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I buy privately and then put it into a reputable realtors hands. The marketing and exposure I get is well worth the commission. 3 years ago I purchased two large lots for $300/acre.
Remember I am the one who said realtors are a necessary evil, sort of like lawyers. I used a realtor who worked their buns off for me. The total commission on the deal was $5400. This of course had to be split between the realtor who had the property and my realtor who worked for a different agency. So, my realtor netted on $2700. Considering the had to pay their fees to the agency, etc.,etc.,etc. I figured if they were lucky they made $1300. Now was for a week of holding my hand and showing me properties I was interested in, telephoning me and keeping me in the loop. I did not buy while I was in Maine but I made an offer on a property that had the price dropped (I had seen the property, out of the budget at the time). The agent continued to work for me for 3 weeks after I had left Maine. She handled the deposit, did a lot of legwork, and made the deal happen. Do I wish I had my $5400, you bet, but I would not have worked so long and hard for such a small amount of money myself. I really didn't feel this way until I met the listing agent personally, and talked to my agent after the deal was closed. I know the commission generated by my transaction was small, and the agent worked their tail off for me for less than $1000. So, I have no personal qualms with an agent, but if I bought again, I might not use an agent. I feel fairly proficient now, but then again, I might use an agent. It's a personal, individual transaction, decision. After I bought and came to town, I heard bad things about my agent, so I had told people, I used that agent, and I have complete confidence that they kept my best interests at heart for a small commission. That usually changes the topic of the conversation.
take that 1000 divide it by 10(one out of 10 may actually qualify, or actually close (buyers)
tho we are often viewed as making "easy" money, we are one of the rare professions,,that work for absolutely nothing (when the property doesnt sell, or buyer doesnt buy)
i've spent many a full days and weeks showing homes, to buyers,,,for nothing,
(just the way it is)
however, im not whining,,,its the nature of the business,, so this may be why we brokers get a bit defensive,,,,
keep in mind thiers close to a 90% drop out rate (of first time sales agents)
most think its very easy,,just pass a test and start counting the commissions,,,,i wish it were that easy,,,
HELLO.....i have been reading the banter going back and forth here and find it rather interesting....i have been searching for a cabin for 4-5 months now....i do not live in maine.....i have been checking out all listngs i can find & believe me i have done my homework....im to the point i have seen the same properties 5-6 times from different sources....the realtors i find do not give full & indepth information....typically what they know about the property is whatever the listing has in it....once they know i'm not local they offer the ''let me know when you want to see the property''' the properties i
have been looking for are in the vicinity of 40 to 60 k so not a huge sale but thats what i am interested in....being that i'm not in maine i will have to travel there & check out these different camps i have found... i am planning to be in maine for 4 days at least initially.....i do not expect an agent to drive me around for full days & looking at these properties...to me thats is unrealistic....i have to do the most i can within the alloted time i'm there....i posted a thread here on 5/23 titled '' looking for assistance''.....the post is/was a detailed description including what i was looking for if anyone wants to check my post out..what i have found camp wise is spread out over a certain area...not like looking at properties in a particular town or neighbothood...so travel is in order to check these properties....
so thats where i stand at the moment....trying to make things easy & comfortable on myself has gotten me no where...well so far anyways !
thanks for listening
best
jim
Last edited by 7th generation; 06-21-2008 at 11:44 AM..
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HELLO.....i have been reading the banter going back and forth here and find it rather interesting....i have been searching for a cabin for 4-5 months now....i do not live in maine....
Living away will make things very difficult for you.
Quote:
... .i have been checking out all listngs i can find & believe me i have done my homework....im to the point i have seen the same properties 5-6 times from different sources....the realtors i find do not give full & indepth information....typically what they know about the property is whatever the listing has in it..
I have experienced that as well.
I have stood on properties, talking to the sales agent via cellphone, asking questions about the property and clearly the agent had never set foot on the property they were listing.
They knew what the listing said, and that was the extent of their knowledge.
Quote:
... ..once they know i'm not local they offer the ''let me know when you want to see the property''' the properties i have been looking for are in the vicinity of 40 to 60 k so not a huge sale but thats what i am interested in....being that i'm not in maine i will have to travel there & check out these different camps i have found... i am planning to be in maine for 4 days at least initially.....i do not expect an agent to drive me around for full days & looking at these properties...to me thats is unrealistic....i have to do the most i can within the alloted time i'm there..
I understand.
I made a series of trips to Maine, met with a buyers agent in Belfast, who gave me a stack of properties for each day.
I then drove to each property, walked around on each, and called the listing agent with questions.
Then the next day I would meet the buyers agent again, discuss what I had seen, and he would again hand to me a stack of MLS sheets for me to go look at.
I drove my tail off.
However coming to Maine is the only way that it can be done.
....trying to make things easy & comfortable on myself has gotten me no where...well so far anyways !
I'll tell you how to make things "easy and comfortable" on yourself: WAIT for another year - or better yet, two - before buying any properties anywhere.
