CaP'N GRuNGe Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 First time potential home buyer here. If you are looking to build a new home and have a community in mind, is there really any reason to hire a real estate agent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 First time potential home buyer here. If you are looking to build a new home and have a community in mind, is there really any reason to hire a real estate agent? If you are buying a home, there isn't a reason to not have a real estate agent. The fees come from the seller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 First time potential home buyer here. If you are looking to build a new home and have a community in mind, is there really any reason to hire a real estate agent? To feed the animal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 To feed the animal... Â Translation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Translation? If we just ignore agents, they will go away.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 If you are buying a home, there isn't a reason to not have a real estate agent. The fees come from the seller. Â Which the seller realizes and thus includes into the price of the home. The seller may be willing to come down a little bit on the price if you are not using an agent. If you know what you want, then just have a snake look over the contract. They will charge you a couple of hours to do this, but it is still cheaper than what you would be paying an agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Jenkins Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Which the seller realizes and thus includes into the price of the home. The seller may be willing to come down a little bit on the price if you are not using an agent. If you know what you want, then just have a snake look over the contract. They will charge you a couple of hours to do this, but it is still cheaper than what you would be paying an agent. Â The seller has already negotiated the commission with the listing agent and baked that into the price of the home. That commission is the same whether the buyer is represented or not. The listing agent might be willing to reduce the commission if the buyer is unrepresented, but it doesn't necessarily happen. Â In this case, if you know where you want to live and you are just buying a lot and hiring your own builder, I don't see any reason to get an agent. Caveat emptor, though - that agent commission is going to look pretty cheap if you end up finding out later that you overpaid by 30K on the lot. I've got a friend who bought a FSBO a year ago and had to sell it quickly this year and can't find any takers for 100K less than she paid for it. An agent who works that neighborhood told me if she had asked, he never would have let her pay anywhere near that much for that property - but hey, agents suck and buyers know best... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Â I'm tired of arguing about the pros and cons of using real estate agents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 here we go again  do a search on this topic and see what comes up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I didn't know we argued this before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Supercuts, you live with your parents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Supercuts, you live with your parents? 6 houses away from I Like Soup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I've got a friend who bought a FSBO a year ago and had to sell it quickly this year and can't find any takers for 100K less than she paid for it. An agent who works that neighborhood told me if she had asked, he never would have let her pay anywhere near that much for that property - but hey, agents suck and buyers know best... Â Your friend is an idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 but hey, agents suck and buyers know best... well said... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Jenkins Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Your friend is an idiot. Â Can't argue with you there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 An agent who works that neighborhood told me if she had asked, he never would have let her pay anywhere near that much for that property I completely disagree...the agent would have seen a big commission and closed the deal...thats what agents do after all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 Supercuts, you live with your parents? Â No, but i'm renting a house for less than half of what a mortgage would cost me in this neighborhood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 No, but i'm renting a house for less than half of what a mortgage would cost me in this neighborhood. my advice...continue renting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 No, but i'm renting a house for less than half of what a mortgage would cost me in this neighborhood. Â If you can't afford a decent hair cut, you can't afford a mortgage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 If you can't afford a decent hair cut, you can't afford a mortgage. Â The two will definately go together with more debt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I completely disagree...the agent would have seen a big commission and closed the deal...thats what agents do after all... So you don't start salivating when you know you can charge a sucker a bunch of points on a loan? Pot, meet kettle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 First time potential home buyer here. If you are looking to build a new home and have a community in mind, is there really any reason to hire a real estate agent?  