use a realtor?

[Anonymous]

We are looking for a house in our neighborhood for my parents. Ideally we will get this done within the next few years, but the timing is flexible. What is the best way to see houses for sale? I am hesitant to involve a realtor, because I'm not sure of when exactly we will buy. Also, I'm open to working directly with a seller, so I am not sure if it is right to take a realtor's time. Maybe I could use Redfin realtor?

[Anonymous]

Not sure what the timing of it all has to do with using an agent or not. If you want someone who will give you good advice, walk you through the process, facilitate everything (contract, settlement, inspections, appraisals), make sure you're not spending too much for the house you choose and consult with you to make sure you're making rational/good decisions, hire an agent. If you want to do it all yourself, don't.... But in the end, any seller using an agent won't benefit by YOU not using an agent....their agent will just get the whole commission (say, 6%) instead of having to split it with your agent. So, no better deal for you, and you lose representation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what the timing of it all has to do with using an agent or not. If you want someone who will give you good advice, walk you through the process, facilitate everything (contract, settlement, inspections, appraisals), make sure you're not spending too much for the house you choose and consult with you to make sure you're making rational/good decisions, hire an agent. If you want to do it all yourself, don't.... But in the end, any seller using an agent won't benefit by YOU not using an agent....their agent will just get the whole commission (say, 6%) instead of having to split it with your agent. So, no better deal for you, and you lose representation.

NP here but I'm sure the timing relates to pressure the OP may feel to buy now instead of at a later point when OP/OP's family is ready.

That's also not entirely true regarding the commission. If you present an offer below list (let's just say 2.5% to keep things simple), any ethical realtor will take their 3% and allow the buyer to keep the other 3%.

If you're just browsing houses now try going to some open houses to get a feel for what the pricing looks like on houses (size, upgrades, etc.) so you can build some knowledge especially since you're not in a rush.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what the timing of it all has to do with using an agent or not. If you want someone who will give you good advice, walk you through the process, facilitate everything (contract, settlement, inspections, appraisals), make sure you're not spending too much for the house you choose and consult with you to make sure you're making rational/good decisions, hire an agent. If you want to do it all yourself, don't.... But in the end, any seller using an agent won't benefit by YOU not using an agent....their agent will just get the whole commission (say, 6%) instead of having to split it with your agent. So, no better deal for you, and you lose representation.

NP here but I'm sure the timing relates to pressure the OP may feel to buy now instead of at a later point when OP/OP's family is ready.

That's also not entirely true regarding the commission. If you present an offer below list (let's just say 2.5% to keep things simple), any ethical realtor will take their 3% and allow the buyer to keep the other 3%.

If you're just browsing houses now try going to some open houses to get a feel for what the pricing looks like on houses (size, upgrades, etc.) so you can build some knowledge especially since you're not in a rush.

Unfortunately not true. We ended up buying a FSBO thru a friend and got a great deal, but most of the sellers agents we spoke with prior to finding our particular house were not interested in giving a rebate/discount to an unrepresented seller. Most of them were total jerks actually.

OP, if you know a lot of people in the neighborhood just get the word out that you are looking for your parents. That's what we did. We were "moving up" within the same neighborhood and told anyone and everyone that we were interested in FSBO. In the end we saw 3 (in addition to seeing tons of regular listings) and bought the third. Our good friend hooked us up with the sellers, her neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Right - a FSBO situation would be the ONLY real reason that you'd benefit from not using an agent (financially). This is assuming you know what home values are and appropriate pricing and feel pretty confident with it. Being an agent for 10 years now has shown me that FSBOs almost ALWAYS think their house is worth more (sometimes significantly more) than it is, and that nothing is ever wrong with their house. "Oh, that leak? We just put a pan under it during really heavy rainstorms, and it's fine. It dries up between storms. Our roof is only 17 years old!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what the timing of it all has to do with using an agent or not. If you want someone who will give you good advice, walk you through the process, facilitate everything (contract, settlement, inspections, appraisals), make sure you're not spending too much for the house you choose and consult with you to make sure you're making rational/good decisions, hire an agent. If you want to do it all yourself, don't.... But in the end, any seller using an agent won't benefit by YOU not using an agent....their agent will just get the whole commission (say, 6%) instead of having to split it with your agent. So, no better deal for you, and you lose representation.

NP here but I'm sure the timing relates to pressure the OP may feel to buy now instead of at a later point when OP/OP's family is ready.

That's also not entirely true regarding the commission. If you present an offer below list (let's just say 2.5% to keep things simple), any ethical realtor will take their 3% and allow the buyer to keep the other 3%.

If you're just browsing houses now try going to some open houses to get a feel for what the pricing looks like on houses (size, upgrades, etc.) so you can build some knowledge especially since you're not in a rush.

Unfortunately not true. We ended up buying a FSBO thru a friend and got a great deal, but most of the sellers agents we spoke with prior to finding our particular house were not interested in giving a rebate/discount to an unrepresented seller. Most of them were total jerks actually.

OP, if you know a lot of people in the neighborhood just get the word out that you are looking for your parents. That's what we did. We were "moving up" within the same neighborhood and told anyone and everyone that we were interested in FSBO. In the end we saw 3 (in addition to seeing tons of regular listings) and bought the third. Our good friend hooked us up with the sellers, her neighbors.

Well, worst case you can always use someone like that guy described on another thread that charges by the hour and rebates the unused portion of the commission back to you. You'll have minimal representation but you'll get almost the entire 3% back. I would only recommend this strategy if you're willing to put the time and effort into going to houses and getting a firm grasp on how pricing works in your specific area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right - a FSBO situation would be the ONLY real reason that you'd benefit from not using an agent (financially). This is assuming you know what home values are and appropriate pricing and feel pretty confident with it. Being an agent for 10 years now has shown me that FSBOs almost ALWAYS think their house is worth more (sometimes significantly more) than it is, and that nothing is ever wrong with their house. "Oh, that leak? We just put a pan under it during really heavy rainstorms, and it's fine. It dries up between storms. Our roof is only 17 years old!"

Haha, valuing homes is not rocket science. You make it seem like Realtors are brainiacs; really they got the certificate at a course over the weekend.

As for FSBO, *every* seller thinks their house is worth more than it is; it's just realtors looking to make a commission quick that bring them down to reality.

OP, if time is on your side, line up a real estate attorney, and walk up to houses you like and explain you are looking buy their house if they are interested.