Real Estate Question????? (Clinton, Northwoods, Marceline: rent, how much, hotel)

[kareybear]

I don't know how to say this. What are and the regulations about signing a paper saying that your my agent? Look I have to be honest and I will tell the realtor when it comes to this. I am not sure where I am exactly going to locate in Missouri. I know I am going to come up to Missouri to check out towns and get the feel of the community but I also want to check out houses for the day since I won't have my kids with me at the time but I don't want to sign with one agent because this agent might not be right for me. I would like to try out several agents before I sign that piece of paper. Of course when I am just looking I am going to try out one agent but when it comes to that I am serious about buying in that area that is what I will do. I really don't want to offend anyone and chip them out of there hard work money. Can you tell me how you would you feel as a agent or how I can go about this? Any help would be great. Also how do I find that great agent in the areas I want to look in? realtor.org does not work for me.

[Northwoods Voyager]

Originally Posted by kareybear

I don't know how to say this. What are and the regulations about signing a paper saying that your my agent? Look I have to be honest and I will tell the realtor when it comes to this. I am not sure where I am exactly going to locate in Missouri. I know I am going to come up to Missouri to check out towns and get the feel of the community but I also want to check out houses for the day since I won't have my kids with me at the time but I don't want to sign with one agent because this agent might not be right for me. I would like to try out several agents before I sign that piece of paper. Of course when I am just looking I am going to try out one agent but when it comes to that I am serious about buying in that area that is what I will do. I really don't want to offend anyone and chip them out of there hard work money. Can you tell me how you would you feel as a agent or how I can go about this? Any help would be great. Also how do I find that great agent in the areas I want to look in? realtor.org does not work for me.

Just a suggestion: do you have any agents in your area now that you trust and respect? You might want to contact them and ask how they handle referrals. I understand how you feel. I have a child that will goes online and will research an area prior to contacting any individual agent. My child will also use Realtor.com to get an idea of what is available in the areas they are interested in.

Don't ever sign any document if it makes you uncomfortable. If you do find agents that you think might be compatible with you, go ahead and check them out through their web site if they have one. But again, do some of your own research of areas, contact companies, question referral practices. It's a shame that this has to be so complicated. But, it is such an emotional and financial decision. Good luck to you.

[kareybear]

Originally Posted by Northwoods Voyager

Just a suggestion: do you have any agents in your area now that you trust and respect? You might want to contact them and ask how they handle referrals. I understand how you feel. I have a child that will goes online and will research an area prior to contacting any individual agent. My child will also use Realtor.com to get an idea of what is available in the areas they are interested in.

Don't ever sign any document if it makes you uncomfortable. If you do find agents that you think might be compatible with you, go ahead and check them out through their web site if they have one. But again, do some of your own research of areas, contact companies, question referral practices. It's a shame that this has to be so complicated. But, it is such an emotional and financial decision. Good luck to you.

Referrals??? Explain please. Contact CompaniesWhat company? How do I go about this? I have been searching in every stinken website about homes. There are alot of them but I need to go there and physical see what they are really like. All the towns are in within my price ranges but would I like living there is the question. How do I go about getting an agent? Contact the agent that I saw one of their listings? How do you get to know them? Questions Questions.

[Northwoods Voyager]

Originally Posted by kareybear

Referrals??? Explain please. Contact CompaniesWhat company? How do I go about this? I have been searching in every stinken website about homes. There are alot of them but I need to go there and physical see what they are really like. All the towns are in within my price ranges but would I like living there is the question. How do I go about getting an agent? Contact the agent that I saw one of their listings? How do you get to know them? Questions Questions.

Okay, I should have been more detailed and specific in my answer

I have had home sellers come to our office and request names, etc. of Real Estate offices and agents in the city they plan on moving to. We are an independently owned franchise company and contact the same franchise in the city that the seller/buyer is moving to. We give them as much information concerning the buyer and that company will then have an agent contact the buyer.

This is a referral. That is what I meant about you contacting an agent in your present city that you feel comfortable with or someone else has recommended to you, a friend perhaps.

You can always contact the listing agent of any home that you find yourself on the internet. I would explain to that agent what you are looking for in a home. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you like.

As far as inspecting any home, that is a great idea. I would make arrangements to go to the areas of the city that you desire to move to and perhaps stay at a motel/hotel and meet with an agent and take a tour. OR, rent a car and drive around yourself to get a feel of what the neighborhood(s) are like.

You can also use this forum to submit a question concerning the area you are interested in and see what answers you receive. Appears to be some very informed folks here.

