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Also remember that the Realtor is paid by the builder!
Which is why the Realtor is going to support the builder every step of the way, at the expense of the buyer. Also why the Realtor is not particularly minded to get the lowest price possible for the buyer; to do so simply cuts into his commission.
I have nothing against real estate agents. I think that the vast majority of them really do try to do the best they can for all parties in the transaction. They have a right to their commission for the work they do, running around trying to please everyone and dealing with the irrational emotions often associated with buying a home. Anyone trying to SELL a home without a real estate agent in today's market is silly, IMO.
That said, any BUYER who isn't paying a buyer's agent, out of his own pocket, a pre-arranged fee plus some smaller percentage of the house sale for finding the best deal, is just kidding himself that he is going to be dealing with someone who isn't serving the seller. It's human nature; the seller is where the commission money is coming from.
We really haven't taken this fact on board when buying a home, and buyers have gotten into an entrenched habit of expecting to not pay anything for a real estate agent who is chauffeuring them about town, showing them properties they wouldn't have found on their own, etc., and also expecting that this person is somehow doing that work for free, with nothing but the buyer's best interest in mind.
Also, even with a "pure" buyer's agent, it's such an incredibly difficult time in real estate right now that there is going to be a desire by agents to put the deal through, no matter what, so there may very well be a lot of glossing over potential problems going on. As always in either a severe buyer's or seller's market, it really behooves the buyer to do as much research on his own as possible, go with his gut, and not be pushed into anything, just because it's a "great deal."
I think the real estate agents who post on this site are very clever. This is a good place to look for "A" buyers coming from out of town who need to buy a house. Anyone coming in from out of state could probably do a lot worse than work with one of them; simply because they've demonstrated by posting here, that they are on the ball. And no, I don't know any of them and no one paid me to say that. : )
Also remember that the Realtor is paid by the builder!
Which is why the Realtor is going to support the builder every step of the way, at the expense of the buyer. Also why the Realtor is not particularly minded to get the lowest price possible for the buyer; to do so simply cuts into his commission.
I have nothing against real estate agents. I think that the vast majority of them really do try to do the best they can for all parties in the transaction. They have a right to their commission for the work they do, running around trying to please everyone and dealing with the irrational emotions often associated with buying a home. Anyone trying to SELL a home without a real estate agent in today's market is silly, IMO.
That said, any BUYER who isn't paying a buyer's agent, out of his own pocket, a pre-arranged fee plus some smaller percentage of the house sale for finding the best deal, is just kidding himself that he is going to be dealing with someone who isn't serving the seller. It's human nature; the seller is where the commission money is coming from.
We really haven't taken this fact on board when buying a home, and buyers have gotten into an entrenched habit of expecting to not pay anything for a real estate agent who is chauffeuring them about town, showing them properties they wouldn't have found on their own, etc., and also expecting that this person is somehow doing that work for free, with nothing but the buyer's best interest in mind.
Also, even with a "pure" buyer's agent, it's such an incredibly difficult time in real estate right now that there is going to be a desire by agents to put the deal through, no matter what, so there may very well be a lot of glossing over potential problems going on. As always in either a severe buyer's or seller's market, it really behooves the buyer to do as much research on his own as possible, go with his gut, and not be pushed into anything, just because it's a "great deal."
I think the real estate agents who post on this site are very clever. This is a good place to look for "A" buyers coming from out of town who need to buy a house. Anyone coming in from out of state could probably do a lot worse than work with one of them; simply because they've demonstrated by posting here, that they are on the ball. And no, I don't know any of them and no one paid me to say that. : )
Very well said. I just want to add to it that Standard Pacific at one point send out emails to realtors offering realtors 11% if they would bring in a buyer. Good for the agent but how fair is the advise the buyer is going to get... It is hard to be fair if a buyer is choosing between 2 homes and has a hard time making a decision. I don't blame the realtor if he trying to get the 11% instead of 3 or 6% buyers would give them in most cases, but the buyer should be aware of it. I know it is similar in some stores. I remember that in one store the workers would get a bonus selling stuff that was almost impossible to sell, buyers didn't know that but a good sales person can sell almost anything even if it is not in the buyers best interest.
When I bought from the builder a realtor was asking me to bring him so he could get a % and it wouldn't cost me anything and he would give me some of the %, he told me. I asked the builder what the % would be because of bringing a buyers agent and they wouldn't give anything at the time, they had stopped doing that. To bad I didn't mind the free money to the agent.
One of the higher-end builders in Seven Oaks sent me an email yesterday saying the developer had just released some more lots and they were taking reservations ($5K fully refundable). I don't think this will help your situation, but Standard Pacific stock (ticker SPF) has been on a regular decline since August, though fourth quarter was not as bad as expected --> Standard Pacific rises on eased liquidity concerns, upgrade - MarketWatch.
Last edited by TampaKaren; 02-10-2008 at 07:04 PM..
Reason: Had wrong URL. Oops!
