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You don't have to use one, but you absolutely should. The only person in the entire purchasing experience who will be looking out for your interests will be your agent, other than yourself obviously.
If I don't go with an "agent", do I need a "real estate lawyer" to help me in the process?
Do you have experience with contracts, construction, and valuation?
An attorney can be helpful with the first, but I don't know about the other two,
Don't assume a builder will discount to you when you come without an agent. I.e., you pay the same with or without that help.
And you need to recognize that the builder's folks you are talking to are there to close the deal on the best terms they can get for the builder.
Do you have experience with contracts, construction, and valuation?
An attorney can be helpful with the first, but I don't know about the other two,
Don't assume a builder will discount to you when you come without an agent. I.e., you pay the same with or without that help.
And you need to recognize that the builder's folks you are talking to are there to close the deal on the best terms they can get for the builder.
Thanks MikeJaquish.
No, I don't have experience with any of these...contracts, construction, and valuation.
You don't have to use one, but you absolutely should. The only person in the entire purchasing experience who will be looking out for your interests will be your agent, other than yourself obviously.
One thousand percent agree.
Mike J. Is an agent himself. He is being a classy professional in answering your question very factually and objectively. (I'm not at all surprised; I've never known him to be anything less than professional.)
I am that consumer who IS generally familiar with contacts, has bought and sold 3 homes before, and has my long term attorney's home phone number if I need help. Regardless, ain't no way in hell I'm not going to have my own agent.
Which is why we have about $20k in structural upgrades that we didn't pay for. Nope, not because our agent negotiated. Because the builder's sales agent lied to us and our realtor had confirmed everything she said in an email. We didnt even know about the problem until we were at the pre-construction meeting and DH is looking at the blueprints. Without that realtor, we would have been screwed.
Your question...do I NEED to have an Agent if I buy new construction. My answer: YES!!!
You can go into the office and buy directly from the onsite agent but she/he works for the builder.
Who is going to work for YOU? Who is going to guide you through the paperwork (builder's contract is about 43 pages long)? Who is going to go to bat for you when there is a problem?
So, I go back to my answer...yes, you NEED an Agent!
As a buyer, you are not paying for a buyer's agent. That agent is paid by the builder in new construction, even though the Agent works for you.
In this crazy housing market, builders have very limited supply. They are asking for huge deposits and having buyers agree to crazy prices. In some cases, buyers are agreeing because they are desperate to buy.
Best of luck!
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real estate lawyer?
