Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. She works for a realty company that does not seem to have a local office but rather a national number which seems kind of strange to me. Anyway I was able to contact her email yes he's coming back sooner than I thought. This Saturday actually not the end of the month like I had believed. I contacted the listing agent and set up a viewing for this house for Friday and my agent is coming back into town on Saturday so everything should proceed as normal I think.
I browse on realtor .com a lot just looking at all the inventory and getting a feel for the housing market and not burdening her by not knowing what I want or expect. Normally the neighborhood is out of my price range but this one house came up unexpectedly. Otherwise I would've been fine waiting until she got back.
Anyway thanks for all the help people .
If you're utilizing financing, have you got those ducks in a row? If not, might be a good idea to talk to your loan officer today and give them a heads up, in the event you want to write an offer over the weekend.
I am looking to buy a house. I decided to use a friend as my buyers agent. Nothing in writing and she's sent me a few listings to look at online. She told me she she would be out of the country the last half of September. I said that should be fine.
While surfing on Realtor.com I find a house that doesn't often pop up in my price range in my first choice of locations. I'm worried if I have to wait until October when she gets back I will lose the opportunity to get this house. I really want to stay loyal to her, but I hate to lose this house. I tried calling and emailing her and can't get a hold of her, she is literally on the other side of the world. I'm tempted to use another realtor to write up an offer and act as my agent for this house for just this time.
If the deal didn't go through I would just wait for my friend to come back and use her to continue on. I would tell the other agent that she is for this one house only.
Any thoughts?
Hi aslowdodge,
Just a word of experience here. When you get into such a business relationship with your friend, then you really want to make sure that you want this friend as a business partner.
It sounds like you could be making the same mistake that I made, which is to let my wife's friend be our buyer's agent, just because I think my wife felt comfortable in knowing someone that she feels like she can trust or call anytime.
But just because a friend has a license, this doesn't mean you will get better service from the friend than from a stranger. If your friend is relatively new to the business, you will undoubtedly suffer from some of their "rookie" mistakes.
Leaving the country without giving you the number of a standby agent to assist you was a mistake. Should you suffer from that mistake?
I have found that having such a business relationship with a friend, can also become very difficult to break without feelings being hurt. It just so happens that our current buyer's agent is not only a good friend of mine, but also happens to be my wife's best friend, going back many years.
My wife and I are currently at a bit of a stand still because she has been quite hesitant to come to the same conclusions which I have, which is that using our friend as a buyer's agent may be costing us significantly.
She understands that our friend may be costing us, and says she still doesn't feel comfortable contacting the listing agent, or any other agent for that matter. But she also understands where I am uncomfortable using our friend to help us buy a house, and that says she will just follow my lead if I want to call a listing agent or another buyer's agent on another property.
I on the other hand am uncomfortable with the thought of almost certainly hurting feelings, and I don't like being the one to break it off with our friend in the middle of our house search.
Keep in mind that we aren't under any type of signed agreement, just like you, yet here we are, seemingly almost unable to let our friend go.
Our friend also does little or nothing in the order of helping us search for a house either. I think she knows we already are capable of finding our own properties of interest, and that she would likely just be distracting us with stuff we've already seen or would have no interest in. Nor does she offer advice in negotiation. The one time she did, I had to become quite stern with her and demand that she submit my request. (I was asking for an additional 5k off from the seller, and she (our friend) didn't think I had good enough reason to ask for more off the price. She was wrong, and although they didn't accept my offer, they did counter and give me an additional 2k off the price, which I accepted. I honestly think she was afraid that my asking would blow the deal, but again she was wrong about that.)
As I'm writing, I think I already know that the break will come eventually, if not today.
Just a word of experience here. When you get into such a business relationship with your friend, then you really want to make sure that you want this friend as a business partner.
Just another quick thought on some of the the struggle with dumping friends as your agents.
When we first hired our friend, it was because our old realtor had retired.
At the time I didn't really think it mattered who we used to buy the house, and the thought of helping our good friend, who had just earned her licence and was working for a top realtor, to earn both money and experience in the real estate business seemed like a good thing to do.
