Need your advice and help - new home issue - closing in 3 weeks

[usc619]

Do folks really believe that a home builder is going to give them a better deal than an experienced agent? It's funny to think there are folks who fall for that hook-line lol

[Mr. Krinkle]

Originally Posted by usc619

Do folks really believe that a home builder is going to give them a better deal than an experienced agent? It's funny to think there are folks who fall for that hook-line lol

Yes. In fact the builder might cut you a better deal because they don't have to pay realtor fees.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by Mr. Krinkle

Yes. In fact the builder might cut you a better deal because they don't have to pay realtor fees.

Myth they have money/perks set aside for realtors. I had several sales reps tell me this, some realtor are better than others at getting you the right deal.

[Mr. Krinkle]

Some realtors can get you a deal, but you can get a deal yourself if you do your research. Would a builder budge $15k (3%) on a $500k house? I don't know, but I'm betting they would consider it if you have that down payment ready. Also go to Homesnap and get comps.

You are right though, it won't cost money to get a realtor and they are used to dealing with builders.

[Chris V]

Originally Posted by DSL_PWR

Yes expertise is valued in lines of work.



I disagree. I am on numerous medical forums with physicians from all over and we are always asking for advice, discussing new signs/symptoms, and asking about different treatments for various conditions.

Considering the agents I've worked with in the past (they were very good at their job) I would not have counted of any of them to oversee a new build as I did myself.

I guess I just look at this differently. I did tons of research and I can say that significantly helped during my build. I wouldn't be able to just let someone else handle something like that. I've just always lived by the “If You Want Something Done Right, You’ve Got to Do It Yourself” motto..

I like your quote, Ok I m one of those guys. So fixing cars is my hobby. No dealers, no 5star ratings shop, no 30 years ase certify mechanic will ever touch my vehicles. I will never pay them for what I can do on my own. So if I had the time and the know how, I can save bundles.
But once or twice, I didn't have the time, so I had to find a shop. Did I like it? No.

Same with anything, you did tons of research for your build and it helped you. So you put in time and effort.
What if you didn't have the time to research? Perhaps getting a realtor maybe a good idea?

When a build or a purchase goes well and close. Every one is all happy. When it goes south. You wish you had an experienced realtor on your side.

[DSL_PWR]

To the OP, I'm glad you are getting this taken care of. I know it can be a hassle but stay the course and it will all work out.

My last two replies on this..

Originally Posted by usc619

Do folks really believe that a home builder is going to give them a better deal than an experienced agent? It's funny to think there are folks who fall for that hook-line lol

Actually yes. Had I used an agent it would have cost me about $22k in commission to an agent (if my memory serves me correct) and I got about 75% of that money back to use for upgrades in my home. Also I was able to negotiate the price of a brand new home when I was told it was impossible. I don't think an agent could have done anything for me that I couldn't or didn't do for myself when I built my home.

Originally Posted by Chris V

What if you didn't have the time to research? Perhaps getting a realtor maybe a good idea?

Then I would not have built the home.

[bghouston]

Originally Posted by usc619

I remember telling him this last year lol

Originally Posted by DSL_PWR

What is a realtor going to do that he couldn't do on his own? I just don't get it.

A home is most likely your largest investment and for people to say let someone else handle it just baffles me.

Originally Posted by Chris V

If he had a worthy experienced realtor that look after the interest of the buyer. He wouldn't be on the Internet asking for advice.

Builders ,the build supervisors and the crews that build these beautiful homes are wonderful people. But I promise you. If they can get away with it. They will.

Originally Posted by usc619

Myth they have money/perks set aside for realtors. I had several sales reps tell me this, some realtor are better than others at getting you the right deal.

Let me clarify, I did have a realtor to help us with our first apartment rental in the city, she literally forced us to take a decision on the same day after showing us only 3 properties saying there is nothing else available in the city and if I do not choose one, I will not be able to move in 3 weeks. This was too much for us to handle at that time with the added stress of the relocation and we signed up with one of the 3 properties. We would have appreciated her time to show us more apartments as we found out later that there were better apartments available and also at lower prices. She really showed her frustration when we asked if there were more properties we could view.

Having said that, we also started searching for our new home with a realtor. We looked at 3 new homes in Katy and then the realtor started becoming impatient. We started searching on our own and when we found 1, we called her, she came and signed and that's about it. A couple of months later we had to back out due to unavoidable circumstances. The realtor said as per the contract nothing much can be done. I drafted the email to the builder and they refunded all the money as well.

Therefore, I decided to go without a realtor for our second cycle of searching new homes. We liked the fact that we could see new home construction in all parts of the city without having to bother a realtor every time. Trust me, I can confidently say that we have looked at close to 20 builders and their house plans in different parts of the city (Spring, Kingwood, New Caney, Friendswood, Bridgeland, Cypress, Katy, Richmond, Sugarland etc.) My wife and I loved it as well as we used to go every weekend and explore at our own pace and finally we found the one that is as close to as we can get in terms of checking all our must have boxes. In fact the more we looked at different plans, the more we learned and became confident. It took us 3 months before we found the one.

At the time of signing the deal, I found out that there are these 2.5% cash back realtors who will not do anything but will share the commission and the builder was ok to permit us to apply these towards the incentives over and above the already negotiated amount.

I am not painting all realtors with the same brush here as I am sure there are excellent realtors out there. I have seen several helpful post from CherryJohns and I am sure we would have benefited with someone like her. City Data Houston threads and other forums have been invaluable for us to be honest, we are not experts but have definitely moved up a notch in new home buying now.

As for the issue of the leakage, my inspector confirmed this is being handled the right way and I trust him. I visited yesterday and the construction engineer was kind enough to walk me through the issue and the remedy being applied, the email I sent definitely helped in eliciting prompt action even though it may have sounded paranoid. No complaints apart from the unnecessary war of words with the sales guy and he is fine now as well.