no agent; going alone…any caveats?

[urbanrealtor]

Rustico makes some good points here.

I would also caution the line of thought that you could get a lower price by cutting out a buyer’s agent. The listing contract the seller signs explicitly gives that cut to the listing agent in such a case. In other words, the seller’s advocate gets paid double and you get to work with someone who may not have your interests at heart. I have only ever seen one exception.

Further, I recommend that you have a friend who recently bought a place give you their copy of the complete file. My files typically run to 400 pages or so and so I give them to clients on CD. The forms will help you gain some familiarity with the complex issues that come up.

And really feel free to ask agents for help on an uncompensated basis. Bear in mind though that it is free advice.

Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

I’m in escrow on my first home purchase and I did all the research myself, so I didn’t see that paying a buyer’s agent 3% was money well spent. I went with Redfin. They refund you 2/3rds of the buyers agent commission. In my case it was a 2% back to me, cash. I’m not getting paid by Redfin, but I have been very satisfied so far. I think standard buyer’s agents in general are massively overpaid.

[Anonymous]

I’m in escrow on my first home purchase and I did all the research myself, so I didn’t see that paying a buyer’s agent 3% was money well spent. I went with Redfin. They refund you 2/3rds of the buyers agent commission. In my case it was a 2% back to me, cash. I’m not getting paid by Redfin, but I have been very satisfied so far. I think standard buyer’s agents in general are massively overpaid.

[Anonymous]

I’m in escrow on my first home purchase and I did all the research myself, so I didn’t see that paying a buyer’s agent 3% was money well spent. I went with Redfin. They refund you 2/3rds of the buyers agent commission. In my case it was a 2% back to me, cash. I’m not getting paid by Redfin, but I have been very satisfied so far. I think standard buyer’s agents in general are massively overpaid.

[Anonymous]

I’m in escrow on my first home purchase and I did all the research myself, so I didn’t see that paying a buyer’s agent 3% was money well spent. I went with Redfin. They refund you 2/3rds of the buyers agent commission. In my case it was a 2% back to me, cash. I’m not getting paid by Redfin, but I have been very satisfied so far. I think standard buyer’s agents in general are massively overpaid.

[Anonymous]

I’m in escrow on my first home purchase and I did all the research myself, so I didn’t see that paying a buyer’s agent 3% was money well spent. I went with Redfin. They refund you 2/3rds of the buyers agent commission. In my case it was a 2% back to me, cash. I’m not getting paid by Redfin, but I have been very satisfied so far. I think standard buyer’s agents in general are massively overpaid.

[Portlock]

Like scaredycat, I started exploring what an agent can do for me.

Last week I interviewed a young realtor and came away with one concern which made me doubt his fiduciary responsibility to me as his client.

He said his commission is 3% of listing, and the seller’s agent also gets 3% of listing, and their payment is already included in the Listing Price. Is this usual?

Also, because his payment is already figured into the LP, wouldn’t he be reluctant to submit my lowball offer? If accepted, he would get less than if I paid asking …or is it in his best interest just to get the sale even if that means he gets less money?

this is his first experience with a down cycle, and he said the majority of his time would be spent actively searching listings in real time… I guess Redfin can only get me so far?

Any comments would be appreciated.

[Portlock]

Like scaredycat, I started exploring what an agent can do for me.

Last week I interviewed a young realtor and came away with one concern which made me doubt his fiduciary responsibility to me as his client.

He said his commission is 3% of listing, and the seller’s agent also gets 3% of listing, and their payment is already included in the Listing Price. Is this usual?

Also, because his payment is already figured into the LP, wouldn’t he be reluctant to submit my lowball offer? If accepted, he would get less than if I paid asking …or is it in his best interest just to get the sale even if that means he gets less money?

this is his first experience with a down cycle, and he said the majority of his time would be spent actively searching listings in real time… I guess Redfin can only get me so far?

Any comments would be appreciated.

[Portlock]

Like scaredycat, I started exploring what an agent can do for me.

Last week I interviewed a young realtor and came away with one concern which made me doubt his fiduciary responsibility to me as his client.

He said his commission is 3% of listing, and the seller’s agent also gets 3% of listing, and their payment is already included in the Listing Price. Is this usual?

Also, because his payment is already figured into the LP, wouldn’t he be reluctant to submit my lowball offer? If accepted, he would get less than if I paid asking …or is it in his best interest just to get the sale even if that means he gets less money?

this is his first experience with a down cycle, and he said the majority of his time would be spent actively searching listings in real time… I guess Redfin can only get me so far?

Any comments would be appreciated.

[Portlock]

Like scaredycat, I started exploring what an agent can do for me.

Last week I interviewed a young realtor and came away with one concern which made me doubt his fiduciary responsibility to me as his client.

He said his commission is 3% of listing, and the seller’s agent also gets 3% of listing, and their payment is already included in the Listing Price. Is this usual?

Also, because his payment is already figured into the LP, wouldn’t he be reluctant to submit my lowball offer? If accepted, he would get less than if I paid asking …or is it in his best interest just to get the sale even if that means he gets less money?

this is his first experience with a down cycle, and he said the majority of his time would be spent actively searching listings in real time… I guess Redfin can only get me so far?

Any comments would be appreciated.

[Portlock]

Like scaredycat, I started exploring what an agent can do for me.

Last week I interviewed a young realtor and came away with one concern which made me doubt his fiduciary responsibility to me as his client.

He said his commission is 3% of listing, and the seller’s agent also gets 3% of listing, and their payment is already included in the Listing Price. Is this usual?

Also, because his payment is already figured into the LP, wouldn’t he be reluctant to submit my lowball offer? If accepted, he would get less than if I paid asking …or is it in his best interest just to get the sale even if that means he gets less money?

this is his first experience with a down cycle, and he said the majority of his time would be spent actively searching listings in real time… I guess Redfin can only get me so far?

