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Realtor: dual agent, go with family/friend, or ?
I'm just starting the process and looked at my first house today (open house). The selling agent was very nice and she could be a dual agent (selling and buying). Obviously the downside would be in negotiating money. But are there other tips or words of advice for me to think about if doing a dual agent (pros/cons)? She was very open about a few things that she said she'd want me to know about if she did end up representing me.
I also have a friend who is a Realtor and also a relative who is a Realtor, so would it better to go with someone I know, or would it be better to get someone I don't know? I happen to know the couple who is selling the house, so they have shared that they would also be willing to wait until their contract is up with their current agent and do a for sell by owner, but that just makes me a little nervous being that they are friends and I don't want hurt feelings out of this and want to keep this to a business deal (hypothetically if I would ever put an offer on this house).
I know, I know...probably super huge rookie questions! Just curious as to what has worked well for you guys.
Re: Realtor: dual agent, go with family/friend, or ?
I used an Exclusive Buyer's Agent ... this is a real estate person who only helps buyers buy houses and doesn't do anything on the selling side. (I did a Google search to find one in my area). I liked that they're 100% focused and experienced with the buying side of things. Ours was really knowledgeable and really helped us figure out what we wanted -- great since we were also totally new to the process.
I wouldn't recommend having the same agent representing the buyer and seller -- even the nicest person in the world would want the biggest commission they could get. And since they represented the seller first, their loyalty is naturally to them first, and getting them what THEY want out of the deal, not you.
As for using a friend/relative as your realtor, I don't have an opinion either way ... maybe someone else will chime in.
I would never enter into a dual agent situation. It's much better to have someone who is looking out for you. There are been some horror stories on this board about dual agencies.
I also would never use an agent that I knew. It's a huge business transaction and what if you end up not happy with the way they're working for you? It's a huge risk and you may have to either deal with not being well represented or having a very uncomfortable conversation. Our agent told us she doesn't take listings for friends and family because of the complications.
We knew an agent in another area who put us through the referral system for her brokerage and got us an agent. It was great because if at any point we didn't like our agent, we could call her and she would get us a different one. The person we knew also got a cut of the commission, but we didn't risk any awkwardness or ruining a family friendship.
We are selling our house and were very uncomfortable when our realtors ended up representing our buyers as well (they came through an open house). I have had a lot of issues with but I really feel like they can't be fair to both sides and I honestly think they were helping the buyers more in this case because they wanted this deal to go through (since it meant double commission). So who knows, as a buyer, maybe it would work in your favor. You already know the sellers so either way it's not like a normal sale in a sense. I will say that things have gone quickly since making an agreement because there is no waiting for sellers/buyers agents to return calls. Our realtors just set everything up for both sides and try to keep things on track. There have been a few issues though with the buyers not doing something and our realtors say its not a big deal because its their client but if they were only representing us they could advise us better as to how to handle it. I would probably just get your own agent.
Regarding your other idea of waiting for the owners to put it for sale by owner - I doubt they would be able to sell it to you that way since you already went through an open house. Check their contract but I know our selling contract said that if we chose not to continue with the agents after our listing period but then one of the buyers they showed the house to chose to purchase, they would still be owed commission for it.
I agree with this. If someone saw our home while we were listed with our agent, he would get commission even if we let our listing with him expire. So, since you've seen the house and it was listed, I doubt anyone would get out of the commission portion if you did go through with the sale. Also, we were always asked who our agent was if we went to open houses without our agent. You might ask a realtor if you are obligated to use that agent to purchase that particular house in your state since you didn't mention to that agent that you have your own. I would avoid a dual agent at all costs though. They want the home to sell and the transaction to go through to get double the commission. So they may push the sellers to accept anything and/or the buyer to ignore some issues to get the sale complete.
We did use a friend of DH's as our realtor. He sold our house for us and helped us find a new house. It didn't bother me in the least to let him know our price range and/or to be firm with him - to let him know what I expected if I felt like he wasn't doing a good job. He did treat it as he would with any other transaction but I felt like it was great that I could call, text or email him any questions and/or homes I wanted to see. It worked out well for us. We felt like he spent a lot of time with us and never rushed us, but that might be how he treats all his clients.
I would use a dual agent in certain situations. In cases where the agent will negotiate her commission on the buyer's side to lower the overall price of the house, we've considered it. We looked at a house today that was bought in 2010 and basically torn down and completely remodeled but was being sold because the seller's wife had passed away and he wanted to move out of town to be with family. We knew we could score a better deal and get the commission on our side negotiated down, so we considered it, but in the end we didn't like the house enough to make an offer.
I tried to use a close friend as a realtor and would never do it again. I felt like the realtor wasn't motivated because he knew we were friends and no random clients. If we go with a realtor it will be someone unrelated to us who isn't a family friend.
I have heard of bad things when using a dual agent. I haven't experienced it, but it doesn't seem to benefit you.
I do know that you should not use a family friend. We did that, and it was a big mistake. He was ok on the selling portion, but we basically found our house by ourselves and he ended up getting commission on it.