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Not sure what state you live in, but in CA, the buyer's agent is paid by the seller (if they have a listing agent). So it is absolutely free for you! Plus you have an advocate, and you have someone to look over the paperwork and make sure everything is on the up and up.
If it is a FSBO, not sure how that works in terms of how/who pays the Buyer's Agent.
Zillow has been found to be correct 10% of the time. They are feverishly working on accuracy.
If you absolutely need to know what the property value is before you make an offer, and you are buying without a Realtor, then ask your lender to have their appraiser come out to do a "drive by" in order for you to do an offer. Then later they can come back and do a full appraisal.
why not use the expertise of a buyers agent,?? thats thier business and its FREE to the buyer!! is there something her im missing,,,about the naysayers?? the service of a professional is FREE!!
you can actually elicit many agents to work for you, have them email, or call you with the criteria of what you are looking for, and when a property comes to you, that you want, that agent will show it to you, give you expert recommendations,,,not only on the property, and price, and terms, of an offer but on the whole, serious process, to protect you, the buyer!
and it still costs you NOTHING!! (and you can potentially save thousands from the consultation, of a professional in the business)
local agents, know their marketing area, know the "value" of land, and homes,
they can answer questions, of if lots can be split, where a driveway can be placed,, who, and where, to contact the right people, for any question,
and because they are professionals dealing with other , contractors, in thier area, they can recommend, the better ones, the ones that dont overcharge, etc, say the house of your dreams needs a new septic system, or well, or foundation needed repair, or wiring needs to be done,(or five different inspections) real estate agents, can recommend, who to use, again, this is all free information, and part of being a buyers agent.
i've seen too many ya-hoos, that go it alone, and get buried in serious details they arent familiar with,(they lose the offer) or they say,,nope, house doesnt need an inspection, and 4 months later the roof is leaking,(then costs them 5k to have it replaced) or there was a mistake on the closing statement, that favored the seller, and buyer never caught it.
go it alone. I don't always trust Realtors. However, I can tell you use them for thier reasources you will save yourself some time. Go to a Realtors web site and sign up to recieve new listings by e-mail. You can set up a price range and other specifics. some sites will even send you an address of the home. and you never have to scan the listings yourself. It comes to you in an e-mail. best of all you don't have to talk to a Realtor until you have to. another great source is realtor.com hope that helps. No i'm not a Realtor. as for a CMA try Zillow.com its unparalled for a quick CMA on your own. So, you don't need Realtors
This is a misconception that a lot of people have. First Zillow is inacurate most of the time. You can use it but you will never know if the info. you're getting is correct, so what's the point? Yes some of the things here you can look into yourself if you have that kind of free time. Time is worth something and all the time you're going to spend trying to get the info. you can get for free by getting a good agent. The buyer doesn't pay the agent, so what do you have to lose? You only have something to gain by using an agent. Of course if you do find one that does a good job, works hard for you then the right thing to do is buy the house using that agent as your rep. and again you don't pay, the seller does.
Zillow is fun, but not accurate, from what I hear.
I know for a fact that its about 95% accurate and it is much more fun than dealing with a Realtor who takes thier time in getting you the CMA when needed
why not use the expertise of a buyers agent,?? thats thier business and its FREE to the buyer!! is there something her im missing,,,about the naysayers?? the service of a professional is FREE!!
you can actually elicit many agents to work for you, have them email, or call you with the criteria of what you are looking for, and when a property comes to you, that you want, that agent will show it to you, give you expert recommendations,,,not only on the property, and price, and terms, of an offer but on the whole, serious process, to protect you, the buyer!
and it still costs you NOTHING!! (and you can potentially save thousands from the consultation, of a professional in the business)
local agents, know their marketing area, know the "value" of land, and homes,
they can answer questions, of if lots can be split, where a driveway can be placed,, who, and where, to contact the right people, for any question,
and because they are professionals dealing with other , contractors, in thier area, they can recommend, the better ones, the ones that dont overcharge, etc, say the house of your dreams needs a new septic system, or well, or foundation needed repair, or wiring needs to be done,(or five different inspections) real estate agents, can recommend, who to use, again, this is all free information, and part of being a buyers agent.
i've seen too many ya-hoos, that go it alone, and get buried in serious details they arent familiar with,(they lose the offer) or they say,,nope, house doesnt need an inspection, and 4 months later the roof is leaking,(then costs them 5k to have it replaced) or there was a mistake on the closing statement, that favored the seller, and buyer never caught it.
If something is free be afraid, be very afraid. Remember there is nothing free in this world. The only thing that I would agree is get yourself a good lawyer. As for inspections, the majority of them are not guaranteed against the common cost of roof leaks.
the problem that I have is when a "buyers" agent gets paid by the seller and sais that they are working for the buyers best interest... It makes no sense to me. Nothing is free
I know for a fact that its about 95% accurate and it is much more fun than dealing with a Realtor who takes thier time in getting you the CMA when needed
Please provide information on said fact.
If a client of mine wants a CMA - I have one done in about a half an hour. If it is complicated, I often consult (and pay for) a quick evaluation by a licensed appraiser.
the problem that I have is when a "buyers" agent gets paid by the seller and sais that they are working for the buyers best interest... It makes no sense to me. Nothing is free
You're right to be skeptical. And in fact it doesn't make sense until it's looked at carefully. I find discussing these issues with buyers "at first substantial contact" as the state requires, really helps. And in fact there's a state form I use which helps frame the conversation. Consumers should always know thier options.
Buyer Agency arose through consumer demand. It began in California and moved east quite rapidly. In my state (VT) State law was changed (July 1 1995) to accomodate consumers demand to be represented.
In VT, the seller's agent (aka "listing agent) offers a commission 2 ways: the buyer can direct the agent to be paid that amount as a "Buyer Agent Commission", or as a "Broker agent commission". It's the same dollars, made available either way so buyers/consumers can contract with an agent who represents solely the buyer if the buyer wishes. Buyers have choices - one of those choices is to be represented by an agent who owes the buyer fiduciary duty.
If the buyer works with the agent who represents the seller - the agent's fiduciary duty is solely to the seller. And the agent gets twice the commission.
The Laws Of Agency are different in every State. But buyer broker/buyer agent relationships are quite common in many states, due primarily to consumer demand. I hope that helps.
I still don't see how anyone can say they are working for you when they get paid by the seller. no one answered that, except to say some hooflah about feduciary duty. sorry, I don't buy it. I would rather pay the commission. However, the system does not work this way right now. It is in place for the Realtors to make thier $.
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huh?
