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I am a Freak
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Location: Nowhere Special | ~~I'm really new to house buying all the other places I own have been through family or blindly falling into them through luck or friends. Never had to deal with a realtor and I guess I was expecting something different or I obviously do not know what to expect. I have called on numerous places and to get a returned phone call from a realtor or a returned email is like pulling teeth.. I think out of the 10 I have contacted one said she would contact me back with properties, that was a month ago and nothing. I got an email back from 2 more but they still have yet to confirm a time to see the properties and nobody ever really has much information on them. One add says outbuildings I asked what "kind of outbuildings" got the MLS emailed to me that says it has no outbuildings and yet the add very specifically said it did but the realtor just didn't answer either way.. 7 acres with no house for a 100K I'm kinda wanting to know whats on it before I go look and waste anyone's time.. My roommate is looking to rent, hes done much better with call backs but the realtors show up in there pajamas (in the middle of the afternoon) with little kids hanging all over them, and my favorite the lady that showed the house to 4 people at the same time after dark with no lights in the house.. We all had to walk around with our phones as flashlights to see the inside of the house. Now to me this just seems awful, I was expecting some form of professionalism and well it sure has not been that experience yet. Is this the norm when dealing with real estate agents or am I just having a run of bad luck? I feel really sorry for the people they are representing that own the homes. |
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Expert
Posts: 1561
| Realtors should be a thing of the past... |
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 Expert
Posts: 1367
Location: mi | I have not recently purchased a house. But I think what you need to do is go find yourself a realtor to represent you and do the looking for you instead of contacting the listing agents on different propertys. This is what my niece just did. She did email him LOTS of places she wanted to go look at, but he was the one that then contacted the listing agents and made the arrangements for her and him to go look at the places. |
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I Really Love Jeans
Posts: 3173
Location: North Dakota | The house next to me is on the market. I have seen the realtor showing it as late as 9:00pm at night. She is very driven! We got lucky and got a great realtor here in Dallas. She found EVERY house within the area we wanted to live and within two days had booked all of them for us to see. We spent two FULL days morning to night seeing everything available, she even ate lunch with us those two days!! You definately want to find someone driven so they work FOR you and what you are looking for! |
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I am a Freak
Posts: 3326
Location: Nowhere Special | Angelica who did you use? I deff need to find someone to do the looking and calling for me cause I am flat frustrated with calling around. |
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 Dr. Ruth
Posts: 9891
Location: Blissfully happy Giants fan!!! | Are you going to get a mortgage? Most lenders dealing with home mortgages have good relattionships with realtors. If you have an idea of where you would like to get a loan, or even if you don't just go to your bank. Ask them who they have dealt with as a realtor and who they recommend. I can tell you they will know the realtors that work their butt off for their customer and those who are not real great at their job.
For the record, I HIGHLY recommend a realtor. We had one recommended to us and she was just FANTASTIC. We know we will buy again and will be using her for sure. Not only did she work her tail off to get us into the home we chose but afterwards she has been our go to when something goes wrong because she knows all of those businesses and who does good work and who doesn't, who price gauges, etc. |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | We had an awesome Realtor. He was very responsive. |
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  Fact Checker
Posts: 16572
Location: Displaced Iowegian | ajs2002 - 2014-02-27 11:41 AM I think what you need to do is go find yourself a realtor to represent you and do the looking for you instead of contacting the listing agents on different propertys.
^^^^ THIS.......
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 I Love My Mares!
Posts: 1613
Location: Moved to Montana | NJJ - 2014-02-27 11:45 AM ajs2002 - 2014-02-27 11:41 AM I think what you need to do is go find yourself a realtor to represent you and do the looking for you instead of contacting the listing agents on different propertys. ^^^^ THIS.......
Yep, get a recomendation or call an office and findsomeone who wants to work for you not the seller. It diesnt cost any more and saves you aton of time. Now a good one wont white wash the truth what your looking for may not exist or be in your price range but it istheir job to know |
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Who Wants to Trade?
Posts: 4692
| Find a realtor to work for YOU. My husband is a realtor and 9 times out of 10 he is the buyer's agent, he just doesn't list many houses. He does sell a good number though! He is constantly looking for houses for people. A good realtor can be a life saver! Also, they can help you with the for sale by owner houses too.
