How to find houses in such a competitive market

[Kokokola]

We are thinking that since seller is the one who pays for commission of both realtors and we have no edge in seller's market, why not announce an extra incentive for realtors to bring new listings to us before other buyers. Is it legal and how much is enough to get ahead in buying queue?

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by Kokokola

We are thinking that since seller is the one who pays for commission of both realtors and we have no edge in seller's market, why not announce an extra incentive for realtors to bring new listings to us before other buyers. Is it legal and how much is enough to get ahead in buying queue?

Won't work. Why would I give you 1st shot at a listing ?

It's in my clients best interest to put the house in the MLS and possibly get 2-4 offers.
Your money means nothing to me when I work for the seller.

How are you going to "Announce" to over 12,000 RE Agents ?

[art_teacher_mom]

Are you looking JUST at new listings? Everyone jumps on the new listings. Make sure your agent is also looking out for houses that are "Back on Market" - we got one a few years ago like that. The financing had fallen through for the first buyers. Also look for price-drops. Maybe you overlooked a certain house at first because it was out of your price range, and they've since dropped the price, but their "days on market" is longer because they sat there overpriced.

Also, amazingly some people are actually still taking contingencies in this market (I've seen on the search sites I use). See if you can put a backup offer on one of those. It will force the contingency buyer to pony up or lose out to you in usually 3 days or so (if their contract is written as such.)

These are just my personal ideas - Realtors out there, correct me if I'm wrong!

[HockDad]

Just my two cents, but you need the most connected realtor. When I bought my house the seller got 5 offers during the same weekend. We had a real estate agent that everyone in Dallas knows and respects. Our offer was basically the same as the other potential purchasers, but our offer was chosen based on the seller's agent's relationship with our agent. The real estate world is actually a very small world and the top agents do favors for each other all of the time.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by HockDad

Just my two cents, but you need the most connected realtor. When I bought my house the seller got 5 offers during the same weekend. We had a real estate agent that everyone in Dallas knows and respects. Our offer was basically the same as the other potential purchasers, but our offer was chosen based on the seller's agent's relationship with our agent. The real estate world is actually a very small world and the top agents do favors for each other all of the time.

Good point. We do know who is good to work with and who is bad to work with.

I've gotten my Buyer clients home when there were equal offers just because the agents know I'll get the deal done, will not get crazy on repairs and the lender I work with can get the loan done on time.
There are Buyers agents who bring offers that are pushed way to the back for consideration.

[Jcross08]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

The good news is that you are exactly the buyer who is best positioned for that price point in those zips -> cash sale, quick close, no contingencies. The bad news is that there are a ton of buyers out there just like you. Hopefully your realtor does a lot of business in East Dallas and has a large network. I do know on one of the big hip pocket pages, there are multiple East Dallas listings under $350k that are posted each week.

Have you considered casting a slightly wider net, area-wise? 75223 is also good for your budget. Are you looking in 75214 in the parts that are north of the dart rail? 75218 is another good option for your budget.

I know it's frustrating but be persistent. It took us 9 months to find a house last year and we ended up in a different neighborhood than we started looking.

Thanks for the great advice. We have looked at north 75214 and 75223, but just haven't found anything that fit what we want. I will start looking at 75218 though.

I've seen a few hip pocket listing pages online but none of them seemed to have houses in the area we are looking at. Do u perhaps know the name of the site with the East Dallas listings?

My realtor has found the hip pockets so far just through her office.

[CheerBeer]

We were interested in upgrading to a specific neighborhood in our own town so I reached out to an acquaintance who lived there and asked him to post our contact info on their HOA website. Two families approached us who were planning to sell within a year.

We had to wait few months but negotiated a good price as there was no realtor involved so seller was saving 6% and was agreed to split those savings. We did involve an appraiser, an inspector and an attorney but whole expense was less than $900 vs 6% of contract price roughly $42,000.

[Brookside]

Originally Posted by CheerBeer

We were interested in upgrading to a specific neighborhood in our own town so I reached out to an acquaintance who lived there and asked him to post our contact info on their HOA website. Two families approached us who were planning to sell within a year.

We had to wait few months but negotiated a good price as there was no realtor involved so seller was saving 6% and was agreed to split those savings. We did involve an appraiser, an inspector and an attorney but whole expense was less than $900 vs 6% of contract price roughly $42,000.

Really smart idea.

[clickbear]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Good point. We do know who is good to work with and who is bad to work with.

I've gotten my Buyer clients home when there were equal offers just because the agents know I'll get the deal done, will not get crazy on repairs and the lender I work with can get the loan done on time.
There are Buyers agents who bring offers that are pushed way to the back for consideration.

What are the pros/cons of using a buyers agent? Does the way the market is shaped up have an impact on a buyers agent roles?