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Hi everyone: I posted this in the NH forum, but am cross-posting this here. In a nutshell, my husband and I will be relocating back to NH from south TX within the year (most likely by next summer). We already plan to have either at least $200K as a downpayment or pay in cash (depending on the house), and because of this, we need to travel to NH several times to see and walk through a few homes. We are more than aware that any house we look at now will probably not be available when we sit down and prepare a bid.
In the interim, we've been religiously following listings in beangroup and realtor.com. We want to move to the Monadnock area, to a decent-condition home with the Must Haves being a view and a wood-burning fireplace (yeah, we know it's not the best thing for heat, but it's a personal thing). Moving to NH is not an 'if', but a definite within-a-year.
Starting in May I contacted a few realtors, explaining that taking into account the distance involved, we were planning on doing as much as possible via email. I was up front that we are still in the looking stage, and we would be more than happy to pay them for their time. We left NH 15 years ago, and we wanted to get a 'feel' of the area again, plus we had never lived in the Monadnock area.
We planned a vacation/anniversary/house-hunting trip in June. Of the approximately 7 realtors I contacted, only two responded, one referring me to another office. The one that did respond was very pleasant when I called him on the phone. I sent him my Wish List of homes I wanted to see, and was hoping that in the week that we would be there, that we could hopefully see some of the homes (the original list had 15 homes, all within site of Mount Monadnock and Pack Monadnock).
We only saw three from the list, and two others that he suggested. He steered us away from any homes in a town which had a few homes I wanted to see. We DID find what my husband likes to call our Forever Home, and we are aware that this home may not be available when we both return early next year to put a bid, but I want to have more than one option.
Traveling from south TX to NH is an all-day thing, our time off from work is very limited, and we made it clear that we needed to see as many homes as possible in the relatively small amount of time we were in NH. We also thought it was odd that for the homes that we were able to see, that the sellers agent was present. Maybe it's a NH thing; when my poor realtor showed me homes when my husband was on his ship (36 homes in 6 weeks, the poor woman earned her commission and she will be the selling agent when we put our home on the market), I don't recall seeing a single agent.
We do like the realtor that showed us the homes, and I really don't want to seem callous, but I don't want to make another trip for a week, only to sit and wait in my hotel room so I could maybe see 2-3 homes. More than half of the homes in my original Wish List were already vacant, so needing to schedule a time for the family to be out of the house shouldn't have been an issue. And again, there are a few homes in one of the towns that he would not show us, remarking that once upon a time his wife, a former teacher, taught in that town's high school. Unless there was a gruesome murder, I fail to see how any realtor would refuse to show a home.
I had considered getting a realtor who only works as a Buyers Agent (they don't have listings), but one, I already told this realtor that I would be returning in December, and two, having seen my mom work as a realtor a few years back, don't want anyone to think that they would be putting all their time in for nothing. We didn't sign anything that locks us into one realtor/agent.
I am planning a solo trip back to the area in early December. I've already contacted the gentleman, as well as the realtor for the (potential) Forever Home that I will be returning. I also have another new list of other homes I would like to see when I am there.
FINALLY - I realize that realtors are busy, that not all homes can be available for viewing, but I really need to see more than 3-4 homes in the course of a week. I also know that I would be requesting a more-than-24-hour notice to look at homes as well. And seeing this realtor chat with the listing agents emphasized how small the population of realtors is in the Monadnock area. But I do need to see more homes...how proper or improper would it be for me to cut my Wish List into 2-3 lists, contact several realtors, making it clear that we may already have a Buyers Agent, offer to pay for their time?
I don't want to offend anyone, I just want to be able to see some homes. This will be our final, until-we-die-so-we-can-haunt-it home and therefore I want to be sure we find the perfect house for us. And in the Monadnock area, there are lots of homes in our price-range and Must Have list.
So I quit reading half way through due to length of the post. From what I gathered my suggestion is to find one agent you like and commit to them. You'll get better service and the agent will start to learn your needs.
What you're wanting is very unrealistic. You're not moving for several several months, so there is no need to see more than 2-3 houses in December. If it were March and you needed something by Summer, that's different. You're asking multiple agents to "waste" their time showing you houses that won't be on the market when you're ready to buy.
What your strategy should be is to pick a house in different neighborhoods you're looking at, and from seeing the 1 house, you should get an idea of the features of floorplans as most of the houses within the neighborhood should have about the same quality and features. Then you come back out when you're actually ready to buy, and look at 10-12 houses, if that's what it takes to buy something.
As you know, they do like their commissions, the one you don't buy from could make financial demands claiming some sort of relationship with him. Your need to get the most of your time could cost you more in the long run. It seems it would be easier to rent until you get to know the area and not put yourself under the time pressure. Also, your inventory will be very low until next spring.
Don't forget to check the For Sale By Owner and always use a real estate lawyer to oversee the process, never use an inspector who is chummy with agents.
You need to interview agents and find someone that is wiling to do what you want. I personally won't take people into many homes that are that far out in their purchase cycle. My rule for people in the investigating stage is that homes have to be vacant. The reason is that the seller has to prepare and leave the house for you, and I personally find it disrespectful to make people leave for non-serious/investigation stage buyers. What if someone has a special needs kiddo that they have to transition or get ready to leave the house for you? What if someone cares for an elderly parent and they have to get them out of the house for you? What if someone has a dog dying of cancer and they have to haul them out of the house for you?
I would not be the right agent for you, but you would know my policy upfront. You need to talk to agents on the phone and find someone that is happy to take you through a bunch of homes. It sounds like your current agent was going for the "flavor" tour where they take you through a couple of samples. Steering you away from an area isn't good, but I would just ask him about that and ask to see the houses.
Your time would be much better spent driving around than looking at houses.
Drive around neighborhoods and you'll get a lot more information that will be useful. Drive from the area you want, to the area you will be working, at 7 - 8 a.m., then drive back around 5:00 p.m. See how long the commute will be, check out local stores, grocery, dry cleaning, schools, etc. Do you have what you need in close proximity to the neighborhood you like? Drive the areas at different times of the day, early morning, afternoon when the kids get out of school, and later in the evening when it's dark. Check out different areas, you may find a neighborhood that you like even better. Investigating neighborhoods will be much more beneficial than seeing inside homes.
If you want to see a house, go online and look at the pictures without wasting your time, your agent's time, the listing agent's time and the seller's time. The houses you see today will not be available next year.
One last thing, if you are interested in your "Forever Home", you should be contacting your agent, not the listing agent.
As others have already said . . . if you're not moving anytime soon and you just want to get a feel for different areas then you should just spend some time in those towns. Have lunch, grab a coffee, and just generally observe your potential future neighbors. You're not going to get a feel for the town by looking at houses. First, you have to decide if you want to live in a town and then you find the house. You're doing it backwards in my opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heidi60
As you know, they do like their commissions
If you don't like getting a paycheck after you bust your hump working for someone, please let me know and I'll PM you my address. You can mail me yours if in fact you don't want it.
Gotta go with Mike on this one. Find the town where you feel at home then find the homey house.
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