Diaries
Everything
Who's Online?
FAQ / Help

Print Story Ask HuSi about real estate dealings
Diary
By webwench (Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 05:25:37 PM EST) (all tags)
I think I found my house!

It's a house sitting on top of a stealth four-car garage, in a lake community full of higher-dollar houses.

But there is a slight dilemma.


It's perfect. It's in a perfect location. It's just about guaranteed to be a smart place to buy, investment-wise. I found the house during a random neighborhood drive-through, pulled a flier, and asked my agent to pull the listing based on the MLS for me, which he did. I attended the open house today, not expecting to really like the house based on my driveby, but after going through it, well, it's perfect.

If it was just me, I would call my agent, give him the scoop, and start the wheels turning on an offer. I wouldn't do it on my own -- negotiations on big purchases give me the heebie-jeebies, I don't know the process or the paperwork, etc. However, of course there is another party involved in the form of dad+stepmom, who are offering financial assistance on this purchase.

They came along with me and teh agent on the walkthrough of some other houses yesterday, and dad+stepmom were, to put it mildly, underwhelmed by my agent's knowledge (or lack thereof) about the houses, neighborhoods, disclosures, histories, etc. For instance, one of the houses we walked through had a shocking history (completely rebuilt after a fire) and a shocking interior paint job which would take many thousands of dollars to paint over (trust me), and dad+stepmom felt that the agent should have known about the fire history, and should have previewed the home and been able to tell us about the weird paint and a few other things about the house.

To be fair, they have a point. The agent has sent many listings to me (not including the listing of interest at the moment, though), and will under strong request or mild duress do additional research on homes of interest, but he doesn't, like, research anything on his own, or preview houses, etc.

I don't know how standard it is for an agent to preview houses for clients. My last agent didn't, and this one doesn't; do yours?

And secondly, dad+stepmom are pressuring me a bit about not using teh agent on this house, based on the fact he didn't find the house and didn't attend the open house with me. I feel a bit snaky about doing that, but on the other hand, he didn't find this house. Should I consider cutting him out of the deal, assuming we do a deal? (I want to do a deal on this house, badly.)

The current suggestion on the table is for me to talk to my agent and ask him, does he think he should get the commission on this sale? I feel better about doing that than, say, dropping off the face of the earth for a few weeks and resurfacing with a house under contract, but it will for certain be an awkward conversation, especially considering I know him pretty well outside of the agentry.

Any thoughts?

< Oliver's Army | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >

Login
Make a new account
Username:
Password:
Related Links
- Scoop
- webwench's Diary
Google

Comment Controls
View: Display: Sort:
Ask HuSi about real estate dealings | 29 comments (29 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback
You shouldn't feel weird about by calla (4.00 / 5) #1 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 05:44:18 PM EST
ditching your agent if you want to. Just make sure that there aren't any laws that would make him entitled to the sale commission even if you don't ever talk to him again.

Go ahead, get another agent.

"Are Linux chicks worth it?" fencepost


I'm trying to figure that out by webwench (4.00 / 2) #5 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 06:11:19 PM EST
it appears there is no such law, especially after I found the house on a drive-by and then went to the open house on my own. The question becomes more what *should* I do. Because he hasn't helped me on this particular house, but he has shown me several others, and has sent me several others to review.

He also got a commission on the sale of my old house, so he's not coming out of the relationship entirely empty-handed.

The parental units' position is clear, I'm just not sure how I feel about it, or whether their position is right.


Getting more attention than you since 1998.
[ Parent ]

Seems fine to me. by ambrosen (4.00 / 1) #6 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 06:45:06 PM EST
After all, you could have just been someone who changed their mind about moving after looking at the last few houses, and he'd be in the same position.

If he's not done much work, why should he get paid for it?

Anyway, it's pretty obvious that you're guiding us to this answer, so go for it.

[ Parent ]

I'm trying not to steer at all by webwench (4.00 / 1) #12 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 10:46:52 PM EST
My personal inclination is to keep him on, because I hate the negotiations process, I don't really 'get' all the closing attorney and financial stuff, and there are a lot of forms and such involved that realtors just seem to have and know about.

And tonight the family units have broached the idea of getting our own real estate attorney, getting them involved with our financial advisor dude, options about whose name the house goes into, how to claim/manage the income, etc. It's getting very non-simple, very fast.


