ZipRealty.com or Realtor?

[PerryChase]

When you’re ready to buy (not sell), will you use a service such as ziprealty.com or a live Realtor?

My feeling is that if you know exactly the home you want to buy, then all you need is a conduit to make the offer.

But if you need suggestions on what and where to buy, you’ll more likely use a Realtor.

Do you, Piggintons, need purchase advice from a Realtor, or do you feel confident enough to select your own property to buy?

I would use ziprealty.com

[Anonymous]

All things being equal I would use a Zip realty agent. I recently met with one and was impressed with her professionalism. You might be surprised by their level of service and why not get a rebate?

[Anonymous]

I will most definitely not use an agent. Additionally, I will look to find a seller who is also not using an agent. This will save both buyer and seller substantial amounts of money.

If you go through ziprealty as a buyer, what percentage do they charge total? If I can’t find a for sale by owner, then I would prefer a discount realtor where the seller pays 1% or so (ipayone) and there is no buyers agent.

[Chrispy]

Some Realtors will work with their clients on their commission spreads. Most people think Realtors are overpaid in today’s (or rather, yesterday’s) climate – they were getting raises every time a house price went up. To make twice or three times as much as five years ago for doing the same work (or less work, given the “must-buy-now” fear prevalent in the last couple of years) has not gone unnoticed amongst most of us.

When times are tough, the best Realtors will prove their worth. I hope this current bubble pop will eliminate a lot of the fringe element – those who jumped in the last couple of years with dreams of easy money.

[Roman]

If I know what I want, I wouldn’t see a reason to use a realtor. I’d definately use Zip Realty or alike online service to take advantage of the savings.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

I’ll do what I’ve done the last three times I’ve purchased: Use the web (ZipRealty.com) to find what I want AND have my agent take care of the rest. I don’t mind having an agent when I’m on the buying side. The seller pays the cost.

(I know, you can theoretically save by buying direct from a seller without an agent, but if I find what I want I’d prefer that the deal actually gets closed. Agents looking for their commissions tend to help make sure things follow through).

[waiting hawk]

I will buy directly from bank without realtors on either side. Also I will make a deal to lend straight from them and they pay all closing cost with 50% down with a 15 year fixed.

My website tracking Temecula and South Riverside County

[IONEGARM]

If you want someone just for the paperwork think about one of those internet realtors that kickback 75% of the buyers commission (Buyside).

The reason I would use a realtor, a GOOD realtor, is they can have contacts and houses that may need to move quickly and match you up, those houses might never make it to the MLS.

[SD Realtor]

I am biased because I am a Realtor and I would use a Realtor….You also can get a better rebate on the commission (assuming you can get the Realtor to give it to you), right now the Zip Realty commission is nothing when you compare it to what you really can get.

Also many people think they get a break when they go out and use the listing agents realtor to represent thier side. This is most generally not the case. Also the most compliants I receive from people is when they bought a home using the listing agent as thier broker. They thought they got a better deal when in reality the common theme I got was that they felt they were not represented as well as they had been in the past when they had a true buyers agent.

Of course many people do not know they can represent themselves. They can deal straight with the sellers agent AND they can not have an agent represent them. They CAN instruct the sellers agent to tell the sellers client that they are self represented so that the buyers agent commission does not have to be paid out.

I know alot of you guys trivialize the duties of a Realtor and that is okay, I understand that.

Anyways that is my two cents, yes I am biased, I will say that right up front, but my buyers are all very pleased with my service AND they enjoyed the rebate I gave them. In most all transactions you do on your own, or with an internet Realtor, things will go fine and you will be okay.

[powayseller]

I will hire a realtor. One of my leading indicators for a market turning is a realtor’s input, so I need to stay in touch with a realtor to know how the market is doing. I would NEVER use a person; i.e. pump them for information and then jump ship and buy from a cheaper competitor or without them. I would use a discount realtor.

SD Realtor, I can think of a long list of things that can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, mostly having to do with the disclosures and repairs, that can end up costing you more than the realtor ever will. The repair list made by the inspector is a source of emotion, where deals can fall apart, because the seller is so hurt to see all the things wrong with his house, and can get real stubborn in refusing to fix them. The buyer is just as determined to not buy a house with problems and wants them all fixed. The realtors are the calm intermediaries, sorting out what needs to be repaired, vs. what is just cosmetic.