A realtor is basically your personal shopper.
Edited by kuhlmann 2014-02-27 1:10 PM
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| In many states they have abandoned the laws that are called "rule of office" where the broker is held accountable for how his office does business which allows the agents to be unprofessional and act like part timers at walmart ...
One big way of telling if your agent is professional .. your first visit to the office they will go over your finances and indebtedness with a fine tooth comb and start you a file with this estimated information of how much house you can own with your current financial ability. They may even tell you to combine or pay off certain accts ... to increase your buying power. Typical today is 38% of your monthly gross and then your indebtedness is subtracted from this amount with the remainder being your house payment ...
Also they will take notes on what you are seeking and discuss price ranges, taxes, insurance and down payment and escrow funds. Also they will read the entire buyers contract to you paragraph by paragraph to get you knowledgeable on what it contains .... this way if you find what you are looking for you are familiar with the contract and can make an offer immediately in case others are doing contracts at the same time. They may even fill out the buyers side of a contract and send a copy home with you to review and get used to. (no sellers or legal address on contract)
If you have not been pre-approved on how much money you qualify for ... your agent should help you get setup with a lender or two to get that process started . You may not see a house on your first visit ...
also... so many times either the selling or listing agent is lazy and very slow about presenting contracts and the other 5 standard items that take place on a residential sale... ... a good agent will step over and help push the other agent to action to move the process along by working both sides of the deal in order to have a timely and orderly closing. Once your contract is accepted ... then you begin to deal with a closer at the mortgage company with your agent helping to setup the inspections, appraisals and assisting the closer ... and keeping you informed.
Part timer will throw you in the car and go running around like a tourist looking for a long lost brother-in-law ... lol
Aways keep in mind the listing AND THE SELLING AGENT .. ... BOTH WORK FOR THE SELLER who is paying their commissions.
Drive your new location paying attention to where your job is and driving distance in traffic etc and what type of businesses or sewer plants are in the neighborhood ... lol ... there are reasons houses are priced lower in one quadrant of a city vs another quadrant ... look at where the new housing developments and new shopping centers are .... this will tell you the direction the city is growing which is a good thing for future equity growth in your home. Never buy in a flood plain ...
GOOD LUCK ... HOPE YOUR MARRIAGE HOLDS OUT ... lol
Edited by BARRELHORSE USA 2014-02-27 1:26 PM
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 Veteran
Posts: 108
| NJJ - 2014-02-27 12:45 PM
ajs2002 - 2014-02-27 11:41 AM I think what you need to do is go find yourself a realtor to represent you and do the looking for you instead of contacting the listing agents on different propertys.
^^^^ THIS.......
Very good advice. |
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Blessed 
Location: Here | NJJ - 2014-02-27 12:45 PM ajs2002 - 2014-02-27 11:41 AM I think what you need to do is go find yourself a realtor to represent you and do the looking for you instead of contacting the listing agents on different propertys. ^^^^ THIS.......
