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Let's look at Realtors, and what they have to consider.
1: You are trying to buy something at the bottom of the barrel, and it cannot have serious costly problems to solve, and as you have found that property will be very, very hard to impossible to find. You are looking, and looking and everything gets sold out from under you. It is a near helpless situation.
2: If you and your agent eventually, find something you can/do buy, that agent by the time they draw their commissions will be working for less than minimum wages for the hours that were involved.
3: An agent has their knowledge, connections and time to sell. They are not going to really take on a near helpless cause, as they cannot afford to devote time to it. If they are any good, they are going to have other clients they want to devote their time to, that will bring them in a lot more than minimum wages for the time they will spend.
When you called agents when in a broken down car, and explained what you were looking to acquire, and what you had to limit yourself to, they told you they had appointments and could not help you at the time.
Realtor code for: What you are trying to accomplish is impossible here, and I am not going to take the time and gas to run you around with no probability of earning some money. I don't work for free, and don't spend money for gas, when I know I will not get a return on my time and money invested.
Questions that you need to answer.
1: Are you paying cash, or will you use financing to buy the home.
2: If you are using financing, have you gotten pre-approved for a loan, so you really know the maximum you can pay for a home.
If you are using financing, without pre approval you are already out of the home buying game in the price range you can afford to be in. There are going to be multiple offers, and only the pre approved and cash buyers will even be considered.
You keep seeing posters blaming Realtors for everything. But how many of them would offer to work free for a couple of days a week. Not many for sure. They want to get paid a decent hourly rate, for their time spent working, and if they have to use their car they want to get enough to cover their their auto and other expenses. Realtors that are well established and really know what they are doing, want to get paid for their time and expenses. They don't want to work for Free. 40 years ago when I first went into the business, I determined I needed to make $100 an hour or more for every hour worked (in today's dollars) to bring in an income and cover expenses. That I sat as a goal. That included time spent for any purpose, not only just working with clients. I went into commercial/investment/farm and ranch brokerage.
Many of you will think that Realtors should treat all potential clients with the same care and devotion. Actually a Realtor cannot afford to do this. My clients I worked with, bought and sold property after property with me. For them I gave 150% effort, and knowledge. I moved property around the country, and as far away as Belize and Costa Rica, buying, selling, and exchanging. My clients are living and working in the United States, In the middle east oil countries, and as far away as Malaysia. I assure you I did not take on lost causes that could not bring in the income I needed to make. My time had to be devoted to clients that I could earn my money handling their needs.
This is exactly why, you are getting blown off by Realtors such as when your car was broken down. If you want to buy a home, sit down with a long time Realtor specializing in low end homes in your area. Really discuss with them what you can do, what you want, and how you can pay for the property. Then ask them if there is a possibility to get what you want at a price you can afford. The answer will be Yes or No. If yes, then let them tell you what you can get, and how to get it. There is not going to be a big choice in homes. You will be lucky to find one or two. Quit running around wasting time, and when one says they can help you, let them tell you when they have found the home you can afford.
Thank you for the detailed reply. You sound very sure my situation is hopeless. I hope you have misunderstood. Its depressing. No I don't want anything that has major repairs of the important things in a home but that doesn't mean however that it needs to be picture perfect in any way.
I don't care if it has a very ugly kitchen or even no appliances. They just have to be able to function when I buy them and plug them in, so electric has to work properly. I don't care if the house has only one bathroom Its just for my daughter and I and we don't need much. The plumbing however does have to work. The house can be very small but not in a ghetto. Again it doesn't matter if its a starter home. The floors can be ripped and the walls dirty as long as the they have no mold from a leaking roof that needs to be replaced. It can need repairs and updates that we can fix up over time . It just needs to function like a house should for the important things... I don't need a turnkey home just one with good value and not a money pit.
I keep looking at counties that have lower housing prices in the hopes of finding something I like that I can afford. Telling me its hopeless is sad for us . The next county I was thinking to look at has even lower housing prices than the one I saw this weekend.
And about my finances. I cannot really talk about it so much on a public message board but if you really do want to know more you may contact me privately.
Oh shut up! for your info we are now in a hotel finally ... I have been through so much . And for your info my daughter is a legal adult not a child.
And if the price of housing had not gotten so ridiculously high I would have money for a hotel but to even think of getting a house these days you need every dime. I have saved for years for this .
As for spending the night that is because nobody came to help us. You have to do what you have to do in life when you have no decent friends or family to help you .
The only reason we made it to a hotel is because someone called the cops that we were sitting in front of the mechanic's shop when it was closed ( I was told the owner was out of state and was monitoring his shop somehow and just wanted to know what we were doing there) and the officers searched for a cheap hotel nearby one of them gave us a ride. They cared at least.
I feel embarrassed treated like dirt ( I was a customer not a vagrant) . Only police cared about me but it was embarrassing to have to deal with it . Maybe I should just give up entirely looking for a home. I feel like giving up on everyone for friendship or trust.
I don't know what my next step should be anymore.
You need to rent an apartment and stop spinning your wheels. Home ownership is expensive and difficult and you need to have lots of extra cash available to handle the myriad of unexpected expenses that come with home ownership. Keep your life simple and appropriate for your emotional and financial makeup and qualifications. Everyone does not have to own a home.
