As a Buyer, do you tell your Realtor your real budget? (Houston: real estate, condo)

[cheryjohns]

[quote=sunny57;16200326]

Originally Posted by tmc300

Stay away from the brokerages that want both sides of the transaction... ie... agent/lender.... or brokerages that push their companies coop lender or title company. (Can't see it represents their clients "best interest".)

Correct. We have a lender affiliated with our company. Have never used them because their rates and closing costs are not competitive. I have watched mortgage companies come and go with brokerages. It never works out because the mortgage company wrongly assumes they have a captive group (the agents in that brokerage) and they find out later that's not the case. As independent contractors, rather than employees, good agents refer companies that treat the clients better, not who has an office nearby. Anyone who uses a combo agent/lender is asking for trouble.

[sunny57]

[quote=cheryjohns;16200412]

Originally Posted by sunny57

Correct.

Anyone who uses a combo agent/lender is asking for trouble.

"...trouble... is putting it lightly...more like "nightmare" ...lol.
Sunny

[crone]

Let me tell you a story about dual agency. We were through the inspections, financing and were ready to close. The movers were in Dallas packing me when the Houston agent called to tell me the sellers refused to vacate by possession date. The mover said my stuff, most it already on the van, would have to go into storage. In shock, and pissed off, I told her i would have to find another house. She subsequently showed us another house, her brand new $75000 more listing, which we bought. I discovered 10 years later that the day she called me the sellers had already moved out of the house. I cannot imagine somebody screwing a client for the commission on 75 thousand dollars, but she did. Dual agency should be against the law. She changed the lives of two families forever for her part of 6% of 75000 dollars. That vacant house was on the market for another 6 months. There was nothing either the sellers or I could do. We had 4 years to file a complaint. It had been 10 when made the discovery through a neighbor. That agent is still working and screwing clients.

[crone]

I stopped short of the whole story so as not to tell the world how totally stupid I am. We used her lender and their appraiser and paid so much more than the house was worth, I could have bought another house for somebody else. That appraiser so messed with the square footage on this house and the comps, that he should be in jail.
We refinanced several years later. They used the same guy. Our house had less feet than the 1st time he did it. Honest mistake, ha. His little honest error cost us $80,000. And I thought that I was an informed buyer. How dumb can one person be.
At least now, I know a good agent when I see one.

[tmc300]

Originally Posted by cyfairre

If you are set on building or purchasing from a builder, you definitely should at least see what types of incentives they are offering for using their loan company. The rates builder's lenders offer are usually comparable to the lower rate deals on BankRate, etc., and mortgage rates can be negotiated.

When you say "incentives", can you tell me some examples? Do you mean price discount or free upgrades on the house?

[tmc300]

[quote=sunny57;16200326]

Originally Posted by tmc300

Right now, I'm searching for an experienced, honest, and competent Realtor. The next step is finding which mortgage company to apply for loan.

Applying for your loan should be your first step...may end up taking more time then you anticipated and sometimes surprising finds.

Finding a Realtor second....

Stay away from the brokerages that want both sides of the transaction... ie... agent/lender.... or brokerages that push their companies coop lender or title company. (Can't see it represents their clients "best interest".) Look for an agent that is local to the area you have interest in... they will provide a well rounded picture. Take sometime and create a pros & cons list of what is important to you... it will help refine your search & save you time. Be upfront with your agent about your likes vs needs. The art of buying or selling a home ... involves a lot more than the "sales" price.

Best of success...Sunny.

Can you explain what you mean by brokerages that want both sides of the transaction.... agent/lender...? I don't understand? Sorry, I'm first time home buyer.

I was thinking of asking my agent to refer mortgage companies to me since I'm not familiar with Houston. Is this another stupid idea like the one that I asked the builders to refer Realtors to me?