I just went thru this last year (closed on my new home in Jan 07). SO here's a couple of nuggets from your Uncle JoJo  1. If this is a new development ask them are there any lot Premiums and if there is what is the range. Then ask them if there are any lots without a Premium. If all lots have a Premium, then it's not a lot premium, you are paying for the land your house will sit on, and that cost is added on to your house. It's a fairly standard practice in Arizona, and it's bullSega!. They never mention that in there ads. It just seems crooked to me.  2. Don't just limit yourself to a new house, look around the area you like and consider 1-2 year old homes. You may get a better deal.....  3. Points on a loan is to buy-down the interest rate, if your lender wants more the 0.5 to 1 point, f@ck him, find someone else.  Last year we decided to sell our house and put the equity from that into a bigger one. Like you we were looking at a new home, Standard Pacific was the builder. during the negoiations (if you could call it that), they wouldn't back down on anything, including the 30K lot fee (I refuse to call it a premium), but the wife loved the house so I agreed, grudingly. About 4 months into it, the market was falling, my house had lost about 15k, and that damm fee (which irritated me from the beginning) had become too much for me to stand. So I went back and told them that the lot fee had to go or I would back out.  The guy (Standard Pacific's Rep, who is also my Realtor because I didn't have one going in) told me that they wouldn't drop it and I could walk because they could sell it quickly. So I walked.  Two months later my house sold, and I kept my realtor on to help me search for a new house. I wound up buying a house about 1/4 mile down the road, for 50k less, 500 more SF, and on a lot with spectacular views instead of being boxed in. Oh, and no freakin lot fee. And the house I walked away from; still on the market after 8 months, they have cut the price by 25k, and have thrown in free backyard landscaping. I hope it never sells.  IMO, get a agent, they do make a difference, and you have someone looking out for your interests. That Sales Rep sure as hell won't. Talk to friends, etc, see if they would recommend an agent (that's how I found mind). Interview several, get references, and check them out. My guy was great, it was a shame that I didn't get one before I jumped into that first deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 (edited) So you don't start salivating when you know you can charge a sucker a bunch of points on a loan? Pot, meet kettle. Â Â Exactly. AG acts like mortgage guys are the benchmark for honor. Mortgage guys call our real estate office constantly looking for referrals. Alex I fart in your general direction. As for this thread..If you are the buyer I would use one since its no cost to you. There is a little merit to perchs comment above but its mostly a myth that a seller will seller lower to a person without a realtor since in most cases the commission fee is set. Good luck..I dont have the energy to argue this again. Mercilessly spanking Wiegie last time was exhausting Edited July 3, 2007 by whomper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 I just went thru this last year (closed on my new home in Jan 07). SO here's a couple of nuggets from your Uncle JoJo 1. If this is a new development ask them are there any lot Premiums and if there is what is the range. Then ask them if there are any lots without a Premium. If all lots have a Premium, then it's not a lot premium, you are paying for the land your house will sit on, and that cost is added on to your house. It's a fairly standard practice in Arizona, and it's bullSega!. They never mention that in there ads. It just seems crooked to me.  2. Don't just limit yourself to a new house, look around the area you like and consider 1-2 year old homes. You may get a better deal.....  3. Points on a loan is to buy-down the interest rate, if your lender wants more the 0.5 to 1 point, f@ck him, find someone else.  Last year we decided to sell our house and put the equity from that into a bigger one. Like you we were looking at a new home, Standard Pacific was the builder. during the negoiations (if you could call it that), they wouldn't back down on anything, including the 30K lot fee (I refuse to call it a premium), but the wife loved the house so I agreed, grudingly. About 4 months into it, the market was falling, my house had lost about 15k, and that damm fee (which irritated me from the beginning) had become too much for me to stand. So I went back and told them that the lot fee had to go or I would back out.  The guy (Standard Pacific's Rep, who is also my Realtor because I didn't have one going in) told me that they wouldn't drop it and I could walk because they could sell it quickly. So I walked.  Two months later my house sold, and I kept my realtor on to help me search for a new house. I wound up buying a house about 1/4 mile down the road, for 50k less, 500 more SF, and on a lot with spectacular views instead of being boxed in. Oh, and no freakin lot fee. And the house I walked away from; still on the market after 8 months, they have cut the price by 25k, and have thrown in free backyard landscaping. I hope it never sells.  IMO, get a agent, they do make a difference, and you have someone looking out for your interests. That Sales Rep sure as hell won't. Talk to friends, etc, see if they would recommend an agent (that's how I found mind). Interview several, get references, and check them out. My guy was great, it was a shame that I didn't get one before I jumped into that first deal.  Good stuff. Thanks JoJo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 If you were looking for a prostitute, would you hire a pimp to find you one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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