Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Asking the seller questions directly
We have started looking at houses to buy. A few of the houses we have seen have stated 'need some tlc', but really needed a whole lot of work when we get there.
We don't mind doing some work on a house if the price is low enough to reflect the work that needs done, but we don't want to spend months on a renovation
My question is: Is it appropriate for me to email a seller directly if I see a listing online, asking about the amount of work that needs done? Do I have to go through my realtor? I only ask because my realtor is part-time, he is also a firefighter and although he said to contact him whenever, if I can find out a little info about a house through the seller then it cuts out the amount of time going back and forth with various listings.
I emailed a seller today basically letting them know that we are interested in a house but would like to know the amount of work that it needs (listing said it needed a little). They emailed back basically saying that if I have an agent I should be going through them.
ETA. When I say seller, I meant the sellers agent.
Re: Asking the seller questions directly
I agree that you should go through your buyer's agent. If your agent said you contact him anytime than I would take advantage of it. He'll let you know if it becomes a problem. As a firefighter, I'm sure he has some down time where he can answer calls or shoot off a few e-mails from his phone. Honestly though, I think you need to just set up appointments to see the houses in question. You won't know unless you see it with your own eyes if it is something you are willing to take on or not.
If you have a realtor that has spent their time taking you to houses, then you need to go through your realtor. It is completely wrong to bypass a realtor that has invested their time with you b/c they won't get the commission for what they have done.
You really should have your agent contact them. With that said, all you really have to do is make sure that the first thing you say is that you are represented by a buyer's agent. Kinda like you would do if you went to an open house without your agent.
Thank you everyone for the replies.
This is our first time buying a home so we arent's 100% on the ettiquette involved. I will make sure to go through my agent from now on, I didn't realise that contacting the buyer wasn't appropriate.
You go thru your agent.
A home inspection will help you identify what needs to be done in addition to what is obvious or you want done. THEN you make a decsion to continue or not. Make sure you have acceptable inspection clause in your offers.
I was struck during the home-buying process just how formal and legal everything is. We really didn't have any direct interaction with the seller -- we were both present during the inspection, and it was kind of awkward, because there were a lot of things we weren't supposed to say in front of the seller. Our buyer's agent communicated with his seller's agent, and we both had our opportunities to talk to our own agent and get their insight and help before responding.
Plus, that's just a hard question for the seller to answer. Most people don't even know all the things wrong with the house -- those ofen come up during the inspection, but sometimes don't. Plus, what needed fixing for us (carpeted bathrooms, wallpaper everywhere) wasn't something the previous homeowner considered a problem. And, again with the legal stuff -- I'm pretty sure there are some laws about what the homeowner has to declare if you ask them directly, and they don't want to get sued for not disclosing things to you. I would not know exactly what I could vs. couldn't say, so I'd have said the same thing to you if I was the seller.
I wouldn't ask the seller questions directly, plus, they will likely downplay what needs to be done (whether intentionally or not). Think for a second, if you had a house you were selling and knew you needed X amount of money, you're going to want to maximize that, right? You're not going to tell a potential buyer every little thing. That's why you need to see for yourself and get a good inspector if you want to buy it. Plus, if you go through your REA, if they're familiar with the area, they may already have been in that house or have an idea of how much work it needs.
Good luck! It's a roller coaster process.
Absolutely go through your agent.
It looks like you don't want to waste your time on properties that need too much work--totally understandable. Do drive-bys prior to viewing the house with your agent, if you're not doing that already, to rule out homes that don't meet your standards.
Also, as an agent, I never phone a listing agent to say "What kind of repairs are needed?" prior to a viewing, or even to ask for a disclosure form. I always take my buyers there first, to evaluate the property and then ask for a disclosure form. It's not really done the other way around, at least in my area.
You can e-mail directly, but I think ccing your realtor is a good idea so he is still in the loop and can follow-up with experiential questions that you may not think of.
PS "Needs a little TLC" is real estate code for "major rennovations needed unless you're a slum-lord who is just looking to paint over terrible work/code violations and rent to unsuspecting college students." Also "cozy" means small and "centrally located" means near a busy street.
Are you united with the CCOKCs?
My husband contacted the realtor last night and we are going to view the house on Monday, thank you all for your helpful input. I'm originally from the UK, so I'm grateful to have the advice of people who have gone through the process here in the US.
Having served as a panelist on more than one hearing complaint regarding procuring cause, I highly encourage you to please contact your Realtor directly and ask them to investigate on your behalf.
If you are not happy with the service of your Realtor, please address it with him/her. If it isn't the right fit, please consider hiring another Realtor. There are too many outstanding, professional and dedicated Realtors out there to accept anything less.
If you must contact a listing agent directly, please inform them that you have a Reatlor, copy them on the email and include their contact information.
Moving on to the larger topic, spend some time thinking about how much TLC is ok with you. If it is just 'paint and carpet' (by that I mean, paint, carpet and very minor repairs), you may want to pass over any listings in the MLS that says 'needs TLC'. Typically, a Realtor will not say 'needs TLC' if it is only in need of paint and carpet. To me, needs TLC translates into at least a $10-30k in repairs. In other words, with some love and elbow grease, it can be great again but it isn't move in ready now.
Just my thoughts
Best of luck!
Lighthouse State Beach, Santa Cruz.
Thanks for the info Gannon - I think we are going to pass on the houses that need TLC from now on!
As for our realtor, he is awesome and has done a lot of searching for us. My husband and I are new to this process and weren't aware of ettiquette. We are not going to drop him - he is doing a great job!
Glad to help and even more glad to hear that your Realtor is doing a great job for you!
Good luck with the search and have fun!
Lighthouse State Beach, Santa Cruz.