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I am a licensed broker and always use Buyer's agent when purchasing property. I am active in real estate, so I don't need alot of services, but the main reason is to distance myself from the other agent and the seller. My agent can negotiate and handle things more effectively than I can as a buyer. It saves me a lot of time and frustration. If you have a good agent, I see no downside.
Here's an e mail I wrote this morning to a new buyer client of mine who is interested in writing an offer on a house they saw with me last night. The e mail includes links for the street that the house is on and a link for currently listed, pending and recently sold properties that are comparable to the property they are interested in (as well as an excel spreadsheet). I have changed the names and addresses to protect my client. The current list price is $419,900.
The sellers bought the land in 2002, had the house finished in 2003 and divorced in 2008. Ex-Husband is paying the expenses and ex-wife is paying him rent. The court ordered the house sold back in 2008, it’s actually been on and off the market since 2007 for as much as $475,000. This is good news, these owners aren’t testing the market to see how much they can get, they have to sell. The only mortgage I see is from 9/30/02 for $172,000, it looks they are holding out for somebody who wants to pay a premium price, which doesn’t happen in this market.
Recent History – Seller's Street
Here are some comparable homes in the area and they are also on the attached excel spreadsheet:
Homes in the area
Based on my analysis of comparable #1, comparable #2 and comparable #3, the $420,000 list price isn’t supported and I would recommend you offering somewhere between $370,000 and $385,000. I don’t know if the sellers (or their agent) see what I see, but it doesn’t hurt to try, right?
My client wrote me back and told me he was thinking of offering $375,000 and thanked me. Who's interest am I protecting? As KathrynAragon accurately pointed out, the couple of hundred dollars I might lose by getting the buyer into the house for close to list price will more than be off set by the future referrals sent to me over the next 20 years of my career by this 30 year old home buyer. Are there agents who only think about their next transaction? Absolutely. It astounds me how many people spend more time choosing a hair dresser than a real estate agent and that's no disrespect to the hair dressing profession. A good agent can save a buyer thousands and also hours of time during the transaction while the buyer is working on other aspects of changing communities.
Here's an e mail I wrote this morning to a new buyer client of mine who is interested in writing an offer on a house they saw with me last night. The e mail includes links for the street that the house is on and a link for currently listed, pending and recently sold properties that are comparable to the property they are interested in (as well as an excel spreadsheet). I have changed the names and addresses to protect my client. The current list price is $419,900.
The sellers bought the land in 2002, had the house finished in 2003 and divorced in 2008. Ex-Husband is paying the expenses and ex-wife is paying him rent. The court ordered the house sold back in 2008, it’s actually been on and off the market since 2007 for as much as $475,000. This is good news, these owners aren’t testing the market to see how much they can get, they have to sell. The only mortgage I see is from 9/30/02 for $172,000, it looks they are holding out for somebody who wants to pay a premium price, which doesn’t happen in this market.
Recent History – Seller's Street
Here are some comparable homes in the area and they are also on the attached excel spreadsheet:
Homes in the area
Based on my analysis of comparable #1, comparable #2 and comparable #3, the $420,000 list price isn’t supported and I would recommend you offering somewhere between $370,000 and $385,000. I don’t know if the sellers (or their agent) see what I see, but it doesn’t hurt to try, right?
My client wrote me back and told me he was thinking of offering $375,000 and thanked me. Who's interest am I protecting? As KathrynAragon accurately pointed out, the couple of hundred dollars I might lose by getting the buyer into the house for close to list price will more than be off set by the future referrals sent to me over the next 20 years of my career by this 30 year old home buyer. Are there agents who only think about their next transaction? Absolutely. It astounds me how many people spend more time choosing a hair dresser than a real estate agent and that's no disrespect to the hair dressing profession. A good agent can save a buyer thousands and also hours of time during the transaction while the buyer is working on other aspects of changing communities.
I guess this is where I am losing the buyers agent thingy.
My response to the you. Thanks for digging up the information for me. That is the type information I am paying you for. As you have no allegiance to them, and based on the court having said sell it in 2008 and no sale 4 years later, and assuming they are at each others throat daily (you know how ugly divorces can be), and while I am sorry (truly sorry) for their issues, I am prepared to take advantage of the situation and offer $315,000.00.
