How to Buy w/out a Realtor?

[UCGal]

I purchased my first two homes with agents, and my current home without. So similar experience to sdduuuuude.

Like sdduuude – the non-agent transaction was with someone I knew – in my case it was my father. I knew the house well because it’s the house I grew up in. Since I hadn’t lived in the house for over 20 years, I had my husband (an architect) go over it. Even in a family transaction we negotiated what would be fixed/addressed before COE.

We used a title/escrow company. I think it would be foolish to skip this step.

I know someone who had a similar experience purchasing a SFR in Clairemont from a church member. Title and escrow company were agreed upon, specific terms were put in writing.

If you are looking at inventory on the MLS – I think you’re pretty much locked into having an agent in the process… Since the agents’ fees come from the seller, your best bet is to get a GOOD buyers agent who can find you the right home, help you negotiate the best deal, etc. IMO it only makes sense to go w/out an agent if the home isn’t on the MLS and the terms are pretty straightforward between buyer/seller.

[all]

[quote=XBoxBoy]
Turns out a furnace not working is a big deal. You can’t get a loan on the house without a working furnace. My agent knew this, and was able to demand that the heater be replaced before I bought the house. [/quote]

Well, just don’t remove the loan contingency if you can’t get the loan.

I dealt with two buyer’s agents and both were obstacles. I can see where having access to knowledgeable person can help (mostly if you don’t know the area where you are buying), but if you know the area and have time and will to educate yourself you will likely be better of by not having that special representation.

Keep in mind that buyer’s agent might have the almighty fiduciary duty, but there is little substance there. If you get screwed by an ignorant or malicious agent you’ll have no real remedy.

Of course, the listing agent will likely blow you off if you try to get half of the commission. What’s in it for the agent if you get the listing agent’s cut? After all, the listing agent today is someone’s selling agent tomorrow and does not want to be recognized as someone who robs fellow agents.

I see value in selling with an agent, but an educated buyer today does not really need one.

[all]

[quote=XBoxBoy]
Turns out a furnace not working is a big deal. You can’t get a loan on the house without a working furnace. My agent knew this, and was able to demand that the heater be replaced before I bought the house. [/quote]

Well, just don’t remove the loan contingency if you can’t get the loan.

I dealt with two buyer’s agents and both were obstacles. I can see where having access to knowledgeable person can help (mostly if you don’t know the area where you are buying), but if you know the area and have time and will to educate yourself you will likely be better of by not having that special representation.

Keep in mind that buyer’s agent might have the almighty fiduciary duty, but there is little substance there. If you get screwed by an ignorant or malicious agent you’ll have no real remedy.

Of course, the listing agent will likely blow you off if you try to get half of the commission. What’s in it for the agent if you get the listing agent’s cut? After all, the listing agent today is someone’s selling agent tomorrow and does not want to be recognized as someone who robs fellow agents.

I see value in selling with an agent, but an educated buyer today does not really need one.

[all]

[quote=XBoxBoy]
Turns out a furnace not working is a big deal. You can’t get a loan on the house without a working furnace. My agent knew this, and was able to demand that the heater be replaced before I bought the house. [/quote]

Well, just don’t remove the loan contingency if you can’t get the loan.

I dealt with two buyer’s agents and both were obstacles. I can see where having access to knowledgeable person can help (mostly if you don’t know the area where you are buying), but if you know the area and have time and will to educate yourself you will likely be better of by not having that special representation.

Keep in mind that buyer’s agent might have the almighty fiduciary duty, but there is little substance there. If you get screwed by an ignorant or malicious agent you’ll have no real remedy.

Of course, the listing agent will likely blow you off if you try to get half of the commission. What’s in it for the agent if you get the listing agent’s cut? After all, the listing agent today is someone’s selling agent tomorrow and does not want to be recognized as someone who robs fellow agents.

I see value in selling with an agent, but an educated buyer today does not really need one.

[all]

[quote=XBoxBoy]
Turns out a furnace not working is a big deal. You can’t get a loan on the house without a working furnace. My agent knew this, and was able to demand that the heater be replaced before I bought the house. [/quote]

Well, just don’t remove the loan contingency if you can’t get the loan.

I dealt with two buyer’s agents and both were obstacles. I can see where having access to knowledgeable person can help (mostly if you don’t know the area where you are buying), but if you know the area and have time and will to educate yourself you will likely be better of by not having that special representation.

