How to Buy w/out a Realtor?

[all]

[quote=sdrealtor]captcha
Those are some valid examples and for everyone you have I have 3 that go the other way. A bad agent on either side can damage. The goal is not to get any buyers agent it is to get a very good one.

BTW, I rarely respond to calls that come directly from buyers on my listings and usually tell them to go find their own agent. My job is to represent the seller on my listings. When I get a call from an unrepresented buyer, I know nothing about them. My experience has been that they are some lunatic that will grind me for the other side of the commission anyway, that they will be a royal pain in the ass ant that they will usually show no loyalty and will rarely close escrow.

When I represent a buyer, I spend hours and days communicating with them to know what their needs are. We spend many hours looking at properties and I get a good idea of whom I am dealing with. I would rather work with a buyer represented by another good agent who has been through the same vetting process than some lunatic who finds the listing on sdlookup that i know will ultimately be a waste of mine and more importantly potentially damage my client.

Over more transactions that I can count, I think that I may have had both sides of a transaction only once maybe twice. The only one I can remember wa when the brother of a tenant bought a property for his disabled brother so he wouldnt be relocated after it got sold. It was a short sale and the bank countered higher than it was worth, I told the buyer that but he still bought it because the PITI+HOA was $300 lower than the rent they were paying.

BTW, aimloan.com is not the end all be all lender. teh only reason I know of them is because several folks on this site have mentioned them. I know many that are just as good if not better with more personal service.[/quote]

How do you know the sdlookup person with no representation is a lunatic who would waste your time? I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer.

Anyway, I was not looking in your area, so I assume I never dealt with you. The listing agents I dealt with were not like you.

Aimloan.com was an example. I would settle for any upfront mortgage broker/lender, even amerisave.com. No, they all had their buddies who would quote ridiculous fees/points. Like $15K in fees more than what I was getting online for traditional conforming.

[sdrealtor]

Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.

Quality agents are worth their weight in Bourdeaux grapes. It sounds like you never dealth with one but I know plenty of them.

I never said alot of other agents are like me but I cant be that unique…can I?

[sdrealtor]

Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.

Quality agents are worth their weight in Bourdeaux grapes. It sounds like you never dealth with one but I know plenty of them.

I never said alot of other agents are like me but I cant be that unique…can I?

[sdrealtor]

Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.

Quality agents are worth their weight in Bourdeaux grapes. It sounds like you never dealth with one but I know plenty of them.

I never said alot of other agents are like me but I cant be that unique…can I?

[sdrealtor]

Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.

Quality agents are worth their weight in Bourdeaux grapes. It sounds like you never dealth with one but I know plenty of them.

I never said alot of other agents are like me but I cant be that unique…can I?

[sdrealtor]

Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.

Quality agents are worth their weight in Bourdeaux grapes. It sounds like you never dealth with one but I know plenty of them.

I never said alot of other agents are like me but I cant be that unique…can I?

[drboom]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=drboom]Those few of us who really are natives know far more about the area than any agent.[/quote]

drboom, I don’t know where you’re from, but here, in Chula Vista, 91910, most of the residents have lived here all of their lives.[/quote]

Fletcher Hills, 92020. I grew up in the house my grandparents bought in 1946 or 1947. It’s about a mile from the house my wife and I bought last year. We’re both true second generation natives, which is odd enough to draw comment, so this subject has come up before.

Your opinion isn’t supported by either my or my wife’s experience (she’s a native too, and she’s a teacher so she sees all the transplants when they arrive with their kids) or by looking at a chart of the county’s population over time: it has tripled since 1960 and doubled since 1980. All of that increase is “immigration”.

My mother-in-law stopped by briefly while I was writing this. She grew up a mile or two east of here, and she emphatically agrees with me.