You need to rent an apartment and stop spinning your wheels. Home ownership is expensive and difficult and you need to have lots of extra cash available to handle the myriad of unexpected expenses that come with home ownership. Keep your life simple and appropriate for your emotional and financial makeup and qualifications. Everyone does not have to own a home.
The smaller the house the less it costs to repair. I only look at small houses. You think its better to sink money into a rental and not have anything to show for it? Geez you are mean ... And furthermore you know less than you think about my financial qualifications I have not gone into enough details... and don't intend to with comments like these. No wonder people have a low opinion of real estate agents. Rude and disrespectful much? I have been serious about finding a house and looking very hard I hardly consider that spinning my wheels. This meant a great deal to me... more then any of you know.
I do worry the housing market is going to crash again and house values will drop. How long can prices continue to rise while salaries do not? And do these investors think there is an unlimited supply of renters to take the houses they are buying up and renting out ? All it takes is more interest rate risings to cause this to come to an end. Things are already slowing down.
You know I still feel upset about the last couple of days . I do need an emotional break alright. I need them from people like you...
I think maybe my contributions to this thread are over for a while... go attack someone else's homeownership dreams and leave me alone.
When you are on the lowest end of housing markets, looking at small low cost homes you don't bring a realtor much of a commission. While I understand that the compensation system in real estate is set up so that the more expensive the house the more the agent gets paid, I have a realtor that is treating me as completely unimportant. While I do understand why that is the situation is not helping me.
You don't have a Realtor. You have a commission recipient. If you don't find a house, no work spent no time lost. If you manage to find a house, free moneyzzz for filling out the forms.
Not really. Like any humans there are dishonest ones. The real problem is finding one that will work for you and find your right house. You gotta interview several and trust your gut. I'm generally good at picking them. YMMV
The main problem is finding the right house. Next you need a good negotiator. If you end up with a purchase contract most Realtors should be able to take it from there. Just don't forget that the sale price is merely the first negotiation. Of many. The most important one is the BINSR. But we'll get to that one later.
You need a good lender too. A good Realtor brings one to the table for you.
Tell the Realtor what you want and how much you got. A good one will either find it or tell you you can't get what you want for that price.
Bring along a lot of good luck. Having good luck is a lot better than being smart.
I have not read the entire thread here, but let me tell you I am doing a FSBO with a 3% to the buyer's agent. I am also looking in a new area to buy, so I want an expert that knows the area to help me make a smart investment. I'm working with a very experience agent for the area I'm moving to.
So yes, RE agents are necessary, especially as a buyer. You need to figure out if they are necessary for your sale...in most cases they are.
I am in an unique situation on my sale to do a FSBO.
Is it better for me if I just do the research myself on houses, get a good inspection ( and the person doing the inspection can also let me know what the home is worth so I don't need an appraisal or an agent's advice) , when I find the home I like I can hire a good real estate attorney to draw up the contracts for me and since he charges the same hourly rate to everyone, I will be treated with ( hopefully ) the same respect and attention as wealthier clients.
Is having a real estate agent really necessary when buying a home?
I missed that part. You said you are a first time buyer. Just no! All that is over your head and over the moon.
I can do that because I've bought lots of houses. You can't. And I use a Realtor anyway. You don't have the skill set to succeed in this task.
I can't inspect a house and wouldn't bother. A good inspector is one of your best expenses. But like THL says, inspectors inspect. You need their report and good contractors estimates to get your BINSR together.
If you don't know the market your only hope is a good Realtor who knows running comps -- basic Realtor skill. But can be mis-used/abused.
perish the thought the appraiser works for you. You pay but the appraiser works for your lender.
I also think house inspector has any idea what a house is worth with regards to a particular part of town, school district or even street.
Maybe you should change agents?
I think you meant an inspector has NO idea what the house is worth. They look at plumbing, roofs, whether the oven gets hot, does the pool filter work? Cracks in foundation? Stuff like that. I doubt they have any more clue than you what the house is worth. All they care is what is broken.
Aside: My inspector always says things like wall interior not inspected because inspector cannot see inside walls. Underground pipes not inspected because inspector cannot see underground.
What I need is an inspector with X-ray vision!
Oh, yeah. He does need a new Realtor. Get out your firing stick. Use it. Find another Realtor.
It must be great to be a first-timer and a cash buyer. I congratulate the OP for that ability.
I am a firm believer that people should eschew services they don't value. It just adds stress.
The OP is a first time buyer. Around here we call that low hanging fruit.
The entire structure of realtor compensation is designed for an antiquated system, assuming a monopoly on information that no longer exists.
I'd agree with that except for the MLS and the Supra key.
I've never found any way to get good MLS data except via a Realtor. No Zillow doesn't provide that.
I guess the seller's agent can let you in. Wait until they claim all the commission since you didn't bring your own Realtor. Not having a Realtor is NOT going to save you any money. All that does is give the seller's realtor both shares of the commission.
Get the lawyer to get a price reduction of 3 percent because there is no buyer's Realtor. Good luck with that.
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