Getting more attention than you since 1998.
[ Parent ]

Let's put it this way... by ammoniacal (4.00 / 3) #13 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 12:46:33 AM EST
The agent has sent many listings to me (not including the listing of interest at the moment, though), and will under strong request or mild duress do additional research on homes of interest, but he doesn't, like, research anything on his own, or preview houses, etc.

If that was my last performance review from work, I'd be fired.

General rules are: All skirts no lower then [sic] two inches below the knee (unless it's for Church) --Travis Frey
[ Parent ]

a comment by clover kicker (2.00 / 0) #28 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 01:21:52 PM EST
> I don't really 'get' all the closing attorney and
> financial stuff, and there are a lot of forms and
> such involved that realtors just seem to have and
> know about.

Your lawyer knows 1000% more about this than your real estate agent.

Your lawyer will explain it to you if you ask.

You need to hire a lawyer anyway, might as well get your money's worth.

[ Parent ]

In the Commonwealth of PA by calla (4.00 / 1) #7 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 07:01:12 PM EST
they had all sorts of backwards laws about Real Estate Agents. I made an appointment to just look at a house, and all of a sudden I had an agent. He was a crooked SOB that constantly asked me if I wanted to work for him.

I'd ask another agent if you were safe to ditch your current agent. Just to be safe.

"Are Linux chicks worth it?" fencepost
[ Parent ]

You went to the open house? by lm (2.00 / 0) #9 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 09:15:26 PM EST
I'd say no more to the agent other than you decided to buy a house that you found on a drive-by and went to the open house. If he's really curious, he can look up the records after the sale goes through the courts. If he sues, him and the seller's agent can battle it out over ``his'' half of the commission.
There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]

You Owe The Agent Nothing by CheeseburgerBrown (4.00 / 4) #2 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 05:52:00 PM EST
Buy the house privately. Their end will have an agent, so the paperwork will get done one way or another. Arrange an independent house inspection, then read the results yourself.

You're more than qualified in the brains department to do a real estate agent's job, and what you may lack in knowledge is not beyond access.

Full disclosure: I am not and have never been impressed by real estate agents as a species. The one in a million diamond in the rough who performs real estate miracles are so few and far between as to make discussing them a purely philosophical undertaking. On the most part they are cheerleaders for the indecisive, and that's only vaguely helpful when they're not lying through their teeth at the same time.

Real estate agents are fucking lampreys. You owe the guy nothing. You did the legwork -- let him turn it into a life lesson for himself to do a better job next time.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.


you're a mild mannered guy, not prone to rancor by clover kicker (2.00 / 0) #10 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 09:45:15 PM EST
Is there a funny story behind your loathing of real estate agents?

(not that I disagree with you)

[ Parent ]

Yeah, by sasquatchan (2.00 / 0) #20 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 09:01:31 AM EST
look at where he lives, an old school house, with a basement that tends to flood, yard/water drainage issues, and a host of other issues.. Maybe he's angry he didn't have a buyers agent on his side to advise him on the sale.

[ Parent ]

Uh, No. by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #24 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 10:55:19 AM EST
In fact, ours is the only house in the village that doesn't flood. You've got it backwards, cowboy.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]

hehe by sasquatchan (2.00 / 0) #25 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 11:03:08 AM EST
hmm. Musta mis-read or mis-remembered something. Maybe the roof leaks ? ;)

[ Parent ]

Not Particularly Funny, No. by CheeseburgerBrown (2.00 / 0) #23 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 10:52:19 AM EST
Aside from being an observer of my parents' various house moves over the years (many moves in few years), my experience is limited to buying/selling one cottage property, buying our current property, and knowing a handful of real estate agents socially (known to me or my parents).

The simplest transaction was the purchase of our house, for which we had no representation. Our only post-purchase source of aggravation was that we were lied to about when the last time the roof was re-done, but if this wasn't even debunkable by the house inspection company I doubt very much it would've been debunkable by a real estate agent. Had the facts been known we could've pushed for a greater abatement just as easily as the agent could have.

Basically, I find real residential estate agents to often (certainly not always, but often) to be extraneous. Their most tangible service seems to be to hold people's hands while they agonize over making a Big Decision -- which, to my mind, isn't worth thousands of dollars.