What city is it that you are interested in? Good luck

I apologize if this has not been as helpful to you as you would have liked.

[da jammer]

Originally Posted by kareybear

I don't know how to say this. What are and the regulations about signing a paper saying that your my agent? Look I have to be honest and I will tell the realtor when it comes to this. I am not sure where I am exactly going to locate in Missouri. I know I am going to come up to Missouri to check out towns and get the feel of the community but I also want to check out houses for the day since I won't have my kids with me at the time but I don't want to sign with one agent because this agent might not be right for me. I would like to try out several agents before I sign that piece of paper. Of course when I am just looking I am going to try out one agent but when it comes to that I am serious about buying in that area that is what I will do. I really don't want to offend anyone and chip them out of there hard work money. Can you tell me how you would you feel as a agent or how I can go about this? Any help would be great. Also how do I find that great agent in the areas I want to look in? realtor.org does not work for me.

If I'm reading right you are concerned about locking yourself in with one agent before you even look at a single house? If so not to worry. Here is what I would do in your sitch. Let's say you have found 10 properties in an area, town or city that you would like to look at. Next I would review the websites of several brokerage companies in that area and research agents that are willing to represent buyers. Now this is a crap shoot but perhaps you will just get a feel for a few that appear to be people you might be able to work with. I would then contact them and completely explain what your game plan is to each agent...by PHONE not email. That should further narrow down the field to the one you feel will be your best partner in your efforts. I would be totally up front with the agent(s) about time frames and financial considerations. Once you have an agent that is acceptable to you, you should be able to get more in depth information about the properties you have found and maybe even some you were not aware of in the area you are looking utilizing email so you can see pics.


Then you can make an appointment to meet the Realtor and review these properties. While it is only right for an agent that has put in time and effort to be compensated you do NOT have to sign anything until you are comfortable working with the agent and they deserve that confidence and security of knowing they will eventually get paid for their hard work. However, keep in mind that if they feel you might just be taking up their time with little hope of actually putting a deal together for you they may ask you to find someone else better suited to your situation.


After writin' all of this junk down I sure hope I understood your thoughts correctly!!

[kareybear]

Da Jammer you gave me some great tips. Now here is a question for yah. How do you find a realtor willing to represent me as buyer?Doesn't all realtor want to be a representer for a buyer? The other problem I have with a realtor that they are all nice at first been then it takes more than a couple visits than I realize this is not the person for me. How do I pick and choose a realtor. Do I pick a realtor in the small town that I want to live in or choose a realtor in a big town that sells in the small town? How do I chose who to contact?

Karey

[kareybear]

Originally Posted by Northwoods Voyager

Okay, I should have been more detailed and specific in my answer

I have had home sellers come to our office and request names, etc. of Real Estate offices and agents in the city they plan on moving to. We are an independently owned franchise company and contact the same franchise in the city that the seller/buyer is moving to. We give them as much information concerning the buyer and that company will then have an agent contact the buyer.

This is a referral. That is what I meant about you contacting an agent in your present city that you feel comfortable with or someone else has recommended to you, a friend perhaps.

You can always contact the listing agent of any home that you find yourself on the internet. I would explain to that agent what you are looking for in a home. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you like.

As far as inspecting any home, that is a great idea. I would make arrangements to go to the areas of the city that you desire to move to and perhaps stay at a motel/hotel and meet with an agent and take a tour. OR, rent a car and drive around yourself to get a feel of what the neighborhood(s) are like.

You can also use this forum to submit a question concerning the area you are interested in and see what answers you receive. Appears to be some very informed folks here.

What city is it that you are interested in? Good luck

I apologize if this has not been as helpful to you as you would have liked.

Ok I understand but how do give a referral from one agent over another in the area I want to look at if you don't know the person? Do you guys have rates or licenses we should be aware of? What is it? I looked up the agents in my town but how do you pick and choose the person?It isn't all about looks. Maybe if they look dumb in the picture I might not choose them but that is another story.LOL No friends in the areas that I want to look at.

Your question where I am interested. I would like to look at Douglas,Shannon,Texas County. I already have recommendation for Clinton because of my Uncle. I need an agent for Warsaw,Salisbury and Marceline or surrounding area. I might see some towns that I am interested on the way.
Marceline and Salisbury is towns suggested by my husband because he is working at Thomas Hill Plant and he likes the look of the towns. He tells me I need to come and get a feel of these towns. I will be driving to Missouri.