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I am a Freak
Posts: 3326
Location: Nowhere Special | BARRELHORSE USA - 2014-02-27 12:15 PM In many states they have abandoned the laws that are called "rule of office" where the broker is held accountable for how his office does business which allows the agents to be unprofessional and act like part timers at walmart ... One big way of telling if your agent is professional .. your first visit to the office they will go over your finances and indebtedness with a fine tooth comb and start you a file with this estimated information of how much house you can own with your current financial ability. They may even tell you to combine or pay off certain accts ... to increase your buying power. Typical today is 38% of your monthly gross and then your indebtedness is subtracted from this amount with the remainder being your house payment ... Also they will take notes on what you are seeking and discuss price ranges, taxes, insurance and down payment and escrow funds. Also they will read the entire buyers contract to you paragraph by paragraph to get you knowledgeable on what it contains .... this way if you find what you are looking for you are familiar with the contract and can make an offer immediately in case others are doing contracts at the same time. They may even fill out the buyers side of a contract and send a copy home with you to review and get used to. (no sellers or legal address on contract) If you have not been pre-approved on how much money you qualify for ... your agent should help you get setup with a lender or two to get that process started . You may not see a house on your first visit ... also... so many times either the selling or listing agent is lazy and very slow about presenting contracts and the other 5 standard items that take place on a residential sale... ... a good agent will step over and help push the other agent to action to move the process along by working both sides of the deal in order to have a timely and orderly closing. Once your contract is accepted ... then you begin to deal with a closer at the mortgage company with your agent helping to setup the inspections, appraisals and assisting the closer ... and keeping you informed. Part timer will throw you in the car and go running around like a tourist looking for a long lost brother-in-law ... lol Aways keep in mind the listing AND THE SELLING AGENT .. ... BOTH WORK FOR THE SELLER who is paying their commissions. Drive your new location paying attention to where your job is and driving distance in traffic etc and what type of businesses or sewer plants are in the neighborhood ... lol ... there are reasons houses are priced lower in one quadrant of a city vs another quadrant ... look at where the new housing developments and new shopping centers are .... this will tell you the direction the city is growing which is a good thing for future equity growth in your home. Never buy in a flood plain ... GOOD LUCK ... HOPE YOUR MARRIAGE HOLDS OUT ... lol
Thank you very much for taking the time to explain all of that to me. I really had no idea how any of this worked and you cleared a lot of that up. How do I go about finding a good realtor for me then? I am not from this area and don't really know all the many people yet. My bank that I'll be dealing with if need be is back home and a regional bank so wouldn't be of any help..
Thanks again |
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Fact Checker
Posts: 16572
Location: Displaced Iowegian | jetgetset - 2014-02-27 6:08 PM. My bank that I'll be dealing with if need be is back home and a regional bank so wouldn't be of any help..
Thanks again
Before you get too far into the process, you had better check with your bank....MANY banks (unless they have regional offices) will NOT loan out of their geographical area. |
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Member
Posts: 11
| Martha Hayward is a good realtor with Century 21 out of Sulphur Springs, Tx. Has many horse properties.
Covered Arena 150x300ft on 15 acres with 1500sqft, 3bed, 1 bath apartment: 300k
http://texasmls.com/homes-for-sale-details/9121-S-FM-275-CUMBY-TX-7... |
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 Potato Soup Queen
Location: Alabama | BARRELHORSE USA - 2014-02-27 1:15 PM In many states they have abandoned the laws that are called "rule of office" where the broker is held accountable for how his office does business which allows the agents to be unprofessional and act like part timers at walmart ... One big way of telling if your agent is professional .. your first visit to the office they will go over your finances and indebtedness with a fine tooth comb and start you a file with this estimated information of how much house you can own with your current financial ability. They may even tell you to combine or pay off certain accts ... to increase your buying power. Typical today is 38% of your monthly gross and then your indebtedness is subtracted from this amount with the remainder being your house payment ... Also they will take notes on what you are seeking and discuss price ranges, taxes, insurance and down payment and escrow funds. Also they will read the entire buyers contract to you paragraph by paragraph to get you knowledgeable on what it contains .... this way if you find what you are looking for you are familiar with the contract and can make an offer immediately in case others are doing contracts at the same time. They may even fill out the buyers side of a contract and send a copy home with you to review and get used to. (no sellers or legal address on contract) If you have not been pre-approved on how much money you qualify for ... your agent should help you get setup with a lender or two to get that process started . You may not see a house on your first visit ... also... so many times either the selling or listing agent is lazy and very slow about presenting contracts and the other 5 standard items that take place on a residential sale... ... a good agent will step over and help push the other agent to action to move the process along by working both sides of the deal in order to have a timely and orderly