anyone done it before? How difficult was it? Any advice or tip from real estate agents are welcome. Came across a house but the seller wants to sell it "by owner", think agent is waste of money...
My personal belief is that if you have to ask these questions, you should get an agent or lawyer who specializes in real estate transactions. Just because the seller doesn't have an agent doesn't mean you don't have to have one. There are simply a lot of things to be aware of that regular folks don't have knowledge of or don't even know they don't know.
Never bought a house, but my parents have sold/bought a house/townhome multiple times. We only used a couple agents in all our business dealings and from what I saw, not all of them are helpful or have you in their best interest. I'm refraining from dropping names because breh could be a CFer.
You can do it with a real estate attorney. I sold my college house in College Station that way. You need good legal contracts. You will have to use a title company to close.
yeah I'm aware of the checklist: formal offer, appraisal & inspection contract, earnest $, title company and closing... just wondering what other things I left off or what issues might arise without having an agent?
Are you saying that the seller won't pay a buyer's agent's fee? That's not a good sign. We just bought a FSBO with an agent, and I wouldn't work with anyone who wouldn't pay my buyer's agent a fee. A good agent does a lot more than show houses. If a seller won't pay for your agent, then what else are you going to have problems with? Our agent has been worth every penny during this process. Our agent was able to find us a good lender who was adept at dealing with my self-employment income, found us an amazing inspector that found a roof issue that the agent was able to negotiate to get fixed, found a good contractor for when the seller's contractor said he fixed the roof and didn't, and was able to negotiate an extended closing and a great price for us. Basically, everything that has gone wrong in the transaction, my agent knows the best person in town to get it fixed. She also knew things about our seller, the builder, and the neighborhood that we never would have known if we hadn't had an experienced agent.
While I agree with everything you said, most agents out there are average to plain bad. I agree with a lot of posters that a lot of agents either just shows houses and nothing more. In fact, I wouldn't take many recommendation from buyer's agents simply because it's in their interest to see the deal through with as little hassle as possible. I mean, their commission is riding on it. Having said that, unless the buyer is super experienced in the home buying process, I'd still get an agent. Obviously, it's good to interview a few before you settle on one.
well here is the thing, I came across this house myself and I already have a mortgage company I've used in the past. The seller indicate they're more willing to go down on the sales price if there's no agent/commission involved, but reluctantly will split the commission if I absolutely prefer to use an agent.
If you change your mind on the agent, PM me, I have a really good one that might take a smaller commission.
Seriously! Forgo the agent. Are you will to pay the 3%? If I was selling my house FSBO, I would make the buyer pay. Let me ask you this question: Name one thing hiring an agent that a good real estate lawyer, appraiser and inspector can not do? You could argue they may be able to negotiate a better price, but they are automatically jacking the price up 3% right off the bat. Again Good Lawyer Good Home Inspector Good Appraiser You will have to pay for these regardless, but with out the agent, you can easily have the seller pay them. Also, a buyers agent often recommends their lawyers, inspectors and appraisers. I always strongly recommend you finding your own. You want people to represent your best interests, not ones who want the transaction done to ensure everyone makes a cut.
Good advice above. If you're a first time buyer and have no clue about how buying a house works, then get an agent. Otherwise, if you're a fully functional adult, then skip the agent. Pay the lawyer. Buyer and seller both save money.
