The key is to have a good escrow agent who will tell you how to best schedule things. Use your mortgage broker, Title Agent, and escrow agent properly and they will pretty much keep things on track for you. I didn’t miss having a realtor at all. In fact, it simplified some things. Many of the items in the offer form deal with minimizing the agents’ liability and specifying commission. We didn’t have to pay attention to any of these matters.
Regarding my comment to ask the seller’s agent about how they would like to see certain items in the offer. I don’t think you necessarily do exactly what they say, but you can learn alot just by asking how they want it done. Again – if you have confidence in your ability to read a contract and simply touch base with the sellers’ agent on matters which are unclear, you can accomplish alot towards putting together a deal that will work, especially if you have a good escrow agent.
If I were very busy and did not have a house in mind, or if I were new to an area, I would hire a top-notch buyers’ agent – someone who represents only buyers and not sellers. They are hard to find, but worth it when you do.
If I had some time to spare, or were on a budget, or if my wife could spend time previewing houses, and I were looking in San Deigo, I would represent myself in the transaction, and make lower offers, indicating there is no buyers’ agent commission. Or I would try to find a For Sale By Owner property to try and cut all realtors out of the deal.
People don’t appreciate how much time it takes to first find, then buy a house.