I’ll see your transplant opinion and raise you three native opinions and some hand-waving at census numbers. 🙂

I agree that an agent with twenty years in the same area–a rare bird indeed–would know a thing or two. As it happens, our agent had about that much time in the area were interested in. But I have my own and my extended family’s knowledge to rely upon, and they’ve been around here for over seventy years. Our agent, who did a terrific job on the tasks we needed him for, was completely useless to us for research … because he is a transplant who settled here when he retired from the navy and went into RE in the late 80s. 🙂

I’ll stand by what I said even if you know of some exceptions. The reason I brought it up at all is because you were so emphatic that “civvies” absolutely require professional research services. It ain’t so.

[drboom]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=drboom]Those few of us who really are natives know far more about the area than any agent.[/quote]

drboom, I don’t know where you’re from, but here, in Chula Vista, 91910, most of the residents have lived here all of their lives.[/quote]

Fletcher Hills, 92020. I grew up in the house my grandparents bought in 1946 or 1947. It’s about a mile from the house my wife and I bought last year. We’re both true second generation natives, which is odd enough to draw comment, so this subject has come up before.

Your opinion isn’t supported by either my or my wife’s experience (she’s a native too, and she’s a teacher so she sees all the transplants when they arrive with their kids) or by looking at a chart of the county’s population over time: it has tripled since 1960 and doubled since 1980. All of that increase is “immigration”.

My mother-in-law stopped by briefly while I was writing this. She grew up a mile or two east of here, and she emphatically agrees with me.

I’ll see your transplant opinion and raise you three native opinions and some hand-waving at census numbers. 🙂

I agree that an agent with twenty years in the same area–a rare bird indeed–would know a thing or two. As it happens, our agent had about that much time in the area were interested in. But I have my own and my extended family’s knowledge to rely upon, and they’ve been around here for over seventy years. Our agent, who did a terrific job on the tasks we needed him for, was completely useless to us for research … because he is a transplant who settled here when he retired from the navy and went into RE in the late 80s. 🙂

I’ll stand by what I said even if you know of some exceptions. The reason I brought it up at all is because you were so emphatic that “civvies” absolutely require professional research services. It ain’t so.

[drboom]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=drboom]Those few of us who really are natives know far more about the area than any agent.[/quote]

drboom, I don’t know where you’re from, but here, in Chula Vista, 91910, most of the residents have lived here all of their lives.[/quote]

Fletcher Hills, 92020. I grew up in the house my grandparents bought in 1946 or 1947. It’s about a mile from the house my wife and I bought last year. We’re both true second generation natives, which is odd enough to draw comment, so this subject has come up before.

Your opinion isn’t supported by either my or my wife’s experience (she’s a native too, and she’s a teacher so she sees all the transplants when they arrive with their kids) or by looking at a chart of the county’s population over time: it has tripled since 1960 and doubled since 1980. All of that increase is “immigration”.

My mother-in-law stopped by briefly while I was writing this. She grew up a mile or two east of here, and she emphatically agrees with me.

I’ll see your transplant opinion and raise you three native opinions and some hand-waving at census numbers. 🙂

I agree that an agent with twenty years in the same area–a rare bird indeed–would know a thing or two. As it happens, our agent had about that much time in the area were interested in. But I have my own and my extended family’s knowledge to rely upon, and they’ve been around here for over seventy years. Our agent, who did a terrific job on the tasks we needed him for, was completely useless to us for research … because he is a transplant who settled here when he retired from the navy and went into RE in the late 80s. 🙂

I’ll stand by what I said even if you know of some exceptions. The reason I brought it up at all is because you were so emphatic that “civvies” absolutely require professional research services. It ain’t so.

[drboom]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=drboom]Those few of us who really are natives know far more about the area than any agent.[/quote]

drboom, I don’t know where you’re from, but here, in Chula Vista, 91910, most of the residents have lived here all of their lives.[/quote]

Fletcher Hills, 92020. I grew up in the house my grandparents bought in 1946 or 1947. It’s about a mile from the house my wife and I bought last year. We’re both true second generation natives, which is odd enough to draw comment, so this subject has come up before.

