Buying A Home
dkfaul
member
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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.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Building new...with or with out a realtor?
We are just looking around at building a new home and aren't sure if it would be beneficial to use a realtor or not? Anyone have experience one way or the other? Dud the realtor negotiate anything for you? TIA
Re: Building new...with or with out a realtor?
I did a little research on this before we started with our builder. We decided to use a realtor mainly because we pay for it whether we use on or not. The realtor commission is built into the price of the home. If you do not use a realtor then the builder gets an extra 3%.
Having your own realtor means you have someone who is completely on your side in the process. The can advise you about when to do inspections, explain the contracts and requirements and just be there to answer you questions all at no additional cost to you.
Our realtor isn't with us when we pick out colors, landscaping, etc. but she will be present when the contracts are signed and when all of the purchase stuff happens.
Also, if you have a good realtor they can advise you about any upgrades or changes that you may be able to negotiate on. They should be knowledgable about the building market so they can advise you in this area.
I have some friends that built and the market dropped while they were building so they were able to get some upgrades for free because their realtor negotiated after the appraisal.
Hope this info helps.
As a Realtor, I see it both ways. We were our own realtors and saved money. We also have clients building 2 doors down from us that were clueless about the homebuying and building process so they were/are thankful to have us to help guide them.
Not using an agent will definately help you save some money. How are you buying the land? Generally there is an agent who has the land listed for the builder - in this respect I'd do one of two things 1) get an agent to negotiate for you 2) make sure the listing agent alters their commission to not get the full cut (generally 6%). This can save you right off the bat. Keep in mind though, that the listing agent has THEIR client's interest at heart - not yours when it comes to negotiating the lot price.
Another way to save money is to finance the construction loan yourself. The building will commence with an appropriate payment down (ask bank & builder) and then payments will be made in installments until you convert the mortgage to a conventional mortgage. This can save money since the builder has to pay a higher interest rate to Their lender to get the process going. Every bit makes a difference.
Also, be aware of when you start construction. We live in Wisconsin and to pour a basement foundation in March was going to be more costly than waiting until April when the ground was thawed. The type of cement as well as the propane/gas for the heaters to cure the concrete was an added cost we did not need.
If you have further qts on teh building process, since we just finished 7/13, feel free to pm me. I'd be happy to help!