closing. Once your contract is accepted ... then you begin to deal with a closer at the mortgage company with your agent helping to setup the inspections, appraisals and assisting the closer ... and keeping you informed. Part timer will throw you in the car and go running around like a tourist looking for a long lost brother-in-law ... lol Aways keep in mind the listing AND THE SELLING AGENT .. ... BOTH WORK FOR THE SELLER who is paying their commissions. Drive your new location paying attention to where your job is and driving distance in traffic etc and what type of businesses or sewer plants are in the neighborhood ... lol ... there are reasons houses are priced lower in one quadrant of a city vs another quadrant ... look at where the new housing developments and new shopping centers are .... this will tell you the direction the city is growing which is a good thing for future equity growth in your home. Never buy in a flood plain ... GOOD LUCK ... HOPE YOUR MARRIAGE HOLDS OUT ... lol
You have given a lot of great advice, some advice though...not so much. First off, we are Realtors, not lenders, and we don't do credit counseling or any such thing. We stay within the guide lines of our job according to the laws in our state. Second, I would never do that on a first app't. with a new client anyway until I build a rapport with them (even if it was within the law)....I mean why would a total stranger sit down with me and tell me all of their financials and income? If they've called me to see a specific home, I make an app't. and show it to them. While on that app't. I will ask questions pertaining to finances, job, etc. without over stepping my bounds as a Realtor. If they don't have a lender, I will recommend a couple that they can call to discuss their finances with and see what they qualify for. I never quiz a client about their finances before I show them a home or two, great way to turn people off. Some realtors won't "waste their time" unless a person is already qualified for a loan, but, I am not one of them. I'll work Sunday - Saturday, and often I do. As I type this, I'm still answering texts from clients and my phone. It's 24/7 for me and my speedy response and staying on top of things is how I've sold some of my listings.
I give my clients at least 3 names of home inspectors and I let them call who they wish, once they set up the inspection time and date, I will be there for the inspection. The lender sets up the appraisal, not the realtor and the only "help" I've had to assist with as far as the underwriter is concerned is maybe re write a contract due to lender guidelines.
And you are DEAD WRONG when you say the listing agent and the selling agent BOTH WORK FOR THE SELLER......that's the quickest way to lose your license in this business! If I represent a buyer on a listing that is not mine or one in my office, then I work for the BUYER........I don't care who's paying commission. The buyer will have signed a buyer's agreement with me way before putting in an offer on a house and I WORK FOR THEM. IF it's my listing, or one in my office, I stay neutral (too lengthy to explain, the hows and why's of that).
Times have changed....people call, they want to see the home, not come to the office. And they want to meet you at the house, which is fine with me. I can guarantee you, I may not operate the way you have described here, but, I am very professional and I sell a lot of houses! :) |
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Potato Soup Queen
Location: Alabama | I forgot to add one important point.... when searching for a home the advice someone gave you to find a good realtor to work with is spot on. You really should avoid going directly to the listing agent if possible and have your own agent.
I always tell people, it's like getting a divorce.....you wouldn't want to use your ex's lawyer would you?
It's not illegal if the Realtor is ethical to use the listing agent to buy a home you wish to purchase, I just think it's best to have your own representation and a signed buyers agreement as "insurance" that they are working for you. |
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| You have given a lot of great advice, some advice though...not so much. First off, we are Realtors, not lenders, and we don't do credit counseling or any such thing. We stay within the guide lines of our job according to the laws in our state. Second, I would never do that on a first app't. with a new client anyway until I build a rapport with them (even if it was within the law)....I mean why would a total stranger sit down with me and tell me all of their financials and income? If they've called me to see a specific home, I make an app't. and show it to them. While on that app't. I will ask questions pertaining to finances, job, etc. without over stepping my bounds as a Realtor. If they don't have a lender, I will recommend a couple that they can call to discuss their finances with and see what they qualify for. I never quiz a client about their finances before I show them a home or two, great way to turn people off. Some realtors won't "waste their time" unless a person is already qualified for a loan, but, I am not one of them. I'll work Sunday - Saturday, and often I do. As I type this, I'm still answering texts from clients and my phone. It's 24/7 for me and my speedy response and staying on top of things is how I've sold some of my listings.
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If your owner broker has not taught his sales force to sit down with buyers and go over their finance's and find out what range they can qualify for with those $1600 per month car and truck payments and $2000 in credit card payments along with some club memberships ...... and trying to get into a house with the $5000 granma left them in her will which has not been probated yet.... he has failed as a broker-owner. How you spend your time also means money to him ....
Without qualifying your buyers ......>>>> You are going to be hauling a lot of gawkers and lookers around on your ga$ and wasting your time looking at that $300,000 neighborhood they just fell in love with .... and can't afford.
