What shoud i do? (house, neighborhood, buyer)

[Ms.Charlotte]

Originally Posted by CaptainNJ

ultimately, im looking for the lowest price. if a deal with me is much more valuable than with someone else because they have an agent, would that change the seller's agent's role to kind of be working for me (as far as recommending them to take the offer i make).

so does it matter what realtor i use? any one in the area fine?

The seller's agent has a contract to represent the seller. His obligation is to the seller first. He's not supposed to recommend any particular offer, just present all of them to his client. Because you are interested in any of the four properties, it would be wise to get a buyer's agent (imo). I have a great agent if you are interested. I was an agent myself and am very particular about the person who does my negotiating for me.

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by Ms.Charlotte

The seller's agent has a contract to represent the seller. His obligation is to the seller first. He's not supposed to recommend any particular offer, just present all of them to his client. Because you are interested in any of the four properties, it would be wise to get a buyer's agent (imo). I have a great agent if you are interested. I was an agent myself and am very particular about the person who does my negotiating for me.

id appreciate the recommendation.

im not sure what i gain from having a realtor on my behalf but i also dont see it as costing me anything. just another person who will annoy me with calls and emails. no biggie.

[Ms.Charlotte]

Originally Posted by CaptainNJ

id appreciate the recommendation.

im not sure what i gain from having a realtor on my behalf but i also dont see it as costing me anything. just another person who will annoy me with calls and emails. no biggie.

LOL, she won't annoy you much. I sent you a dm.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by CaptainNJ

id appreciate the recommendation.

im not sure what i gain from having a realtor on my behalf but i also dont see it as costing me anything. just another person who will annoy me with calls and emails. no biggie.

What area are you buying the house in?
You need a local agent.

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by Roselvr

What area are you buying the house in?
You need a local agent.

holmdel, nj.

what should i expect this agent to do for me?

[gagaliya]

slow day, here's an example that demonstrate a good agent vs an average agent

An average agent:

Buyer -> agent: I offer 350k
agent -> seller: buyer is offering 350k
seller -> agent: no i want 360k
agent-> buyer: no seller wants 360k
buyer-> agent: no i am staying at 350k
agent->seller: no it wont work

A good agent:
Buyer -> agent: I offer 350k
agent -> seller: buyer is offering 350k, he's very serious rdy to close blabla..(establish buyer credential instead of some anon offer)
seller -> agent: no i want 360k
agent-> seller: i dont think that's going to work but i will try my best (set seller expectation)
agent-> buyer: seller wants 360k
buyer-> agent: no i am staying at 350k
agent->seller: how about this i will take $2000 less commission, you meet half way lower your asking by $4000, and throw in the furniture etc..
agent->buyer: 354k + furniture
DEAL!

i mean this is just an example there are many ways to skin a cat, sounds simple right? but unfortunately i can count on single hand the number of agents who are actually CLOSERS and i have dealt with many agents. Most are nothing but serving as a telephone between the buyer and seller, fetching #s back and forth. Many times i wish i could just spoke to the seller directly (not to cut out the agent's commission) but i know i can do a so much better job of making the deal with seller than the agent.

If you find a good agent, stick with him/her. Otherwise just go with whatever is the listing agent for the property so they get the full commission. Buyer vs seller agent has little meaning. In NJ, your attorney will be the one that look out for you, not the agent.

[NatasNJ]

Simple solution. Contact all listing agents and inform them of your plan. Make a LOW equal offer on all 4 houses. Then whoever counters use that number as the top for each seller. Counter again and again on all these houses until the person with the lowest number seems to have shown its head.

So say prices range from $280-$310k. Offer $250k on all 4.
House #1 counters at $290, #2 counters $300, #3 doesn't counter, house #4 counters 289k.
Then make NEW offers on all 4 houses at $270k. Repeat till you get the number you want or until you have final counters in hand.

[Ms.Charlotte]

Originally Posted by NatasNJ

Simple solution. Contact all listing agents and inform them of your plan. Make a LOW equal offer on all 4 houses. Then whoever counters use that number as the top for each seller. Counter again and again on all these houses until the person with the lowest number seems to have shown its head.

So say prices range from $280-$310k. Offer $250k on all 4.
House #1 counters at $290, #2 counters $300, #3 doesn't counter, house #4 counters 289k.
Then make NEW offers on all 4 houses at $270k. Repeat till you get the number you want or until you have final counters in hand.

Good plan, good plan. Except in the case of the realtor that has two of the listings. I doubt she'll play each one off of the other.

[CaptainNJ]

holy crap!! i just realized i spelled it "shoud" in the original thread title!

this realtor is hungry for sales. they are coming very slow these days. its tough to compare with other sales because there have been so few within the community. they are asking 650k, i definitely want to get it for under 600k.

[CaptainNJ]

a realtor's response to why i might need him:

"[SIZE=2]My first question is why[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]you would[/SIZE][SIZE=2] NOT want to use a Realtor to purchase a home. The commission is paid by the seller, and you would have no one in your corner through the negotiations. Attorneys may charge you more because they have to prepare all the documents that Realtors would typically process. How do you know what the current market value is in that particular[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]neighborhood? A little information could help you save money on the purchase negotiations and[/SIZE][SIZE=2],[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]many Realtors are skilled in helping buyers and sellers get through the very difficult inspection process. When the appraiser stops in to appraise your future home, who is going to help with the comparable sales[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]information[/SIZE][SIZE=2][/SIZE] [SIZE=2]if a realtor is not involved? Most appraisers are from out of their familiar area.[/SIZE][SIZE=2] Realtors will facilitate the inspection, utility changeovers,[/SIZE][SIZE=2] final walk - throughs etc.[/SIZE] [SIZE=2] I also offer a free HJ with any completed transaction. These are just a few reasons why you would want to consider using a realtor."[/SIZE]