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Do we need a Realtor?
DH and I are getting serious about buying a new house. We currently own our home, but neither of us were very involved in the buying process. (His parents bought the house as a "rental" property before we were married, although he has lived here the entire time. Now, the house and mortgage are in our names only.)
We look at house listings on our own, know exactly what we want, and are fairly financially savvy.
There is a house we are both very interested in that we would like to look at, but we are unsure if we want to use a Realtor/real estate agent, when we found the property. I guess we don't really see what they could do for us.
FWIW, the house we are interested in is listed by one of those cheap "real estate agents" that only puts pictures and listing on MLS, and everything else is through the owner.
Also, we are not planning on selling our current home, so we will only need a Realtor for buying should we decide to use one.
Advice? I just don't want to get knee deep in a process neither of us know much about to wish we had an advocate, and we don't want look back and think maybe we could've gotten a better deal on the house if we didn't use a Realtor. TIA!
Re: Do we need a Realtor?
I'm not sure I understand this part. Is it for sale by owner but listed on the MLS? If so, the sellers may not be interested in paying a buyers agent commission.
Typically, I recommend a buyers agent because you aren't paying anything extra. The sellers pay for the agent commission. If the buyers of our house did not have a realtor then our sellers agent would have gotten the full commission. Since they were represented by a separate realtor, the agents split the commission.
When we bought, our agent scheduled all our showings, asked the sellers any questions we had, showed us comps, pulled prior MLS listings so we could see what the house previously sold for, told us how long it was currently on the market and any price drops, handled all the paperwork for us, helped us negotiate, scheduled our inspector for us, and was with us at closing. He brought us in our current house a few times between having a signed contract and closing so we could do measurements (the house was vacant) and so we could plan our renovations to start the night we closed on the house.
So you are only buying and not selling? If so, why on earth would you want to skip the Realtor?
As a buyer you don't pay them anything and they can save you a ton of money by pointing out problem areas and helping you schedule inspections and keep you on your timeline. Plus it sounds like this is your first time actually buying a house by yourselves and I assure you there are more steps in the process than you imagine.
Even though H and I both were already pretty sure we knew what we wanted in a house, we had the help of a buyer's agent and it was invaluable.
Our particular buyer's agent had a background in architecture and knew a ton about structural issues. Whenever we looked at a house, he was looking for even subtle signs of foundation issues or structural problems, as well as finding any potential problems that might affect resale down the road. It was so helpful to have a professional opinion.
If the seller's agent is not willing to reduce his/her commission by half (since he/she would get the entire commission as sole agent) AND the sellers then reflect that reduction in the selling price, then there is no benefit to going without your own agent.
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Ours is now one of our closest friends. Don't know what we would have done without him!
we have learned so much from ours about the whole process. also, each market has certain norms that he/she can inform you about. for example, all the questions on this board asking what conveys with the house, if you can ask sellers for closing costs, etc. those answers tend to be specific to your local market, and each state has different laws as well. we have had so many questions pop up during the process that even all our reading and research didn't answer for our specific situation, but one call or email to our realtor, and we had some very clear answers.
as a buyer, i definitely do not see the harm in having someone on your side, looking out for your best interests, and who is an expert on something you aren't.
but dual agency = a conflict of interest. it's legal in my state, too, but i would not recommend it.
agreed. i know several people who have gotten screwed over by being represented by a dual agent.
...and I know four people who have gotten better deals by not having two go-betweens involved and just having one broker the deal. It all depends on what you know and the actual realtor.
As essentially a first-time buyer (since you weren't involved in the process) it would probably help a lot to have a RE help you through the process and guide your mortgage broker and all the financing to closing. If you were a true second+ time buyer, it might not be as advantageous and could save you and the seller money, therefore lowering the asking price if the sellers aren't paying 3% extra to another person.
Are you united with the CCOKCs?
I use a RE attorney also. He write the contract and then does the closing. The main things are that he knows the contract to be sure they aren't making us pay for something we don't understand, and also to do a title search to be sure the title is clear. I would definitely use an attorney, even if we had already enlisted a RE agent.
Thanks everyone. I looked up the "realty" company for the house we're interested in, and it's a flat fee service to list on MLS and send them a brochure box. Essentially it's a FSBO. So the seller won't be paying for a realtor on his end.
DH and I will definitely take everything you've mentioned. Thanks so much, I knew there would be things we didn't think about!
Withall due respect and I am not trying to be snarky at all, but I think this answers your question: "a process neither of us know much about". If you don't know much about the process, why wouldn't you want a professional on your side? The process is very important on many levels: financial, legal and personal.
I'm a Realtor in CA so obviously, I am a little biased. I believe strongly in the job I do and more importantly, in the value and service I provide to my clients. Have you considered interviewing a few Realtors to see if you connect with someone in your area?
Its a big decision and one that only you can make. There is no right or wrong, only what will be best for you.
Best of luck!
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