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  Rebel Without a Cause
Posts: 2758
   
Location: Adopt a homeless pet - www.petfinder.com! | First time homebuyer question! We're going to be looking for a realtor soon to purchase in the OKC metro area, preferably in the eastern Oklahoma county area. I see ads for realtors specializing in this area particularly and that sounds good but how do you go about finding one that represents you and not the home seller? How are you protected if use a realtor who ends up wanting to sell you a listing when they are the sellers agent, too? Is this something to even be concered about? |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| Calangelo - 2014-09-06 6:23 PM First time homebuyer question! We're going to be looking for a realtor soon to purchase in the OKC metro area, preferably in the eastern Oklahoma county area. I see ads for realtors specializing in this area particularly and that sounds good but how do you go about finding one that represents you and not the home seller? How are you protected if use a realtor who ends up wanting to sell you a listing when they are the sellers agent, too? Is this something to even be concered about?
i belive they have a contract called a buyers contract.
but alway follow ur instincts allway get a home inspection termite letters look on line look at county tax assessorws web site
look at neighbor several different times aday ask what kind of fire deptas the distant for fire hyrant affect ins get a home warranttiy |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Congratulations!!!
If you know people in the area who have purchased homes, ask them who they used. More or less, interview a few agents and go with your gut. Tell them what you are looking for and ask them to pull a few listings - are they spot on? Are the properties what you're looking for but priced too high? Ask them about their agencies policies on purchasing a house they have listed. I'm not sure what the technical rules are or if they vary from state to state, but it's something to be upfront about.
I've bought 2 houses and sold one. In each case I wasn't super pleased with the realtor I used to buy. I LOVED the realtor I used to sell my Michigan house though. When I was interviewing agents to sell it she came in guns a blazin' ready to go, had comparables ready to look at and overall just seemed like someone who was going to work for me - which was good, since I would be selling the house form 8 hours away. The other gal that came just took some pictures asked if I had any questions and said she'd send me a listing mock up. I knew who I was going with before she sent me the listing.
Edited by OhMax 2014-09-06 6:43 PM
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 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | You have already received some really good advice here -- just remember to do YOUR HOMEWORK and try to educate yourself as much as possible about home-buying, the contract, etc. and do everything you should do to protect yourself, i.e. home inspection (don't just accept whomever the agent recommends -- get references on an inspector -- check around). Do your own walk-around, "inspection". Make sure there are no sewer issues in the neighborhood you are looking.... READ ALL CONTRACTS. READ ALL CONTRACTS. Don't sign anything until you READ IT and UNDERSTAND it. Ask questions until you understand. Do not let an agent rush you into anything, i.e. "if we don't get a contract / offer now the house is going to get away from you!" If it does, it was not your house... be diligent. Buying - or building - a new home is a wonderful thing! But you must do your part to assure it is a great experience. There are wonderful books you can buy that will help you understand what is going on - invest in one -- or two. The first time we bought, we hired an attorney with real estate experience to represent us to review all contracts and be at closing with us -- to assure we did not miss anything. It certainly gave us peace of mind and was well worth the money spent (which in the grand scheme of a home purchase was minimal). And I think it put the Realtor on "alert" to make sure she dotted her I's and crossed her T's and we learned a lot from him through the experience that we put to use for future transactions. |
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Expert
Posts: 1561
| I cant believe in the age of the internet we still pay people big dollars to help us buy and sell properties... |
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Rebel Without a Cause
Posts: 2758
Location: Adopt a homeless pet - www.petfinder.com! | Thanks for the input everyone! I'm defintely the type to research something to death and get all the info in advance. We want to go VA for no down and no PMI. From what I understand the VA inspection process is more stringent than normal? I like the idea of hiring an attorney to represent us for contracts, etc., I like peace of mind and although this will be our first home purchase, we're not youngsters anymore and this will be the home and property we plan to stay in to retirement, at least. All of my friends and co-workers bought homes in the city and we want rural/county for horse property so the agents they've recommended don't normally work in the areas we're looking. |
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Rebel Without a Cause
Posts: 2758
Location: Adopt a homeless pet - www.petfinder.com! | Itsme - 2014-09-06 7:30 PM I cant believe in the age of the internet we still pay people big dollars to help us buy and sell properties... Coming from a first time home buyer, and the fact that neither my spouse and I are attorneys, we'll gladly pay someone to help and represent us.
Edited by Calangelo 2014-09-07 11:41 AM
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 Baby Blue's
Posts: 7306
Location: Texas | We bought a house over the summer with no realtor. We paid an attorney $500 and did the rest ourselves. It's really not a big deal. When we had questions, we either asked the attorney or the title company (they were great). There are some GREAT realtors out there but we certainly couldn't find one. It's kind of a necessary evil when you sell (at least here) so your listing is placed on the busiest website. We had 2 different realtors list our house and they were worthless. If you watch the market at all, you should have a good idea about comps - it doesn't take a genius. |
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 Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Calangelo - 2014-09-06 5:23 PM First time homebuyer question! We're going to be looking for a realtor soon to purchase in the OKC metro area, preferably in the eastern Oklahoma county area. I see ads for realtors specializing in this area particularly and that sounds good but how do you go about finding one that represents you and not the home seller? How are you protected if use a realtor who ends up wanting to sell you a listing when they are the sellers agent, too? Is this something to even be concered about?
An agent can represent the buyer and the seller. Legally and ethically they have to be unbiased and work for both parties equally. My husband is a Realtor, but I realize that not everyone out there is as morally grounded as he is.
Realtors are a great asset for asking the questions that you may not know to ask. They handle all of the paperwork and arrange all of the necessary inspections. For what I see Greg go through on some deals I cannot imagine buying a house without representation.
You pay nothing as a buyer for representation. |
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Rebel Without a Cause
Posts: 2758
Location: Adopt a homeless pet - www.petfinder.com! | rachellyn80 - 2014-09-08 1:22 PM Calangelo - 2014-09-06 5:23 PM First time homebuyer question! We're going to be looking for a realtor soon to purchase in the OKC metro area, preferably in the eastern Oklahoma county area. I see ads for realtors specializing in this area particularly and that sounds good but how do you go about finding one that represents you and not the home seller? How are you protected if use a realtor who ends up wanting to sell you a listing when they are the sellers agent, too? Is this something to even be concered about? An agent can represent the buyer and the seller. Legally and ethically they have to be unbiased and work for both parties equally. My husband is a Realtor, but I realize that not everyone out there is as morally grounded as he is.
Realtors are a great asset for asking the questions that you may not know to ask. They handle all of the paperwork and arrange all of the necessary inspections. For what I see Greg go through on some deals I cannot imagine buying a house without representation.
You pay nothing as a buyer for representation.
Thank you! That is very helpful. Does your huband know any realtors in the OKC metro area that he would recommend? |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Are you looking for a residential property or more of a rural/acreage type of place? |
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Rebel Without a Cause
Posts: 2758
Location: Adopt a homeless pet - www.petfinder.com! | House with about 5 or so acres. Eastern Oklahoma County. |
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Selecting a Realtor Question