Any comments would be appreciated.

[SD Realtor]

Rus and UR make good points… and to add anothre caviot I showed homes to 3 different people today. On two of the homes I found the slab to be cracked, in one case significantly. These were both REO homes. I noticed step cracks in both homes and by simply removing the carpets it yielded results. I highly doubt any listing agent or agent holding an open house will do that for you.

I have had a few people come to me after using redfin. If all you are looking for is a simple commission rebate there are alot of people out there who will work with you on that.

Similarly you should want an agent who wants to act as your advocate, not sell you a home. My view on agency is that the agent should provide you information that is unbiased. Whether a sale is made or not should not be of consequence. If you test your agent and they say it is a good time to buy now then I would walk away immediately. That simple litmus test alone should help you filter out most of them, including Redfin agents. If you want agents with quality then you can find them. An honest agent will say that even though the market will head lower (depending on the location) if you want to buy then I will help you as best that I can. It appears to me that the realtors posting here seem to be more then capable and quite honest. I have not done any direct business with any of them but the tone of honesty and straight forwardness seems consistent. Even though he has not posted here in awhile Jim Klinge is a really good guy as well.

Buying a home is not rocket science and if you feel capable enough, then by all means go for it. I feel pretty capable in most endeavors I undertake, even those that are non real estate related or non engineering related (those two being my specialty) yet when it comes to large investments that will affect my life for many years to come, I don’t mind investing in a some expertise to help me out.

[SD Realtor]

Rus and UR make good points… and to add anothre caviot I showed homes to 3 different people today. On two of the homes I found the slab to be cracked, in one case significantly. These were both REO homes. I noticed step cracks in both homes and by simply removing the carpets it yielded results. I highly doubt any listing agent or agent holding an open house will do that for you.

I have had a few people come to me after using redfin. If all you are looking for is a simple commission rebate there are alot of people out there who will work with you on that.

Similarly you should want an agent who wants to act as your advocate, not sell you a home. My view on agency is that the agent should provide you information that is unbiased. Whether a sale is made or not should not be of consequence. If you test your agent and they say it is a good time to buy now then I would walk away immediately. That simple litmus test alone should help you filter out most of them, including Redfin agents. If you want agents with quality then you can find them. An honest agent will say that even though the market will head lower (depending on the location) if you want to buy then I will help you as best that I can. It appears to me that the realtors posting here seem to be more then capable and quite honest. I have not done any direct business with any of them but the tone of honesty and straight forwardness seems consistent. Even though he has not posted here in awhile Jim Klinge is a really good guy as well.

Buying a home is not rocket science and if you feel capable enough, then by all means go for it. I feel pretty capable in most endeavors I undertake, even those that are non real estate related or non engineering related (those two being my specialty) yet when it comes to large investments that will affect my life for many years to come, I don’t mind investing in a some expertise to help me out.

[SD Realtor]

Rus and UR make good points… and to add anothre caviot I showed homes to 3 different people today. On two of the homes I found the slab to be cracked, in one case significantly. These were both REO homes. I noticed step cracks in both homes and by simply removing the carpets it yielded results. I highly doubt any listing agent or agent holding an open house will do that for you.

I have had a few people come to me after using redfin. If all you are looking for is a simple commission rebate there are alot of people out there who will work with you on that.

Similarly you should want an agent who wants to act as your advocate, not sell you a home. My view on agency is that the agent should provide you information that is unbiased. Whether a sale is made or not should not be of consequence. If you test your agent and they say it is a good time to buy now then I would walk away immediately. That simple litmus test alone should help you filter out most of them, including Redfin agents. If you want agents with quality then you can find them. An honest agent will say that even though the market will head lower (depending on the location) if you want to buy then I will help you as best that I can. It appears to me that the realtors posting here seem to be more then capable and quite honest. I have not done any direct business with any of them but the tone of honesty and straight forwardness seems consistent. Even though he has not posted here in awhile Jim Klinge is a really good guy as well.

Buying a home is not rocket science and if you feel capable enough, then by all means go for it. I feel pretty capable in most endeavors I undertake, even those that are non real estate related or non engineering related (those two being my specialty) yet when it comes to large investments that will affect my life for many years to come, I don’t mind investing in a some expertise to help me out.

[SD Realtor]

Rus and UR make good points… and to add anothre caviot I showed homes to 3 different people today. On two of the homes I found the slab to be cracked, in one case significantly. These were both REO homes. I noticed step cracks in both homes and by simply removing the carpets it yielded results. I highly doubt any listing agent or agent holding an open house will do that for you.

I have had a few people come to me after using redfin. If all you are looking for is a simple commission rebate there are alot of people out there who will work with you on that.

Similarly you should want an agent who wants to act as your advocate, not sell you a home. My view on agency is that the agent should provide you information that is unbiased. Whether a sale is made or not should not be of consequence. If you test your agent and they say it is a good time to buy now then I would walk away immediately. That simple litmus test alone should help you filter out most of them, including Redfin agents. If you want agents with quality then you can find them. An honest agent will say that even though the market will head lower (depending on the location) if you want to buy then I will help you as best that I can. It appears to me that the realtors posting here seem to be more then capable and quite honest. I have not done any direct business with any of them but the tone of honesty and straight forwardness seems consistent. Even though he has not posted here in awhile Jim Klinge is a really good guy as well.

Buying a home is not rocket science and if you feel capable enough, then by all means go for it. I feel pretty capable in most endeavors I undertake, even those that are non real estate related or non engineering related (those two being my specialty) yet when it comes to large investments that will affect my life for many years to come, I don’t mind investing in a some expertise to help me out.

[Author]

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