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.
Forget any southern politeness you've grown accustomed to. As the realtor why she is sending you listings outside what you asked for. The polite addition might be that it's a waste of your and her time. Tell her you have to assume there is nothing with your requirements or she wouldn't be sending this stuff.
Actually, if you know there are homes that meet your requirements I would just go there and look around and feel things out.
Well... don't judge a book by its cover... nor a house by pictures.
I viewed a property two weeks ago. Exactly what I wanted housewise - large ranch, hca adaptable easily, walk out basement, 3 car garage. Move-in ready by the looks of it. Granite, hardwoods, top end appliances, new roof.......one acre lot.
Nope..........attic is filled with mold..........and it needs new $25,000 septic system. 12 year old house!!!!!
You can easily blow through $50,000 on stuff you can't see.
Ok thanks for everyone's responses---I know I could be finding a new realtor but I'd like to keep this if I can just get her to send more of what I want , not what she thinks I want. Ironically she specializes in older/historic properties (historic here meaning pre-1850---ones I am mostly interested in). Could my young age (32) be taken as not to be taken as seriously?
I have sent her several listings of my own, with nearly each having the response of "you know this needs a lot of updating, right? It needs X amount of money put into it"---well, I know that..two of them I had looked at with their listing agents back in April (both are still for sale--not surprising where I am looking). In reality, neither needs excessive amounts of work, they were both currently lived in by their respective owners. One had a new septic system.
I did explain my reasons very plainly to her about why I do not want a turn-key house and she seemed to "understand", in her words but yet I have to question why one would try to discourage a sale, especially when I am using cash and therefore it is certain sale...I have proof of funds in excess of the top end of the range I specified.
I am not an investor and I did let her know that; I am simply a savvy, albeit young buyer who wants to not over spend. Whatever house I do buy this time around is for the long term, probably more than 30 years.
Is there some kind of embarrassment some agents have in showing houses that are not "up to par"?
I know it probably is not about wanting a bigger commission; most of these I send her are in the middle of my range and would be considered an average sale for the market there.
Ok thanks for everyone's responses---I know I could be finding a new realtor but I'd like to keep this if I can just get her to send more of what I want , not what she thinks I want. Ironically she specializes in older/historic properties (historic here meaning pre-1850---ones I am mostly interested in). Could my young age (32) be taken as not to be taken as seriously?
I have sent her several listings of my own, with nearly each having the response of "you know this needs a lot of updating, right? It needs X amount of money put into it"---well, I know that..two of them I had looked at with their listing agents back in April (both are still for sale--not surprising where I am looking). In reality, neither needs excessive amounts of work, they were both currently lived in by their respective owners. One had a new septic system.
I did explain my reasons very plainly to her about why I do not want a turn-key house and she seemed to "understand", in her words but yet I have to question why one would try to discourage a sale, especially when I am using cash and therefore it is certain sale...I have proof of funds in excess of the top end of the range I specified.
I am not an investor and I did let her know that; I am simply a savvy, albeit young buyer who wants to not over spend. Whatever house I do buy this time around is for the long term, probably more than 30 years.
Is there some kind of embarrassment some agents have in showing houses that are not "up to par"?
I know it probably is not about wanting a bigger commission; most of these I send her are in the middle of my range and would be considered an average sale for the market there.
Well if you have sent her listings and she is still questioning it, then I think she is being a bit over protective. My guess is that she is worried that you are taking on too much and is trying to protect you from yourself. Figures you don't really know what you are getting into. Have you met her in person?
Well... don't judge a book by its cover... nor a house by pictures.
I viewed a property two weeks ago. Exactly what I wanted housewise - large ranch, hca adaptable easily, walk out basement, 3 car garage. Move-in ready by the looks of it. Granite, hardwoods, top end appliances, new roof.......one acre lot.
Nope..........attic is filled with mold..........and it needs new $25,000 septic system. 12 year old house!!!!!
You can easily blow through $50,000 on stuff you can't see.
Some of these I had seen in person, by their listing agents and I liked what I saw. True, there can be hidden issues but I am prepared for that--this would not the first time.
