So you're looking for a new house or a lot for sale on which you can build your dream house. You know you need to enlist the aid of a real estate agent. Here are some tips that will help you find the right one.
The first thing to remember and, ironically, the most important thing for a lot of people, is that your real estate agent will not be working for you. That's a common misconception. No matter who the real estate agent is and how close your personal ties may be, the agent's primary objective is to sell a piece of property to you. In fact, his income depends on that sale. The larger you pay for the property you want, the bigger his commission. Bear that in mind: it is in the real estate agent's interest to make you spend more.
Sometimes we become really comfortable and open with sales people that we share confidential matters that can have huge bearing on a potential sale. For instance, you may tell them that you are desperate for a piece of property because you have to move out of your old house within a week. This lets your sales agent know that they can sell the property to you at a high price. As a general rule, don't let anyone know how much you are willing to pay for a new house or lot.
Oftentimes, the first question that a real estate agent throws at you is precisely that: how much are you willing to pay? It's an old ploy so don't fall for it. In response, simply state the price that you want to pay and, if they ask again, tell them that's the ceiling. Add that if the seller does not agree to that price, then there is nothing to talk about and move on. Chances are great that a serious seller (or buyer, for that matter) will immediately turn down a prospect upon hearing the first bid. In all likelihood, a serious buyer or seller will negotiate and explore options.
Finally, don't let your real estate agent choose the lawyer who will write up the property agreement, precisely because the agent is trying to sell you something. It would be far better if you selected your attorney yourself.
Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Real Estate, Business, and Finance.
1 comment:
Recently my finance' and I were in the market to purchase a home. I had quite a few friends who were Realtors and made my choice.
We didn't waste any time finding a home and putting an offer in. We looked at 3 homes within 3 hours and put an offer in on the last one we saw that very morning.
Excited about our home and upcoming wedding we waited anxiously for the seller to accept our offer, and they did.
My first real gut feeling that made me feel that our agent was not on our side is re: the inspection. We told him at the table while we were putting in the offer that we wanted to choose or own inspector and that we had someone in mind. Also, since we were trying to close in less than a month we were in a huge time crunch. We called our Realtor a few times to see if we cuould get our inspector over and he said no, that he would contact us when the time came to bring in the inspector. Eight days passed and finally i received a text saying we need to get the inspection scheduled today. After about a 30 minute back and fourth of texting (which thankfully I saved) we got the inspection scheduled. I was beside myself however, called my fiance to tell him about the text conversation and how our Realtor stated in a text message that we couldn't schedule our own inspection. From that point forward we never really felt that our Realtor was looking out for us, even though I had known him for years.
We ended up resending our offer on the home because the sellers lied about the condition of the HVAC and the age of it, but before we resended our agent came to us with what he considered to be a fair offer to go back with to the sellers. It was definitely not a fair offer and my fiance and I were in complete shock. We talked that evening and the only thing we could figure is that the agent had some kind of the deal on the table with the listing agent to come in near full asking price. (Our Realtor did previously work for the listing agent and the listing agent markets on tv, radio and print that he can get usually get full asking price).
The next morning we fired our Realtor, and threats began. The past month has been a complete nighmare with threats from our Realtor. First, they were all verbal over the phone so we couldn't prove them, but he has recently sent emails and I have them saved.
I don't know if I will to to the Realtor association board, but he clearly violated 2 of their code of ethics which I have both in writing so its pretty slam dunk, or If I will just tell my story in hopes that young couples setting out to buy a home are aware of the dangers they face from those who are WORKING FOR THEM.
Things I Wish We Had Done:
When you put an offer on a house you will be signing an agreement. Find the section that states how long your Realtor works for you. Ours wrote in 6 months (we didn't even notice) we were just so excited and trusted him. Next time I know to have them write in 1 month or two at the most.
So after we fired him and purchased another home he said we had to write him in on the deal. We didn't write him in, but at the end of the day he could have sued. I'm so glad we saved every text/email to prove he breached code of ethics.
SAVE ALL CORRESPONDENCE, AND ASK THAT ALL CONTACT BE THROUGH EMAIL. THIS WILL SAVE YOU IF YOU EVER NEED TO BE SAVED.
I could go on for hours about how he had additional compensation coming from the buyers agent once we closed, but in a nutshell please don't think they are working for you. They are working for themselves.
Post a Comment