Do I need an agent just to go see a house (one-off) not during an open house?

[Anonymous]

I know this has been addressed at least in passing, before, but I would appreciate some specific guidance. Here is our situation: we are currently living abroad. We plan to move to Potomac in about a year, and so we have been researching the market heavily on line just to get a feel for it. We also visited this summer and drove around A LOT and pinpointed one or two neighbor hoods we really like. Our plan has been to rent for a year after we arrive in order to conduct a search on site and let us get to know the area better. BUT, we just saw a house listed which we LOVE in a neighborhood we also LOVE, and so we are tempted to buy early and move right in. I have a trip to the area coming up in a couple of weeks, so if the house is still on the market, I want to take a look and consider an offer. But, since this really is a bit of an impulsive move, and since we are not generally planning on a full assault housing search at the moment, I really just want to go see the house without having to interview and choose a buyer's agent. If this really is "the one", I would then like to keep options open, i.e., (a) not use a buyers agent and just use the listing agent; (b) not use a buyers agent and use a real estate lawyer; or (c) contact a buyers agent at that time to represent us in this transaction.

So, my questions for you experts out there are primarily:

1. what do I need to do to go see the house without an agent but without shutting out any of my options; and

2. any comments on my three options if we really are crazy enough to put in an offer now?

Many thanks in advance. As we are in serious relocation planning mode at the moment, I cannot tell you how valuable this site has been!

[Anonymous]

you could ask the listing agent to show you the house. you won't be permitted into the house without a chaperone, for obvious reasons.

keep in mind if you don't use a buyers agent, you're not going to save any money. just means that the listing agent will pocket the entire commission and you won't have anyone advocating for you during the transaction (home inspection, etc).

also depending on your price point, that house is very likely to be gone by a couple of weeks.

[Anonymous]

agree with previous poster. the seller has an agent and will have to pay him full commission depending on their agreement. if you have a buyer's agent, your agent will simply take part of the commission of the seller's agent. if you do not have an agent, the seller's agent will keep his/her entire commission. if you show up and ask the seller's agent to share his commission with you, he/she is probably going to laugh in your face, unless he/she wants to help unload the house that is really overpriced and there are no other buyers, at that point I do not see your advantage of doing it without an agent if you end up overpaying a house

plus, even if you have been doing research online, you do not know the area I assume, so the help of an agent could be good for you

[Anonymous]

thanks, both, that's helpful. I have no issue with using a buyer's agent in principle - it's not the money I'm thinking about, but rather being "stuck" with a buyers agent without having the opportunity to find the right one. If we really love the house when we get to see it next month (and I realize that it may go in the meantime, but we're relying on karma - if it's meant to be, it will still be there, also, the house is, we think, a bit on the high side so it may not go so quickly), I don't mind finding an agent or real estate lawywer then and there who can help us with the closing etc. because it would be the mechanics and we wouldn't need to have a relationship over time. If, however, we don't take this one house then we want to get there next year, meet some agents, find the right "fit" and go house hunting. I don't want to get "stuck" with a buyers agent just because I needed to find someone quickly to get us in to see this one house. Does that make sense? I'm going to be in the area on business, not for house hunting, so this really is a chance encounter.

If I understand between the lines on your good advice, I can indeed go and see the house unrepresented without running risks ... is that right? Can I just call the listing agent and set up an appointment if there is no open house scheduled? Is there any magic language I need to use to make sure I don't inadvertently end up stuck with the listing agent representing me at the same time?

[Anonymous]

Lots of people buy as their own agent. You can represent yourself. The listing agent can meet you at the house to show you the home. Do not advertise you don't have an agent. Similarly-do not sign any "sign in sheet" requesting who your agent is/or if you don't have one. When you are ready to make the offer, hire a lawyer, make the offer, and have 2 home inspections.
People do this every day.

[Anonymous]

Or call redfin - they'll take you to see a home.

[Anonymous]

And you can also ask any agent to show you this house and have a buyer's agreement for this specific property only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people buy as their own agent. You can represent yourself. The listing agent can meet you at the house to show you the home. Do not advertise you don't have an agent. Similarly-do not sign any "sign in sheet" requesting who your agent is/or if you don't have one. When you are ready to make the offer, hire a lawyer, make the offer, and have 2 home inspections.
People do this every day.

when she contacts the seller's agent directly for a showing it will be obvious that she does not have an agent, since otherwise her agent would call. I do not think the seller's agent could represent her since there would be a giant conflict of interest. at the very least the agent would have to disclose in writing to both the seller and the buyer and get both parties to authorized in wiriting.