My realtors have worked every day on making calls to loan officers, termite guy, inspector, escrow officer, title company, and various others, to keep the escrow process moving.

When I sold my house, the buyers’ agent worked real hard for them. She was a ferocious beast, making sure every little repair was made, and she even got us to reduce our price by 5% by lying (I found out later) that the buyers had 2 other houses on which they would make offers, if I countered. When I asked my buyers about this later, they said, “Oh, we didn’t know we were interested in two other houses”. These people were first time buyers, and I could tell they appreciated having her there, to show them the ropes. Because so many problems and questions come up, and you want to know if your rights are violated, and without a realtor, who can you ask?

A realtor gives you the comps on the house you want to buy, letting you know if it’s a good deal or not. They know when a house is undervalued or overvalued. You can’t get that off ZipRealty. They negotiate on price, repairs, etc. They give you confidence that you are not being used by the seller.

If the seller has a realtor and you don’t, do you fell like you’re on equal footing? The seller has a pro representing them, but you don’t. Say your get your inspection done, and you have to make your list of inspection requests. Which one should you make that are considered common for our area? Say you ask for a roof repair. The sellers’ agent says “This is not something that is typically done in San Diego. Buyers have to do this on their own if they don’t like the roof. We will patch the leak only.” Will you go along with that answer? Does it seem fair? This is only 1 of 100 things that can happen.

When my realtor wrote our contract, she checked off so many boxes, based on what is typically done in this market. She entered “17” for “17 days to complete contingencies”, and various other numbers. How would you know how to do this without a realtor?

I would cast aside 95% of the agents I’ve met. I don’t want a used car salesman type of guy. One of those guys who is telling me the economy is strong now; I don’t want an ignorant fool like that.

I would hire the likes of Adam Rappoport (SD Realtor), Bob Casagrand, or Jim Klinge (bubbleinfo.squarespace.com). All three of these are professional men who speak the truth.

I’d say someone can do this on their own, as long as they know all the steps involved, their rights, and are very skilled at negotiating.

I used to say I would buy without a realtor, but in the last few months, I’ve changed my mind. I see their value.

But for those braver and more independent than I, what would be your source of info to know how to write contracts and negotiate? Don’t let me scare you, it certainly can be done on your own. But I really wonder if your representation is as good if you do it alone.

[SD Realtor]

PS I could not have said it better myself. I was treading lightly on my post so as not to seem to bias. However EVERYTHING you said was very true.

[sdrealtor]

Ditto.

BTW, you are right on in assessing what could be down close to 30%. The least desirable condo properties have fallen first and fastest. Others are falling rapidly also. The pace is much faster than what I would have guessed leading me to believe the biggest drops will occur sooner than later. There was a tremendous amount of froth in the market that built up from the start of 2004 with no fundamentals whatsoever. That froth is being blown off the top like the foam off a frosty mug of beer!

For example, i just saw a house close in South Carlsbad for $1.16M which sold in the frenzy of the Spring 2004 market for $1.35M. Thats a price decline of close to $200,000 on a very desireable home in a very desireable community. Its happening very very fast. The question is what will happen after the silly gains realized since late 2003 disappear. My current feeling is that the pace of declines will slow to crawl. It could change but that is what I see right now.

BTW, I spoke with a bunch of oldtimers about the coast and will have what I found out as soon as I can get to it.

[Chrispy]

Another point about using a Realtor – if you don’t, the realtor for the other side will end up doing a lot more work to get the escrow moving. Seems to me there’s a conflict of interest right there – he/she would most likely be in favor of helping his/her client instead of the person who wants to fly solo. As PS stated, Realtors can really help “unmuddy the waters” when sticky situations are encountered.

I think having a second set of eyes on a purchase of this magnitude (one who has been in the business long enough to know the ropes) is invaluable.

[Steve Beebo]

For God’s sake, use a Realtor. The seller pays the commission anyway.

When banks sell their REO’s, they almost always use a Realtor – it’s not easy to buy directly from a bank.

[LAcrash]

Let’s say the seller’s agent is getting a 6% commission. Isn’t that usually split 50-50 with the buyer’s agent, so that the seller’s agent is really only getting 3%? If I can handle the transaction myself, and I purchase a house for $600K, don’t I save 18K by having the seller’s agent credit me (rather than a buyer’s agent) for half of the commission? Or do sellers’ agents simply refuse to do that because they hate to deal with unrepresented buyers?

[Author]

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