Kind of know what we want, but do we really need a realtor? (Austin: estate, real estate)

[cls88]

Originally Posted by 1mintjulep

he basically just set us up on an e-mail notification and would go and unlock the places we wanted to look at.

That's exactly how much our agent provided and I heard many agents work that way.

Originally Posted by iceshots

Once she had a good idea of what we really wanted, (not what we thought we wanted), she would pre-screen the houses for our next work trip to Austin at which time we would check out the houses.

She was always honest about her opinions of the houses and pointed out what we may or may not like about them.

I'd love an agent like that. Do you mind sharing her contact info?

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by cls88

That's exactly how much our agent provided and I heard many agents work that way.



I'd love an agent like that. Do you mind sharing her contact info?

Will do. She changed brokers, so I'm trying to track her down. Should hear back tomorrow.

[ATXIronHorse]

Most agents do nothing more than opening the door and letting you walk around the property. The agents almost never know anything more about the property than what you can find on the MLS report which you can read yourself for free. When you're negotiating a deal they will almost never really recommend the best price as they make a percentage on the sale price anyways. Real estate agents just want to close the deal as quickly as possible. If you throw out a number you'd like to offer they almost never tell you its too high. Remember, both buying and selling agents just want the deal closed as quickly as possible and move on. Plus the seller agent has a conflict of interest with you because the higher the sale price, the more they make. Therefore, whether you have an agent or not, doing your own market research is critical. Finally, at offer time all the agent does is plug your information and the offer you decided on into a bunch of ready-made forms supplied by the state realtor's association. Worth 3% of a very big purchase? No.

I'd recommend just let the seller's agent open the door for you and let you walk around. Don't bother with your own agent. If you decide to make an offer let the seller's agent act as sole agent but demand that the seller's agent give you a 3% rebate on her or his commission. If the seller's agent is conducting the deal exclusively, that one agent makes the whole 6% that 2 agents (buyer and seller agents) would otherwise share. Just tell the seller's agent to act as the sole agent but you want the 3% rebate or no deal. The seller's agent just wants to close the deal and will be happy to handle the paperwork exclusively, even if acting exclusively means more paperwork for them for the same commission.

But who cares if they'll have to work a bit harder, since none of them are really acting in your best interests. Just do your own research, look at comparative sales on the area on your own, talk to friends who have bought or sold real estate, and save a few thousand bucks. You can put it to better use with new furniture, a new carpet, or something else.

[sweetrai]

Originally Posted by ATXIronHorse

Most agents do nothing more than opening the door and letting you walk around the property. The agents almost never know anything more about the property than what you can find on the MLS report which you can read yourself for free. When you're negotiating a deal they will almost never really recommend the best price as they make a percentage on the sale price anyways. Real estate agents just want to close the deal as quickly as possible. If you throw out a number you'd like to offer they almost never tell you its too high. .

As first time home buyer, I am beginning to believe this statement. My agent is good at pointing out the positive features of the house, not so much the negative unless I really try to pull the information from her. But perhaps this is good because in case it is a feature that you like and the RE agent doesn't?? (sorry, I'm rambling here)

When I started this process, I thought the RE agent would tell you what price to offer and the likelihood of it getting accepted. Sort of like, if you offer X dollars they believe it would have a 10% chance, if you offer Y dollars it would have 60% chance, etc. I am finding this is not the case (at least not with the agent I have). I am finding that as I start to zero in on my ideal location, I can tell if a house is overpriced or underpriced..

However, I think it is valuable to have an RE agent in order to get information about the actual selling price of comparable properties. If there was anyway to do this without an agent, then I think you would be fine on your own.

Originally Posted by ATXIronHorse

I'd recommend just let the seller's agent open the door for you and let you walk around. Don't bother with your own agent. If you decide to make an offer let the seller's agent act as sole agent but demand that the seller's agent give you a 3% rebate on her or his commission. If the seller's agent is conducting the deal exclusively, that one agent makes the whole 6% that 2 agents (buyer and seller agents) would otherwise share. Just tell the seller's agent to act as the sole agent but you want the 3% rebate or no deal. The seller's agent just wants to close the deal and will be happy to handle the paperwork exclusively, even if acting exclusively means more paperwork for them for the same commission.

Just curious from the agents on the board, how many of you would actually agree to this? Is this common?

