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As I said in the other thread about short sale, I currently have an offer in and am awaiting the banks decision. With that said, I am looking for "plan b" or another home that has what I am looking for in the price range.
I've gone and walked through a sub-division and there is a builder that has already built market homes available for sale. Out of about 6, there are only 2 that I'd be interested in taking another look and the sales person emailed me over the weekend basically saying they want to deal on the prices of any of the market homes.
Now I do have a Realtor and definately want them to be involved so I don't want to begin any negotiations that may keep them from doing so when/if I am ready. What I want to do now is email the contruction builder and tell her to give me the best price (like buying a car) and continue to see if they can even get into the ball park. I don't know if at this stage my realtor should be involved since I'm not actually placing an offer, just getting a quote (imho).
Is there anything wrong with doing this? Like I said, I don't want to cut my realtor out of anything and if I need to place an offer I want them involved to make sure I'm not missing anything when it comes time to ink the deal. I have made it clear to the builder that I have a realtor and plan on using them if I choose to go through with something.
This stuff varies builder to builder. Many builders will not " protect" an agent unless the agent is the introducing party. Bringing the agent in after you made your best deal, makes no sense, to me, for anyone.
I am curious why you are " protecting" your Realtor when you are doing all the work?
If you want your realtor to get their commission, make the offer through them and let them negotiate for you. I know times have changed, but I don't think a builder is going to "offer you" their best price. Getting a quote? That probably won't get you the best price. The builder is not going to sell himself short. What he might say upfront might not be the lowest he is willing to go. Dealing through e-mails means nothing unless you have a signed contract anyway.
Let your realtor deal with this. If you have any conversations with the other realtor, they will want part of your realtors commission. I found this out the hard way. The builders agent wanted a portion of the money my realtor was to get because we happened to go into the open house on the model home and talk to him about the developement. Just a casual conversation about what it was going to be like. Just let your realtor deal with everything.
Now I do have a Realtor and definately want them to be involved so I don't want to begin any negotiations that may keep them from doing so when/if I am ready. What I want to do now is email the contruction builder and tell her to give me the best price (like buying a car) and continue to see if they can even get into the ball park. I don't know if at this stage my realtor should be involved since I'm not actually placing an offer, just getting a quote (imho).
Is there anything wrong with doing this? Like I said, I don't want to cut my realtor out of anything and if I need to place an offer I want them involved to make sure I'm not missing anything when it comes time to ink the deal. I have made it clear to the builder that I have a realtor and plan on using them if I choose to go through with something.
Most new home developments (in the Houston area, anyway) require you to register with them. If your agents isn't with you and you don't put their information on that card.... they can and will ... cut your agent out of the picture... we always ask for a copy of the registration card.
Your agent should be involved with this from start to finish...your trying to outline a deal before you involve her/him.... generally, will not work in your favor.
Any information I filled out, I made sure to put our Realtors information. I have already done the initial meeting, and the builders agent asked who our Realtor was and which office they worked out of. Since I had no intentions of doing anything but looking, I didn't see the need to bring my realtor down to walk around the neighborhood. I was 50/50 on bring them and decided not too.
Protecting my realtor? No, but they have done the work thus far and I don't think it would be fair to not continue, there are just certain parts of this process that I don't think require my realtors time. I've been told by the builders agent to let her give me "their new promo price", which could be anywhere from $10,000-$30,000 off list price depending on the model. This is the price I want to then take to the Realtor and begin negotiating if I am interested.
The biggest issue I have, as I currently have an offer pending acceptance of the bank with a short sale. I don't want to have to withdraw that offer just to see what the builder is willing to do with this new "promo". With the information I've read and from what others have posted here, the short sale may not be finalized by the end of November, when I am due to close on my exsisting house and that would make me homeless, which is bad. I am just trying to get a good solid second or third house lined up and doing this work now will definately speed up that process if it gets that far.
Let your agent handle the negotiations; that's their job. As stated already, the builder's rep may want to keep all the commission if you fail to introduce your agent early in the process -- even though you bear some of the burden for commission through the sales price.
Let your agent handle the negotiations; that's their job.
Yes, and the higher the price you pay, the more your agent gets paid!
You're doing the right thing. Negotiate with the builder yourself but just be clear with them that you reserve the right to bring in a realtor at any point along the way.
I used a realtor to negotiate on a new construction home and he was able to work out a way better deal than I could have. A realtor has all the comp resources available to him/her and can negotiate with backup data rather than just random haggling. They also were very creative in the ways to work the deal, like getting not only the price lowered but playing with the "free" upgrades they through in. We ended up pays 15% less than the asking price but only half of the money for upgraded built into the contract. Which worked out just perfect for us.
Your agent works for you and shouldn't be working towards a bigger commission. If you have a good agent, they will want to work for you and get referals for the multiple people you recomend.
Speaking of that, if anyone wants a good referal for a realtor in Austin, let me know.
Yes, and the higher the price you pay, the more your agent gets paid!
You're doing the right thing. Negotiate with the builder yourself but just be clear with them that you reserve the right to bring in a realtor at any point along the way.
Not true and horrid advice.
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I am just trying to get a good solid second or third house lined up and doing this work now will definately speed up that process if it gets that far.
