Well, this offer seemed solid. It included a letter from the bank that they could get a certain amount in mortgage and the mortgage amount was a small percentage of the overall cost (like only 35%). Either something changed between the time of the prequalification letter and the actual application (somebody lost a job?)or they lied when they secured that letter (these letters do not require the official back up that a real mortgage application requires).
The true waste of time for us was the delay tactics they used as they struggled to get the mortgage approval without ever telling our lawyer or realtor that they were having a problem getting approval. They tried several things to secure a mortgage, including adding the wife’s mother to the deal (all without telling anybody from the seller’s team.) The funny thing is that when my husband met them (when they spent several hours doing their inspection), his first comment was “they can’t afford this house” Turns out he was right.
I live in an 8 year old townhome community; we purchased our unit 7 years ago as a new build. There is an agent that also lives here that has listed about 80% of the resells. For some reason her units sell within days, if not before the listing goes live. She will post on our FB group that she has a listing coming up and then 2 days later post that it is under contract. Other homes, not listed by her sit longer.
I am not sure how she does it, and seems to be a ditz. When I am ready to sell, if she is still around, I will talk to her, but just don’t see her being the top notch agent I want. That said, if she can sell for the price I want, and quickly, I might think about her. My nephew knows her as his company was one of the two mortgage companies suggested by the builder; he also said, at the time, she was dabbling in real estate, while also trying to be an actor. Maybe her acting is so good, she is able to sell swamp land in Florida!
I’ll add that a good realtor is worth their weight in gold but you have to hand them a decent house to sell and show. The responsibility of a good product goes both ways.
Roof leaking? Paint chipping? Cluttered and dirty? They aren’t miracle workers!!!
Wow so sorry. What a waste of time. We had a couple that toured our house several times, brought their interior designer, said they were “in love” with the house. Then crickets… Glad they did not make an offer would have tied up our house for sure.
I was posting about this a bunch in the fall as it was unfolding (not sure which thread - maybe the downsize thread). It was extremely frustrating, we had completely moved out thinking the closing was (to quote our lawyer) imminent, and then it dragged on for another month until we just pulled the plug on them (when they asked for yet another extension to secure a mortgage - which we denied).
The second buyers were not exactly a joy to deal with either. Based upon their inspection (and the house had already been inspected and everything on the inspection fixed for the initial buyers) they wanted a 10% cut in price. Their lawyer telling us stuff like - it didn’t matter that an issue was disclosed on our signed disclosure form - they still wanted to be compensated for that issue.
But, that is all behind us now and we did end up pocketing a nice amount from the house sale.
I interviewed three agents when I was the house. One was someone I know through a friend. The second one sold a similar house in my neighborhood. The thirds sells many houses in my neighborhood. The first one suggested very low price, 50% lower than what the other two were suggesting. The other two agreed on the price that gave me a good idea what I can expect realistically. The two differed on what preparation should be done on the house before listing. One of them suggested the usual; painting, a few minor repairs like a cracked flagstone on the patio. The other said not to bother. They are minor and a buyer can do it to their liking. I went with her. Not to bother sounded good. I probably didn’t hire the best agent in my lazy way. The house sold any way within a few days. Thanks to the market at that time, not thanks to the agent.
This is similar to the rental market in big cities. Realtors would not show my daughter an apartment unless she signed a form giving them a commission of one month’s rent. Each apartment had different realtors and so she ended up signing this for every apartment she looked at.
Where I lived in NJ, most houses are multiple listed (not exclusive) and most buyers already establish a relationship with one agent that they use to do all their house shopping. Having a good relationship with an agent as a buyer can be very useful. They may learn of stuff not yet on the market or pre-shop for you (attending realtor open houses), saving you time.
A commission of a month is a lot. When my D was renting, they decided not to hire an agent and searched on line. The same may happen with home buying. 6% commission is really too high. In most other countries, it is 2-3%, I read somewhere.
D just bought a house in an area that’s very competitive for the buyer. She chose her agent from a friend’s referral who specialized in her target neighborhood. They viewed quite a few homes on a long day. The agent was very organized and sent the home specs prior to the day. The next week she said another agent in her office was getting ready to list a house that D could see pre-listing, but would have to move fast if she was interested, as it was hitting the market in less than a week.
It was perfect for her! There was a little back and forth on the negotiations. After the inspection they lowered it more so D could do the recommended minor work.
Compare this to a friend’s S who looked for almost a year with many full price offers which weren’t accepted. And they were attractive buyers with a good amount inheritance money to put toward the house.
Maybe D just got lucky, or maybe had the right person working on her behalf.
Well younger s’s offer was accepted. In this particular case there was only one RE agent so she will get the full commission. She pushed him to increase his offer a bit. I never get why the RE agent expects the seller to lower the cost or the buyer to raise the offer but isn’t willing to give a bit on their commission to make the deal. (Well yes, I do get it, but they should be willing to give a bit too!) my suggestion was that DS say that he wasn’t open to go in much higher, but that perhaps she could do some thing to help them out or words to that effect, but he wasn’t willing to do that so he did up the offer a bit, but then asked them to reduce their portion by the amount that some repairs are estimated to cost.
It is a big issue right now in Boston. To secure an apartment the standard costs are first, last, security, and I 1 month broker fee (so 4 months of rent). There is some push to have landlords pay the broker fee (after all they are working for the landlord who picks them not the prospective tenant).
My D and her partner just went through this in Boston. They were able to negotiate no last month rent up front. They also found it very difficult to gage when to begin looking. I seemed there was no set notice needed when vacating an apartment.
I don’t find agents too helpful, either in buying or selling. With so much information available, I often find information sooner than an agent. When I sold the house recently, my agent was also representing the buyer. I have a sneaky feeling she gave away what price I’d accept, instead of working to get the max. Although they are getting paid by sellers, it is in agents’ interest to be nice to buyers. Buyers stay in the area and more likely to be their future clients when it’s time they move.
There were times I zoomed in on a house for sale in our desired area before our realtor did but I would text her about it and she could then immediately get more info/details on the listing than I ever could. There is more info available to realtors than a Zillow listing shows for instance. So, teamwork!