Why? We need to let the real estate (and other types) of excesses work their way through the system. There has been a lot of malinvestment in the past 6-8 years, in Maine and elsewhere, and it needs to be shaken out. A lot of financing gone bad, a lot of foreclosures yet to come. The point is, that $40-60,000 you have to spend will buy you a whole lot more if you wait out the crash. Buy now, and you will get less, much less. Once the excesses have been worked out, you will find realtors everywhere much more accomodating and interested in helping you, as there will be far fewer buyers out there with any money to spend.
As Forest said, you just have to make your first trip to Maine to buy property and not take a vacation. We did that last year. It is this year that we can really enjoy the place we bought. A lot of the listings are also very stale. They show the property/house as available, so you drive, you look, you call the agent and there is a contract on it, or it is already sold. I lost out on 3 properties for that very reason. I left without buying anything, but the agent knew what I wanted, and when a price reduction happened on a house I had looked at, I took it. Plan on driving your tail off on the first visit. Maine is a big rural state! I don't know about waiting two years, in Florida, everything has bottomed out already, and excess inventory is being sold off. In Maine, I didn't notice drastic across the board price cuts. If you want Maine, you better be prepared to pay Maine prices. The realtors say the market is slow, but people in Maine generally aren't interested in selling a house they already own and taking a beating. Maine real estate is not nearly in as bad shape as the rest of the country. It has never been overbuilt, oversold, and over financed like Florida, Texas and California.
thanks you for allyour comments....very much appreciated.....what i'm looking for is a rustic camp/cabin.....nothing fancy.....4 walls & a roof at the least...of course i would like to have some land to go with the package as well....i have also checked out buying land & having a prefabed cabin installed on the land....lots more land parcels for sale than cabins.....except for some sort of access to where i want to place the cabin..i.e. drive way expense...the cabin is reasonable and i can always try and get a pices of land with the rest of my budget....
so its a work in progress
thanks for your time
best
jim
I made a series of trips to Maine, met with a buyers agent in Belfast, who gave me a stack of properties for each day.
I then drove to each property, walked around on each, and called the listing agent with questions.
Then the next day I would meet the buyers agent again, discuss what I had seen, and he would again hand to me a stack of MLS sheets for me to go look at.
Wrong. You met with a transaction broker who neither represented the seller nor the buyer. Unless both the buyer and the agent sign an Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement, you are working in a customer relationship and the agent has no responsibility to protect your interests, nor keep any information confidential. This is mandated by the Maine Real Estate Commission. Perhaps this is why there is confusion amongst the general public about why agents may not be particularly helpful. An agent will present the Real Estate Relationship Form to a prospective buyer or seller at any time that a serious discussion about real estate takes place.
If a buyer wants representation from a professional real estate agent, there must be a written document executed and signed by both parties.
so which came first the chicken or the egg ?.....so unless you have a ''binding agreement with an agent they cannot give you the full scope of the deal,property & advise someone ?...ive read about this ''customer'' versus ''client'' relationship..frankly i dont get it...on one hand a buyer would be limiting themselves and on the other hand agents are restricted in what they can offer someone.....if this is not correct please clarify this for me.
thanks
jim
Wrong. You met with a transaction broker who neither represented the seller nor the buyer. Unless both the buyer and the agent sign an Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement, you are working in a customer relationship and the agent has no responsibility to protect your interests, nor keep any information confidential. This is mandated by the Maine Real Estate Commission. Perhaps this is why there is confusion amongst the general public about why agents may not be particularly helpful. An agent will present the Real Estate Relationship Form to a prospective buyer or seller at any time that a serious discussion about real estate takes place.
If a buyer wants representation from a professional real estate agent, there must be a written document executed and signed by both parties.
The gentleman represented himself to me as a buyer's agent.
There was a contract between he and I, which lasted for the duration of my first three trips coming up to Maine looking at property.
You may insist that I am wrong if you wish.
I am simply saying what my experience here in Maine was.
I corresponded with him repeatedly via landline and email, I met him in his office [he was working in a different agency], we negotiated our relationship, I agreed not to deal with any other buyer's agent during those shopping trips, he gave me a stack of MLS sheets, and recommended a route for me to drive between them, and he told me to call the selling agents directly with my questions.
He is a fraternal brother of mine, I trust him, and he did not do me wrong in any manner.
On later shopping trips of mine, he moved from that agency into his own building a block away on the pier overlooking the tug boats, where I met with him and planned other shopping trips.
Having bought properties in California, Scotland, Connecticut, and Washington; all before I came to Maine. It was not the first time that I had dealt with a realtor. I saw no great difference between our relationship and any of the previous relationships that I have had with realtors in other areas.
Have a ball calling me wrong though
Our relationship worked fine, until I finally woke up, listened to what advice I had been getting from many Maine locals, and began talking to land owners.
Had I never spoken with any land owners, I would have continued in the mode that I had been accustomed to buying property in. and I would have paid far more money, and I would have gotten far less land for it.
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