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I live in Portland, Oregon, where it's a seller's market and homes go in a matter of days. I just started my search and the realtor I chose was recommended by a local home buyer education program I completed. I'll just call her Sally.
It was my understanding that Sally had helped lots of first-time home buyers and had a lot of success. I figured my situation might be a bit of a challenge because my price-range just barely gets me into my target areas plus my loan is FHA. I am hearing you have to be really on the ball in this market and act quickly when a house comes up in your target area. I was envisioning that my realtor would be watching this, let me know when it happens, and we act quickly.
So, I officially embarked on this house search a few weeks ago after being pre-approved. So, here's how it's gone so far. I'd like to know if I'm being unfair and expecting too much:
First off, I found out she lives 10 miles outside of Portland (15 miles from my target neighborhood), out in the country, and knowing how bad traffic is around here, I thought that could be a challenge but I figured that was her situation to figure out. But I work from my home and I'm available all day during the weekdays, so I figured that could be a huge plus for her, since she could meet me outside of rush hour times but so far, we haven't met up all that much.
I originally told her that I had two main target areas BUT since I was not familiar with other neighborhoods in my price range, I would love to see some homes in areas that SHE felt might be a good possibility for me. I was keeping an open mind and wanted her expertise and knowledge to help me with this. So, I asked her if we could see some of these homes. This was on a Monday. I finally got a list from her on Thursday evening and there were five homes...and one was a condo, which I had already told her no condos...and they were all in totally different areas of town. She wanted us to view them on Friday. She never offered to speak with me about the areas these homes were in or give any additional info. She said I needed to do my research first and we'd go from there. But isn't that part of a realtor's job to advise me about possible areas instead of just throwing random houses out to me from all over the map and say I have just a few hours to look into them first? I'm happy to do research once she helps me narrow it down.
I ended up looking at one, which I really liked to my surprise, but since I knew nothing about the area or schools, etc, I told her I needed to look into that before considering putting in an offer. She then told me it would probably be gone because it was a steal but I could try to do that in time. But given it was Friday afternoon, that might be tricky. I felt totally overwhelmed and unprepared. I guess if I had gotten the list a few days earlier, perhaps I could have taken the time. One listing appeared to have been there for over a week..so why didn't she show me that one before Thursday?
Later that day, I texted her and asked her if there were any open houses or anything this weekend we could view. I heard nothing back. I was chomping at the bit to look around, create an alternative plan outside of my target area. I was ready to go! And she seemed to be on a much more leisurely schedule. I actually saw two open houses listed on Trulia in my target area too. Not sure if that was accurate but I know more than six houses were available over the weekend throughout Portland to consider.
Out of pure frustration, I contacted another realtor and told her my situation (I didn't rant but just told her I was considering another realtor). She sends me a list and there were dozens of possibilities near my target area that really got me excited! What's going on?
I don't expect a realtor to be available every moment of the day but at this rate, I feel like I'll never get anywhere. I really need someone to kind of help me get started and narrow down my search parameters and be on the ball with listings. I want someone to want to be "ready to move" like I am! I want someone who is willing to meet with me on a Sat or Sun if I find what I think is "the one"! Or at least get back to me and tell me my options if they cannot meet me. Can I do it on my own and then let her know if I want to put in an offer? In other words, throw me a bone!
Also, I am fine with doing research but I need someone to at least point to where I SHOULD do my research based on my price range, etc, so I'm not spinning my wheels.
Thoughts? Am I expecting too much? What should I be getting from my realtor? I'm a go-getter and maybe not all realtors are.
I think it's both you are expecting too much and the realtor may not be right for you
A realtor can't steer you into an area or dissuade you from looking in an are or tell you where the "good" areas or schools are. That's for you to figure out.
Being upset that they live 15 miles outside of the city seems unreasonable.
They can't drop what they are doing and be on call. A lot of times they need to coordinate the showing with the listing agent.
Being that you are bottom of price range in a hot market and FHA is hard for you and your realtor and for any you find.
Communication definitely needs to change. The only questions that I would ask you based on what you've provided...
1. Are you planning on closing 45-60 days from now, or does your lease run well into next year?
2. Are the number of homes you're seeing (you mentioned Realtor2 provided a list with extra homes) - will they sell within your price range?
In hot markets, it's not easy to be an FHA buyer. You fall under restrictions that cash and conventional buyers do not - your offer is automatically a higher risk to a seller. Also, depending on the heat of the market, homes may be selling for 5% above asking price .... so if you see houses at the top of your budget, you won't be the next owner most likely.
But this is part of the communication. You should have developed a good set of criteria and expectations - on what type of home you're going to get, as well as when you'd see houses, etc.
If I had to work less than 15 miles from a buyer's target area, I couldn't even work my entire school district, muchless the surrounding areas. That's unrealistic for you to expect your agent to live right where you want to buy.
How did you not know there were more houses available? Did you not ask for access to the MLS for a specific search for her to be sending you automatic listings each morning?
She might not be a right fit, but I don't think you've asked the right questions to get what you want.
You have to understand that it is against federal law for your real estate agent to recommend an area or to give you her opinion on what is a good area to live in. She can't tell you what sort of people live in the area, whether or not there are children, what churches are nearby, or anything that would even hint at the ethnicity of the area.
The federal government considers that to be steering and they levy large fines for violations. You will have to pick out a neighborhood by yourself and do your own due diligence.
It doesn't really matter where the agent lives. It's more important where her office is located, but even that isn't too important.
Now, the issue of not informing you about several properties that you have found, that's not good. However, you might find that there is something about each of those that doesn't meet your requirements. If you are unhappy, switch agents.
What I have done with my agents is to give them my price range and a lot of flexibility about some of the criteria. They give me all the listings in that price range and I do drive-byes. Most of the listings can be eliminated just by looking at the neighborhood or the outside of the house. Then, the ones that are left, my agent makes an appointment and we see the inside.
Just a suggestion: if you are barely able to purchase at the bottom of the price range for the area, be flexible about paint and carpet and be prepared to clean up a little dirt. If you buy a dirty house that needs some cosmetic help, you can get more house than if you must have a perfect move-in ready house.
(Houses that have been listed for a few weeks might be already sold but accepting back-up offers-- just because it is listed doesn't mean it is still for sale)
It doesn't sound like Sally is working terribly hard for you if she doesn't even have the time to meet with you. I know every time I take on a new client we have a chat about their goals so that we can get on the same page right away. Sometimes we meet for coffee or sometimes it happens over the phone but it always happens.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconheadWest
If I had to work less than 15 miles from a buyer's target area, I couldn't even work my entire school district, muchless the surrounding areas. That's unrealistic for you to expect your agent to live right where you want to buy.
I would imagine that's going to vary quite a bit based on location. The town I live in at it's widest point is maybe 6 miles wide and we have 5 public elementary schools in town. Plus, the Boston area is quite densely populated and so driving 15 miles can possibly take quite a while depending on where you're going and where you're starting from and the time of day. I'm not sure if the OP's area is similar to Boston or similar to Austin or somewhere in between.
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