What to expect from real estate agent for buying a property and how to find a good agent?
Posted on May 7th, 2010 in Renting & Real Estate | 4 Comments »
jb asked:
I am interested in buying a house in Santa clara county and am still looking around. This is my first experience and I don' t have any real estate agent. I am not sure what to expect from real estate agents except for they sending me bunch of email alerts - which pretty much I find on mlslistings myself. There are couple of agents who took my email when I went for open house and they have been sending me these alterts. Are these considered my agents - or do I specifically need to tell someone and/or signup any papers indicating that they are my agents? Pls help - thoroughly confused. Would even appreciate if you can point to relevant articles on web. Thanks JB
Maryland Real estate
I am interested in buying a house in Santa clara county and am still looking around. This is my first experience and I don' t have any real estate agent. I am not sure what to expect from real estate agents except for they sending me bunch of email alerts - which pretty much I find on mlslistings myself. There are couple of agents who took my email when I went for open house and they have been sending me these alterts. Are these considered my agents - or do I specifically need to tell someone and/or signup any papers indicating that they are my agents? Pls help - thoroughly confused. Would even appreciate if you can point to relevant articles on web. Thanks JB
Maryland Real estate
4 Responses
Boston Real Estate
Those agents are NOT your agents, unless you want one of them to help you!
I would definitely suggest enlisting the help of an agent… and only ONE agent. As a buyer of a property, having them should cost you $0.00!
There is more to real estate than number of bedrooms and number of baths. You should get an agent who matches up your known criteria AND your unknowns with the best suited properties available in your marketplace!
When I meet with clients in the beginning, I ask them questions and they ask me questions… kinda a “get to know you” meeting. I try to dig a bit into their lives to see how they live today… likes & dislikes… hobbies, etc. The more I know about them, the better I am at putting them in front of the best suited home for them. I’m usually very close in my working that way! There’s no greater waste of time than finding out about a client while driving in the car looking at tons of homes. I’d rather spend a little time up front getting to know them, prior to getting in my car… my time, along with my client’s time, is too important to waste!
If you need someone in your area that digs deeper and works professionally, let me know and I’d be happy to set you up with someone.
Best of luck to you! Please let me know if you have any questions.
San Francisco Cosmetic Dentist
These people want to be your agent to make a commission ,but none are your agent until you sign a representation agreement. It is tough to tell who is good and who is not so I would go with the one you felt the most comfortable with. If you do sign an agreement you can always asked to be released and legally they have to. (At least they do in Tn.) If they are still representing you and you have not been released then they can get their commission if you buy a house wheather they do anything or not. When dealing with agents I would recomend that you keep in mind that you are in charge and that they work for you. They would like for you to buy the first house you see so that they can make their commission. Keep in mind their commission comes from the sale of the house, so you do not have to pay them theoretically. They are paid a % of the sale price of the house. (Which of course you are paying for) Also I would recomend getting a different agent from the one that has a property listed. There is a sellers agent and a buyers agent. If you use the agent selling the property he is not really working for you. A good agent can help recomend a lender, I would check with more than one though, and negotiate a price. Most sellers expect to negotiate from their list price.
San Diego foreclosures
JB, If you want to purchase a house, you don’t need a real estate agent. You could simply look online for houses for sale by owner or go to MLS listings to shop for houses. Once you like what you see, you could simply email or call the seller. Real estate agents collect money from the sellers. You won’t have to owe them a penny. You could simply contact the seller if they are selling their house on their own visit: you might find something there or your could visit numerous websites online.
Super Foods
If you are interesting in purchasing a house the first person you want to see is not a real estate agent.
The first thing you need to know is if you are qualified to purchase a home. You will not get a contract, talk to a real estate agent or anything unless you know if you can afford to purchase a home and how much this is gonna cost.
So the first thing you should do is contact a “Mortgage Broker’ you may find this animal in your local telephone book. Tell him you plan to purchase a home in the next 6 months or so and want to get “PRE-APPROVED”
Now this person is gonna want to see lots of documents to prove certain things about you and anyone else trying to buy this home with you.
So to get you started I am gonna give you a few of the things you will need
#1 Fed income taxes for 2 yrs as well as W-2 for the same period
#2 Pay stubs covering one complete month.
#3 6 months from bank statements from all the banks you use to include any 401k plans at your place of employment.
This will get you started during your first interview. Now don’t plan on a short trip to the mortgage broker’s office or telephone to fill out the application. There are lots of questions as well as lots of forms to sign that are required by state and local authorities. He will even fax them to you. Make sure they are accurate as possible before returning them.
Once he has the documents signed and back in his hands, he will run a credit check thus finding out your credit score. With this credit score he can now tell you what loan programs you are qualified for. The appropriate monthly payment, how much the lender will allow you to borrow to purchase your home as well as tell you about the interest rate of your mortgage.
Once this has been discussed with you and whom ever is gonna purchase this home with you, now you are able to find a real estate agent or the mortgage broker can recommend one. At any rate you now have your “PRE-APPROVAL LETTER” and now you can look for this home you want to purchase.
Once found you go back to the mortgage broker to complete the transaction. He will order an appraisal to prove the value of the home you have selected. The real estate agent will draw up a sales contract for you and the seller to sign. He will give copies to the mortgage broker, and escrow closing agent.
Your mortgage broker might want additional items from you this is normal just find what he needs he is working on your behalf and acting as go between you and the lender.
Shortly thereafter the mortgage broker will call and set up a date for you to sign your loan docs, again plan on being there for a time. This is not hurry up process.
I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.
“FIGHT ON”