Keep in mind that buyer’s agent might have the almighty fiduciary duty, but there is little substance there. If you get screwed by an ignorant or malicious agent you’ll have no real remedy.

Of course, the listing agent will likely blow you off if you try to get half of the commission. What’s in it for the agent if you get the listing agent’s cut? After all, the listing agent today is someone’s selling agent tomorrow and does not want to be recognized as someone who robs fellow agents.

I see value in selling with an agent, but an educated buyer today does not really need one.

[all]

[quote=XBoxBoy]
Turns out a furnace not working is a big deal. You can’t get a loan on the house without a working furnace. My agent knew this, and was able to demand that the heater be replaced before I bought the house. [/quote]

Well, just don’t remove the loan contingency if you can’t get the loan.

I dealt with two buyer’s agents and both were obstacles. I can see where having access to knowledgeable person can help (mostly if you don’t know the area where you are buying), but if you know the area and have time and will to educate yourself you will likely be better of by not having that special representation.

Keep in mind that buyer’s agent might have the almighty fiduciary duty, but there is little substance there. If you get screwed by an ignorant or malicious agent you’ll have no real remedy.

Of course, the listing agent will likely blow you off if you try to get half of the commission. What’s in it for the agent if you get the listing agent’s cut? After all, the listing agent today is someone’s selling agent tomorrow and does not want to be recognized as someone who robs fellow agents.

I see value in selling with an agent, but an educated buyer today does not really need one.

[all]

[quote=bearishgurl] To name a few, if your agent is incompetent and/or doesn’t possess the requisite knowledge to properly complete your transaction, you can easily lose your earnest money deposit, pay too much for the property, never get your offer presented or presented properly, be in “perpetual escrow” waiting for a lender to agree to sell “short enough” (which will never take place), take possession without the agreed-upon items fixed, get taken to the cleaners by your mortgage broker, sign away your contingencies before they are met or satisfied . . . the list goes on . . . and on.
[/quote]

The contract between the buyer and the buyer’s agent says nothing about the agent compensating the buyer for failing to protect the buyer from any of the things listed above.

My experience says a buyer’s agent is more likely to send you to his buddy mortgage broker than to tell you about aimloan.com.

[all]

[quote=bearishgurl] To name a few, if your agent is incompetent and/or doesn’t possess the requisite knowledge to properly complete your transaction, you can easily lose your earnest money deposit, pay too much for the property, never get your offer presented or presented properly, be in “perpetual escrow” waiting for a lender to agree to sell “short enough” (which will never take place), take possession without the agreed-upon items fixed, get taken to the cleaners by your mortgage broker, sign away your contingencies before they are met or satisfied . . . the list goes on . . . and on.
[/quote]

The contract between the buyer and the buyer’s agent says nothing about the agent compensating the buyer for failing to protect the buyer from any of the things listed above.

My experience says a buyer’s agent is more likely to send you to his buddy mortgage broker than to tell you about aimloan.com.

[all]

[quote=bearishgurl] To name a few, if your agent is incompetent and/or doesn’t possess the requisite knowledge to properly complete your transaction, you can easily lose your earnest money deposit, pay too much for the property, never get your offer presented or presented properly, be in “perpetual escrow” waiting for a lender to agree to sell “short enough” (which will never take place), take possession without the agreed-upon items fixed, get taken to the cleaners by your mortgage broker, sign away your contingencies before they are met or satisfied . . . the list goes on . . . and on.
[/quote]

The contract between the buyer and the buyer’s agent says nothing about the agent compensating the buyer for failing to protect the buyer from any of the things listed above.

My experience says a buyer’s agent is more likely to send you to his buddy mortgage broker than to tell you about aimloan.com.

[all]

[quote=bearishgurl] To name a few, if your agent is incompetent and/or doesn’t possess the requisite knowledge to properly complete your transaction, you can easily lose your earnest money deposit, pay too much for the property, never get your offer presented or presented properly, be in “perpetual escrow” waiting for a lender to agree to sell “short enough” (which will never take place), take possession without the agreed-upon items fixed, get taken to the cleaners by your mortgage broker, sign away your contingencies before they are met or satisfied . . . the list goes on . . . and on.
[/quote]

The contract between the buyer and the buyer’s agent says nothing about the agent compensating the buyer for failing to protect the buyer from any of the things listed above.