a lot of people represent themselves as buyers every day, you are right, but what is the purpose of doing it in this case? the only advantage I see is when buyers buy from an owner directly, so both seller and buyer can split the commission. but in this case, there is an agent who will pocket a 6% commission, and the buyer will have no competent representation and will have to do a lot of work on her on (i.e. finding and hiring two competent and reputable home inspectors, finding the real estate lawyer and so on - a good agent has experience on this and knows where to look). what is the purpose of doing all the work and having nobody to advise you on a major purchase when you are not even from the area? If I was the OP, I would try to contact friends or people in the area for references on good buyer's agents and just get on the phone with some of thehm. I would get one for this house, making sure I do not get myself into any long term contract. if this house does not work, when you come in the future you can always start your search for another buyer's agent

[Anonymous]

OP here - lightbulb moment - I didn't reallize I could contact a buyer's agent to help with one house only. Am I understanding that correctly? So I could contact any buyer's agent, ask them to help me visit this one house, visit the house, and, if I want to buy it, I stick with that agent. If I don't want to buy it, and we do what we had originally planned, which was to move to the area, rent for a year, interview and agree with a buyer's agent we really like and then do a proper search for a property, then I can either continue to use that agent, but I am free to use another agent. Do I understand that correctly? If so, then I will fund a buyer's agent from a reputable agency by phone right now to help me visit this one house on the one day I will have free when visitng the area next month (if the house is still there ... fingers crossed!@)

[Anonymous]

OP here again - reading that last post, I realize I sound like a complete neophyte hick, but really, my only property purchase experience has been abroad, and trust me, it's a COMPLETELY different system!

[Anonymous]

Sorry - one more naive question from the OP ... could I find another agent with the same firm as the listing agent, or is that asking for trouble?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people buy as their own agent. You can represent yourself. The listing agent can meet you at the house to show you the home. Do not advertise you don't have an agent. Similarly-do not sign any "sign in sheet" requesting who your agent is/or if you don't have one. When you are ready to make the offer, hire a lawyer, make the offer, and have 2 home inspections.
People do this every day.

when she contacts the seller's agent directly for a showing it will be obvious that she does not have an agent, since otherwise her agent would call. I do not think the seller's agent could represent her since there would be a giant conflict of interest. at the very least the agent would have to disclose in writing to both the seller and the buyer and get both parties to authorized in wiriting.

a lot of people represent themselves as buyers every day, you are right, but what is the purpose of doing it in this case? the only advantage I see is when buyers buy from an owner directly, so both seller and buyer can split the commission. but in this case, there is an agent who will pocket a 6% commission, and the buyer will have no competent representation and will have to do a lot of work on her on (i.e. finding and hiring two competent and reputable home inspectors, finding the real estate lawyer and so on - a good agent has experience on this and knows where to look). what is the purpose of doing all the work and having nobody to advise you on a major purchase when you are not even from the area? If I was the OP, I would try to contact friends or people in the area for references on good buyer's agents and just get on the phone with some of thehm. I would get one for this house, making sure I do not get myself into any long term contract. if this house does not work, when you come in the future you can always start your search for another buyer's agent

She/he could use the seller's agent to see the house. If interested- contact the seller directly yourself. Agree to split commission.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I'd just call the listing agent and ask to see the house. Have a real estate attorney lined up so that you can call them if you decide to purchase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I'd just call the listing agent and ask to see the house. Have a real estate attorney lined up so that you can call them if you decide to purchase.

I agree. You don't want to ask them to HELP you see the house, you just want to make an appt to see it.

I'd get an attorney hired before you see the home so they can advise if you have any questions. Also, the realtor cannot provide you an attorney contact; you need to do this yourself.

[Anonymous]

OP, you can absolutely use a buyer's agent for just the one house, or one day, one week, whatever. A good buyer's agent, like the one we have, will not make an issue of signing forms right away, in other words, they are prepared to give you a "sample" of their services before you "buy.". Good ones will not pester you. We love ours, and he did not ask us to sign an agreement until just before we put in an offer (which btw has been accepted, hurrah!).

As for your other question about seller/buyer agents from the same firm, you may find that around here it is hard to avoid. One large firm has a lot of the market sewn up. Pros and cons--nice coz they all know each other, makes things go smoothly. Lots of associated services (like mtg broker, homeowners insurance' settlement firm), but you are free to use others. You do wonder a bit whether there is not some collusion going on, but our experience has been very good--we have felt very well represented.

One other thing--if one or both of you is not a US citizen, it may be tricky to get a mortgage (if you need one). One of us is not, and we ended up having the mortgage just in one name.

Good luck and welcome!!