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I don’t really see much value in a buying agent other than scheduling showings for me. You said things go sideways and it would be a good idea to have an agent but didn’t give any examples.
In our particular case, the sellers were the adult children of a homeowner who had passed away. There was a reverse mortgage in place and the house was being sold as-is. The bank we were using for our mortgage (Wells Fargo) wanted us to take out a construction loan (more $ for them), and they kept telling us they wouldn’t give us the loan due to issues with the house that didn’t ‘meet code’. A good agent would have suggested finding another lender ASAP (or would have referred us to a different lender) or could have suggested we pay cash, which we had at the time due to the low price of the house. Instead, things dragged on until what was owed on the house was greater than the contracted price, and the house went into foreclosure.
Because this is a sellers’ market, having a good buyer’s agent can help you get your offer accepted. I had a seller who recently took the second highest offer on his house because the conditions other than offer price were more favorable. The highest offer came from someone who needed to sell their house before they could close on this house. The second highest offer was a cash buyer who was able to close immediately. Buyers can offer to waive inspections (though that’s not something I would recommend), they can offer a lease-back if the seller needs more time before they vacate the house… there are a few things like that a buyer’s agent can help with, along with offering the right price. Could a real estate attorney do that? I suppose, but I don’t see them doing so. We’ll see how it all shakes out. Who knows? Real estate agents for buyers may become obsolete.
I don’t really see much value in a buying agent other than scheduling showings for me. You said things go sideways and it would be a good idea to have an agent but didn’t give any examples.
I used to feel that way until, I found an awesome agent.
Good agents know their towns and inventory really well.
I would tell her about a house I saw online and she would say "No..that's not a house you're gonna like because of XYZ". Granted it took a conversation or two for us to convey our needs/wants/deal breakers, etc.
She bought our kids Pizza or Bagels or Snacks for every house hunting outing.
The house we ended up buying was one that I didn't even want to see based on the pics online. She convinced us to go see it in person and we loved it. The seller preferred another buyers offer, she suggested we send a letter, and managed that process for us..
She found us awesome contractors to do renovations, upgrades...even gave back some of the commission as a housewarming gift.
When it comes to RE in NJ here is our personal experience this season starting Dec of last year.
I'm talking about Millburn, Short Hills, Chatham and mainly Livingston.
These days the sellers agent are not even listing property on the market. Instead they are setting up bidding wars within their own pool of buyers. That's denying all buyers a fair right to home ownership by making a bid that is transparent. As I understand this is borderline illegal.
But since neither the buyers or sellers are represented by any trade body while realtors roll up under NAR there is a situation that is being exploited. We changed three known agents in the Livingston area who shopped our offers that were all above asking for an even bigger offer!
Not sure if there is any legal recourse to ensure all properties are listed and all bids are open for audit after they are accepted. It will ensure realtors don't resort to malpractice when there is mechanism to investigate bids.
In our particular case, the sellers were the adult children of a homeowner who had passed away. There was a reverse mortgage in place and the house was being sold as-is. The bank we were using for our mortgage (Wells Fargo) wanted us to take out a construction loan (more $ for them), and they kept telling us they wouldn’t give us the loan due to issues with the house that didn’t ‘meet code’. A good agent would have suggested finding another lender ASAP (or would have referred us to a different lender) or could have suggested we pay cash, which we had at the time due to the low price of the house. Instead, things dragged on until what was owed on the house was greater than the contracted price, and the house went into foreclosure.
Because this is a sellers’ market, having a good buyer’s agent can help you get your offer accepted. I had a seller who recently took the second highest offer on his house because the conditions other than offer price were more favorable. The highest offer came from someone who needed to sell their house before they could close on this house. The second highest offer was a cash buyer who was able to close immediately. Buyers can offer to waive inspections (though that’s not something I would recommend), they can offer a lease-back if the seller needs more time before they vacate the house… there are a few things like that a buyer’s agent can help with, along with offering the right price. Could a real estate attorney do that? I suppose, but I don’t see them doing so. We’ll see how it all shakes out. Who knows? Real estate agents for buyers may become obsolete.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahkeer
I used to feel that way until, I found an awesome agent.
Good agents know their towns and inventory really well.
I would tell her about a house I saw online and she would say "No..that's not a house you're gonna like because of XYZ". Granted it took a conversation or two for us to convey our needs/wants/deal breakers, etc.
She bought our kids Pizza or Bagels or Snacks for every house hunting outing.
The house we ended up buying was one that I didn't even want to see based on the pics online. She convinced us to go see it in person and we loved it. The seller preferred another buyers offer, she suggested we send a letter, and managed that process for us..
She found us awesome contractors to do renovations, upgrades...even gave back some of the commission as a housewarming gift.
My takeaway from reading these is that the value placed on agents really comes down to the individual buyer. While everything you described has value, I don’t think it’s worth 3% of my home value. I can and have researched these things myself. If the fee was a more reasonable flat fee I might think differently. There’s plenty of agents making money out there so clearly my opinion is the minority.
And this is not just a knock on RE agents. I feel the same way about financial advisors.
I can't speak about anything beyond what I know but.... In N NJ
Essex County/Union County/Hudson County have seen the most home appreciation as a whole in the last 25 years on a % basis.
But select towns in Bergen County are also growing massively. Fairlawn is benefitting big time from the Asian Influx sending school quality to almost ridgewood level which is reflecting in the home prices.
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