[da jammer]

Originally Posted by kareybear

Da Jammer you gave me some great tips. Now here is a question for yah. How do you find a realtor willing to represent me as buyer?Doesn't all realtor want to be a representer for a buyer? The other problem I have with a realtor that they are all nice at first been then it takes more than a couple visits than I realize this is not the person for me. How do I pick and choose a realtor. Do I pick a realtor in the small town that I want to live in or choose a realtor in a big town that sells in the small town? How do I chose who to contact?

Karey

BTW, we have some outstanding real estate agents right here in the MO forum that can give you all of the help you could ever need, I am just throwing out there some experience I've had over many years. I have a very good friend that has been in the real estate business in so CA for 25 years so I know how hard these folks work behind the scenes to get the deal done in the best interests of all parties involved. (had to get that info out there!)

It would seem logical that a Realtor would accept both buyers and sellers but that is not always the case. I know of some agents (in so CA) that really didn't want to deal with buyers but would take listings all day long. You definitely want to hire a Realtor that enjoys representing the buyer. There are absolutely no guidelines I can think of that can point you to the perfect agent. It is completely up to you to choose that person based on your gut feeling. This is a real pain in da butt part of moving to a new area that you are unfamiliar with so you are just gonna have to use your best intuition here.

[Northwoods Voyager]

Originally Posted by kareybear

Ok I understand but how do give a referral from one agent over another in the area I want to look at if you don't know the person? Do you guys have rates or licenses we should be aware of? What is it? I looked up the agents in my town but how do you pick and choose the person?It isn't all about looks. Maybe if they look dumb in the picture I might not choose them but that is another story.LOL No friends in the areas that I want to look at.

Your question where I am interested. I would like to look at Douglas,Shannon,Texas County. I already have recommendation for Clinton because of my Uncle. I need an agent for Warsaw,Salisbury and Marceline or surrounding area. I might see some towns that I am interested on the way.
Marceline and Salisbury is towns suggested by my husband because he is working at Thomas Hill Plant and he likes the look of the towns. He tells me I need to come and get a feel of these towns. I will be driving to Missouri.

When my son did this moving to a NEW location, he did drive to the city/town and check around for himself. I strongly recommend this if it is possible for you to do. You really do need to see for yourself what a neighborhood looks and 'feels' like at all times of the day and night

Since your husband is working in the area you are interested in, why don't you have him ask around at work and get some feedback from his coworkers? Perhaps one or two may have some solid information for you to use. You know, location, prices, any upcoming improvement to the area or any of the negatives that people sometimes just don't find on the web.

Have your husband send you a copy of the local newspaper from the towns.

As far as finding an agent goes, just pick up the 'phone and talk with a few and get the feel from your conversation if they respond to your questions in a way that makes you comfortable. Sometimes you can tell a lot about a person when talking to them as opposed to just seeing their picture.

There is no EASY ways to do this. You just have to make those contacts, go look and keep a list of what you see and rate everything. Good luck to you

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by kareybear

I don't know how to say this. What are and the regulations about signing a paper saying that your my agent?

There are no regulations.

Look I have to be honest and I will tell the realtor when it comes to this. I am not sure where I am exactly going to locate in Missouri.

Most of the people I work with START OUT not knowing where they want to live! I appreciate knowing they are "stage 1" buyers (actually just lookers!) and want to check out real estate prices so as to compare areas.

I know I am going to come up to Missouri to check out towns and get the feel of the community but I also want to check out houses for the day since I won't have my kids with me at the time but I don't want to sign with one agent because this agent might not be right for me. I would like to try out several agents before I sign that piece of paper. Of course when I am just looking I am going to try out one agent but when it comes to that I am serious about buying in that area that is what I will do.

Some of the suggestions you've gotten here are...talk to them on the phone prior to your trip...then you might schedule just a couple of hours with each of them...to talk and get a feel of how they work and whether you "click"...

I really don't want to offend anyone and chip them out of there hard work money. Can you tell me how you would you feel as a agent or how I can go about this? Any help would be great. Also how do I find that great agent in the areas I want to look in? realtor.org does not work for me.

I appreciate that you don't want to ask someone to work for you for free. Lots of people don't understand that...they think real estate agents get company cars & a salary (!) and that the time they spend with you means they might miss out on getting to work with someone who is serious about buying a house.
I never mind if people tell me the truth...and if they are just trying to get a feel for the area, there's more of a "tour guide" approach that I use. In addition, we may look in 2 or 3 houses of the kind they are wanting, just so they can see how much their dollars will buy!
Finally...do a search. Type in the town, and real estate...see who pops up. Email a number of them. If they don't get back to you...move on. You can look for designations like GRI and CRS...
And you might try realtor.com...it's also a great place to shop for property!
Good Luck...