This was great information! I had a great real estate agent. She got the seller to pay my closing costs, and she talked the seller down on the price of the house. Then the home came back appraised for more so that was a plus!
I disagree with your last point, to a degree at least. New agents need experience too and most new agents get their start through their sphere of influence, aka their friends and family. Of course the agent needs to provide their friend or family member value still, but I wouldn’t discount this very important relationship for new agents and their sphere.
Can you talk about some real-estate agents who will take you to 3 showings and expect you to just buy. And when you don't, they'll start taking you less seriously and will invest their time with other potential buyers. Why do some real-estate agents not understand that the buyer is not ordering a Happy Meal here. And that this is someone's HARD-EARNED MONEY we're talking about here, and that this buyer needs to make sure they won't have "buyer's regret" in the future?!
The seller pays the buyer's agent commission, so yes, your buyer's agent commission is worked into the price. There are no extra fees when you hire a buyer's agent
I would like to share some useful resources with fellow home buyers: Redfin.com: have most listings for West of U.S., and they have a great UI. HousesInsider.com: risk related factors information about house, natural hazards, social hazards like meth lab, radon, stigmatized events, nearby demographics, homeless, sex offenders, etc. Zillow.com: have renter properties on it, similar to Redfin, but I like Redfin UI more. Trulia.com: nearby amenities like restaurants, gym, crime rating map. Government websites: for querying the properties transaction history, tax history, title records, etc. Finding an agent: ask recommendations from your social circle, and talk with each of them and then asking questions, and then pick the ones you feel good about. It is not easy, requires efforts, but with above websites, I can do much of it online and before I go onsite for touring open house and skip ones that have factors that I don’t like or don’t have the factors I like, so I can save my time.
we are looking but basically browsing, as we are waiting for basically our funding to confirm, should we wait until this is secured to establish a contact with a agent? or should we try to find one we are comfortable with now?
Matt, I generally agree with most of the content with your videos and feel this is very good advice. I tend to disagree on the first point. As a buyer, I represent my own interest better than a buyer or seller agent. There is enough information out there now to determine very accurately what the fair market value is. You site the ability to save a few thousand dollars by having the seller agent represent you. This does not hold true when the property value approaches 7 digits. When I have made offers w/o a buyer agenet, I have had always asked for 3% below list. Granted when I made this offer on a townhouse listed by Washington Fine Properties in Courthouse, they refused since they already received multiple offers. Honestly, I feel that the seller agent screwed the seller since I offered 1% below list. This would have turned out to be more money if the seller agent didn't take the entire 6% commission. When I sold my previous home, I had Redfin write the contract up to allow competitive offers when the buyer is not represented by an agent. When I purchased my home in Ashton heights 2 years ago, I ended up working directly with the seller to complete the transition without any agents saving both of us money while avoiding a bidding war. Anway, I felt that I had to comment on this topic because I don't think it's fair to scare people from bypassing the buyer agent. Yes, I am aware that this doesn't work in your best interest as an agent.
Bruce, great comment. I don't really think there's much to dispute on what you've said. If you know what you're doing, and it seems like you do, there will be exceptions to the points that I've laid out. I'm guessing you have purchased a property before writing on the Courthouse townhouse and before purchasing your Ashton Heights home? You can save a ton of money purchasing off-market like you did. The reality is that most first-time home buyers and buyers in general are purchasing homes that are on the market or listed by a listing agent. First-time home buyers may struggle more with the nuances of the contract as well as negotiating a fair price (even if the information is out there) and home inspection fixes. For that reason, I recommend that first-time homebuyers avoid using the the listing agent when purchasing their home
So if I find the house that I like and its " for sale by owner" I should get the buyer agent anyway to represent my end and just to be safe too. And thank you for your answer.
Have you bought a house before? Are you comfortable working directly with the seller and you completely understand the process and risk involved? I would say it depends on your comfort level and especially for a FSBO, would recommend that you get a buyer's agent to make sure that the owner is doing everything legally and not taking advantage of you
I'm a first time buyer and I just came across your video and follow your step, like I just get pre qualify from the bank ( high interest) so I will shop around with lender, then get agent to help me. Your videos are so helpful.
Matt, thanks for the two feedbacks. I looked at a house in Glen Burnie, Maryland today and the asking price is $219,999.00 but the Tax Assessment is $195,00.00. What am I to make of this? Should I be seeing that the asking price is too much?
Good question. Not necessarily. Tax assessments "lag" behind sales price in most jurisdictions in the DC Metro area. Wouldn't put too much emphasis into the tax assessment unless there is a much wider spread between the two (like $100s of thousands)
Are realtors supposed to come to open houses with clients ? I’ve been to a few open houses and very rarely does mine go with me I’ve seen other clients with their agents at open homes I have so many questions I am working with one and there is a particular home I would really want to purchase and my agent says it’s unavailable also I am not knowledgeable about the listings within the systems but on every website it says this particular home is still available I’m confused
It depends on the client. If you're comfortable at the open house without your agent, that's fine. If you'd prefer to be with your agent when touring an open house, let your agent know!
It sounds like you need a serious talk with your agent or find a new agent. Sometimes people just aren’t meant for each other. We had to switch agents because it was more stressful to think about whether or not we were bothering her or stressed about not be able to go see a home we really like. If you just have a feeling like this agent isn’t doing what’s best for you, they could be for someone else. And someone else will be for you. Shouldn’t be any hard feelings. It just happens sometimes.
Search Instagram with the hashtag of your city and 'real estate' i.e #brooklynrealestate, search Zillow reviews for the best buyer agents in your city. Usually the top few with the most reviews will be a team so you'll get someone else than the person reviewed. Talk to your friends that have bought before, see if they recommend anyone. And go to open houses and see if there are any agents that you meet that you connect with. Hope that helps!
Hi Matt, I've had several buyers say "Well, If I go to the listing agent then there is a better chance of me getting the contract because the list agent benefits more (commission wise) and will pull for me", also, the list agent can serve the buyer as a customer with the "unrepresented buyer agreement form" and it's not dual agency, correct? . I've used that form several times to do both sides. How can I respond to that buyer objection with this in mind? PS I love your videos!
Hey Ron, thanks for watching and thanks for your question! I would turn that back around on the buyer and ask them how comfortable they are negotiating contract prices. Or their experience in working with the bank if an appraisal comes in low? I've used the Unrepresented buyer agreement as well and basically what it states is that nobody represents the buyer, so then it comes down to how well-versed the buyer is in handling a real estate transaction. Or what will happen when the deal goes sideways because the listing agent is only looking out for their commission. I think that fact is an even bigger reason why you shouldn't go Unrepresented as a buyer. Now you have an agent that represents the other party and now has more commission on the line.