Buying a condo

[AgentEL]

I'm in the market for a condo, but I'm wondering whether I need/should have a buyer's agent. For anyone that has bought property before: Did you get a buyer's agent? If so, was he/she helpful?

btw, this is probably the first in a series of newb real estate questions, so bare with me.

 

[Kelemvor]

There's no reason NOT to get a BUYER's agent. They work for the Buyer to get you a better price. And you don't have to pay them (the seller does based on the selling price). So I'd definitely get one. Unless the condo is being sold FSBO and they refuse to pay the agent, then you'd have to, but that's something that can be specified in the contract/offer.

 

[richardycc]

use an agent, but dont sign any contract to use them.

 

[sohcrates]

use an agent, but make sure SELLER pays all agent costs

 

[Budmantom]

You should have one looking out for YOUR best interest.


Tom

 

[Scarpozzi]

Be careful though....I've seen people buy condos that actually go down in value. Be sure that if you buy one, you find an agent that knows the market and definitely knows market values for the area you're wanting to buy...

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
There's ALMOST no reason NOT to get a BUYER's agent. They SOMETIMES work for the Buyer to get you a better price BUT OFTEN JUST WANT THE DEAL TO CLOSE SO THEY GET A PAYDAY. And you don't have to pay them (the seller does based on the selling price). So I'd definitely get one. Unless the condo is being sold FSBO and they refuse to pay the agent, then you'd have to, but that's something that can be specified in the contract/offer.

fixed

 

[flyboy84]

thought the title was buying a condom

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: AgentEL
I'm in the market for a condo, but I'm wondering whether I need/should have a buyer's agent. For anyone that has bought property before: Did you get a buyer's agent? If so, was he/she helpful?

btw, this is probably the first in a series of newb real estate questions, so bare with me.

It doesn't matter who you use. In then end, they want you to buy a home. Agents are esentially useless. Buyer/seller agent is of no matter.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
Be careful though....I've seen people buy condos that actually go down in value. Be sure that if you buy one, you find an agent that knows the market and definitely knows market values for the area you're wanting to buy...

The fact that a properties value goes down AFTER the fact is of no signifigance. The only thing that matters are the prices at the time you buy a property. NO ONE HAS A CRYSTEAL BLAL INTO THE FUTURE.

And if you or a friend are blaming someone else, that person needs to start learning to blame themselves.

 

[LordSnailz]

If the RE agent is familar with the area, they should have a feel on how the property is going to do. Yes they don't predict the future, but you don't expect the property to down in value if condos around the area are going in price. There are small things they can point out that can affect the attractiveness of the condo, so yes, an agent is partly responsible.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Also, why buy a condo? Buyt a piece a 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom home in a good location.

price of land + (construction cost per sqaure foot * square footage) = home's worth

Not much guessw work here.

I think condo prices are generallly turbulanet because supply/demand drives that market more than what things are actually worth.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
Also, why buy a condo? Buyt a piece a 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom home in a good location.

price of land + (construction cost per sqaure foot * square footage) = home's worth

Not much guessw work here.

I think condo prices are generallly turbulanet because supply/demand drives that market more than what things are actually worth.

A nice home near where I need to work would run a million or so.

 

[LordSnailz]

I agree, if you have the money, I would go with a fixer upper house than a condo, but if you dont' have the money then go with a condo rather save for the house. Hopefully, the market still goes up and you use the equity from the condo to move up. You gotta start somewhere, the point is to start

 

[purbeast0]

i will be in this market in probably 20 months or so. my goal is to save about 20K then purchase what will probably be a condo, or maybe a house depending on the price at the time and what not. right now im starting to save 500$/check so i shhould be on track in about 20 months or so, because i'm going to not save 500$ from some of my checks (when i go on vacation and stuff i will use extra $$$ to have some fun)

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
If the RE agent is familar with the area, they should have a feel on how the property is going to do. Yes they don't predict the future, but you don't expect the property to down in value if condos around the area are going in price. There are small things they can point out that can affect the attractiveness of the condo, so yes, an agent is partly responsible.

It is true and agent should point things out, but you have to know to look at the neighbors homes and the cars and if people leave toyus out and make things look like a mess.

