Help!!...Can you answer a question (appraisal, agent, sale, agreement)

[alliecat6571]

Okay....I have a question. Tell me if I am a crazy person.....my husband is getting stationed at Ft. Bragg and we are going to have a house built in Four Oaks (we couldn't find anything we liked). We have not made an offer yet, but have put $1000 down to hold a lot until it gets paved and recorded, then we will make our offer. I am just curious about our Realtor, not sure if she has our best interest in mind. We spent an entire week with her (during the day that is and at night we drove EVERYWHERE and found every house we wanted to see for the next day). At first she was really trying to "push us" to a certain neighborhood, but it wasn't right for us at all...too small of lots, cookie-cutter houses, couldn't add a garage to back yard (all things that were MAJOR things for us), but she kept bringing it up and saying "don't you think that neighborhood would work" after not being able to find ANYTHING!! So, we just figured we would have to come back again and look.

We kept driving at night and finding this same builder that we liked so in the morning we told our Realtor about the houses and she took us to see the houses, again. We had found the house that we wanted and wanted to show her. So, we call the builder and he is gone til the next morning....we stay an extra day to meet with him, and see the lots. Guess what....our Realtor calls us that morning and says she won't be able to meet us at the lots to meet the builder but will be there about 30 mins later!!! Anyway....Love the builder......love the lots!!!! His Realtor and he both asked "where is your Realtor?" We decide that we love the lot and this is what we are going to do....put our $1000 down and leave to go back home.

One week later the houses in the neighborhood, our builder has, he has dropped the price another 10K!! One is our exact same floor plan!!! So, I email our Realtor and ask if that will affect us in anyway, and maybe could she do a CMA of the houses for the last 6 months and then make our offer. "No" was her reply and that it doesn't work that way, we will have to pay what the builder says and maybe even a $2500 pre-sale. Okay....

I emailed and told her that VA will do their inspection and appraisals, off the last 6 months CMA's, and that it might not appraise for what he might selling it to us for. We have had 5 VA loans since 1995, being the military we move...ALOT!!! So VA is funny alot of times. She doesn't think so, but isn't familiar with VA....we will have to see.

So I am getting very frustrated with her....I don't think she is a Buyers Agent and has our best interest at heart....I want to get the most house for my money, obviously! And when we make our offer, I don't think she is going to go to bat for us and present it in a way to benefit us.....WHAT CAN I DO?????????????

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[xgemaxmwahx]

you should be able to trust your realtor and they should do everything in there power to make you happy and make sure its a sucessful move for you with your best interest at heart. BUT there are alot of realtors out there that just want the $$ and would just make you buy any home to get that and then move to next clients. Find a realtor you can trust and go through them. A true realtor will tell you what sort of area it is and if its a good move or not. Moving is a stessful time, your realtor shouldnt be making it more stressful for you! Are you in Florida? If you are maybe I can search this area and tell you my opinion on it for your piece of mind?

[ntfeldman]

Originally Posted by alliecat6571

Guess what....our Realtor calls us that morning and says she won't be able to meet us at the lots to meet the builder but will be there about 30 mins later!!! Anyway....Love the builder......love the lots!!!! His Realtor and he both asked "where is your Realtor?" We decide that we love the lot and this is what we are going to do....put our $1000 down and leave to go back home.

One week later the houses in the neighborhood, our builder has, he has dropped the price another 10K!! One is our exact same floor plan!!! So, I email our Realtor and ask if that will affect us in anyway, and maybe could she do a CMA of the houses for the last 6 months and then make our offer. "No" was her reply and that it doesn't work that way, we will have to pay what the builder says and maybe even a $2500 pre-sale. Okay....

I emailed and told her that VA will do their inspection and appraisals, off the last 6 months CMA's, and that it might not appraise for what he might selling it to us for. We have had 5 VA loans since 1995, being the military we move...ALOT!!! So VA is funny alot of times. She doesn't think so, but isn't familiar with VA....we will have to see.

So I am getting very frustrated with her....I don't think she is a Buyers Agent and has our best interest at heart....I want to get the most house for my money, obviously! And when we make our offer, I don't think she is going to go to bat for us and present it in a way to benefit us.....WHAT CAN I DO?????????????

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You don't mention if you signed anything with the builder.

You also don't mention how you found this Realtor nor how you qualified this agent to make sure they understand and can handle your needs.

Not all Realtors are equal and it is incumbent on you to interview them to determine their level of skill. It's a very costly mistake many, many buyers make. You won't pay the agent out of pocket but you're not getting a higher level of service and it can cost you in price and terms if the agent's skills don't match your needs.

VA loans have their nuances and you need an agent that understands them to make sure your financing goes smoothly. You also need an agent that understand builder's contracts and the solvency of any builders your considering - of course the agent should be looking out for you.

But you're already mid process and have given the builder money - so you've already made some choices that may be errors you will have to live with. If you don't think you're getting the service you deserve, ask your agent - point blank - "Have you closed a VA transaction before?" "Have you closed a builder sale before?" If the answer is no to either of these or if the answer is yes then dig for more details about how they helped those clients. If you don't think you're getting the service you need then ask to meet with the agent and their broker. The broker should have extensive experience or may add another more experienced agent from the office to the transaction to make sure you get the service you deserve.

Let me start by saying that the builder only represents the builder. Don't go into a real estate transaction with a builder without your own Realtor. If after talking to the broker you still don't feel you're getting the advice and service you need, consider hiring an attorney instead. Dealing with builders right now could be very risky. Many of them are very thinly financed at the moment. You must be very careful. You could be making deposits and never see anything for it. Even national reputable builders have filed bankruptcy and not delivered on homes committed.

As far as what you will have to pay for the property - that will depend on what you may have signed. VA might appraise the property at fair market value and give you a loan approval amount based on that but that may have nothing to do with the price the builder establishes/requires of you for the property. Your biggest risk is your deposit and any liability you have to perform to a contract - which you don't mention. VA loan value may void the contract but I have no idea what/if you signed something.

You sound like the type of person who likes to take a lot of control of their own choice/search - and frankly as an agent I usually welcome this type buyer. But you need to let your (qualified) agent work with you and for you. Make sure they are a part of the deal, read the agreements and advise you. Listen to them. You may not like what they are telling you, you may not believe them (if not, get a second opinion from another agent). I want to assume that your agent is serving your interests above their own and many times a qualified agent can keep you from getting into a very bad choice -especially with builders.

If you don't like the agent, can't get a solution from their broker then dismiss the agent and hire a new one. The builder may have an obligation to pay the one that's already been working with you so you may want to interject an attorney into the deal if you have to. It will depend on how real estate law in your state defines how they get paid and whether you signed a contract that obligates the builder to compensate that agent.

A strong argument for interviewing an agent BEFORE you get started and things go badly.