Discount Buyer's agents (Houston: brokers, attorneys, house)

[ipuck]

Originally Posted by berkeleyan

I totally agree with you wheretogo. Such a confusing and archaic system. Let the buyers pay for his/her realtor. It does not make sense to give all the power to seller's agent. Also, the sell price is not reported to HCAD so nobody knows how much a house is sold for. This confusing and non transparent system is greatly benefiting the realtors. If we did not have such a confusing system, technology would already take over and make the system very fast and efficient. Look at the huge drop in commissions for buying and selling stocks over the years because of technology. We need similar transformation in real estate transactions.

The agent that I work with at Redfin said their business is way up this year that they open an office in Houston. I guess it is heading that way a bit with all the technology available.

[Lbjen]

I believe that it is to ensure the buyer is fully protected, rather than perhaps skimping on the cost and taking on something they weren't adequately informed enough about. Not that it isn't stopping people from making mistakes, either by ignoring their agent or hiring one that is useless, but the whole agent licensing process is supposed to be about making sure buyers and sellers are being protected.

[rb29335i]

Why not just buy a house you can actually afford?

[mcfroggin]

Why use a buyer's agent at all? In Texas, it is legal to use an attorney instead. I have a contract attorney I use regularly. I have him review my home purchase contracts. He instructs the seller's agent to remove the 3% buyer's agent fee and credit it toward a 3% lower sale's price. I pay him an hourly rate to do this.

[Failed Engineer]

Originally Posted by mcfroggin

Why use a buyer's agent at all? In Texas, it is legal to use an attorney instead. I have a contract attorney I use regularly. I have him review my home purchase contracts. He instructs the seller's agent to remove the 3% buyer's agent fee and credit it toward a 3% lower sale's price. I pay him an hourly rate to do this.

This is a good idea, but how do you tour the houses?

[mcfroggin]

Originally Posted by Failed Engineer

This is a good idea, but how do you tour the houses?

I call the listing agent, and say I haven't found a good realtor yet.

[Sugarlandbubba]

Originally Posted by mcfroggin

I call the listing agent, and say I haven't found a good realtor yet.

Unless you are serious about the property, don't even call because you will get many phone calls from the listing agent asking to be your agent and that (s)he found a perfect house for you. 🤑

[mcfroggin]

Originally Posted by Sugarlandbubba

Unless you are serious about the property, don't even call because you will get many phone calls from the listing agent asking to be your agent and that (s)he found a perfect house for you. 🤑

That is what burner Google Voice numbers are for.

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Originally Posted by mcfroggin

I call the listing agent, and say I haven't found a good realtor yet.

Exactly, make them actually work for their money. They'll show you the house if they want to sell it and use a number she can't blow up after you're gone.

[JohnStein]

cant agreed more. But housing is illiquid, so the agent is "supposed" to do some homework for their commission, similar to a good financial advisor. However, I did find myself way more prepared to look at the houses and comps than my agent.

If we can move to a more transparent, advanced tech platform. All these agents will be unemployed.

Oh HCAD knows how much you pay, just wait until next year's tax bill. Unless you bought without using MLS.

Originally Posted by berkeleyan

I totally agree with you wheretogo. Such a confusing and archaic system. Let the buyers pay for his/her realtor. It does not make sense to give all the power to seller's agent. Also, the sell price is not reported to HCAD so nobody knows how much a house is sold for. This confusing and non transparent system is greatly benefiting the realtors. If we did not have such a confusing system, technology would already take over and make the system very fast and efficient. Look at the huge drop in commissions for buying and selling stocks over the years because of technology. We need similar transformation in real estate transactions.