Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How would you all recommend I go about finding a solid realtor? would reading online reviews be a good start? We don't know many people in the area so it's hard to come by referrals and I would gladly love to get recommendations from city-data or other forums but want to make sure it's a legitimate recommendation vs. someone's friend etc.
Get recommendations from people on here or other forums and then do some online research to the level where you feel you would be comfortable/not comfortable (online reviews can be one source - Zillow has a bunch). Once you have somewhat of a list, do some interviews and find out who you personally would be fine working with.
Congrats on making the step towards your first home purchase. That's a big step. The sixth or seventh purchase will get easier, I promise :-)
My answer to your question on where to start to is to find a great Realtor, not an average one, or even worse a part-time one. The barriers to entry in the Realtor world seem pretty low, so in my opinion, you end up with a very large range of skillsets. Get a great one, if you think you found a dud, find another one.
MikeJ has a great post that you should be able to find with a search that give's his advice on what to ask for when you meet with potential realtors.
...
<blush>
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
Questions:
1. Is real estate your full-time, day job?
You cannot afford to work with a part time buyers' agent in this market. It goes too fast right now.
2. Do you have time for another client? How many buyers are you currently working with? How many in my price range? If the same property seems like a fit for two of us, how do you handle that?
3. How do you communicate? How often do you "check" email? Do you take emails on your phone? Do you do goofy texting on important topics without context or reference?
4. Do you or your firm charge a paperwork fee, brokerage fee, document fee, administrative fee, transaction fee, or any other junk fee? If the answer is "Yes," you need to really justify that the agent is really all that good, or demand that junk fees be waived.
5. Do you make more money, or have other incentive, to favor showing me your firm's listings? Will you show me listings from all firms?
6. Do you require dual agency acceptance? If yes, that is a red flag.
7. Do you handle the client through closing, or will I be handed off to a team member for looking and buying? If you will be handed off, meet the team member before engaging the agent.
8. Will you let me "Test Drive" you prior to signing a buyers' agency agreement? That is a benefit for you and the agent, IMO. You get to see how the agent presents property. The agent gets to see how you view properties.
Any agent you are considering engaging should have an hour or two to sit with you, go over some typical documents and explain them to you, and discuss their services and your needs.
You should be able to have SAMPLE documents to take with you and/or emailed to you.
If an agent ever tells you that "Buyers' Agency is FREE, and doesn't cost you a penny," grab your purse and head for the car. Ain't nuthin' FREE.
If it feels like a good fit with a particular agent, don't hesitate to sign a buyers' agency agreement. It puts you one step closer to buying, and is a totally separate meeting and function from writing a contract on a home.
You can make an agency agreement for as short as they may agree to and for as long as a year.
Never sign an agency agreement of any duration with any agent without an escape clause. "Either party may terminate this transaction for any reason prior to location of a suitable property" fits nicely in Section 13 of the NCAR Standard Form Buyers' Agency Agreement. Let that agent continue to earn your business through regular service daily or weekly, as needed.
Forget all the blather about sales price to list price, etc.
Totally meaningless. Totally.
1. How long have you been licensed and working full-time?
Are you full-time, or do you have a primary day job?
If there is any urgency in the local market, a full-time agent is the only logical choice.
2. How many sales have you closed, representing buyers? Representing sellers?
Anything over 20 in the last couple of years indicates reasonable current experience.
20 closings in 20 years of licensing? Walk away.....
3. What were the appraised values vs. contract price for your buyers over the last 6 months or year?
MUCH more interesting than list price vs. sales price. This dynamic compares agent performance to disinterested and professional third party opinions.
4. Will you show me all properties that appear to fit my criteria?
I.e., listings from other firms besides yours, FSBOs, short sales and foreclosures?
5. Do I have to allow dual agency, designated agency, or any other form of compromise on my representation and advocacy to work with you or your firm?
"No," is a good answer.
6. Will you disclose immediately, before writing an offer, any and all additional inducements you are offered if I buy a property?
I.e., any of these result in some agents losing sight of client service:
Any of your company spiffs for selling one of your firm's listings?
Sales contest points?
Increased commission for multiple sales with one builder?
Commission bonuses?
Commission above a number that we agree to in a buyers agency agreement?
Points towards a cruise or other prizes from a builder?
Entry in prize drawings for showing or selling?
7. Can you afford to be in business?
Have you ever taken a loan advance on a commission? Pressure to pay that off is an inducement to close the sale, and could compromise the client.
Are all your dues current?
All office expenses current?
And, NO client, buyer or seller should ever hear about the agent's cost of doing business. If an agent tells you this is an expensive business to be in, find someone with a grip on expenses, and a bit more worldly insight into business.
My 10 cents. If you have younger kids or planning to have kids.
1. Don't buy the smallest home. Your needs will increase within 5 years. And yes 5 years do go faster than you think.
2. I realized having lot of space upstairs didn't seem the best thing. Unless you know that you'll live upstairs a lot. Also Relatively smaller but more bedrooms is better than larger but fewer rooms. (esp with Kids)
3. Open layout on the first floor, not a big fan of it with younger kids. They'll scatter stuff around. More separation, a loft area is better.
My husband and 9 month old recently moved to the Triangle. We're total newbies to buying a home (we've always rented). We're still getting to know the different areas to see what suits our budget and lifestyle. We're looking for single family homes with 4 bedrooms in the $450k range and we'd like to try to stay within a 20 minute (up to 30 minute) commute to research triangle park if possible.
We're interested in new construction primarily but would consider resales if the house and location suit us. Ideally we're looking to stay in this house for at least 5 years and then possibly look into moving to a bigger home. Considering this I'm not sure if school districts are of dire importance but would definitely be great in case we decide to stay longer. New construction appeals to us for a few reasons: obviously we get to decide some of the things we would like in the house, everything is new so we have some time before things start to break down and require fixing (hopefully) and based on our friends and family's feedback- we'd get to meet new people in our neighborhood who are likely young couples with children. We know that the quality of new construction homes aren't that great anymore and our budget is modest, but we'd like to see what our options are along with resales.
Considering this, how would you suggest we start? Find a realtor first or approach new construction builders on our own? As mentioned- we're total newbies so any advice will be helpful to home buying in general and specifics to the area.
I would add to the above: Don't be bamboozled by finishes. Tray ceilings and wainscoting are not the be-all and end-all of the universe. Finishes can be added later. Look for quality construction.
Where in the triangle are you working? What area do you want to live in? Those will be big factors in what you can afford and whether new construction is even available.
For construction I'd open your mind to more recent (<20 years, maybe?) builds as well. You'll find these in some very popular family neighborhoods in North Raleigh so doing so will widen your options. I know there are several options in Falls River / Bedford in that price range. Wakefield and Wake Forest (Heritage school district) are also full of young famlies and would probably suit your budget. Many of our friends live in Apex and love it too. Again, it all depends on where you work and what kind of commute you're willing to have. North Hills area is great and booming but you'd wind up with an older home, probably a ranch or split level, in your budget. For meeting neighbors finding one with a very active HOA and/or neighborhood pool is a great way to do so. I know we met a ton of neighbors at the pool and at HOA hosted events.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