[tmc300]

Originally Posted by crone

Let me tell you a story about dual agency. We were through the inspections, financing and were ready to close. The movers were in Dallas packing me when the Houston agent called to tell me the sellers refused to vacate by possession date. The mover said my stuff, most it already on the van, would have to go into storage. In shock, and pissed off, I told her i would have to find another house. She subsequently showed us another house, her brand new $75000 more listing, which we bought. I discovered 10 years later that the day she called me the sellers had already moved out of the house. I cannot imagine somebody screwing a client for the commission on 75 thousand dollars, but she did. Dual agency should be against the law. She changed the lives of two families forever for her part of 6% of 75000 dollars. That vacant house was on the market for another 6 months. There was nothing either the sellers or I could do. We had 4 years to file a complaint. It had been 10 when made the discovery through a neighbor. That agent is still working and screwing clients.

Can you define "dual agency"? Do you mean that the Realtor represent both the Buyer and Seller? Thanks.

[houstonfan]

Wow, that's crazy Crone!! Could you PM me with the agent's name?
But good lesson learned. Always get independent lender, and inspector, appraiser, etc. Many agents are honest, but many are not. Think about it, at your workplace, many people are really genuinely nice, but how many have impeccable ethics, esp when they know they won't get caught. Even simple things like stealing office supplies, playing hookie, etc. Same with realtors. Realtors don't get paid until they close...that may be 1mth or 1yr on a house. So, the natural temptation is to do what it takes to 'close the deal'. Ie, refer and inspector who is not too picky, refer a lender who is quick and not pick and maybe give perks for referrals, refer a title company that is quick, etc. The tendency is to tell their client that the offer on the table is extremely good.
Again, not to say good ones aren't out there, I'm just advocating that you should try to be knowledgeable throughout the process. Shop for lenders, ask for independent referrals of inspectors, etc. One thing I don't like about the whole process is that a lot of information is passed from buyer to their agent to seller agent and finally to seller. This is cumbersome and information is filtered along the way. SOmetimes that's a good thing, other times it's bad b/c you don't know how the other end is really feeling. If there was more direct communication Crone, you would have known the other family has moved out. I always also think it's weird how you don't meet the other party until closing.

[tmc300]

[quote=cheryjohns;16200412]

Originally Posted by sunny57

Correct. We have a lender affiliated with our company. Have never used them because their rates and closing costs are not competitive. I have watched mortgage companies come and go with brokerages. It never works out because the mortgage company wrongly assumes they have a captive group (the agents in that brokerage) and they find out later that's not the case. As independent contractors, rather than employees, good agents refer companies that treat the clients better, not who has an office nearby. Anyone who uses a combo agent/lender is asking for trouble.

Is mortgage company and brokerage two different things? I don't understand what is "combo agent/lender"? Sorry, I'm a beginner to buying a house.

What you wrote above sounds very important and what not to do. But actually, I don't understand exactly what it is that I'm not suppose to do? Thanks.

[houstonfan]

[quote=tmc300;16202240]

Originally Posted by sunny57

Can you explain what you mean by brokerages that want both sides of the transaction.... agent/lender...? I don't understand? Sorry, I'm first time home buyer.

I was thinking of asking my agent to refer mortgage companies to me since I'm not familiar with Houston. Is this another stupid idea like the one that I asked the builders to refer Realtors to me?

Definitely take the agent's referral, most would not be stupid enough to refer to someone who isn't easy to work with and somewhat competetive, but I'd consider shopping for 2-3 other quotes too based on what zillow.com rates are(not necessarily go with the agents on zillow, but that gives you an idea of how close the referred lender is to what is out there. If it's really close, I'd go with referred person since it'll be a smooth transition, but if it's significantly off, I'd shop amongst other "referrals" from friends or CD). If you know your credit history, htey don't have to pull your credit score for a Good Faith Estimate. Once you decide onthe best loan, then they can pull your credit score, etc and lock you in. BTW, becareful comparing loans!! Those guys use so many tricks to make you look like you're getting low rate but becareful of costs!! I hope your realtor or knowledgeable buddy can help you with it. Things like Origination fees, points, Escrow waiver, underwriting costs can make one loan thousands more expensive than another even if rate is slightly cheaper. Too much to explain here, hope your realtor will help.

Don't sweat the small stuff either, otherwise this whole process will drive you crazy. Shop around, but don't worry about a couple of bucks. Having a helpful person who you can trust is worth it. Local lenders is better than online lenders or people far away.