And don't tell everyone Realtors are special... every state in the union has relaxed the requirements to get a sales agents license and lowered the penalties for running a lax office. And no pity for you working evenings, holidays and weekends ... real estate agents are working hours when people with 8-5 jobs are NOT working and have the free time to look at houses. As a professional real estate agent the last thing you want to happen is for buyer and seller to meet each other while looking at their home and fall in love and try to become "friends"... someone is going to get screwed when this happens!! Use the next day to setup your agent preview and appt time to SHOW BUYER with seller GONE!!
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I give my clients at least 3 names of home inspectors and I let them call who they wish, once they set up the inspection time and date, I will be there for the inspection. The lender sets up the appraisal, not the realtor and the only "help" I've had to assist with as far as the underwriter is concerned is maybe re write a contract due to lender guidelines.
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You need to re-read and comprehend my statements since you are a professional agent then you should have seen that you will meet the inspector and the appraiser at the property to LET THEM in since only MLS REALTORS have keys to the lock boxes to prevent any funny business from happening. And if you are not actively following the each process and insuring the closer at the mortgage company gets whatever she needs then you have one of those ordeals lasting 3-4 months ...
AND you should know better than to ever re-write a contract to make it look pretty ... any and all of the signers can change what they agreed to previously!! You write an addendum and get only the addendum signed as the only subject being discussed at that time and add it to the original contract!!
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And you are DEAD WRONG when you say the listing agent and the selling agent BOTH WORK FOR THE SELLER......that's the quickest way to lose your license in this business! If I represent a buyer on a listing that is not mine or one in my office, then I work for the BUYER........I don't care who's paying commission. The buyer will have signed a buyer's agreement with me way before putting in an offer on a house and I WORK FOR THEM. IF it's my listing, or one in my office, I stay neutral (too lengthy to explain, the hows and why's of that).
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The seller pays the commission of both listing and selling brokers who split it up with their agents ... if the total commission is 6% of the sales price and you are only the listing or selling agent typical commission to you is 1.5% of the sales price which is $1500 on a $100,000 house. ... and the other 3 real estate people each get their $1500 for a total of $6,000 commission on the sale.
Read your paragraph carefully .... you cannot play both sides and talk out of both sides of your mouth at the same time. As the selling agent you can coach your buyers on not low balling to the point of psssting off the sellers. Your job is to be fair to all parties concerned.
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Times have changed....people call, they want to see the home, not come to the office. And they want to meet you at the house, which is fine with me. I can guarantee you, I may not operate the way you have described here, but, I am very professional and I sell a lot of houses! :) ....
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Lady ... meeting some stranger at a listed house is the quickest way for a real estate agent to end up in a body bag.
For your safety have them meet you at your office and come in to the agent running the front desk and sign in and then go house looking!!
A buyer is a fool to sign any kind of buyers agreement with a real estate agent and there is no law they have to stay with you as their agent. Your contract may read Buyer Etc Etc at the top of it .... but the seller listed with a realtor to be treated fairly by both selling and listing brokers and agents!! All the Buyer brokers I know of have gone out of business ...
AS a broker the most important things I taught agents was simple .... You are not selling anything ... You are here to help people make decisions they ordinarily would not make on their own ........ and to keep track of your clients after the contract has been signed and accepted to assure them they did the right thing so buyers remorse will not kill their joy when buying a house ...
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FYI: I own 49% of 5 real estate offices in 2 states and keep a close eye on them since office laws have gotten so lax and to become an agent so lenient ... I have ethical and moral values I will not compromise even if the state's laws say I can!!
Out of curiosity ... Were you a Million Dollar Producer last year ??
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Edited by BARRELHORSE USA 2014-02-27 11:03 PM
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Potato Soup Queen
Location: Alabama | Your post was hard to read with all your ####### and what not.......plus, I have to get ready to head to a closing! :) I'll
address some of what you said later on for sure.....
but, the short answer to your last question was I a million dollar producer last year...........
YES........... actually 1,872,000.00 Last year and so far for this year I am at 894,000 and the year just started :) |
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