The Money Fairy

[DCJenn]

You know, maybe my karma is starting to kick in-

(last night, 1:30am puppy next door is playing and then I hear a very strange noise and he starts screaming. I figured he was being attacked by some outdoor animal- so Petey and I climb out of our respective beds and wentoff to investigate- no, poor dumb puppy had hung himself. He was able to squirm and thankfully had enough of an airway to scream but scared the bejeezuz out of me. So, I grabbed him and brought him home and woke Rick up to check him out (Michele will like that part). Eventually I put him back in his own yard but I left a note telling them what happened. He belongs to the women who rent the upstairs apartment- the owner of the house is an AF guy who works overnights. He saw the note and was furious (with good reason because these women totally ignore this dog). My point- and after 4.5 hours of sleep, I'm surprised I can even make one- is that I hope with all of these insane things that I do, that the badness in DC will go away. )

The short answer is yes they had a very good turnout and three live prospects. One guy saw the place on Saturday with an agent and they both came back on Sunday. One guy came and left and came and left and came again with a friend. The third one came w/ and agent and they asked for the sellers disclosures as they were leaving.

Keeps those fingers and toes crossed.

Jenn

Sounds like you have a good level of interest. Fingers crossed!

[rainbabies]

fingers and toes crossed! lets all hope these prospects are playing with a full deck too.

everything crossable is crossed!

poor puppy!

[planet]

Count one more with crossed fingers!

[Phoebe]

Fingers crossed! I believe in the money fairy. I do I do I do! DH got an unexpected bonus check in the mail! We can pay bills!

Jennifer

[Stella]

I get my first commission check next week! I just found out today!

I hope taxes don't eat through the whole thing...

[PrincessFiona]

Yeah, Jenn!!!!!!!!!!!1


Kevin,

I hear where you are coming from (though I would probably dangle a carrot if trying to sell my house!). When we bought our first house here we had no idea that the people were so desperate to sell that they had put a $2500 "whomever sells this house by" carrot to get it sold. As a result, our realtor didn't really listen to our needs and we actually felt backed into a corner to buy this house. A quote from the realtor "there is nothing else on the market right now in your price range <cough bullshit cough> and if you don't make an offer on the house tonight, when the people I'm showing it to tomorrow come through then you will not have a house to move to when you come"

No kidding...she was a total jerk, but we didn't know it, had never bought a home before and started to panic because we were visiting from FL to find something. We really regretted the purchase and have since moved. Oh, and the home was also overpriced for the market and we didn't know that at the time either.

kris

Kris,

Yeah, I'm not saying I wouldn't dangle a carrot either (so, no offense Jenn).

But your story illustrates what I'd worry about as a buyer. I guess I thought simply getting a buyer's agent was being a little more saavy, but apparently it takes a little more than just that.

The only home we've purchased is the townhouse we've lived in through med school. In retrospect, our agent did a great job advising us and I think I'll pick her as our seller's agent when we move. But at the time, I was actually worried with how direct she was (with her advice) -- steer clear from this area, choose between these two, and then ultimately pick this one and make such and such renovations. She was right about all of those things, but at the time I was nervous and skeptical.

Now, fast forward to the possibility of moving for residency in a soft housing market. I think our property is pretty insulated from shocks and we should be in good shape given the price point we bought at, etc. But I think about the short timeframe we may have in a new city to work with a buyer's agent -- whose income may be taking a beat down given the market and who will know we have a tight timeframe and that's why things like "carrots" fuel my fears.

I agree -- I'd have no problem offering the carrot as a seller but would want to know as a buyer. Just depends on which side of the table you are on. I hope the carrot works for you, Jenn!

Kevin, I think one thing that helps is to check out the real estate listings before you look for houses. (Or be completely obsessive about it like me and check the listings for most of the cities on your match list ). You can get a good idea of prices and by watching the same houses, see how fast things move at what price. The only tricky thing is if you can't map it and see if it's on a busy street, facing a liquor store, that sort of thing. When your wife interviews, she might feel like she clicks with a resident or two and be able communicate with them post-match about good locations. We did that too.

[DCJenn]

The agents are obligated to disclose the carrots if you ask I believe, it's just that no one ever asks.

Personally, I wouldn't care if my agent got an extra 1k from someone for directing me to the house of my dreams.

It's a case of being an educated consumer- go online and look at the crime reports and the school data. Look at a map and see if there are parks and other open land areas that may actually not be parks. (Case in point- there was a large tract of land near my parents house that we old-timers all knew was owned by the school system. Imagine the surprise of the new residents when the school system decided to sell to a development company and 400 new townhouses were squeezed in a spot that had been reserved for a high school) Go online to the local newspaper, enter the neighborhood name and see what little tidbits you may find.

Also, know your market- realtor.com is great for getting a feel for prices and Craig's List is great for neighborhood information.

The realtor's job is to buy and sell houses, and they do a lot by word of mouth- so they don't want to lose potential customers by being jerks.

As for title companies- they're the biggest scam artists of the entire process and each state is different. THIS is the area where you can get completely screwed and a little online research can save you big bucks. They'll charge for anything and everything. and make sure you get a "Good Faith Estimate" before you go to settlement so that you can make sure that they're not charging you things like "document courier fees" and "copying" fees. that's padding and you can negotiate their removal. and in some cases the fees are illegal. (In Texas, everything is done online and there ARE no couriers. Ergo- they can't charge you)

I go into real estate transactions with a "bring it on, asshats" attitude. The educated consumer is an agent's and title attorney's worst nightmare, expecially one that asks questions.

Jenn

The agents are obligated to disclose the carrots if you ask I believe, it's just that no one ever asks.

I'll know to ask now.

I agree that getting educated is the best defense. Heck, learning about "carrots" such as these has been wonderful education.

I certainly don't care if the agent pockets any commission (even the carrots we're talking about) -- if the transaction results in the me the buyer getting the best home for me as well.

Or, if let's say we're trying to decide between two equally good choices and one happens to put some extra dough in the agent's pocket.

But, if I didn't know to ask (which I do know now) and some agent was pushing me towards a particular property that wouldn't be best for me (for an unbeknownst to me) carrot, that would stink.

For the record, you'll never hear me begruding anyone a dollar (just because their making a dollar).

[MissCrabette]

I thought I'd clear up the bonus disclosure debate here. As part of the offer that the buyer writes with his/her agent, there is a commission, fee sharing, and bonus disclosure addendum that the buyer has to sign. So yes, the bonus is disclosed. Maybe not at the time of the showing, but definitely at the time the offer is written up.

[KCwife]

I thought I'd clear up the bonus disclosure debate here. As part of the offer that the buyer writes with his/her agent, there is a commission, fee sharing, and bonus disclosure addendum that the buyer has to sign. So yes, the bonus is disclosed. Maybe not at the time of the showing, but definitely at the time the offer is written up.

Huh? Never, ever has a realtor been that upfront with us. We usually find out crap at closing.

[MissCrabette]

Where's the foot in mouth icon when you need it? There's no question that the practice of not disclosing a buyer's agent bonus to the buyer is questionable at the very least. Now wether or not real estate agents also take the next step and have their buyers sign such a disclosure, I guess that's a matter of company policy. We do it so I didn't think twice when I posted.