It just seemed like a no brainer to say, 'Hey, we are going to buy a house and someone is going to get that commission, why not help our good friend earn some of that money?' It makes it all the easier to justify when you see your friend has children who need to eat, and the need for clothes and other good things.
We undoubtedly began to see ourselves as helping to provide, not just for others, but for life long friends, who have also undoubtedly helped me/her/us in life, in some way or another.
But is this really how the business model was designed to work? Could we, the customer, be serving her and her company as much as the other way around?
Just another quick thought on some of the the struggle with dumping friends as your agents.
When we first hired our friend, it was because our old realtor had retired.
At the time I didn't really think it mattered who we used to buy the house, and the thought of helping our good friend, who had just earned her licence and was working for a top realtor, to earn both money and experience in the real estate business seemed like a good thing to do.
It just seemed like a no brainer to say, 'Hey, we are going to buy a house and someone is going to get that commission, why not help our good friend earn some of that money?' It makes it all the easier to justify when you see your friend has children who need to eat, and the need for clothes and other good things.
We undoubtedly began to see ourselves as helping to provide, not just for others, but for life long friends, who have also undoubtedly helped me/her/us in life, in some way or another.
But is this really how the business model was designed to work? Could we, the customer, be serving her and her company as much as the other way around?
No, unless you err unwisely. You might help a friend, but only with clear expectations of professional representation and support in your project, just as if you had interviewed and engaged a stranger.
And, you make that clear at the start.
Easiest way to get business as an agent is to take a vacation, lol. That being said always have a colleague cover your business while you are outta town. Pretty basic.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,351 posts, read 8,572,211 times
Reputation: 16698
Too be fair she told me that she would be out of town and I said fine as I expected my financial ducks to be in a row by then when she got back so it would be good timing. It turns out those ducks all got set up much earlier and just browsing I came upon kind of a rare find.
I know about the perils of using friends and if push came to shove it's business. I've bought several houses in the past and currently own 23 rentals now, so I have some knowledge on buying.
I did go and tour the house myself through the listing agent who required my pre approval letter. It was nice, but the layout was not as nice as I had hoped and the house was a little smaller than expected as they included the finished basement. The house was listed at 4700 sq ft, but taking out the basement was closer to 3000 sq ft.
On another note, the friend thing can get sticky. I had a friend for over 30 years who was a realtor. I was loyal to him and ran 4.5 million in transactions through him. Then he stiffed me on a personal loan I made to help him out on a house he was flipping. He make a $100k on that house and wouldn't pay me back $7k he owed me.
So he gained $7k, but I am not friends with him and will never give him my business and will badmouth him every chance I get. Since that time I've done another 2.1 million in re transactions so he really lost out on some good commissions. But it sure hurts to lose a longtime friend like that.
Last edited by aslowdodge; 09-23-2017 at 12:00 AM..
Hi Mike,
Could you please clarify what exactly you are saying no to? Just asking because I'm not sure if you are saying No to just one or to both of my questions.
Are you saying No, [hiring a buyer's agent simply because she is your friend] isn't how the business model is designed to work?
Or are you saying No, that we the customer couldn't be serving our friend and her company as much they have served us?
And could you also please clarify what you meant when you said "unless you err unwisely"?
For instance, I'm not sure anyone could even err wisely, so I won't attempt to split that hair. But are you saying that I should be just fine continuing to use my friend as a buyer's agent as long as I don't make any mistakes on my part?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
You might help a friend, but only with clear expectations of professional representation and support in your project, just as if you had interviewed and engaged a stranger.
And, you make that clear at the start.
So would you advise most buyers that it is indeed just fine to hire their friend who happens to be a rookie realtor as their buyer's agent?
If I were to advise someone who was looking to have their house built, I certainly wouldn't say it was ok to hire their friend who just began swinging a hammer. But are you saying that buying your home is different from building one, and conversely it's quite alright to hire someone who is inexperienced to assist you in settling a property deal, as long as you the buyer don't do something foolish?
Admittedly at first I thought we would be just fine allowing our rookie agent friend to submit offers on our behalf, just so long as we didn't make a mistake on our part. But as I've explained, lately I have become more and more under the impression that having an inexperienced buyer's agent may not always work out in our best interest.
I would be delighted to learn that my recent concerns are unfounded and that indeed I have nothing to worry about, as long as I don't make any mistakes on my part.