This offer is most generous considering you inform me they owe only $172,000.0 and I agree with you that with only owing so much, they are holding out for a premium price.
As a matter of fact, the more I think about it and based on your information, offer $300,0000.00 and cash with closing as soon as they can clsoe. I will include a $25,00.00 cashiers check with the offer to show them I am not jerking around on this.
I guess this is where I am losing the buyers agent thingy.
My response to the you. Thanks for digging up the information for me. That is the type information I am paying you for. As you have no allegiance to them, and based on the court having said sell it in 2008 and no sale 4 years later, and assuming they are at each others throat daily (you know how ugly divorces can be), and while I am sorry (truly sorry) for their issues, I am prepared to take advantage of the situation and offer $315,000.00.
This offer is most generous considering you inform me they owe only $172,000.0 and I agree with you that with only owing so much, they are holding out for a premium price.
As a matter of fact, the more I think about it and based on your information, offer $300,0000.00 and cash with closing as soon as they can clsoe. I will include a $25,00.00 cashiers check with the offer to show them I am not jerking around on this.
I guess this is where I am losing the buyers agent thingy.
My response to the you. Thanks for digging up the information for me. That is the type information I am paying you for. As you have no allegiance to them, and based on the court having said sell it in 2008 and no sale 4 years later, and assuming they are at each others throat daily (you know how ugly divorces can be), and while I am sorry (truly sorry) for their issues, I am prepared to take advantage of the situation and offer $315,000.00.
This offer is most generous considering you inform me they owe only $172,000.0 and I agree with you that with only owing so much, they are holding out for a premium price.
As a matter of fact, the more I think about it and based on your information, offer $300,0000.00 and cash with closing as soon as they can clsoe. I will include a $25,00.00 cashiers check with the offer to show them I am not jerking around on this.
Again, thanks for making me aware of the issues.
I agree with you, you've lost it. The market doesn't support this fantasy of yours, the comparable sales prove otherwise, this is a single family home and not investment property. You're "paying" me to buy property, not waste yours, mine and seller's time. You don't need a buyer agent to write offers that won't get accepted. I'll work with others that do.
I agree with you, you've lost it. The market doesn't support this fantasy of yours, the comparable sales prove otherwise, this is a single family home and not investment property. You're "paying" me to buy property, not waste yours, mine and seller's time. You don't need a buyer agent to write offers that won't get accepted. I'll work with others that do.
It amazes me that buyers think the amount owed on a property has any relationship with the sale price. Especially given the prevalence of short-sales over the past few years.
I've written several deals for myself and my family over the past few years at 50-70 percent off "peak" pricing -
It wasn't "soviet style" negotiating that closed those deals, it was comps, a little luck, and a willingness to accept a property that wasn't in perfect condition. Those properties all needed repairs, and the price I paid is no longer relevant, the market here is different, and the properties have been rehabbed.
If anything, the seller with massive equity either gained that equity through improving the property, or astute money management, that isn't the type of person that panics and sells for $75k below the comps. You don't *get* $200k in equity by doing bad deals.
I guess this is where I am losing the buyers agent thingy.
My response to the you. Thanks for digging up the information for me. That is the type information I am paying you for. As you have no allegiance to them, and based on the court having said sell it in 2008 and no sale 4 years later, and assuming they are at each others throat daily (you know how ugly divorces can be), and while I am sorry (truly sorry) for their issues, I am prepared to take advantage of the situation and offer $315,000.00.
This offer is most generous considering you inform me they owe only $172,000.0 and I agree with you that with only owing so much, they are holding out for a premium price.
As a matter of fact, the more I think about it and based on your information, offer $300,0000.00 and cash with closing as soon as they can clsoe. I will include a $25,00.00 cashiers check with the offer to show them I am not jerking around on this.
Again, thanks for making me aware of the issues.
I think you might be my client. I recently presented an offer of $130,000 on a condo that was listed for $175,000. The seller didn't counter and had her agent relay to us that she had recently turned down $155,000 and if we were interested to come back with an offer higher than that. My client responded with, "Tell her I'll go to $140." He's still looking by the way.
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