Another house buying question

[medpedspouse]

The book I am reading on house buying constantly reminds the reader that all realtors work for the seller. Even your realtor works for the seller because their $$ is tied to how much that house sells for. One of their suggestions is a buyer's brocker. Other suggestions the book makes are that you should never tell your realtor anything that you do not want the seller to know. I have also been told by 2 friends that you can buy the house without a realtor. One even said that her plan is to do that next time because their realtor "screwed them" when they were buying their home -- sorry for the "s" word. So, now that I view realtors as used car salesmen, what have been your experiences going at it alone? I would certainly, hire an attorney to review the contract(s) BUT I am curious to know what your thoughts are? Any of you used a buyer's broker?

[Flynn]

I think a lot of this depends on the area in question.

Where we moved from on the west coast, not using a realtor was a bad plan.

Anything with "for sale by owner" or using a private lawyer instead of a realtor basically meant your house would take two to three times longer to sell OR it just would not sell and you had to drop the price because you had a "stale listing."

Further, there were many houses you could not access (if you were buying) UNLESS you were tied to a realtor. You could physically NOT go into the house unless you were accompanied by a liscensed realator.

Rates and % of comission is negotiable however.

Just my two cents.

[DCJenn]

If the seller is user a Realtor (a member of the National Board of Realtors) then that person works for the seller. Yes, they want to sell the house for as much as possible- but more importantly, they want to sell the house. A good, professional realtor will not price a house so that it doesn't sell.

We've used a Buyer's Broker for this past transaction because our friend Julie was the listing agent and no one wanted a conflict of interest if things got wierd. It was nice to have someone else to bounce things off and Laura (our broker) made itvery clear that she was working for US. Since we live in such a small town part of San Antonio, everyone knows everyone and our sellers kept trying to call her and she just referred them to their agent and we kept everything on the up and up.

For the house in DC we negotiated a lower commission with our agents- we offered a slightly higher percentage to the buyer's agent. (of course if our guys had sold the house they would have rec'd the entire %age.)

Of course you can buy and sell houses without agents. I wouldn't do it EVER after the experience we had when asshat backed out of the deal in DC. If my agents hadn't been around I would have lost my mind. and of course it was very helpful for our lawyer to have the transcript of the conversations he had with asshat's agent. (when she said we had a poltergeist in our kitchen light, for example)

Jenn

Rates and % of comission is negotiable however.

ITA. Our first realtor sucked (first home purchase). The next 2 we worked with were much better because we were careful about seeking out recommendations and interviewing them.

[SuzySunshine]

If I had it to do over again I would have asked for some rec's and interviewed realtors to buy our house. We've never sold one. I have friends that bought their houses here without realtors, I don't feel our realtor gave us all of the information that was available, I also don't feel going with her recommendation for a mortgage was a good idea.

As for selling, I don't think I would ever sell without one - they know so much more about houses then I could ever dream and that is what they do.

[medpedspouse]

Thanks for the replies! I know several of you have way more experience with this sort of scenario. Here are a couple more suggestions from the book that I had never thought about.
*Drive your own car and follow the realtor from house to house because the casual conversation you engage in may hurt you later when negotiating. Also, this gives you an opportunity to freely discuss your thoughts with your SO.
*Obviously there is a conflict of interest if your realtor is the agent for the house you choose. However, I learned about trying to avoid "dual agency."
*The fact that your realtor is not required to disclose certain "issues" that you may want to consider if they can be seen by the naked eye.
(This one makes sense now that I think back a few months ago when we were just considering places to live...we walked into a house that smelled like gas. When I made a comment, the realtor acted like nothing was wrong. )

Anyway, is this book just anti-realtors or is this for real??

[DCJenn]

The listing agent will require that the sellers complete a disclosure form. This form lists everything from the ages of appliances and the roof to any major repairs. The sellers are required to complete and are supposed to be honest. That said, I've never bought a house without having an inspection nor have I ever sold a house without insisting that the buyer obtain an inspection. In all cases it's evidence in case there are problems. (and FYI- the inspection report on the DC house did not mention evidence of poltergeists, or anything else for that matter!) We always write our contracts contingent upon the findings of the inspection so that we have an out if it appears that the house is about to fall down.

If the inspection report finds issues then you can negotiate with the seller to fix the problems. (unless the property is being sold "as is" in which case you should have the inspection done prior to making an offer)

I would never ride with a realtor unless the realtor was specifically working for me as a buyers agent (and you sign a contract with that agent). Once I have a buyer's agent I have no problem being honest with them- they work FOR YOU at that point.

There's nothing wrong with using an agent from another agency as your buyer's agent- it's kind of like your doctor, lawyer and hairdresser- these people know your financial information, where you work, what your hobbies are, etc- you need someone you feel comfortable with.