Now that MLS listings can be browsed by civilians and now that house inspections can be arranged as easily as ordering a pizza, why pay a middle-man? If they save your ass on something, great -- reward them. Otherwise...

I do have a hate-on for the agent trying to sell our cottage. I think she sucks because it's a hot market now but our cottage isn't moving. Being diplomatically challenged my father-in-law accused her of being a liar, which may have dampened her enthusiasm for working hard for us. At any rate she's sooooo fired when her contract expires in two weeks.

Maybe I'll have a rosier view of the profession if the new agent gets us what we want.


I am from a small, unknown country in the north called Ca-na-da. We are a simple, grease-loving people who enjoy le weekend de ski.
[ Parent ]

I just thought your whole life was a funny story by clover kicker (2.00 / 0) #27 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 01:11:41 PM EST
> Now that MLS listings can be browsed by civilians
> and now that house inspections can be arranged as
> easily as ordering a pizza, why pay a middle-man?

Oh that's easy, by law only a real-estate agent or lawyer (?!w?!t?!f?!) can show someone else's house.

There are actually a couple of on.ca property law firms that do the real estate agent's job with their own lawyers. Think about that for a minute, the commissions are so lucrative that it's worth a lawyer's time to show fucking houses.

These guys will list your house for a flat fee, but aren't allowed to show it, you have to show your own house.

As for MLS, you can't get your house listed unless some agent or other is getting their pound of flesh. There's probably a thousand times more houses on MLS than propertyguys, which makes MLS a lot more useful.

[ Parent ]

Pretend I'm your agent. by ammoniacal (4.00 / 3) #3 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 05:57:23 PM EST
"Oh, you want me to walk away from several thousand potential Yankee Petro-dollars? I'm afraid I can't do that, K___."

General rules are: All skirts no lower then [sic] two inches below the knee (unless it's for Church) --Travis Frey


haha, well by webwench (2.00 / 0) #4 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 06:08:49 PM EST
you're right in that it does assume a certain level of honor on the agent's part.

Do you think he is or should be entitled to commission on the purchase of this house? I'm not certain. It doesn't really affect what I pay for the house, necessarily, as the seller has already agreed to pay out a certain amount in commissions upon sale, the question is only, how does the 6% or 7% or whatevere it is get doled out?


Getting more attention than you since 1998.
[ Parent ]

It does effect it. by garlic (2.00 / 0) #14 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 02:16:26 AM EST
because you tell whoever you're negotiating with that their agent's cut is only gonna be 3%, not the whole 6% that the agents would have split.

Do you think the negotiating part is worth $3000 to $9000 dollars? That's what, less than a days worth of work?

[ Parent ]

Here's the issue by Gedvondur (4.00 / 1) #8 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 07:44:25 PM EST
If you hired him as a buyer's agent, at least in my state, you are stuck with him, on any house, for six months. 

Call the Board of Realators and find out the specific code for your state/county/city.

If you are careless with this, you could cost your new agent his/her commission. 

If he is simply the agent selling the house, well then its between him and the seller.

Gedvondur
"I love my brain. It's the only organ I can afford to lose." --frijolito


IWATP by yankeehack (4.00 / 2) #11 Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 09:57:36 PM EST
This is how the process worked in VT.
****
Never make someone your priority when you're their option.
[ Parent ]

A buyers agent? How odd... by Vulch (4.00 / 1) #15 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 06:03:24 AM EST

Here in civilisation it's only the vendor has an estate agent, and last time I sold a house they got 1.5%. They may or may not be exclusive, and it's only if they are that they're entitled to a fee regardless.



He's basically a manwhore by Rogerborg (2.00 / 0) #16 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 06:54:04 AM EST
And Farmgirl informs me (I presume from asking her webfriends) that they only get paid for finding the right spot, not for poking around in order sordid little frequented locations.

-
Metus amatores matrum compescit, non clementia.


Agents I know by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #17 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 08:04:37 AM EST
don't have time to do that sort of research. Usually they know one or two neighborhoods they specialize in, and after a few years they have most of that info. But for wide-ranging searches they're lucky to get the listings and translate them for you.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)


You did the work, you get the spoils... by atreides (2.00 / 0) #18 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 08:11:17 AM EST
If the law doesn't say you have to give him something, don't. His lack of effort is not your problem (in this case).

