Is the client supposed to find all the listings? (square footage, realty, price)

[Ultrarunner]

I've only worked with one agent that would send me info on listings she thought I might like...

Half the properties I bought were through her over a 14 year period... she lived and breathed local area real estate.

All the rest were property I found and about half of those I worked with the listing agent and the rest direct with the owner.

[psichick]

I had an agent like this once. I figured, if she was going to make $20k off of me, she'd better do some legwork herself. I fired her. Unfortunately, I got a referral for a great person, but already had a place in mind. That guy made $20k and didn't really have to do much, although, he did more than the previous agent.

It's one thing to do your own search and enhance theirs. It's another to be given bad information/listings. I hope it works out for you. Good luck.

[TulipGrl]

There are several schools of thought on this. Most of the agents I've interacted with over the past year have sent me listings of homes for sale that are either the entire MLS in certain zip codes and within a particular price range, or a very targeted list based on their intrepretation of my criteria (vs the criteria). I've found neither of these methods work very well. I live in "hot" market area and have found that once some agents realize you are not an easy sell they will move on to someone who is.

Between the two methods, I've found it is better to be very engaged in the process and the search (meaning I find the house, my lender and either my attorney or title review company), and to have an agent who will negiotate the transaction and babysit the paperwork and discount their commission via a rebate. That means this person will have an answer to the question of what do you think this house is worth.

[2bindenver]

You say not an easy sell. I say you are unrealistic for the price range/market. If you aren't going to buy I'd rather spend the time with my family.

[Ultrarunner]

Last year I had made a full price offer on a home which I insisted the seller keep as a backup offer.

The day my offer came in, the seller had accepted an offer for 100k less than mine and it closed on day 43 of the 45 day escrow.

Since then, I have been looking for similar and met a lot of salespeople at open houses and making calls.

I've found most try to be very helpful... my problem is I know exactly what I want and give them the address of the one that got away and they say there isn't anything comparable and so far, I'm afraid that is the truth...

I have always liked working with buyers that know exactly what they want no matter if it's housing, cars or anything else.

[TulipGrl]

I am not an easy sell as I know exactly what I want, I have certain criteria that cannot be bent due to the size of family heirlooms, and yes, houses with this criteria pop up every week. Some I can't afford, but about 75% of them, I can.

So I don't understand why one of the supposedly best agents in my area told me to go see a particular open house today. Got there and the key room dimensions were off by 12". No, the furniture cannot be cut up to fit the room, and no, in this case non-load bearing walls cannot be moved due to other existing fixtures and no, I am not interested in putting up an addition to accomodate the furniture. True the house was in superb condition -- but as the shoe didn't fit, my time was wasted. And as this agent, has missed several homes that I liked and it was a whole bunch of excuses each time.

I am moving on to some else who can negiotate the sale; I am quite capable of finding the house, the listing, the price point, the history on the property, the lender, the inspector, and the title/attorney. I am much better at finding property that fits my needs than this particular agent is. And sadly, she is one of several I've dealt with in this particular search who doesn't seem to be connecting the dots, even if those dots are plainly and clearly articulated up front.

I am an extremely qualified buyer and prepared to move forward on a few hour's notice, so I don't quite get the song and dance routine. Yes, she's busy. So am I.

[WendyK]

In my experience, people who try to buy homes to fit their furniture are unrealistic and difficult. Find a house that suits your needs and find furniture that fits inside. If the furniture you have is large, then you need a large house and it sounds like those don't suit your budget. Keep saving to afford a bigger house if you really have to fit these things in your next house.

[searching for prudence]

Agents suggesting the listing that buyer's actually buy seems to be pretty rare. I'm not sure I know anyone that has purchased in the last 10 years that didn't find the listing themselves online or by driving their target neighborhood(s).

[399083453]

Originally Posted by TulipGrl

So I don't understand why one of the supposedly best agents in my area told me to go see a particular open house today.

You chose to go to that open house. The only person that can pick a house for you.... is you. Simply ignore her suggestions if you don't like them.

[Wry_Martini]

When I was house hunting last year, I typically would call or text my agent and tell him "This place just went on the market, I want to go see it NOW!". I was looking for something very specific (I was interested in 2 specific high-rises), which made it easier.