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First time homebuyer. Possible to make do without an agent?

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OCGuy said:
Also if you walk into say an open house without an agent, the listing agent is going to act as your agent and "double end" the transaction, if it is allowed in your state.

Then you are going to have the listing agent as your agent as well, which is a conflict of interest.
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Not necessarily. In my state, the agents can act as both the agent for the buyer and seller. By law, they're required to give the best advice to both parties, and act in their best interest. Can it be conflicting? Hell yeah. But so long as they don't favor one party over the other, it's legally okay.

I used the seller's agent as my own when I bought my house. She spent a lot of time explaining everything to me, made certain that I was completely at ease with every aspect of the sale, and really earned whatever commission she got from the sale, as she was really patient answering all my dumb questions as a first time buyer. That's why I highly recommend her to anyone who says they're looking for a house, and why she has one of the best reputations in this area.
 
Phokus said:
Well, i guess i have to amend that and say what i typed out might not work in all circumstances, but for short sales/foreclosures it works beautifully because the 'seller' is a bank and they're much less emotionally attached to the transaction than a normal buyer would be.

Although... i could see how not having an agent would also work in a normal transaction if the house has been sitting unsold for, say, >90 days.
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I do agree for a short sale or foreclosure you don't need one. i purchased a foreclosure and we didn't use one. just a lawyer.

but a 1st time home buyer should have one
 
HardcoreRobot said:
as a buyer, your agent gets his commission from the selling agent. if there is no selling agent, you can probably make a deal with the seller since they are saving 6%. However, you will need some lawyer time which is additional cash upfront you will need. FSBO's are the minority of offerings as well so might be harder to find.

DO get an agent to: arrange checking out houses, communicate with selling agent/sellers, draft offers etc.
DONT rely on an agent to: help you get financing or FIND the house. once you start working with an agent they many will provide you with a portal to do home searches. do your own research. we picked a couple houses WE wanted to see, and let our agent pick comps to see. all of his SUCKED ASS. anecdotal, but honestly YOU are the only one that knows what YOU are looking for.

Certain buyers agencies will give back a portion of their commission to you as cash at closing. We used zip realty, and i think they gave us back 20% of their cut, so 1/5 of 1/2 of 6%. Seems like a small amount, but it adds up when the house is $$$$. And its free money, just for using them. Thats just one example.
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I agree with most of this. Problem with FSBO houses though, the sellers are dumb as fuck and they all seem to price their houses way above market value (at least in my area). Initially, i thought i could strike a deal (since no commissions involved), but they don't have a real estate agent who knows the market to calm down their expectations.
 
BoberFett said:
Middle class people don't live in 500K homes. Just ask your buddies over in P&N.
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well i didn't pay 500k did i, and you have to adjust for the fact that i live in one of the most expensive areas in the northeast.

In Texas, my home would probably be worth less than 200K.
 
Hmm.. Interesting.

I'm a complete home buyer n00b, and will hopefully be purchasing my first house in about a year.. But what Phokus is saying makes sense to me. Of course they're not "free". Why would any of you think that? Nothing is free.

It sounds like it's just a matter of being informed, knowing all your shit. Honestly, we will probably want an agent.. unless we learn enough that we feel comfortable tackling it ourselves, or something. Our plan is to interview agents until we find one that understands our wants and needs, someone who thinks like us. I have no idea if this is possible in reality, though... lol

It just seems like it would be so overwhelming, especially for a first time home buyer. Plus, I don't think I'm a very good negotiator overall. Though, I can understand why you don't need an agent for a short sale/foreclosure. Why would you? What service would they be performing? If you've got 225k, you offer the bank 225k. They say yes or no. Simple. 😛
 
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Eli said:
Hmm.. Interesting.

I'm a complete home buyer n00b, and will hopefully be purchasing my first house in about a year.. But what Phokus is saying makes sense to me. Of course they're not "free". Why would any of you think that? Nothing is free.

It sounds like it's just a matter of being informed, knowing all your shit. Honestly, we will probably want an agent.. unless we learn enough that we feel comfortable tackling it ourselves, or something. Our plan is to interview agents until we find one that understands our wants and needs, someone who thinks like us. I have no idea if this is possible in reality, though... lol

It just seems like it would be so overwhelming, especially for a first time home buyer. Plus, I don't think I'm a very good negotiator overall. Though, I can understand why you don't need an agent for a short sale/foreclosure. Why would you? What service would they be performing? If you've got 225k, you offer the bank 225k. They say yes or no. Simple. 😛
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no, it's free. Whether you get one or not, the seller still pays the same fee. the only person it effects is the seller's agent.
 
HardcoreRobot said:
as a buyer, your agent gets his commission from the selling agent. if there is no selling agent, you can probably make a deal with the seller since they are saving 6%. However, you will need some lawyer time which is additional cash upfront you will need. FSBO's are the minority of offerings as well so might be harder to find.

DO get an agent to: arrange checking out houses, communicate with selling agent/sellers, draft offers etc.
DONT rely on an agent to: help you get financing or FIND the house. once you start working with an agent they many will provide you with a portal to do home searches. do your own research. we picked a couple houses WE wanted to see, and let our agent pick comps to see. all of his SUCKED ASS. anecdotal, but honestly YOU are the only one that knows what YOU are looking for.

Certain buyers agencies will give back a portion of their commission to you as cash at closing. We used zip realty, and i think they gave us back 20% of their cut, so 1/5 of 1/2 of 6%. Seems like a small amount, but it adds up when the house is $$$$. And its free money, just for using them. Thats just one example.
Click to expand...

I never heard of that. I know in NJ it doesn't work like that. A seller will list a house with an agent typically for 6% of the selling price. Unless its exclusive which I have never seen a contract like that, he will list it on the MLS. If the listing agent also secures the buyer his office gets the entire 6%. If another agent produces a buyer the two offices split the commission. I am not sure, but I am prone to think if a selling agent entices a buyer with giving part of the commission it would probably violate ethics. Almost all agencies I doubt in NJ would do such a thing because they all agree to be apart of MLS. You also tread down the dual agent road which can be a slippery slope.
 
Gibson486 said:
no, it's free. Whether you get one or not, the seller still pays the same fee. the only person it effects is the seller's agent.
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Yep, the listing agent's fee is built into the price of the house.

The only real best way where not having a buyers agent is if you're buying from a builder directly. Agents eat into the profit so if you don't have one and deal directly with the builder you can save some serious dough, especially as the home price gets high.
 
classy said:
I never heard of that. I know in NJ it doesn't work like that. A seller will list a house with an agent typically for 6% of the selling price. Unless its exclusive which I have never seen a contract like that, he will list it on the MLS. If the listing agent also secures the buyer his office gets the entire 6%. If another agent produces a buyer the two offices split the commission. I am not sure, but I am prone to think if a selling agent entices a buyer with giving part of the commission it would probably violate ethics. Almost all agencies I doubt in NJ would do such a thing because they all agree to be apart of MLS. You also tread down the dual agent road which can be a slippery slope.
Click to expand...
Nowhere did I say the selling agent was giving their commission to the buyer.

The BUYERS agent splits a portion of their cut with the buyer to entice the buyer to use their services. I am pretty sure zip realty operates in NJ, and that state is not listed as an exclusion on their info page - http://trnwww.ziprealty.com/buy_a_home/rebate.jsp
 
This must be a regional thing, because around here NO ONE uses a buyer's agent. No one. I didn't when I bought my house, and I don't know a single person who has. We just work with the selling agent.
 
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