Your opinion isn’t supported by either my or my wife’s experience (she’s a native too, and she’s a teacher so she sees all the transplants when they arrive with their kids) or by looking at a chart of the county’s population over time: it has tripled since 1960 and doubled since 1980. All of that increase is “immigration”.

My mother-in-law stopped by briefly while I was writing this. She grew up a mile or two east of here, and she emphatically agrees with me.

I’ll see your transplant opinion and raise you three native opinions and some hand-waving at census numbers. 🙂

I agree that an agent with twenty years in the same area–a rare bird indeed–would know a thing or two. As it happens, our agent had about that much time in the area were interested in. But I have my own and my extended family’s knowledge to rely upon, and they’ve been around here for over seventy years. Our agent, who did a terrific job on the tasks we needed him for, was completely useless to us for research … because he is a transplant who settled here when he retired from the navy and went into RE in the late 80s. 🙂

I’ll stand by what I said even if you know of some exceptions. The reason I brought it up at all is because you were so emphatic that “civvies” absolutely require professional research services. It ain’t so.

[drboom]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=drboom]Those few of us who really are natives know far more about the area than any agent.[/quote]

drboom, I don’t know where you’re from, but here, in Chula Vista, 91910, most of the residents have lived here all of their lives.[/quote]

Fletcher Hills, 92020. I grew up in the house my grandparents bought in 1946 or 1947. It’s about a mile from the house my wife and I bought last year. We’re both true second generation natives, which is odd enough to draw comment, so this subject has come up before.

Your opinion isn’t supported by either my or my wife’s experience (she’s a native too, and she’s a teacher so she sees all the transplants when they arrive with their kids) or by looking at a chart of the county’s population over time: it has tripled since 1960 and doubled since 1980. All of that increase is “immigration”.

My mother-in-law stopped by briefly while I was writing this. She grew up a mile or two east of here, and she emphatically agrees with me.

I’ll see your transplant opinion and raise you three native opinions and some hand-waving at census numbers. 🙂

I agree that an agent with twenty years in the same area–a rare bird indeed–would know a thing or two. As it happens, our agent had about that much time in the area were interested in. But I have my own and my extended family’s knowledge to rely upon, and they’ve been around here for over seventy years. Our agent, who did a terrific job on the tasks we needed him for, was completely useless to us for research … because he is a transplant who settled here when he retired from the navy and went into RE in the late 80s. 🙂

I’ll stand by what I said even if you know of some exceptions. The reason I brought it up at all is because you were so emphatic that “civvies” absolutely require professional research services. It ain’t so.

[drboom]

[quote=sdrealtor]Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.
[/quote]

Let me offer a counterpoint: my wife and I had a bunch of buyer’s agents blow smoke up our posteriors, including a member of my wife’s family who is a 20 year RE veteran. We couldn’t trust any of them, so I represented us through our first six months of serious shopping. There were some agents who didn’t want to have anything to do with me. Their loss. Others were cool with it and worked with me.

Long story short, we had a short sale that fell apart in the approval process (stupid BofA: the house is still vacant and on their books 18 months later). The seller’s agent on that deal asked us if we were interested in having him represent us on a 50% commission split; he knew we had the research squared away and that we wouldn’t waste his time. He’d proven himself to be a true professional throughout the deal, so we were happy to engage him. I’ve told the story elsewhere, but the short of it is that he showed us exactly one house and wrote exactly one offer (OK, and one counter) for us. The sale closed three months later (short sale). Easy money.

I understand you have to play the odds, but realize that some buyers might not have an agent precisely because they are serious and feel that too many in the RE biz do not act in their best interests.

