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Honestly, tile floors in the living areas was a deal breaker for me. But I didn't waste anyone's time b looking at those homes. Yes, I know I could rip the tile up, but I really didn't want to deal with the expense or mess or hassle.
I looked at a lot of houses that I wanted from the pictures but when I got there they were totally different and almost a total write off.
Me too. I went to some houses that looked great in the very strategic professional pictures, but were not quite like the brochure when we got there. There were a few that I didn't even bother getting out of the car for.
But I did have a couple of non-negotiable items. I kept emphasizing that to my agent and she kept showing me condos that didn't fit. I told her point blank, it didn't matter if I fell in love with a place, I was not buying anything that didn't have a washer/dryer in the unit. Didn't have to have the actual appliances, as long as there was space and a hook up, but that was an absolute must to me.
She would take me places and say ridiculous things like "well, lots of other units have added "illegal" laundry (obviously not against the law, but against the covenants and you could be fined, forced to remove them, etc.)
I would ask before we got to a unit whether it had a w/d and have to start refusing to go in when it turned out they didn't, then I had to start asking when she tried to set up a showing and not even go on the showing. Why she wanted to waste her time as well as my own, I never did figure out.
See, that is what I don't get. I understand that some must-haves (and must-NOT-haves) are actually preferences, but why is that some real estate agents insist on showing clients homes with features they have repeatedly said they don't want? I would think that would create a lot of bad feelings.
Btw, Emm74, what happened with you and that agent? I had an agent that did that to me once, and I never called him again. (I did not have any kind of agreement with him, though, and I will not enter into an agreement until I know that the agent has listened to me and will respect and cooperate with my wants and needs.)
See, that is what I don't get. I understand that some must-haves (and must-NOT-haves) are actually preferences, but why is that some real estate agents insist on showing clients homes with features they have repeatedly said they don't want? I would think that would create a lot of bad feelings.
Btw, Emm74, what happened with you and that agent? I had an agent that did that to me once, and I never called him again. (I did not have any kind of agreement with him, though, and I will not enter into an agreement until I know that the agent has listened to me and will respect and cooperate with my wants and needs.)
I didn't have a buyer's agreement with her, and in the end, I bought a unit not through her. I had narrowed down my choices to a particular area with several similar condo buildings and it wasn't in a town she covered so I worked with a different agent there.
But it turned out to be an interesting transaction. I had put an offer in on one unit in one building, and we negotiated and got to a point where I expected the seller to accept my last offer and instead, he decided not to sell and pulled the unit off the market.
So I went back and looked at all of the listing sheets for places I had seen in that area. One was a bank owned property I had seen at an open house in a different building in that same area, not going through the 2nd agent I was working with. I liked the unit I had put in offer in better, it was a corner with a couple more windows, but when that one fell through, this one seemed like a good back up. I called the listing agent to find out the status (this was before you could look up this stuff online), and he said that it was under contract but looked like the deal was falling apart because the buyer couldn't get financed. I told him to keep me posted and he called me back later that day to say that the deal had completely fallen apart and it was going to go back on the market. I said I would meet him that night to look at it again and most likely make an offer and to not to even put it back on MLS.
It turned out that the buyer whose financing fell through was also working with the agent I had been working with, so she hadn't shown me that unit since she was selling to another buyer. And the rest happened so fast that even if she had thought to show it to me once her first buyer had to back out, it was already back under contract - to me! - before she had a chance!
In my experience the sales people will waste everyone's time just to make it look like they are doing something, anything. If you tell them you don't want a corner that is what they will show you and then tell the seller that you are a picky buyer. Makes no sense!
As others have written, some buyers will make exceptions based on location, price, ability to make the changes to fix the "deal breakers," etc. Also, just because buyers may not prefer/desire certain things doesn't automatically make them deal breakers.
The only thing you can't change about a house is the location. When I was in the market it was usually a company move and I had a weekend to find a home. I would tell the realtor to show me everything he could up to 20% over my preferred budget in the area I chose! Most every house had some kind of a deal breaker but if you just LOVE the rest of it, it's doable!
For everyone who hates tile there is someone else who loves it!
Sometimes yes, and as far as it being a real estate cliche, I'm aware that agents know that many times a buyer can fall in love with a home that has a supposed dealbreaker and buy it anyway, or they may come to realize over time that they are going to have to give up on one or more dealbreakers.
On the other hand, sometimes agents do need to listen to their buyers. On my first homebuying experience, I was probably a bit of a pain. First time buyer, all over the map (literally - I was willing to live in any one of half a dozen or so contiguous cities/towns as long as they had accessible public transportation to Boston). I looked at a ton of places - trying to be pretty flexible as I was getting an idea on what I could afford and where I'd have to compromise.
But I did have a couple of non-negotiable items. I kept emphasizing that to my agent and she kept showing me condos that didn't fit. I told her point blank, it didn't matter if I fell in love with a place, I was not buying anything that didn't have a washer/dryer in the unit. Didn't have to have the actual appliances, as long as there was space and a hook up, but that was an absolute must to me.
She would take me places and say ridiculous things like "well, lots of other units have added "illegal" laundry (obviously not against the law, but against the covenants and you could be fined, forced to remove them, etc.)
I would ask before we got to a unit whether it had a w/d and have to start refusing to go in when it turned out they didn't, then I had to start asking when she tried to set up a showing and not even go on the showing. Why she wanted to waste her time as well as my own, I never did figure out.
Well that's bad. I would never do that. My buyers are liars joke was misunderstood. I don't deliberately show people things they don't want. What happens is buyers often change their mind about what they want more then once while looking. Or for someone that has a list of criteria that's huge they end up not liking all two houses that have everything on their list and have to decide what to give up. It's all good. The truth is I enjoy working with buyers more then sellers. There is more work to it, but its a happier process then trying to sell. Buyers are having fun most of the time.
When we sold our house in NC, by far the most common feedback was that the house was too small. Really?? The square footage is right up there with the number of beds/baths and the price. "If you need a larger house, you need to be looking at larger houses, people!"
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