You have to notice the 40 year old kitchen.

Bottom line, an egent is there to sell you property regardless off whether or not a property is any good. if that were true, all agents would not even show you 75% of the properties available. and if they did that, they'd make no commision and make no money.

Simple matter of economics.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
i will be in this market in probably 20 months or so. my goal is to save about 20K then purchase what will probably be a condo, or maybe a house depending on the price at the time and what not. right now im starting to save 500$/check so i shhould be on track in about 20 months or so, because i'm going to not save 500$ from some of my checks (when i go on vacation and stuff i will use extra $$$ to have some fun)

Look into FHA loans. You only need 5% down. In CT, I only needed 3.25% down on my first house. You have to pay for mortgage insurance which isn't fun, but you don't have to wait to you have $20K unless homes start at $400K in your neighborhood.

Oh, the other thing:

You need about 5% down after everything is said and done.

See home for $200K. Think it's worth $190K? Offer $200K and state that the seller is to pay for up to $10,000 in buyers closing costs. This includes lawyer fees, down payment, etc. You might not need ANY money right now

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: K1052

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
Also, why buy a condo? Buyt a piece a 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom home in a good location.

price of land + (construction cost per sqaure foot * square footage) = home's worth

Not much guessw work here.

I think condo prices are generallly turbulanet because supply/demand drives that market more than what things are actually worth.

A nice home near where I need to work would run a million or so.

California?

A 2 bedroom home in a good neighborhood starts at $1M?

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: purbeast0
i will be in this market in probably 20 months or so. my goal is to save about 20K then purchase what will probably be a condo, or maybe a house depending on the price at the time and what not. right now im starting to save 500$/check so i shhould be on track in about 20 months or so, because i'm going to not save 500$ from some of my checks (when i go on vacation and stuff i will use extra $$$ to have some fun)

Look into FHA loans. You only need 5% down. In CT, I only needed 3.25% down on my first house. You have to pay for mortgage insurance which isn't fun, but you don't have to wait to you have $20K unless homes start at $400K in your neighborhood.

Oh, the other thing:

You need about 5% down after everything is said and done.

See home for $200K. Think it's worth $190K? Offer $200K and state that the seller is to pay for up to $10,000 in buyers closing costs. This includes lawyer fees, down payment, etc. You might not need ANY money right now

woah thanks for the information. do you have any more online resources that discuss this whole thing? like i said, i'm not in the market now and i haven't really done any research on this at all. i would like to save enough $$$ also so that once i move into a house, i have like a few grand to buy furniture and all that stuff. i already have my HT stuff so i won't be blowing $$$ on that (50" DLP, $3K surround sound system ), so its mainly going to be furniture but i want some decent stuff so i want a few grand to blow on that once i move in.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Buyers Agents can have conflicting interests such as when the property is listed through the agents realstate company (but has a different seller's agent named).

Common sense says you give this person as little information about your 'willingness' to buy specific peices of property.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: K1052

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
Also, why buy a condo? Buyt a piece a 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom home in a good location.

price of land + (construction cost per sqaure foot * square footage) = home's worth

Not much guessw work here.

I think condo prices are generallly turbulanet because supply/demand drives that market more than what things are actually worth.

A nice home near where I need to work would run a million or so.

California?

A 2 bedroom home in a good neighborhood starts at $1M?

Downtown Chicago.

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
If the RE agent is familar with the area, they should have a feel on how the property is going to do. Yes they don't predict the future, but you don't expect the property to down in value if condos around the area are going in price. There are small things they can point out that can affect the attractiveness of the condo, so yes, an agent is partly responsible.

It is true and agent should point things out, but you have to know to look at the neighbors homes and the cars and if people leave toyus out and make things look like a mess.

You have to notice the 40 year old kitchen.

Bottom line, an egent is there to sell you property regardless off whether or not a property is any good. if that were true, all agents would not even show you 75% of the properties available. and if they did that, they'd make no commision and make no money.

Simple matter of economics.

Well it depends on the agent you get ... one of my co-workers recommended her agent and she's really good. You don't get the feeling that she's pushing anything onto you, when we do the walk through she points out the pros and cons about the house.

