Posted by Natalie Smith on January 13, 2005 at 17:28:42:
It’s possible that John doesn’t think you are a motivated buyer since you are not sure what you can afford. He may not want to invest more time in you until you get your financing in order.
With that said, you need to talk with a loan officer or two. Find out what you can qualify for and how much you want to spend. They are not the same thing. Just because you can qualify for 100k does not mean you should spend that much.
Also, make sure the loan officer knows you are looking at fixer uppers. They usually require special financing.
newbie question about realtor - Posted by Mulligan
Posted by Mulligan on January 13, 2005 at 15:54:57:
I’m a newbie looking to buy my first home… I hope it to be a fixer upper and eventually an income property. I have a realtor (let’s call him John) who has been showing me condos for a while, but I have also found quite a few houses on my own that I am interested in (I use MLS search engines online). John has agreed to show me some of the houses soon. However, I am worried the house I want might sell and feel like I should just call the agent that the listing is given under (let’s call her Sally) for a quicker showing. But if I did that, and bought the house, to the best of my understanding, John would get no commission.
John has been spending a lot of his time helping me, I trust him (which means a lot since I inherently distrust salespeople), and he honestly seems interested in helping me get my feet in the water as an investor, even after I make a purchase (he refers to his past clients as “friends”). However, I could just be gullible and he could just be eager to make a sale and will forget about me once a deal is closed. Should I have any sort of loyalty towards him, and risk losing the deal by waiting a little longer to have him show me the property, or should I call Sally and risk John not getting any commission for all his hard work, and resenting me and me losing his potential mentorship (which may be a joke anyway)?
Re: newbie question about realtor - Posted by Kevin IL
Posted by Kevin IL on January 13, 2005 at 16:16:53:
How much of a delay is John causing? I deal with some of the most successful agents in my area and they can always get me into a property within 24 hours max, but usually within hours of my phone call. If you like John and you trust him it’s worth staying with him. I would start by asking him “if I found a hot property how quickly can you get me into see it?” If he can’t get you in within 24 hrs ask why? If he is only a part-time agent with a day job then maybe you will need to work with other agents.
As with any relationship, it all boils down to setting realistic expectations and communicating effectively.
Re: newbie question about realtor - Posted by Randy (SD)
Posted by Randy (SD) on January 13, 2005 at 16:11:46:
if Sally is the listing agent, call Sally…you can tell her you are represented by a buyers agent - John, however John schedule did not permit him to contact her until sometime later and you did not want to miss out on this opportunity.
or just tell John you’re going to call Sally if he doesn’t show you that house by Friday or Saturday that should get his attention. If you plan on using John for future purchases, I would continue to give him the benefit of the doubt, he has earned it.
Re: newbie question about realtor - Posted by Natalie Smith
Posted by Natalie Smith on January 13, 2005 at 16:10:15:
I am a Broker. We don’t earn commission by just hard work. We have to show results also. Sounds like John is only doing one part of the job. The question is WHY?
Have you given him a clear picture of what you are looking for?
Have you been pre-qualified or pre-approved for a loan?
You say that you are finding houses on MLS search engines. Sometimes this data is out of date. Are these houses really available? If so, you should not be spending time on this…John should be bringing these deals to you. Also, you say that John will show you the houses “soon”. What the heck does this mean? Call him and ask which day would be better, Saturday or Sunday? If he won’t commit, move on to another agent.
Posted by Mulligan on January 13, 2005 at 16:24:29:
He has shown me 2 condos. I was at first convinced that I could not find a house in the price range I was looking in. But since then I have found a few that are fixer-uppers, in a neighborhood where I could not afford an already fixed up house.
I am still not sure what I can afford and what is available out there. And I have found things using the search engine (which does give valid results) that my realtor did not suggest for me. I’d personally prefer to sort through ALL the listings myself rather than have someone base his process of elimination on what he THINKS I want when he doesn’t know as well as I do, no matter how hard I try to communicate.
I know the listings I am finding are valid, because I called the agent for one of them to ask her how serious the problems with the house were. When I mentioned that I had my own agent (as someone on here suggested in reply to me) who would be showing me the property, she got mad, asked why I didn’t call him, and stopped co-operating with me.
Re: newbie question about realtor - Posted by Pete IL
Posted by Pete IL on January 14, 2005 at 01:54:32:
Kevin brings up a great point. If your agent is the person delaying the showing then I think it’s time to move on. Call Sally and tell her that your interested in the property. Most agents (like Sally) will ask if your working with an agent. If you want to give John a commission, you can mention his name, if not, just go see it yourself. Or see the property on your own, get a better price since your not working with a buyer agent and give your own percentage to John for his work. (This could be illegal for Brokers/Agents and yourself depending on where you live).
In my opinion, my purchase/investment is my money and my agent is making his/her money on commission. They better be jumping through hoops to make the deal work or I’ll find someone else to make the deal work. It might sound harsh, but It’s your future, and you have to take control of the situation and make your future. Don’t rely on John just because he’s a nice guy. Make your future happen and then make John happy if he’s really worthy.