Or maybe we’re just unique, like delicate snowflakes. 🙂

[drboom]

[quote=sdrealtor]Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.
[/quote]

Let me offer a counterpoint: my wife and I had a bunch of buyer’s agents blow smoke up our posteriors, including a member of my wife’s family who is a 20 year RE veteran. We couldn’t trust any of them, so I represented us through our first six months of serious shopping. There were some agents who didn’t want to have anything to do with me. Their loss. Others were cool with it and worked with me.

Long story short, we had a short sale that fell apart in the approval process (stupid BofA: the house is still vacant and on their books 18 months later). The seller’s agent on that deal asked us if we were interested in having him represent us on a 50% commission split; he knew we had the research squared away and that we wouldn’t waste his time. He’d proven himself to be a true professional throughout the deal, so we were happy to engage him. I’ve told the story elsewhere, but the short of it is that he showed us exactly one house and wrote exactly one offer (OK, and one counter) for us. The sale closed three months later (short sale). Easy money.

I understand you have to play the odds, but realize that some buyers might not have an agent precisely because they are serious and feel that too many in the RE biz do not act in their best interests.

Or maybe we’re just unique, like delicate snowflakes. 🙂

[drboom]

[quote=sdrealtor]Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.
[/quote]

Let me offer a counterpoint: my wife and I had a bunch of buyer’s agents blow smoke up our posteriors, including a member of my wife’s family who is a 20 year RE veteran. We couldn’t trust any of them, so I represented us through our first six months of serious shopping. There were some agents who didn’t want to have anything to do with me. Their loss. Others were cool with it and worked with me.

Long story short, we had a short sale that fell apart in the approval process (stupid BofA: the house is still vacant and on their books 18 months later). The seller’s agent on that deal asked us if we were interested in having him represent us on a 50% commission split; he knew we had the research squared away and that we wouldn’t waste his time. He’d proven himself to be a true professional throughout the deal, so we were happy to engage him. I’ve told the story elsewhere, but the short of it is that he showed us exactly one house and wrote exactly one offer (OK, and one counter) for us. The sale closed three months later (short sale). Easy money.

I understand you have to play the odds, but realize that some buyers might not have an agent precisely because they are serious and feel that too many in the RE biz do not act in their best interests.

Or maybe we’re just unique, like delicate snowflakes. 🙂

[drboom]

[quote=sdrealtor]Pretty much every buyer that has tried to go direct to me as a listing agent has been an utter waste of my time. When I have a lisitng I know I’ll get paid on one side which is enough for me. I’d rather spend my time trying to help buyers I know, like and respect. I’ve yet to meet one of those who tried to go direct. They all seem to have hidden agendasa that i dont have time for. They seem to like to think they are smarter than agents and figure than can outsmart us by going direct. Of course, thats not true and I know they are pulling the same pile of *(&(*& with a dozen other agents that they are calling also. I say good luck to them. Your quote that “I would expect that person to be more knowledgeable than an average buyer” is exactly the attitude I see from them. The smartest buyers have the best representation not NO representation.
[/quote]

Let me offer a counterpoint: my wife and I had a bunch of buyer’s agents blow smoke up our posteriors, including a member of my wife’s family who is a 20 year RE veteran. We couldn’t trust any of them, so I represented us through our first six months of serious shopping. There were some agents who didn’t want to have anything to do with me. Their loss. Others were cool with it and worked with me.

Long story short, we had a short sale that fell apart in the approval process (stupid BofA: the house is still vacant and on their books 18 months later). The seller’s agent on that deal asked us if we were interested in having him represent us on a 50% commission split; he knew we had the research squared away and that we wouldn’t waste his time. He’d proven himself to be a true professional throughout the deal, so we were happy to engage him. I’ve told the story elsewhere, but the short of it is that he showed us exactly one house and wrote exactly one offer (OK, and one counter) for us. The sale closed three months later (short sale). Easy money.

I understand you have to play the odds, but realize that some buyers might not have an agent precisely because they are serious and feel that too many in the RE biz do not act in their best interests.

Or maybe we’re just unique, like delicate snowflakes. 🙂

[Author]

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