I'm sure there's a bunch of agents out there that just want to sell to earn their money, but there are agents out there that have your interest in mind. Check with your co-workers and friends, don't just go for someone off an ad.

The other major thing to watch out for is the loan agent ... make sure you find someone that you can trust. Even if you have the perfect house you can get screwed if the loan agent is "out to get you".

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: purbeast0
i will be in this market in probably 20 months or so. my goal is to save about 20K then purchase what will probably be a condo, or maybe a house depending on the price at the time and what not. right now im starting to save 500$/check so i shhould be on track in about 20 months or so, because i'm going to not save 500$ from some of my checks (when i go on vacation and stuff i will use extra $$$ to have some fun)

Look into FHA loans. You only need 5% down. In CT, I only needed 3.25% down on my first house. You have to pay for mortgage insurance which isn't fun, but you don't have to wait to you have $20K unless homes start at $400K in your neighborhood.

Oh, the other thing:

You need about 5% down after everything is said and done.

See home for $200K. Think it's worth $190K? Offer $200K and state that the seller is to pay for up to $10,000 in buyers closing costs. This includes lawyer fees, down payment, etc. You might not need ANY money right now

woah thanks for the information. do you have any more online resources that discuss this whole thing? like i said, i'm not in the market now and i haven't really done any research on this at all. i would like to save enough $$$ also so that once i move into a house, i have like a few grand to buy furniture and all that stuff. i already have my HT stuff so i won't be blowing $$$ on that (50" DLP, $3K surround sound system ), so its mainly going to be furniture but i want some decent stuff so i want a few grand to blow on that once i move in.

fool.com probably has some articles and advice on buying your first home. Having the seller pay some closing costs on a home purchase is fairly common, especially on first homes. All you have to do is list it as a contigency jsut like you will end up listing "per home inspection within 14 days" as a contigency.

Contigencies are basically things you add to the contract as requirments for the contract to be valid.
Also common is the "contigent upon getting a mortgage".

In future purchases there is something comonly referred to as the "hubbard clause". From "old mother hubbard". Basically means the purchase of hte new home is contigent on selling your current home. That's of no concern right now though.

Anyways, go snoop around fool.com. I'm not positive, but I think they will probably have a"walkthrough" of buying your first home. I bought hte "idiots guide" to buying a home. It's honestly worth spending the 10 bucks.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
If the RE agent is familar with the area, they should have a feel on how the property is going to do. Yes they don't predict the future, but you don't expect the property to down in value if condos around the area are going in price. There are small things they can point out that can affect the attractiveness of the condo, so yes, an agent is partly responsible.

It is true and agent should point things out, but you have to know to look at the neighbors homes and the cars and if people leave toyus out and make things look like a mess.

You have to notice the 40 year old kitchen.

Bottom line, an egent is there to sell you property regardless off whether or not a property is any good. if that were true, all agents would not even show you 75% of the properties available. and if they did that, they'd make no commision and make no money.

Simple matter of economics.

Well it depends on the agent you get ... one of my co-workers recommended her agent and she's really good. You don't get the feeling that she's pushing anything onto you, when we do the walk through she points out the pros and cons about the house.

I'm sure there's a bunch of agents out there that just want to sell to earn their money, but there are agents out there that have your interest in mind. Check with your co-workers and friends, don't just go for someone off an ad.

The other major thing to watch out for is the loan agent ... make sure you find someone that you can trust. Even if you have the perfect house you can get screwed if the loan agent is "out to get you".

true.

I guess the concept of "buyer beware" is somethign to keep in mind.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: AgentEL
I'm in the market for a condo, but I'm wondering whether I need/should have a buyer's agent. For anyone that has bought property before: Did you get a buyer's agent? If so, was he/she helpful?

btw, this is probably the first in a series of newb real estate questions, so bare with me.

It doesn't matter who you use. In then end, they want you to buy a home. Agents are esentially useless. Buyer/seller agent is of no matter.

An agent can tell you what other condo are going for in that area and they can tell you how much that condo was purchased for and when it was purchased, they can also help you find a good lending institution. Your Realtor can also tell you how much other units are renting for.

Having a good Realtor with your best interest in mind is a lot better than having a 1st time home buyer trying to figure it out on his own.


Tom