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.
I see a lot of opinions but there really isn't enough info to go off of. I'd need to hear both sides to pass a judgement. I've had a couple buyers that were not respectful that I chose to no longer work with but I've had some buyers that I've worked with for a long time. Just got a contract with a guy that's looked on and off for about 5 years now. The agent could have been a jackass, but again I just don't have enough info on that situation. 3 inspections seems like a high number of deals to fall through.
In the 8 years I've been in business, I have never shown 20 houses to one buyer...and 20 hours just showing houses is ridiculous. It's always the people who have NO idea what we do that are always worried about what's in our pockets. Yeah, I may earn a $10000 commission, but I'm not paid unless the deal closes. From start to finish, I'm looking at about 90 days for a closing...or $3300 and change per month. Is that still a lot of money or does it sound a lot like the same money "regular" people make?
Are you working 40 hours per week for one client, or is it a few hours a week? I don't know of any (non-commercial) realtors that spend that much time on one client.
I've bought both through a realtor and by myself. There was certainly not 90 days of work involved in buying an apartment.
Well, he's still looking. The third house he made an offer on went to a higher bidder. So, so much for that.
What I've learned from this is that if you're not desperately searching for a house, for example, relocating, it might be best to search for a house on your own via the internet. That way you can take a year or more, and take the time you need until the right house becomes available.
Or otherwise be upfront with a realtor, and tell him or her that you are indeed looking for a house but you are in no rush, and be very specific about what you are looking for so that as a potential home comes on the market they let you know. So that every month or so they might be showing you a house. I don't know if most realtors would be willing to take such a client on, since it seems like the expectations of many on here is that a client wants to buy right now and will pick from the supply of homes available right now.
Also, I think with older homes it is a given that there will be at last $10,000 to $20,000 of repairs that are necessary and it looks like sellers do not want to make allowances for that, so the buyer has to be prepared to pay the cost of repairs on top of whatever he or she pays for the house. To me it seemed reasonable that the buyer and seller meet half-way after an inspection reveals expensive repairs, but apparently most sellers won't do that.
I see a lot of opinions but there really isn't enough info to go off of. I'd need to hear both sides to pass a judgement. I've had a couple buyers that were not respectful that I chose to no longer work with but I've had some buyers that I've worked with for a long time. Just got a contract with a guy that's looked on and off for about 5 years now. The agent could have been a jackass, but again I just don't have enough info on that situation. 3 inspections seems like a high number of deals to fall through.
I appreciate that you were willing to to do that because it doesn't seem like most real estate agents on here would be willing to work with a client, even on an intermittent basis, for 5 years.
it doesn't seem like most real estate agents on here would be willing to work with a client,
even on an intermittent basis, for 5 years.
Would you really expect most to?
Five months is a long time (in most markets) for a serious and qualified buyer
to find several homes that will meet -objectively stated- preferences.
Quote:
...be upfront with a realtor
...and be very specific about what you are looking for
...and tell him or her that you are in no rush
...with older homes it is a given that there will be... repairs
Now all you have to do is get Dad to apply the lessons to the properties he let slip past
so he doesn't let that happen with the next property he otherwise likes.
Last edited by MrRational; 08-12-2013 at 06:20 AM..
Also, I think with older homes it is a given that there will be at last $10,000 to $20,000 of repairs that are necessary and it looks like sellers do not want to make allowances for that, so the buyer has to be prepared to pay the cost of repairs on top of whatever he or she pays for the house. To me it seemed reasonable that the buyer and seller meet half-way after an inspection reveals expensive repairs, but apparently most sellers won't do that.
It just depends on how the house is priced on the front end. If it was priced below market value to begin with, then I can see why they wouldn't budge. Or if some of the repairs were not actually repairs but just personal updates - I can see them not wanting to pay for those. And finally, it's not usually necessary to bring everything "up to code" in order for things to be safe and operational, so there'd be no need for them to chip in to pay for those sorts of updates either.
However - if their house was priced reasonably and comparable to other homes in good condition, and then the inspection revealed something seriously wrong, then I'd expect them to meet you somewhere in the middle on those costs. For instance, say their house was priced at the same price as a comparable home with a new roof, and they tell you they think the roof is 5 years old or less. Then the inspection reveals that the roof is 20 years old - hey, they need to come down some.
I guess it depends on the market, but what you might be able to get for your budget at the beginning of the year may be very different from the end of the year. The only reason why I would look for a while (more than a few months) is if you are a first-time home buyer, still far away from actually buying, and are trying to figure out what you like or don't like in a house.
OK, $100 an hour, that is still 100 hours of work, 2 and 1/2 weeks of work, in order to earn $10,000 commission. Also this realtor is also a broker, so he would have received the full $10,000.
I don't know how to tell you this. Not all people work by the hour. That just is not going to happen in sales. I remember charging someone for some work that I did, and it wasn't sales. Still, this guy said he should get a job doing what I do. The problem with that is just because you charge X amount to do a job does not mean that you are getting X amount per hour. I wish that were the case because I would love to make $100 an hour doing side work. I would quit my job right now if I could do that all day long. LOL. Many times, and this relates to sales, you have times when you are not making anything. remember that the agent only gets paid when the sale happens. So lets say that sales person sold 5 homes a year. That is only $50,000 a year in income. Is that a good income? Lets consider that the agent would have to sell similar homes at similar prices to hit that number.
When you hire an agent you are paying someone to navigate uncharted waters or unfamiliair waters. Most of us do not buy and sell realestate on a regular basis. Lots of paperwork to sign and things to do before the sale can take place. So much more than just showing the buyer a home.
No one answered my question: how long does it take to write up a contract?
Does not matter how long it takes to write up the contract. You are not paying the agent for penmenship or typing. You are paying because they have knowledge that you do not have. Feel free to do it on your own if you can figure it out.
My parents have owned 2 homes in their life. The first they were in for 38 years. The second home for the last 10 years. When they were looking for the second home they decided on exactly what they wanted before the bought. They did want a new home though but were looking at homes in inventory.
They told the builders agent what they were looking for to the detail. The first house that they saw nailed it to a T. The fact is that they liked it so much that they decided right there that they had to buy that home. The agent had other homes to show them that would also fit the bill. My parents told her that they didn't need to see any other homes. They wanted the first home that they saw. The deal here is that they had told her in advance what they were looking for and she showed them only that kind of home. Easy sale if you ask me. Then again maybe that is what it takes, sharing information between two parties. LOL
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.
