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Old 02-24-2012, 07:32 PM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,618,592 times
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Then I think you need to find another realtor--
not all realtors are good at their jobs--just like you don't always have a good relationship with your child's teacher or with your doctor...

BUT don't take up any more of the realtor's time by hesitating to pull the plug--cut your losses--
tell the realtor you are not happy with how she communicates--that you don't seem to react to problems in the same way...and you appreciate her time....

frankly any realtor that would tell me "all houses have some sign of termite damage" is someone I would write off as too lazy to care---
ALL houses DON'T have signs of termite damage and any house that would be showing that damage probably has lot of other issues with poor maintenance to contend with....back away...

PS==at one point when we were house shopping, a house came on the market and the market was "hot"--homes could go under contract by the first people to view it--
our realtor had people in from out of state that she was showing around so I called the LISTING agent for the house == told her we had a relator who was unavailable but I wanted to see the house--could she show it or arrange for one of her company agent's to show it--
she said YES--and she arranged a time--
I went there with friend and the agent never showed--AND never called
there were people in the house--we thought 1 might be the agent--
went to the front door and introduced ourselves--
the people there were wife/owner and her mom who were packing to move--

she had no problem with letting us come in and look even though the house was at 6s and 7s--
I told her that her realtor had stood me up--which frankly would have made me really angry if I had been a seller and had my realtor stand up a potential buyer...

I told MY realtor what happened--she knew the sellers' realtor since both were from competing agencies with lot of experience in same area--
said it was not the first time she had heard of her doing that--
she was not going to waste her time showing a house when she would not get the full 6%--
tacky, tacky...
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Old 02-24-2012, 08:23 PM
 
3,478 posts, read 6,531,934 times
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Oh, and we found the realtor from our Church's bulletin, which makes it a little more awkward. Granted, the Church is huge so we aren't likely to run into her, though.
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Old 02-24-2012, 08:24 PM
 
Location: Southlake. Don't judge me.
2,885 posts, read 4,630,477 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80 View Post
Also- don't take what your mortgage loan officer says you can afford and shop on that budget. Run the numbers yourself, add up what you already spend and save and then figure out how much you want to pay monthly. Back into the budget; don't push it down from the qualifying amount.
^^^That. Bears repeating.

Back in 2004 my comment to the mortgage broker when told what we qualified for: "what kind of crack is your underwriter smoking?" Even now, when lending standards have been tightened, I was still stunned to hear the first pass estimate of what we'd qualify for before selling our other house. Sure, we COULD afford two homes...if we saved nothing and developed a strong taste for Spam and beans.

So yeah, start with your income and likely expenses (and remember that as first time homebuyers there will be a bunch of "stuff" you'll need to get for the house) and develop a realistic (if not outright conservative) budget.

Or stock up on Spam now.
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Old 02-24-2012, 09:04 PM
 
393 posts, read 1,111,311 times
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I spent 2 years trying to buy a house, and I went through 4 or 5 realtors in that time. Part of the problem was that I kept getting realtors who were not familiar with this side of the Metroplex. Another problem was they all felt that I could not possibly get the home I wanted for the price I wanted to pay. Ultimately, I found the house I eventually bought, but I only barely got it after the original would-be buyers failed to come up with the cash they had said they would pay to close. My realtor was in close contact with the selling realtor, so when she let me know the house was available, I had her jump on it like a chicken on a june bug. I think my house was on the market only a few hours before I put in my bid.

Anyway, whatever awkwardness I felt about switching realtors was outweighed by my focus on trying to get the house I wanted. I tried to close on several houses before I finally got the one I did. That emotional roller-coaster sapped much of my concern for changing realtors.

As I recall, I switched realtors simply by trying to contact the selling realtor directly. Somehow, I always got put in contact with a realtor to guide me around.

Oh, and do be careful as to whether the realtor is representing you or the seller.
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Old 02-24-2012, 09:24 PM
 
39 posts, read 60,499 times
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Did any one ever notice that sometimes seller's agent and buyer's agent both seem to act like seller's agent and desperate to get the deal done, ironically buyer is the one paying everybody's fee. My cousin recently bought a house in Austin and felt betrayed by her agent for pushing homes that had obvious drawbacks.
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Old 02-24-2012, 09:58 PM
 
307 posts, read 529,066 times
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If I had it to do over I wouldn't use a realtor at all. At some point their interest and yours are not the same. I had to sell an old home first and the realtor wanted me to sell low and buy high, whatever was to his benefit. In the end it seems he was working for the builder and telling me obvious lies. The builder wanted me to go through them for financing. I asked my realtor what was I getting for going through them, he told me 3 percent in closing costs, something any home seller would give. I had to wrestle with the builder on my own, as at this point the realtor just wanted a sell.
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Old 02-24-2012, 10:08 PM
 
393 posts, read 1,111,311 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ablebodied View Post
If I had it to do over I wouldn't use a realtor at all. At some point their interest and yours are not the same. I had to sell an old home first and the realtor wanted me to sell low and buy high, whatever was to his benefit. In the end it seems he was working for the builder and telling me obvious lies. The builder wanted me to go through them for financing. I asked my realtor what was I getting for going through them, he told me 3 percent in closing costs, something any home seller would give. I had to wrestle with the builder on my own, as at this point the realtor just wanted a sell.
You needed a different realtor. You are paying his fee; he works for you.

I'm fortunate that I had a very good realtor. She took care of all the paperwork for me. All I had to do was show up.
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Old 02-24-2012, 10:26 PM
 
13,194 posts, read 28,176,343 times
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I think a good realtor is worth every penny and a bad one makes the seller/buyer feel as if they were hosed. No different than the difference between a good & bad plumber, a good & bad mechanic, a good & bad hotel experience, etc.

But homes are emotional and the biggest cash transfer most people ever make so *somehow* it's "ok" to hate ALL realtors & think you could do it better yourself than just admit there are great realtors out there......
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Old 02-25-2012, 12:07 AM
 
15,481 posts, read 10,409,335 times
Reputation: 15728
I think you need to find an agent that you are comfortable with. However, if you do make an offer on one of the first two houses, she should at least get a finder's fee. I would make that clear to the new agent. A little old termite damage is fairly common, she could have explained the inspection process to make you feel better.
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Old 02-25-2012, 08:35 AM
 
307 posts, read 529,066 times
Reputation: 520
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dfw789 View Post
Did any one ever notice that sometimes seller's agent and buyer's agent both seem to act like seller's agent and desperate to get the deal done, ironically buyer is the one paying everybody's fee. My cousin recently bought a house in Austin and felt betrayed by her agent for pushing homes that had obvious drawbacks.
You are right, the relationship is conflicted from the start.

Mine would have taken care of all the paperwork too and I would have just needed to show up, but I've found you are better off to stay on the offensive and on top of things or you won't get the best deal. This is my third home purchase. In this last one I found numbers that had been changed to my disadvantage(on the builder's end), and coming in behind my agent I got my house for $5000 less. If you just float through the process you will come out behind whether you know it or not. Agents like the type that just sit back let them handle everthing.

My brother-in-law did that and purchased a house that he was thousands of dollars upside down on the moment he bought it. He was directed to builder financing because the builder and agent knew the new house would never appraise for the sale amount. When his bank's appraisal came back low, the agent and builder(basically working together at this point) simply told him there was a problem with the numbers, but after going through the builder's own financing, magically the appraisal came back at the sale price.
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