Etiquette when needing to see lots of homes using more than one realtor (agent, mortgage)
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Hi everyone (I have to keep registering since my passwords somehow never 'take). If this is in a wrong forum, admins, please let me know as well.
My husband and I will be moving back to NH next year. 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're presently in south TX), 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.
We did/do like this realtor, and will most likely use him as a Buyers Agent.
BUT - 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?
Hi everyone (I have to keep registering since my passwords somehow never 'take). If this is in a wrong forum, admins, please let me know as well.
My husband and I will be moving back to NH next year. 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're presently in south TX), 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.
We did/do like this realtor, and will most likely use him as a Buyers Agent.
BUT - 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?
Personally I think you should find one realtor and stick with them. That realtor should be able to book multiple listings in the same day if they try hard enough. We saw 7 on one day and we were not even in the same situation as you. coming from across the country the realtor should try to accommodate you as best as possible as your time is limited. With that said, make sure your clear to the realtor that you do intend on buying. Don't. waste their time and don't go behind their backs seeing other houses without them.
I agree with Chris410, it seems odd that you couldn't see more homes in an entire week, especially with advance planning. Can you email the agent and let him know that you really need to see more houses when you come?
I am also curious, why did the agent "steer you away" from a particular town? (Can you name the town?) I live in the Monadnock Region and generally love it here. There's one town I definitely didn't want to buy in but most little towns around here are quite nice.
We DO intend on buying, just not at this moment (as in this month, or even in December). 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 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.
OP, not sure what you are answering in your post above ... you didn't answer my questions at all ...
Still curious as to what town that was that he steered you away from? The only town I know of around here that definitely doesn't have a great reputation is Winchester (their high school closed several years ago after it lost accreditation). I can see him telling you that (if it was indeed Winchester), but I can't figure out why he would refuse to show you houses. Again, I wrote that that was odd ...
(Karen, I think I was writing my response to chris and we probably both hit 'post' at the same time
He steered us away from New Ipswich; there were a few homes there that my husband and wanted to see. We've been looking more into older (as in 100+years) homes that have their own history, and the town (at least in May/June) had about 3.
We know that no town is going to be perfect. Our original Have To See home was in Peterborough (which was the listing office where we met the realtor) but once we were on the ground, we went 'meh' to the house, and then fell in love (really bad bad idea when not planning on placing a bid at that instant) with a home in Jaffrey, and now I saw one in Marlborough I like...
Thing is, the only other realtor that responded to me seemed to imply in her email that unless I was planning to show up with a check already written out with a downpayment, that looking at homes, or even spending time with a realtor would be a waste since no one would want to take the time to show us homes. And I know I sound frustrated and a little snobby, but we're looking at homes that aren't cheap(ish); my husband is on a ship non-stop for a few months so we can place $200K+ down. One would think that a realtor would know that this is a definite buyer, not somebody simply windowshopping.
Not familiar with New Ipswich; certainly I haven't heard anything negative about it so not sure why the steering was going on. Seems like he should have given you some reason!!
My only suggestion at this point is to let the Realtor know how serious you are about buying, even if it's a while away. Maybe get pre-approved for a mortgage? Sounds like that wouldn't be a problem at all, and you may be taken more seriously then.
I remember when I came to NH for a job interview back in '02, a Realtor showed me around. Turns out he does that (or did that, I think he's mostly retired now) for most people who were interviewing (I am in academia and several departments each year are hiring). It took him a bit of time, but I'm sure he has also made some sales from his efforts. I ended up getting the job, accepting it, and buying my first house (ever!) at the end of my first year here -- and I called him to act as my buyer's agent. So such Realtors are out there, you may just need to call around some more!
I have lots of colleagues who live in Peterborough -- it's a nice town. I have always liked Dublin too, although there's no city water/sewer there and for me that was a worry (probably not rational, given that this is New Hampshire, but it was). You can get a nice big lot there, and it is to me a quintessentially New England town. But of course there are others in the Monadnock region like it! I wish you the best with your search!!
Thanks Karen for the advice (Dublin also has a need-to-see home on my list). Thing is, this realtor seems to specialize in people relocating to the Monadnock region from far away). And until we know what we like pricewise (we're looking at everything from $150K up to $450K, getting pre-approved might not be necessary if we are picked by a lower-priced home.
We moved to NH over the coarse of two trips. We did some house hunting on our first trip out while we were looking for/getting settled in a rental. We found that the realtors we worked with on our first trip out were more aloof with us than once we got truly settled and had been in the state for a longer period. We looked at one house and had a lot of interest. We emailed a list of questions to the realtor and never got a response. Maybe they were just lousy realtors, but I don't think they take you all that seriously until you have actually made the move, have employment and are either pre-approved or look like you are in a good position to be such. Personally, I found looking at homes before we were ready or even able to pull the trigger maddening. I would see homes that I loved just to see them sold before we were able to make the move.
Thing is, the only other realtor that responded to me seemed to imply in her email that unless I was planning to show up with a check already written out with a downpayment, that looking at homes, or even spending time with a realtor would be a waste since no one would want to take the time to show us homes.
She is correct. Homes for sale are for sale NOW. Sellers have to keep them ready to show and they have to vacate every time you look.
If you're with a realtor and looking at specific homes, especially in a smallish town, you need to be ready to buy. You kind of are wasting their time by doing it this way.
And using multiple realtors and offering to "pay for their time" isn't how it's done in my area. You need to get a buyers agent when you are ready to buy and have them set up appointments for you. Your agent works for YOU. You tell your agent what homes you want to see and insist on seeing them. Suggestions are fine, but you are the boss in this situation.
Maybe it would be better for you to rent if you still aren't that comfortable with the area.
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