Does just giving a clear talk in the beginning, regarding their expected professionalism and representation enough to prevent a rookie agent from making any major mistakes on their part? Or are you rather suggesting that the position she has just isn't significant enough for her to cause any serious detriment to our real estate business?
I think I may already be challenged to accept what you might be saying, but I still much appreciate your insight on this!
Hi Mike,
Could you please clarify what exactly you are saying no to? Just asking because I'm not sure if you are saying No to just one or to both of my questions.
Are you saying No, [hiring a buyer's agent simply because she is your friend] isn't how the business model is designed to work?
Or are you saying No, that we the customer couldn't be serving our friend and her company as much they have served us?
And could you also please clarify what you meant when you said "unless you err unwisely"?
For instance, I'm not sure anyone could even err wisely, so I won't attempt to split that hair. But are you saying that I should be just fine continuing to use my friend as a buyer's agent as long as I don't make any mistakes on my part?
So would you advise most buyers that it is indeed just fine to hire their friend who happens to be a rookie realtor as their buyer's agent?
If I were to advise someone who was looking to have their house built, I certainly wouldn't say it was ok to hire their friend who just began swinging a hammer. But are you saying that buying your home is different from building one, and conversely it's quite alright to hire someone who is inexperienced to assist you in settling a property deal, as long as you the buyer don't do something foolish?
Admittedly at first I thought we would be just fine allowing our rookie agent friend to submit offers on our behalf, just so long as we didn't make a mistake on our part. But as I've explained, lately I have become more and more under the impression that having an inexperienced buyer's agent may not always work out in our best interest.
I would be delighted to learn that my recent concerns are unfounded and that indeed I have nothing to worry about, as long as I don't make any mistakes on my part.
Does just giving a clear talk in the beginning, regarding their expected professionalism and representation enough to prevent a rookie agent from making any major mistakes on their part? Or are you rather suggesting that the position she has just isn't significant enough for her to cause any serious detriment to our real estate business?
I think I may already be challenged to accept what you might be saying, but I still much appreciate your insight on this!
Primary "No."
No, the model is not designed for you to serve the agent.
The agent is in a service industry, and should serve you.
Secondary "No."
It may be OK to hire a friend, unless it is a mistake. I would not say "Never hire a friend." Nor would I say, "It is always a mistake to hire a friend."
Nearly always, unqualified absolute statements are a mental trap, and should be avoided.
There are great rookies and also trashy veteran agents.
If you are uncomfortable, unclear on agent skill and character, it is probably wise not to hire the agent, whether a friend or a stranger, rookie or veteran.
A quick chat regarding skills and expectations is insufficient, IMO. Of course, you should document the relationship with a buyers' agency agreement, and always (absolute! ) an agreement including the right for either party to unilaterally terminate the agency agreement without notice.
I would be more likely to hire a green rookie for a transaction that did not represent catastrophic loss to me.
I am looking at $80,000 condos for rental investment, and could afford to eat most mistakes in that price range.
Looking for a move-up home, at the high end of my affordability? I would probably want a proven professional.
Primary "No."
No, the model is not designed for you to serve the agent.
The agent is in a service industry, and should serve you.
Secondary "No."
It may be OK to hire a friend, unless it is a mistake. I would not say "Never hire a friend." Nor would I say, "It is always a mistake to hire a friend."
Nearly always, unqualified absolute statements are a mental trap, and should be avoided.
There are great rookies and also trashy veteran agents.
If you are uncomfortable, unclear on agent skill and character, it is probably wise not to hire the agent, whether a friend or a stranger, rookie or veteran.
A quick chat regarding skills and expectations is insufficient, IMO. Of course, you should document the relationship with a buyers' agency agreement, and always (absolute! ) an agreement including the right for either party to unilaterally terminate the agency agreement without notice.
I would be more likely to hire a green rookie for a transaction that did not represent catastrophic loss to me.
I am looking at $80,000 condos for rental investment, and could afford to eat most mistakes in that price range.
Looking for a move-up home, at the high end of my affordability? I would probably want a proven professional.
I would sum this up by saying . . . hire your agent first because they are good at what they do. If they also happen to be your friend then that's gravy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