What I am looking for is the opposite---I want something that needs work so I can make it my own without having to tear out a bunch of newly installed stuff I might not want----honestly most of the move in ready houses I saw I disliked quite a bit--cheap renovations, odd layouts where someone tried "open up" the floor plan, ugly walls/decor I'd end up repainting, those horrid "open floor plan kitchens" etc etc. It would just turn into a waste of money.
Well if you have sent her listings and she is still questioning it, then I think she is being a bit over protective. My guess is that she is worried that you are taking on too much and is trying to protect you from yourself. Figures you don't really know what you are getting into. Have you met her in person?
No we have not met in person yet; my listing agent here in SC set me up with her using my criteria. Me and her have talked on the phone quite a few times, always very pleasant and I have prodded her on sending me new listings of these kinds of places--and i have insisted I know what is involved as I have had houses of similar type before in the same area. Besides, sorry to be blunt here, but my using cash should be a hint to her that I am up for the challenge for the kind of place I want, not to mention prior ownership. Any I have sent her are fixers yes, but none would be considered legally uninhabitable; all but one are currently occupied. The ones I looked at personally probably would need about 50K-80K ultimately (and as a rule you double your estimate!) All could be lived in as is but with preventative maintnance, etc I'd probably be putting in 10-20K right off the bat, which I am okay with for the right house and price...both of which I see will not be too hard to find.
No we have not met in person yet; my listing agent here in SC set me up with her using my criteria. Me and her have talked on the phone quite a few times, always very pleasant and I have prodded her on sending me new listings of these kinds of places--and i have insisted I know what is involved as I have had houses of similar type before in the same area. Besides, sorry to be blunt here, but my using cash should be a hint to her that I am up for the challenge for the kind of place I want, not to mention prior ownership.
Sometimes people's mothering instinct gets in the way. So you need to decide if you want to stick with someone that specializes in old homes but is resisting listening to you, or find an agent that maybe doesn't specialize but still sells a lot of old homes, but actually listens to you.
Sometimes people's mothering instinct gets in the way. So you need to decide if you want to stick with someone that specializes in old homes but is resisting listening to you, or find an agent that maybe doesn't specialize but still sells a lot of old homes, but actually listens to you.
I second this and have seen this same phenomena myself. For my first home, we paid cash and wanted a fixer upper. Since we were quite young, our realtor simply couldn't believe we would want to invest the extra time and/or funds in a fixer upper. Once we looked at SO many houses she had picked (pre-internet days) and we rejected each one, she finally came around. We found a fixer, it was perfect for us, and ended up quite happy. In our case, I think she was trying, albeit misguided, to 'protect' us from ourselves - a bit of a mothering instinct I think.
Ok thanks for everyone's responses---I know I could be finding a new realtor but I'd like to keep this if I can just get her to send more of what I want , not what she thinks I want. Ironically she specializes in older/historic properties (historic here meaning pre-1850---ones I am mostly interested in). Could my young age (32) be taken as not to be taken as seriously?
I have sent her several listings of my own, with nearly each having the response of "you know this needs a lot of updating, right? It needs X amount of money put into it"---well, I know that..two of them I had looked at with their listing agents back in April (both are still for sale--not surprising where I am looking). In reality, neither needs excessive amounts of work, they were both currently lived in by their respective owners. One had a new septic system.
I did explain my reasons very plainly to her about why I do not want a turn-key house and she seemed to "understand", in her words but yet I have to question why one would try to discourage a sale, especially when I am using cash and therefore it is certain sale...I have proof of funds in excess of the top end of the range I specified.
I am not an investor and I did let her know that; I am simply a savvy, albeit young buyer who wants to not over spend. Whatever house I do buy this time around is for the long term, probably more than 30 years.
Is there some kind of embarrassment some agents have in showing houses that are not "up to par"?
I know it probably is not about wanting a bigger commission; most of these I send her are in the middle of my range and would be considered an average sale for the market there.
Then ask her why she's not sending you any of her beautiful historic homes. Ask her are there none for sale now.
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.
etc etc. It would just turn into a waste of money.