[ATXIronHorse]

Originally Posted by sweetrai

However, I think it is valuable to have an RE agent in order to get information about the actual selling price of comparable properties.

You can use the seller's agent to get a printout of sales of comparable properties. Will take the agent 2 minutes.

[sweetrai]

Originally Posted by ATXIronHorse

You can use the seller's agent to get a printout of sales of comparable properties. Will take the agent 2 minutes.

But wouldn't it be in their best interest to give you comps that are in the best interest of their client? Also, would the seller agent give the comps prior to the buyer putting in an offer?

[CATXTransplant]

Yes, it would be in the best interest of that agent to provide comps that are in line with the asking price. The seller's agent works for the seller. It's absolutely ludicrous to think that Realtors even consider their commissions when negotiating an offer price. The difference on $10,000 in purchase price on our commission is negligible. It's $300 BEFORE our broker split, taxes,etc... Do you really think we're going jeopardize our license, reputation, and relationship with a client over $150?!?! Even if it was $100,000, that's only $1,500.

ATXIronHorse - sounds you have had a horrible experience with a Realtor. I'd love to have coffee with you! :0)

[TexasHorseLady]

Yes, many of the ideas expressed here regarding agents seem to grow out of either ignorance about the way the industry works or sour grapes or a bad experience from which someone judges ALL agents or someone who simply objects to the idea that someone actually gets paid for providing a service,rather than reality.

I DO set up automated searches for my clients, after going over what they're interested in with them. Then, I bug them for feedback and we tweak the search until it's precise. Then, when a house comes on the market that fits their requirements and they're particularly interested in it, we're BOTH notified and the first one of us who sees it can get in touch with the other one. Frequently, too, my clients will let me know about a house that they might be interested in that I know either doesn't have something they've got on the must-have list or does have something they've termed a deal-breaker, and I'll let them know that (that's part of my job, to screen these things for them), but if they want to see it anyway (and sometimes they do, even once they have the facts), we'll do so.

I do open the door and let the buyer explore the property. I won't say, "See, this is the kitchen!" - I figure that the folks I work with are quick enough to figure that one out themselves. I will point out a problem that I notice in case they missed it, and I will point out some feature that I know from working with them is right down their alley, but I don't take them by the hand as they go through the house.

We, as agents, do not tell the buyer what to offer. We can't. We can, however, provide the information that they need to make that decision for themselves, and give them our reading on the motivation of the seller (if we can get it - that will depend on how good the listing agent is) and the market in general and give them the comps that they need in order to make the best possible decision. So if you're expecting an agent to tell you to offer "X", you're most likely not going to get it from a good agent who's behaving in accordance with the laws and regulations that restrict us (and, yes, there's a lot of them, that are in place to protect the consumer - we don't get to make decisions about how you spend your money, for example).

For those advocating using the listing agent - the listing agent is legally bound to represent the seller's interests - they legally have a fiduciary responsibility to the seller, NOT to you. No matter how nice they are, they CANNOT represent your best interests over the seller's. If you want your interests represented beyond what you can do yourself, you need someone on your side. It's really just that simple - the seller has a professional representing their interests. Do you want a professional representing your interests, or not? Your call. Some people, though, just can't abide the idea that anyone might want to use a real estate professional for any reason - real estate professionals are their politically correct prejudice target.

[ATXIronHorse]

Originally Posted by CATXTransplant

ATXIronHorse - sounds you have had a horrible experience with a Realtor. I'd love to have coffee with you! :0)

No, I've had good experiences. But I quickly fired them when realizing that the Realtors were not performing better than I or anyone with average intelligence and minimal business savvy could by themselves.

I don't believe their services are worth more than $100-$300 per sale plus travel expenses. Showing up at a property, answering some questions, printing out some comps, and populating ready-made forms ain't worth 3% or 6% of a sale in my view.

[ATXIronHorse]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

No matter how nice they are, they CANNOT represent your best interests over the seller's.

So how is a buyer agent acting in your best interest when the buying agent, like the selling agent, also makes 3% on the sale price? Like the selling agent, the buying agent makes more when the sale price is higher.

An agent out of Bastrop cited case after case with me of agents simply letter their clients overpay to just get the deal closed or for the few extra hundred bucks in commission, or both.