I’m no pro but I just did it without an agent and have in the past, but to answer your questions, yes and no. Also no on Scenario B.

You can also use a discount agent, one that gets paid by the hour. Some of the realtors that post here will work that way. When you say “area” if you mean you know what tract or what street and which model then you probably only need transaction representation but if you want to look into houses within a school boundary or something, someone is going to have spend time opening up houses with you (they rarely look like they do on the internet when you get there). You can also contact the listing agent and tell them you are going to offer less, factoring in a smaller comission, but they will be representing you, they are just more inclined to lower both sides of the comission since they are getting both.

With regards to scenario B, if a listing expires then the seller is unrealistic because nobody bought it at the listed price, 6% isn’t going to change that. IF you manage to get it for 6% less because you were without agents, you overpaid because if the difference between ask and market was only 6%, then it would have sold already. It’s better to buy expired listing as repos six months later.

I’m no pro but I just did it without an agent and have in the past, but to answer your questions, yes and no. Also no on Scenario B.

You can also use a discount agent, one that gets paid by the hour. Some of the realtors that post here will work that way. When you say “area” if you mean you know what tract or what street and which model then you probably only need transaction representation but if you want to look into houses within a school boundary or something, someone is going to have spend time opening up houses with you (they rarely look like they do on the internet when you get there). You can also contact the listing agent and tell them you are going to offer less, factoring in a smaller comission, but they will be representing you, they are just more inclined to lower both sides of the comission since they are getting both.

With regards to scenario B, if a listing expires then the seller is unrealistic because nobody bought it at the listed price, 6% isn’t going to change that. IF you manage to get it for 6% less because you were without agents, you overpaid because if the difference between ask and market was only 6%, then it would have sold already. It’s better to buy expired listing as repos six months later.

I’m no pro but I just did it without an agent and have in the past, but to answer your questions, yes and no. Also no on Scenario B.

You can also use a discount agent, one that gets paid by the hour. Some of the realtors that post here will work that way. When you say “area” if you mean you know what tract or what street and which model then you probably only need transaction representation but if you want to look into houses within a school boundary or something, someone is going to have spend time opening up houses with you (they rarely look like they do on the internet when you get there). You can also contact the listing agent and tell them you are going to offer less, factoring in a smaller comission, but they will be representing you, they are just more inclined to lower both sides of the comission since they are getting both.

With regards to scenario B, if a listing expires then the seller is unrealistic because nobody bought it at the listed price, 6% isn’t going to change that. IF you manage to get it for 6% less because you were without agents, you overpaid because if the difference between ask and market was only 6%, then it would have sold already. It’s better to buy expired listing as repos six months later.

A smart person once told me that using a RE attorney for a home purchase is not a wise idea. The issues are more procedural and don’t require an attorney (all the forms are standard, no legal review needed), plus attorneys are not really adept at managing the process of a home purchase. They could just get in the way. I agree with this logic.

I would recommend finding a good escrow agent. Such a person knows all the procedures and docs that need to be filed. Also, having an experienced mortgage broker and title agent helps, too. If everyone is making sure the next hurdle is crossed, it goes well.

I have done this before as a buyer, but only once and it went smoothly because our escrow agent knew what she was doing.

Using an agent that will do no shopping/previewing for you but who will manage the process isn’t a bad way to go if you can find a realtor to do the deal for 1/2% or 1%.

A smart person once told me that using a RE attorney for a home purchase is not a wise idea. The issues are more procedural and don’t require an attorney (all the forms are standard, no legal review needed), plus attorneys are not really adept at managing the process of a home purchase. They could just get in the way. I agree with this logic.

I would recommend finding a good escrow agent. Such a person knows all the procedures and docs that need to be filed. Also, having an experienced mortgage broker and title agent helps, too. If everyone is making sure the next hurdle is crossed, it goes well.

I have done this before as a buyer, but only once and it went smoothly because our escrow agent knew what she was doing.

Using an agent that will do no shopping/previewing for you but who will manage the process isn’t a bad way to go if you can find a realtor to do the deal for 1/2% or 1%.

I’d have to agree with that logic as attorneys are of very limited use in RE transactions. I was recently referred a RE transaction where the buyer found the property and I handled the negotiations and escrow for the buyer at a very reduced rate. It was a fairly high priced property and had they gone directly to the listing agent they would not have been able to bend the listing agent and sellers over a barrel like I did. Based upon the utterances of pain I’ve heard from both listing agent and seller, I negotiated a price between $75,000 to $100,000 below what would have been possible directly from the listing agent. The buyer was certainly able to and might even have been willing to pay a higher price but I saw no reason for them to do so.

I also uncovered inflated escrow charges that a layperson would have no way of knowing were unreasonable (saving buyer about $3,000). Best of all, I got to pull my signature move (grabbing a couple thousand dollar credit for no reason from a seller the day before contingency removal). By my rough estimation, I saved my client about 5 times what I got paid.

You know what they say about an attorney who represents himself in court? He has a fool for a client.

I’d have to agree with that logic as attorneys are of very limited use in RE transactions. I was recently referred a RE transaction where the buyer found the property and I handled the negotiations and escrow for the buyer at a very reduced rate. It was a fairly high priced property and had they gone directly to the listing agent they would not have been able to bend the listing agent and sellers over a barrel like I did. Based upon the utterances of pain I’ve heard from both listing agent and seller, I negotiated a price between $75,000 to $100,000 below what would have been possible directly from the listing agent. The buyer was certainly able to and might even have been willing to pay a higher price but I saw no reason for them to do so.

I also uncovered inflated escrow charges that a layperson would have no way of knowing were unreasonable (saving buyer about $3,000). Best of all, I got to pull my signature move (grabbing a couple thousand dollar credit for no reason from a seller the day before contingency removal). By my rough estimation, I saved my client about 5 times what I got paid.

You know what they say about an attorney who represents himself in court? He has a fool for a client.