Is it common practice for a real estate agent to send me a list of houses for sale via the web and then he is?
Posted on June 24th, 2010 in Renting & Real Estate | 6 Comments »
. asked:
Is it common practice for a real estate agent to send me a list of houses for sale via the web and then he is not the actual realtor involved in selling the house? Is this normal practice? Should I contact the realtor who is actually selling the house first for the seller? How does it work and whom do I give the earnest money to, and if by check or should I just contact my mortgage lender first?
Exilis Body Shaping
Is it common practice for a real estate agent to send me a list of houses for sale via the web and then he is not the actual realtor involved in selling the house? Is this normal practice? Should I contact the realtor who is actually selling the house first for the seller? How does it work and whom do I give the earnest money to, and if by check or should I just contact my mortgage lender first?
Exilis Body Shaping
6 Responses
Carlisle Pennsylvania Real Estate
This is common practice, and works to your advantage. You should not contact the selling agent, use your agent, “the buyers agent”. The selling agent is under contract to get the most $ out of you as possible, having your own agent will help you get a better deal.
You give your earnest money either to the title company, or your agent, who then writes a check to the title company, but you don’t worry about that until after your offer is accepted.
Jacksonville Real Estate
Absolutely. That is the purpose of the Multiple Listing Service so the Realtors have access to information on various listings.
You can contact the listing agent if you want, but bear in mind that agent will have his clients (the sellers) best interests in mind, not yours.
This is a common misperception among first time home buyers, that it is best to work with the selling agent when purchasing a property. Ideally, I believe each party in a transaction should have someone representing their interests, and both have their own Realtor.
You give your earnest money to the Realtor that writes the offer for you. It is not necessary to contact your mortgage lender until you have an accepted offer.
Orange County Real Estate
Yes it is common, the agent is searching the MLS list of properties that match some or all of your needs. You do not need to contact the listing agent on these because that is why you have an agent. Your agent represents you, the selling agent represents the seller. Let your agent work for you. I found houses on different sites, emailed the addresses to my agent and she looked them up. The agents usually can get more details and more up to date information. A win/win for you, your agent, and the seller. Yes it means the seller’s agent has to split the commission, but that is standard practice. 1/2 commission is better than no commission.
Always get pre-approved, earnest money goes to your agent, mine took a check, then I got the mortage lender working for me. The mortage part is the hardest part, tons of paper work.
Exilis Body Shaping
All Realtors can provide information regarding any homes listed on MLS. No you don’t have to talk with the listing agents for each one. It is normal practice. You work with one Realtor who provides all the services you need to purchase a home. And guess what? It’s FREE! The buyer doesn’t pay a dime! How wonderful is that? You get all that experience and knowledge about the market for FREE! No wasting time searching on your own, just select a Realtor in the area you want to buy in and they do all the legwork for you – FOR FREE! When you find the home you want to purchase, the Realtor will even write up the offer for you -FOR FREE! You will give them earnest money check as good faith. If the offer is accepted by the seller, the check is deposited in an escrow account held by the Seller’s Listing Broker.
FOR SURE THERE ARE NO GIMMICKS, NO SCAMS !- BUYERS GET TO USE REALTORS FOR FREE!
Boston Mass Real Estate
If you are working with a realtor in the area you are buying best for you to have one who represents you. The sellers agent (listing agent) works for the seller. You will have a better time with working out good deals for you if you choose an agent to represent you.
You can send out other agents listings. This is broker standard practice. Sellers usually are paying the brokers fees anyways so get yourself a good buy using an outside agent. Look on line and do homework on your realtor. Make sure this is a FULL TIME job for the realtor. You want the best realtor to make the deal happen.
Title companies. I would recommend one that is not closing down from the decline in real estate business. A good one if First American Title they are all over the USA look at the site online for a close location. You can take the check directly to the escrow agent with a copy of your contract.
You should already be working with a mortgage lender to be preapproved. Make sure your realtor, title and mortgage company disclose any relationships with each other…..
Peru Illinois Real Estate
This is absolutely common practice. There is a listing agent and a buyer’s agent – once an agent lists a property, it is open for any agent to sell. The agent who is sending you the listings is trying to work with you as a buyer’s agent to help identify what you are looking for. They are your best bet. I can’t imagine why you would want to work with the agent who already has a relationship with the seller. Just make sure that the seller is paying all commissions on any property you find (this is typical). When it comes time to negotiate, do you think that agent would negotiate better on your behalf or someone who totally represents you? You don’t have to pay earnest money at all, but if it is totally customary in an area, you might want to. Ask your agent who customarily holds the earnest money. Usually it is the listing agent or the title company, but I have seen areas where the buyer’s agent can hold it. It is also not a bad idea to go to a lender for a pre-approval before you find a property so that you know how much you can afford and also because it give you better negotiation power by showing that you can get financing for the property.