Besides, real estate today is like IT 5 years ago. Everyone is taking a few courses to cash in on the big hot thing and few actually know anything substantial about the field or the work. You can probably do his job to his level if you read a few books and get the proper piece of paper. And since you only need one house for yourself, dispense with the paper and save a few grand.

Have you seen The Passion yet? Here's a spoiler for you: Jesus dies.
"...compassion is more than a 16 point word in scrabble." - MostlyHarmless




I guess I have a dissenting opinion by Kellnerin (2.00 / 0) #19 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 08:56:23 AM EST
I don't recall exactly, but I think I found my current place via an open house, just because we were interested in a particular development and during a certain season there are open houses somewhere in there every week. We brought in the agent we had been working with anyway just to handle the paperwork and such. For us, it was worth it just to not have to deal with the constant phone tag and back-and-forth. I'd expect the seller's agent to know all about the house, but not the buyer's agent unless you ask the question, and then they should find out for you (maybe your d/sm have only dealt with seller's agents in the past?) Besides, the agents split the same commission pool anyway, don't they? So all that happens if you drop your agent is the selling agent gets more, no?

I'm not a huge fan of real estate agents as a species, but we seemed to have found a relatively unslimy specimen, so we didn't feel the need to cut her out. Also: I didn't have to do this at all -- my mother is a licensed buyer's broker, but you can see why I might not have wanted to go that way ...

--
"later" meant either "when you walk around the corner" or "oatmeal."


you are correct by webwench (2.00 / 0) #22 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 10:43:21 AM EST
about the commission split, it really doesn't impact me one way or the other financially, unless we were to try to work some sort of slimy deal where we agree to let the listing agent take all the commission, but negotiate the total percentage down... but that should already have been decided in the listing contract between the seller and her agent. Anyway, slimy.

I will have to have some kind of agent representation; I don't have time to do that job on top of the job I already have. And every scenario I imagine in which I cut my agent out just feels dishonest.

:P


Getting more attention than you since 1998.
[ Parent ]

Make time by hulver (2.00 / 0) #26 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 11:49:10 AM EST
This is a huge huge purchase. Don't leave it to some other person you don't really feel comfortable with and you don't think is doing a good job.

Over on this side of the pond it's pretty much unheard of (by me at least) to have an agent deal with the buying of a house. Selling yes, buying no.

We get a solicitor (ie, somebody knowledgeable about the law involved in buying houses) to deal with all the legal stuff. Title searches and all that palaver. You pay them a fixed fee for the job. Sign some papers and that's that.

And 6%? Wow, those guys are well paid. That person selling my Mum and Dads house at the moment is lucky to get 1.5%. My Dad doesn't deal with percentages. He worked out a figure he'd be happy to pay to an agent for selling the place, and he offered that. Any agent who didn't accept was shown the door. The house sold within a couple of weeks, so it's not like they had to do much work for the money.
--
smart, pretty, sane. pick two - georgeha
[ Parent ]

question by StackyMcRacky (4.00 / 1) #21 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 10:09:06 AM EST
is this that particular agent?  If so.....he has already gotten commission on the sale of your house, correct?  Based on your description, he isn't doing the job you want him to do, in addition to treating you rather unprofessionally in the past.  If you have no legal reason to bring him in on the deal, then don't.  This is a business deal, not personal.  From what you've said in the past he's treated personal issues in a rather cold manner in the past, so this shouldn't bother him at all.



Dump him! by duxup (2.00 / 0) #29 Mon Jul 17, 2006 at 04:19:08 PM EST
My one and only house purchases was an FSBO and I also did not use an agent.  We saved good $ but much of that was some luck that we were all reasonable people and such.

Anyway provided there are no legal issues I say dump the agent.  Not knowing about a fire, not good.  I’m highly suspicious of real estate agents as it is and I’d have no problem kicking one to the curb just based on that.

____


Ask HuSi about real estate dealings | 29 comments (29 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

Powered by Scoop   
 
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments and Stories are owned by the Poster and Licensed to "Hulver's site". See our Copyright page for more information.
faq | help | accounts