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I'm not completely clear on exactly what you are saying but if you are stating that you want to simply tell a real estate agent that you want to buy a house for up to $X amount, without providing a mortgage lender pre-approval letter or proof of funds from a bank, then yes, it may be time to utilize that alternate way of buying a house without involving an agent, and of course, that would need to include the seller not using an agent either because if you don't have your own agent who can validate this information, they will want to do so on behalf of their client. Because yes, verifying that you can in fact pay the amount you are offering for a house is very much the business of real estate agents - yours and the sellers.
Look at it from the other perspective. If you are selling a house, don't you want to know that the person viewing your home and making an offer is a bona fide purchaser who will be able to close on the house?
I've never once had to provide a pre-approval letter to a realtor. But I've usually worked with people that are recco by word of mouth & I guess my relationship to the person has always been enough. Never had a problem seeing houses in my price range. There's no need to discuss your financial details with a realtor. I think it just depends on the realtor & how you came to know them.
Get a pre-qualification letter from your mortgage company. No biggie. They do it all day long. Around here, you can't see a house without either the letter or another proof of funds. People just won't waste their time on someone who's not serious. Not to mention people don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry to be traipsing through their home. No proof of funds? You're not seeing my house. Period. When I've sold my house, that's always been something I'm a stickler about because my time has value and don't have time to waste on someone who's a lookey loo and not a real buyer.
I am looking to hire a realtor to buy a home but I do not want to reveal to them how much cash I have and how much money I am looking to borrow. I only want to give them a dollar amount for what I'm 'approved' for. Is it possible to work this way with a realtor?
Historically, realtors have tried to push me to reach out to certain lenders. I think who I am borrowing from is none of their business and how much cash I'm spending is none of their business.
If realtors continue to try to get me to 'up my spending threshold' by finding different 'sources' or things like that, I may just have to find a way to buy a home where I don't have to interact with a realtor, because I'm getting sick of it.
I know on our contracts you need to write in the amount of your down payment. So you have to at least let someone know what kind of down payment you are doing. It does matter in multiple offer situations.
They don't need to know if you have more than that, but they do need to know the type of financing you plan to do (FHA, VA, 5% conventional, 10% conventional, 20% conventional, etc) as many contracts require that you specify the type of financing so sellers can determine if they feel you are a financially viable home buyer.
OP, for what it's worth, a friend (seller) recently went into contract with a buyer who provided a preapproval letter that stated an unusually high interest rate. This raised red flags with her, but her agent assured her the buyer, a professional with a high income, was qualified. Sure enough, as they went through the contingency removal period, the buyer could not get financing and the contract fell through. Friend was not happy about having taken the house off the market for awhile for this buyer, etc.
So I totally get why you don't like being pushed, but the seller does have a legitimate reason to have strong evidence that you can make good on an offer. I agree with the other poster who advised that you can ask the lending institution to specify on the letter a dollar amount that is lower than you are eligible or want to spend.
I agree with the rest re needing to provide a pre-approval letter prior to being shown homes for sale. It's ordinary now after the meltdown. Real estate agents really spend a lot of time showing homes (and they don't get paid until it closes). On another note, you do not need to go with a lender that they suggest, you are free to use any lender you please. Many agents will give you names of lenders that have done a good job in the past. In terms of going up to the maximum threshold, you don't need to do that, either. Just provide an initial pre-approval letter showing the purchase price you wish and insist on staying at that price point. Seems that your real issue is your agent pushing you too hard on their preferred lender. Perhaps that duo is a little too cozy for your taste.
I have never had a realtor push me to spend more. I was individually qualified for an amount I thought was absurd and had no intention of spending that much, choosing to stay within a much more conservative budget. My realtor never once told me to "spend the max" or even showed me houses in that range. It would have been a total waste of time and she does not like to waste her own time.
On the flip side, why hide what you are willing to spend? Why not be honest and up front? You will have a much better experience and result.
I am looking to hire a realtor to buy a home but I do not want to reveal to them how much cash I have and how much money I am looking to borrow. I only want to give them a dollar amount for what I'm 'approved' for. Is it possible to work this way with a realtor?
Historically, realtors have tried to push me to reach out to certain lenders. I think who I am borrowing from is none of their business and how much cash I'm spending is none of their business.
If realtors continue to try to get me to 'up my spending threshold' by finding different 'sources' or things like that, I may just have to find a way to buy a home where I don't have to interact with a realtor, because I'm getting sick of it.
So you don't want to reveal how much cash you have for the house. So you know precisely what kind of loan you are getting and will let the realtor know that much because not all homes are approved for all loans and not all sellers want to accept a buyer with all loans.
And you want the realtor and a seller to accept this and that you not only don't have an approval letter form your loan officer but won't give one to the seller nor realtor.
You don't trust them but you expect the realtor and sellers to trust you.
The third item about how much you're spending....your realtor would show you houses, potentially write an offer, and not know how much you're spending...as in how much he/she just wrote the contract for?
I am looking to hire a realtor to buy a home but I do not want to reveal to them how much cash I have and how much money I am looking to borrow. I only want to give them a dollar amount for what I'm 'approved' for. Is it possible to work this way with a realtor?
Historically, realtors have tried to push me to reach out to certain lenders. I think who I am borrowing from is none of their business and how much cash I'm spending is none of their business.
If realtors continue to try to get me to 'up my spending threshold' by finding different 'sources' or things like that, I may just have to find a way to buy a home where I don't have to interact with a realtor, because I'm getting sick of it.
nope you don't have to show them anything.
Not one agent in the last 20 years has asked me for "proof" of monies. A lender of course needs to see SOME of your finances not all . they often ask what i can afford and i tend to reply with what i am looking to spend.
You can ask your lender to email you letter with the exact number you wish to offer, or the list price or a much higher number. in fact you can ask them to send a few letters with various numbers
Remember of course you need never disclose your full wealth or lack of to your agent if you do not wish too.
I don't think this stuff matters as much as it used to, the vast majority of people find their homes themselves online and the agents act more like gatekeepers and guide people through the process.
back in the day they really needed to know your price range a lot more, because they put together the list of what was available and you simply picked from it...
I have never had a realtor push me to spend more. I was individually qualified for an amount I thought was absurd and had no intention of spending that much, choosing to stay within a much more conservative budget. My realtor never once told me to "spend the max" or even showed me houses in that range. It would have been a total waste of time and she does not like to waste her own time.
On the flip side, why hide what you are willing to spend? Why not be honest and up front? You will have a much better experience and result.
My experience as well - with one exception when we were in a resort town and considering a second home. VERY pushy realtor and I'm very glad that she turned us off so much that we went home, had second thoughts, and dropped the whole idea.
And I agree with cully.
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