What you do need to know is whether there are any agent incentives for the homes you're seeing. We offered a Big Fat hunk of change as an agent's incentive to get them to show our house. They are not obligated to disclose that information. Most reputable agents will not steer you to ONLY those homes but you'll probably see the ones with the best deals for the agent's first. They are business people after all. I'd want to show the houses that my clients might like that benefit me more, too.

Your book seems to have a unique level of paranoia that I have not ever needed. Realtors are dependent on word of mouth for listings- they do not ever want to mess that up.

Jenn

[SuzySunshine]

I agree with everything Jenn said. We were present when they did the inspection on our current house and it was a big help to DH to see and hear what we should be looking for.

We rode with our agent, she was OUR agent and we had signed a contract with her. Plus we didn't know this town, I guarantee we would have gotten lost if we'd tried to follow her.

[Stella]

There are lots of rules that protect the buyer too.

My mom is a Realtor. My stepdad just went into business with her. They run a highly "moral" business and don't like to screw anyone over. It really doesn't help their referral business if they have an unhappy customer. Anyway, I know a ton of realtors from my parents and when I worked in the mortgage business, and I swear not all Realtors or Loan Officers are out to get you. Really.

Not that I'm at ALL defensive.

Anyway, there ARE nasty ones too. It just depends on the person. Try to find a Realtor based on a good referral.

I agree w/Stella: referrals are crucial. And ASK questions of the person who is referring you. We've had good luck w/our realtors on the buying end - but AWFUL luck w/loan officers.

After our hellish closing when buying this house, I called the friend who'd referred him. After I told her of all of our troubles, she said "Yeah. We were really frustrated w/his lack of detail management and slow responsiveness too." Then why in the hell did you refer me to him???

[medpedspouse]

Just like any other profession, there are good people and bad. So, please forgive me for coming across as bashing realtors. It is not my intention. Like I mentioned, I’ve been reading a book (will post the actual Title & Author later) that has made me rethink how I view realtors.

I admit that I have been very naïve because I have always answered any questions they have when riding in their car. They always want to know about your family, what you do, etc. After reading the book, I was thinking that perhaps I should approach the realtor as I approach a car salesperson. Give them as little information as necessary. I know we have discussed this plenty…as soon as someone (who is not in the know) finds out you or your spouse are physicians they think you are rolling in the money. I know your lender needs to know what you do because they want to know how you plan to pay your mortgage. Other than that, does anyone else need to know this information or any other personal info?

I think that what I am struggling with is the fact that I feel like all the small talk/get to know you chit chat I’ve engaged in with realtors may not have been a good idea if we had actually chosen to purchase a house at that time. Thanks for all your responses. I feel less paranoid. Really…I do.

[DCJenn]

At the minimum, your realtor is going to have to know how much you can afford so that they can steer you to houses in that range. Plus, the realtors work with the lending officers for closing and all of the carzy amount of paperwork that is required.

They also need to know what YOU want- what do you do on the weekends- do you garden? Do you have kids/dogs that need a yard? Would you consider a re-do- do you realtistically have time to do house renovations? Stairs? hardwood floors? all that 'stuff' that they ask is also a way to help filter through the inventory- like there's no need to show you a ranch if you know you hate houses on all one floor. or conversely, you know you need X school district so they can filter out the ones that aren't in that area.

Jenn

Jenn and others speak the truth. In short, if you have a reputable buyer's agent, you can tell them many personal things -- so as Jenn says they can work for you. It's only if you're riding in the car with the seller's agent or talking with the sellers themselves that you want to play everything close to the vest.

[medpedspouse]

Oh- I totally agree that I need to tell them exactly what I am looking for in a house. It is the personal stuff that I am now not sure about. For example, I am checking out a new city later this month. When I called a recommended realtor to see if she would show me around she asked where I worked, if I was married, if I had children, how many, what did my husband do, etc. Could she have only asked when do you expect to move, what size house (bedrooms/baths/yard/kitchen, etc.) you are looking for and in what prize range?

My realtor- not the seller's realtor questions were never an issue until I realized that anything I said could get back to the seller.

Thank you so much for your thoughts.

Medpedspouse,

I personally don't worry about personal info. even when I'm just checking out a new city. I'm about to do just that with a realtor this Monday (about the fifth time while on the interview trail so far).

The time (at least in my case) to have all the serious talks about buyer's agency agreements, any incentives, etc. is when you really determine you're going to move to a certain area and after you've decided you like said realtor enough to make him/her your own.

At that time, you can ask the tough questions about dual agency (if need be).

But a lot of the stuff you mention is perfectly normal, innocuous conversation. I know I couldn't ride around in somebody's car for 2 - 3 hours and evade answering everything of that nature.