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The most important points I want to make is first get some names by whatever method, and second interview several Realtors, and only then decide who to go with.
You have to interview several Realtors!!!!!
Last edited by Lovehound; 06-30-2014 at 11:28 AM..
A buyer agent is supposed to set up appointments for you and manage your time since you likely can only go look on weekends. If they are not even doing that then find another agent or do it yourself. I found that aspect of their responsibility to be most helpful to us. I don't think I want to be calling listing agents and managing schedules of 6+ houses in 2 days. Let them deal with it and I'll just show up.
Anybody who contacts a seller's agent without representation is making a big mistake. The seller's agent will take both commissions and will be biased towards seller and may not protect buyer's interests -- even though Realtors are supposed to -- NAR code of conduct.
I can see a dozen houses in a day. How many appointments can you set up for a day? And it takes me one minute to do it. I tell my agent what I want and she does the heavy lifting. And she is a professional on MY SIDE.
I was helping a friend sell their home last Sunday and the Sunday before...
Home is well prepared in a desirable area of the Bay Area.
After the first week the wife was disappointed no offers had come in.
I told her the local newspaper and craigslist cannot compare to being listed on the MLS.
We had a very good turnout from people seeing the open house signs... not a single person found the home from the newspaper.
At my suggestion, they did list on the MLS and within hours were showing the place to people actively looking to buy. They also dropped the price $500 which put it just under 800k
Within 24 hours 3 offers came in, all significantly over list and two had sold homes and were pre-approved with Wells Fargo...
If things go to plan... they will net more than their for sale by owner and get it sold...
Accepted offer from the strongest buyer with 3 visits is 860k.
The reason it's coming together is because the MLS and it's broker/agent network made it possible... their agents were constantly checking for the moment anything hit in their price/location and urged seeing at 9 am on a Sunday morning...
The reason it's coming together is because the MLS and it's broker/agent network made it possible... their agents were constantly checking for the moment anything hit in their price/location and urged seeing at 9 am on a Sunday morning...
I can see you and I are going to be running in parallel for a long time to come!
The two most annoying C-D repeat themes for me are 1.) Realtors are a waste of money, you can do it yourself or use a lawyer, and 2.) you can live in Los Angeles and not need a car.
isn't what you are saying -- is that buyers agents are discriminating against fsbo sellers? after all, isn't a buyers agent supposed to looking for all properties that are available for sale... not just the ones on the mls? are they not able to check craigslist and local papers for properties for sale? had they done that the buyers would have known about the property in question.
The problem for the OP, is she is not finding the help from Realtors that she is looking for. Example when her car broke down. She was calling Realtors, telling them what she was looking for, and no one wanted to help her.
Reason they are not trying real hard to help her.
She wants a home that does not exist, and when there is no home to show her, no intelligent Realtor is going to even set up an appointment to talk to her.
Reason no home exists. She is looking for a small very cheap home, with a price not to exceed a fixed amount. The Realtors know there is nothing available on the market, that even has a small chance of being able to negotiate a contract with the sellers in her price range. In their area, she is priced out of being able to buy a home. If there was a small chance, someone would have been willing to meet with her, and show her something. That is how they earn their money. But if there is no chance of making a sale, they are not going to spend their Sunday, showing her homes that she cannot afford, wasting high priced gas and their time.
She says she is going to an even cheaper county to try to buy a home. Again, the home may not even exist in that county.
I want to tell her, to do it the smart way, but I don't think she will listen.
Smart Way. Write a good letter, and send it to several real estate offices in towns she considers. In that letter, tell them exactly what you want to buy, with top price you can pay. The postage will be a lot cheaper than the gas to go to the town and try to find a Realtor that can and will help you.
The broker of the office will get the letter, and the broker will select an agent to work with you IF (note that is a big IF) there are homes for sale in the area that you can purchase at a price range you can afford. Send out 8 letters, and if you do not get even one reply, then there are no homes for sale that you can afford to buy. If there is even a small chance of finding one, the brokers would have given your letter to the salesperson most likely to be able to sell you a home. In the business this letter is known as a LEAD. A lead is a client that is looking to buy something. That type of letter is taken very seriously in real estate offices, if their is even a slight chance of making a sale.
The broker may take it to his weekly staff meeting, and read them the letter, and ask who thinks they can help you. You are not only getting the benefits of a Realtor solved, but you are having the rest of the agents giving the one that gets your lead their help also. There are always at least one agent in the office, that desperately needs to make a sale and earn a commission. If there is even one home in the area for sale you can buy, they will always get in touch with you.
If no one contacts you, consider there is nothing on the market that you can buy in that town at or a little above your stated price range. This method can save you a lot of gas and time, plus saves a lot of frustration when you are not getting agents wanting to help you.
It may take you a few weeks trying to find a town where there are homes for sale you can afford, but it will be the most successful way to go about it, and save you a lot of gas and other expenses just going and looking around when you have no idea if it is possible to find a home or not.
I was getting discouraged shopping for my first house... I had savings from working so the down was not a problem with the added money from selling my restored 68 Z-28 Camaro.
My problem is a series of part-time jobs did not make me a good applicant in the eyes of lenders.
So I decided to regroup... had my local broker print out a list of the least expensive single family homes in my area each week and I would do drivebys.
I found a little shack that was set for a condemnation hearing and used my "Down-payment" money to buy it for cash... and yes, it was that bad!
I was young, just out of college and owned my own home outright with no mortgage and as happy as could be...
If there are no homes in your price bracket... you either have to look elsewhere or wait...
Are real estate agents really necessary these days?
Not as much for a seller, assuming they are experienced and comfortable with the whole sales process ... and think they can generate the same traffic and interest with a FSBO listing. Of course, this also requires a buyer who is comfortable enough with the process and pricing, to handle the purchase without a Realtor.
For a Buyer, Not having a Real Estate agent is somewhat foolish, since most people list and sell their homes through a Realtor ... and a Buyer who does not have an REA puts themselves at a real disadvantage -- with little or no cost savings. That's because most sellers with an REA are obligated to pay a 5-6-percent commission, regardless of who buys the house ... or even if the buyer pays cash/
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