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Thank you to everyone who posted here for me. After thinking about it I do feel I made the right choice. I have contacted someone who was a referral, and who is much more upbeat, so we shall see.
The reason I am not using my mother-in-law is because she does not know that we have finally decided to buy down here. We have been renting for the past 3-4 years because we came down at a time the market was too high, and have been talking about when our lease is up, that we might move out of state (we came down here RIGHT before the market got huge-about 4 years ago). So she's been worried that soon we are going to move out of state.
With how the pricing is now- we have decided to buy. We thought that would make a great surprise for my in-laws. So we haven't told them, and are not going to tell them until we close on the house and have keys in our hands. That's why we can't even get a referral from her- everything has to be hush hush.
Thanks once again! Reps to all for helping with your comments!
I am not an agent, I am a seller. We had one buyer come through our house who put it all up front, and what it implied was, "What's in it for me?!?" Asking for closing costs (and you wouldn't get them from us!) probably wasn't a good move.
I am not an agent, I am a seller. We had one buyer come through our house who put it all up front, and what it implied was, "What's in it for me?!?" Asking for closing costs (and you wouldn't get them from us!) probably wasn't a good move.
Well, were you planning on throwing in the closing costs to the buyers without asking? And while you're at it, were you planning on giving your house away for a lower price than they offered? Of course not.
Real estate transactions are a negotiation. Whether you are the buyer or the seller, if you don't ask, you're not going to get. Asking for the closing costs is a reasonable tactic.
I don't expect any of these questions to be asked of us during the tire kicking stage. We were nowhere close to an offer or negotiations. The buyer was just sniffing around.
It's all part of the negotiations and often the period before the first written offer is the biggest part of the negotiating process. It is the point where the buyer assess the seller's motivation and the seller is assessing the buyer's interest.
If I were the buyer and you seemed offended by my questions, I'd assume (rightly) that you were an unmotivated seller and move on to another property. As a seller, I'd play my cards closer to my chest until I got a written offer (i.e. all offers are welcome ... I might consider throwing in closing costs ... write it up and I'll talk it over with my agent ...) in the hopes of getting multiple offers to compete for the purchase of my home.
I'm glad you are looking at another agent. Captain Bill's was right on. I also wanted to throw out that the issue with the closing costs has to do with going OVER the listing price. You can have closing costs built into the offer.
The issue is that in the hot market, buyers would make offers over asking price in order to compensate for needed closing costs. This of course raised the selling price and appraisers weren't always able to verify if there were closing costs involved. So...some lenders are now balking at offers that go above asking in order to adjust for closing costs. The agent was somewhat informed, but not well informed of that development.
Tomorrow at noon I have a young couple coming in to my office to interview me. I was referred to them by a buyer on one of my listings last year (the second time she has referred me over her agent, which is very cool) and they will also interview 2 other agents. You need to do the same thing, and not over the phone. The meeting should be in the agency's conference room and you should expect to see everything that the agent and brokerage firm has to offer. You have a choice, this is a big decision!
I'm glad you found someone knew. First off, you already have your approval from BOA. I closed a deal with a BOA mortgage in 20 days from application to closing, so it really depends on your mortgage broker and good they are. For her to decide upfront before even getting off her duff that a seller won't roll in closing costs or pay for them altogether is just plain old ridiculous. Every sellers situation and mindset about it is different. She would have NO way of knowing. Her having a predjuice about certain areas is also getting the way... I love it when agents just think they know what is best for you, lol.
Go shopping. Be happy!
I contacted a guy via email yesterday who was recommended by the agent from BOA, who has a very good track record with me, so far. I know she might be receiving something for recommending him, but I figured it would be pretty dumb to recommend someone horrible just to receive something, because then the word would get out about that.
He contacted me back once work opened, and by the middle of the day we already shared 4 emails and a phone conversation. By 5 PM he had appointments scheduled for me, for TODAY!!!
He told me, in this market, that closing costs are almost a given (depending of asking price, and of course the seller)...also that each area had its pros and cons and if I did my homework, it was my choice....he did have some opinions to say such as one of the houses i like might be higher taxes due to it being wood frame.....
I didn't want a realtor to tell me just what "I want to hear", but I wanted some good with the bad. Being a teacher, I am told that if I have to give something negative out, I better give the positive out too! I didn't have that at all with the other realtor.
This one seems much more friendly, with a better attitude, and has been around longer (15 years, whereas the one previously had been with the other company for 1 year). Plus he has worked with the lady I am dealing with at BOA, so they have a relationship together...which is always a plus.
I contacted a guy via email yesterday who was recommended by the agent from BOA, who has a very good track record with me, so far. I know she might be receiving something for recommending him, but I figured it would be pretty dumb to recommend someone horrible just to receive something, because then the word would get out about that.
Back came the happy feelings
That's great news, now you can focus on finding the right home. I want to be very clear, there is no compensation between mortgage brokers and real estate agents for recommending clients to each other, that is a strict violation of RESPA. Real Estate agents can refer clients to other real estate agents in exchange for compensation (normally known as referral fees), but we cannot receive compensation from other professions involved in a the industry. We recommend across other professions to those we know who will get the job done as we all have the same goal, a clean, successful transaction.
I will also second what somebody said about BOA, I have done closings with their professional loan officers which went smoothly and one with somebody who sits in a branch, which did not go as well.
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