I bought the house from Stan Pac. Since its inventory home got what I saw...got it inspected before signing the contract - there were no major issues. No lien issues either. Though I'm not buying house for investment purpose (I am buying it to enjoy living there, first and foremost ) I found from property appraiser data that the price I finally agreed to pay was much lesser than similar purchases by people as recent as in 10th month of last year. They even bought down mortgage rate and no PMI even when I'm putting less than 20% - not that I am bragging about it but just feeling that atleast I did not over pay. When I saw what people paid in 2006 on Pasco county property appraiser site I was so surprised - how inflated prices were 2 years back! From the original price what builder was asking, after 2 mnths of negotiations they eventually came down 50k at the price I bought it!!! I never expected that. The very last they were coming about 30k down from their original offer and we got stuck at it for more than a month. Then suddenly one day they dropped the price. And we always wanted to live in Seven Oaks - so one small dream of many fulfilled. Oh and one more thing - I did not go there with Realtor. My strategy was to use Realtor for pre owned homes and go by myself for new homes since I was very clear on what I wanted, what to look for in the house and all that kinda stuff. My realtor was VERY nice person, not pushy at all and she almost bought me a nice home - pre owned - but suddenly Stan Pac came way down in price to agree on my offer than their last stance so I decided to buy the new home. I noticed that in new homes, many builders came down a lot in pricing when I went without realtor. Even those who initially said it doesnt make difference (i.e. Lennar@ Heritage) also came down heavily in their offer when I told them I have already narrowed down one home. From my experience of house hunting I can tell that there are builders who will give deeper discount if you go without Realtors. I know the common saying is, the money they pay to Realtor comes from seperate pool but eventually it is coming from the same company! Again, I am not suggesting to not use Realtor. If someone doesn't know what to look for in homes (fine prints) or do not want headeche of looking up each home themselves its worth using Realtor service (as I used for pre owned homes). But for new homes, especially if you are local and know your stuff - just go by yourself.
Thought to share my feelings with u folks. Thanks a lot everyone for everything you suggested.
I bought the house from Stan Pac. Since its inventory home got what I saw...got it inspected before signing the contract - there were no major issues. No lien issues either. Though I'm not buying house for investment purpose (I am buying it to enjoy living there, first and foremost ) I found from property appraiser data that the price I finally agreed to pay was much lesser than similar purchases by people as recent as in 10th month of last year. They even bought down mortgage rate and no PMI even when I'm putting less than 20% - not that I am bragging about it but just feeling that atleast I did not over pay. When I saw what people paid in 2006 on Pasco county property appraiser site I was so surprised - how inflated prices were 2 years back! From the original price what builder was asking, after 2 mnths of negotiations they eventually came down 50k at the price I bought it!!! I never expected that. The very last they were coming about 30k down from their original offer and we got stuck at it for more than a month. Then suddenly one day they dropped the price. And we always wanted to live in Seven Oaks - so one small dream of many fulfilled. Oh and one more thing - I did not go there with Realtor. My strategy was to use Realtor for pre owned homes and go by myself for new homes since I was very clear on what I wanted, what to look for in the house and all that kinda stuff. My realtor was VERY nice person, not pushy at all and she almost bought me a nice home - pre owned - but suddenly Stan Pac came way down in price to agree on my offer than their last stance so I decided to buy the new home. I noticed that in new homes, many builders came down a lot in pricing when I went without realtor. Even those who initially said it doesnt make difference (i.e. Lennar@ Heritage) also came down heavily in their offer when I told them I have already narrowed down one home. From my experience of house hunting I can tell that there are builders who will give deeper discount if you go without Realtors. I know the common saying is, the money they pay to Realtor comes from seperate pool but eventually it is coming from the same company! Again, I am not suggesting to not use Realtor. If someone doesn't know what to look for in homes (fine prints) or do not want headeche of looking up each home themselves its worth using Realtor service (as I used for pre owned homes). But for new homes, especially if you are local and know your stuff - just go by yourself.
Thought to share my feelings with u folks. Thanks a lot everyone for everything you suggested.
Sam
Congratulations and I know you will enjoy Seven Oaks.
I totally agree, my experience is similar and not only with the builders. Sometimes you can negotiate prices down if you ahven't got a realtor with you and even realtors are willing to give up some to the sellers to get the deal done. It only works if you know what your doing and can do witkout the help otherwise get a good realtor and title companies have names of the ones who have to most closings in this time market and not 2 years ago, when anything would sell.
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I just want to add to it that Standard Pacific at one point send out emails to realtors offering realtors 11% if they would bring in a buyer. Good for the agent but how fair is the advise the buyer is going to get...
It is hard to be fair if a buyer is choosing between 2 homes and has a hard time making a decision. I don't blame the realtor if he trying to get the 11% instead of 3 or 6% buyers would give them in most cases, but the buyer should be aware of it. I know it is similar in some stores. I remember that in one store the workers would get a bonus selling stuff that was almost impossible to sell, buyers didn't know that but a good sales person can sell almost anything even if it is not in the buyers best interest. 
To bad I didn't mind the free money to the agent.
