you owe it to your family to look at several homes while you're here. You need a buyer's agent to make sure the price you offer is the correct price - after a careful market analysis including adjustments to recently sold comparables and to manage the transaction, particularly while you are away. The listing agent, who may be a nice guy, represents the seller and is charged with getting the highest price and best terms for his seller client. Although it's legal for him to represent both of you as a disclosed dual agent (if both seller and buyer agree to that arrangment), the services he performs for both sides are limited. He also could write an offer for you without offering any representation and offering only clerical services, but that's probably not to your advantage, as I've pointed out above.

Has the listing agent e mailed you the Real Estate Brokerage Relationships Form from the Maine Real Estate Commission yet? The form answers many of your questions. Come to Maine, spend a few hours interviewing agents, pick one to represent you, have her or him make the appointments and then go see the home and others like it. Good luck!

[chriscan]

I have to laugh a bit at your wisdom because it reminds me of this past spring in NH. I found my 1st dream home via the internet, it was just perfect for us, an untouched antique house nestled in a quaint town with a lovely pond across the street for swimming and fishing, and close to everything, the mountains & the ocean, Boston, etc.

My husband and I jumped in the car for a long weekend in NH to check this house and a few other possibilities out. Well, let's just say my eyes were opened wide quickly, my dream house was perfect but it was nestled in a less than tidy neighborhood of a less than tidy small town and my pond was drained to a muddy smelly mess. Through my tears I can laugh about it now.

We have been searching for a few years for an antique house in an area that we would enjoy living. We're easy.

However, at this point I have emailed two realty companies to inquire about retaining a buyers agent, via email, one replied late in the day saying she was a listing agent to 2 houses we wanted to see and sent me the dual form and had a previous afternoon commitment on that day. I emailed her back with a polite no thank you. Last night I emailed another company and they have not responded yet, which concerns me.

The houses are inexpensive, nothing fancy, but we like them enough to drive over 1000 miles to take a look. The town is Cherryfield. We will be in that town on 9/23 (afternoon) and will stay the night in a B&B (we hope).

Any realtor out in that area willing to spend a few hours with us...please respond!