My experience says a buyer’s agent is more likely to send you to his buddy mortgage broker than to tell you about aimloan.com.

[all]

[quote=bearishgurl] To name a few, if your agent is incompetent and/or doesn’t possess the requisite knowledge to properly complete your transaction, you can easily lose your earnest money deposit, pay too much for the property, never get your offer presented or presented properly, be in “perpetual escrow” waiting for a lender to agree to sell “short enough” (which will never take place), take possession without the agreed-upon items fixed, get taken to the cleaners by your mortgage broker, sign away your contingencies before they are met or satisfied . . . the list goes on . . . and on.
[/quote]

The contract between the buyer and the buyer’s agent says nothing about the agent compensating the buyer for failing to protect the buyer from any of the things listed above.

My experience says a buyer’s agent is more likely to send you to his buddy mortgage broker than to tell you about aimloan.com.

[sdrealtor]

BG,
Very good post.

Captcha,
I find it interesting that both agents were obstacles and would love to hear why. I also wonder if you are focussing on a small detail that pissed you off and actually had a pretty good trouble free experience. I see this all the time where agents get blamed for minor issues the buyer isnt happy with and completely overlook the 90%+ of the transaction that went well.

Also re-read BG’s post and understand what she wrote is the preface, not even the first chapter of a very long book of what can and often does go wrong. You do have a remedy against an ignorant or malicious agent and just have to be willing to fight the battle for that remedy. The thread on recent on RE Ethics is a perfect example. In CA they would have a slam dunk winning case.

The bottomline is lots of folks can get through a transaction without proper representation and do great. The problem is enough get screwed and getting screwed can ruin your life. I couldnt put my finger on the odds but the bottom line is what your risk tolerance is.

[sdrealtor]

BG,
Very good post.

Captcha,
I find it interesting that both agents were obstacles and would love to hear why. I also wonder if you are focussing on a small detail that pissed you off and actually had a pretty good trouble free experience. I see this all the time where agents get blamed for minor issues the buyer isnt happy with and completely overlook the 90%+ of the transaction that went well.

Also re-read BG’s post and understand what she wrote is the preface, not even the first chapter of a very long book of what can and often does go wrong. You do have a remedy against an ignorant or malicious agent and just have to be willing to fight the battle for that remedy. The thread on recent on RE Ethics is a perfect example. In CA they would have a slam dunk winning case.

The bottomline is lots of folks can get through a transaction without proper representation and do great. The problem is enough get screwed and getting screwed can ruin your life. I couldnt put my finger on the odds but the bottom line is what your risk tolerance is.

[sdrealtor]

BG,
Very good post.

Captcha,
I find it interesting that both agents were obstacles and would love to hear why. I also wonder if you are focussing on a small detail that pissed you off and actually had a pretty good trouble free experience. I see this all the time where agents get blamed for minor issues the buyer isnt happy with and completely overlook the 90%+ of the transaction that went well.

Also re-read BG’s post and understand what she wrote is the preface, not even the first chapter of a very long book of what can and often does go wrong. You do have a remedy against an ignorant or malicious agent and just have to be willing to fight the battle for that remedy. The thread on recent on RE Ethics is a perfect example. In CA they would have a slam dunk winning case.

The bottomline is lots of folks can get through a transaction without proper representation and do great. The problem is enough get screwed and getting screwed can ruin your life. I couldnt put my finger on the odds but the bottom line is what your risk tolerance is.

[sdrealtor]

BG,
Very good post.

Captcha,
I find it interesting that both agents were obstacles and would love to hear why. I also wonder if you are focussing on a small detail that pissed you off and actually had a pretty good trouble free experience. I see this all the time where agents get blamed for minor issues the buyer isnt happy with and completely overlook the 90%+ of the transaction that went well.

Also re-read BG’s post and understand what she wrote is the preface, not even the first chapter of a very long book of what can and often does go wrong. You do have a remedy against an ignorant or malicious agent and just have to be willing to fight the battle for that remedy. The thread on recent on RE Ethics is a perfect example. In CA they would have a slam dunk winning case.

The bottomline is lots of folks can get through a transaction without proper representation and do great. The problem is enough get screwed and getting screwed can ruin your life. I couldnt put my finger on the odds but the bottom line is what your risk tolerance is.

[Author]

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