Posted by dj on January 24, 2003 at 15:08:50:
I agree that the real estate agent is looking for a fast and smooth deal. Maybe you should withdraw your offer or ask the seller pay your closing cost. There is always a better house out there within your price
range.
real estate financing - Posted by MJ
Posted by MJ on January 17, 2003 at 09:03:32:
Hello,
I am a novice here and I need some help. My fiance and I have been house hunting and this would be my first home. Since we are getting married we are a little cash tight so we wanted to put as little $$ down as possible. I got pre-approved for 100% financing with a 3% cencession at closing. The house we are buying needs new carpets and a paint job bad. The house was $200,000. We told our agent as part of our offer that we wanted an addendum to the contract stating that we would offer the buyer 199,000 but he would agree to give us $5000.00 back at closing to replace all the carpets. First, when we mentioned leaving any $$ on the table at closing our agent said the buyer would never go for that and then our mortgage broker told us it was fraud. Did I present this wrong? Or is it that I just have to find a seller that is willing to do deals outside the contract? I would like to begin investigating investing in RE for a living where is the best place to start?
Help,
MJ
Re: real estate financing - Posted by Jasonrei
Posted by Jasonrei on January 17, 2003 at 20:33:59:
If the agent was representing you they didn’t serve your interest by saying the seller would not go for your request. If they represent the seller they may have done them a disservice. If the house is listed at $200,000 it might not be “out of line” to ask for much bigger concessions than you did. As far as the fraud thing, if what you say is true, you didn’t attempt to cheat anyone.
Did you present this wrong? Maybe you did. Maybe you should have added “Thank you for your opinion. Now let’s write up my offer.”
Do you just need to find a seller willing to do deals outside the contract? That’s your call. But I hope you wouldn’t want to do something unethical.
You want to look into investing in RE for a living? Go to some local real estate investment club meetings. Read the how-to articles on this site. Somewhere on this site there’s a “getting started” section.
Who knows, maybe the seller is DYING to sell the house and would have LOVED to get an offer like yours. You did good to ask for what you wanted. You made an offer. You’re not trying to offend anyone, you just want what you want.
Good luck.
Re: real estate financing - Posted by Ed Garcia
Posted by Ed Garcia on January 17, 2003 at 10:17:10:
MJ,
There is no question that PRESENTATION is important. I would have given them a choice, either replace the carpet to my satisfaction, or give me a $5000 carpet allowance.
Your Realtor is an order taker and your Mortgage broker is lame.
You’ll have to teach them the Golden Rule. He who holds the gold, makes the rule.
MJ, you’re the buyer. You have the right to make this deal to your satisfaction or go find another deal. You don’t mind compromise as long as it’s not one sided. When making an offer you have to be careful of the Realtors input. Many times they make the seller position sound like it’s carved in stone, when they never even discussed your request with the seller. Realtors try to control the deal the way that they feel it should go.
Therefore you have to be adamant about your offer and tell your broker that you want to make your request in writing regardless of the broker’s opinion and that you also want the answer back in writing or a counter.
As far as your mortgage broker is concerned, he’d make a nice door stop.
Yes, it’s loan fraud when a buyer pulls money out of a deal and the lender is not aware of it. But there is no problem in putting a carpet allowance in your offer where the lender can see what is transpiring in the transaction.
Ed Garcia
Re: real estate financing - Posted by JC
Posted by JC on January 17, 2003 at 10:53:15:
I agree about your mortgage broker making a nice door stop. $5000 is not that much for a repair credit. I just had one for $35,000. Tell your mortgage broker to handle it or find a new one.
Your Real Estate Agent wants the deal to go as smooth as possible so they get paid. A good agent will should really go to bat for you.
What ever you do don’t cave.