I think my realtor is full of ****e

[Bobby_M]

The sellers and their agent are likely the ones wanting to delay I'm sure and although agents from the same office are supposed to keep buyer/seller interests separate, you know friendly deals and kickbacks happen. Both agents' goal is to have the home sell for the highest price possible. You always have to be suspicious when the buying agent suggests a price to offer or comes up with phony "other offers" that you should overbid.

 

[glenn514]

^^^what he said! My "agent" is the owner of the office; the sellers' agent "works" in the office. If my "agent" is going to f**k around with me, I will not only tell him to his face that I will seek out his competition, but I will also report him to the Wisconsin Board of Realtors. That final thing, reporting a "bad" real estate person to the state Board of Realtors, works WONDERS!

glenn514

 

[McKBrew]

To the OP.

Is this an April Fool's Joke?

Your profile says Juneau, AK. We all know that everyone living in AK lives in igloos. Why drop a bunch of coin on a house that is only a month or two away from melting? Where do you all live in the summer, anyhow?




Seriously though, best of luck finding a home. I look forward to the day I can have a house that I can call my own.

 

[LVBen]

Keep in mind that realtors do not work for you! They work for the seller. They make their money based on commission. The more you pay, the more they get! Most of them don't care if it is a piece of **** that you are buying. They just want you to buy it and will do whatever they can in order to get you to buy it.

 

[LVBen]

So we're looking at a house and as it turns out our agent and the listing agen happen to work for the same office.

So? Both agents are working for the seller no matter which office they are in.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Try to find a decent apartment for $800. Its just not possible in the city. Frankly, $1600 gets you a 2 bed of about 400 sq ft in any decent area in chicago.

Yikes. all the more reason not to live there. Bears, Cubs, and White Sox being the other reasons............



I keed, I keed.......

 

[jgln]

^^^what he said! My "agent" is the owner of the office; the sellers' agent "works" in the office. If my "agent" is going to f**k around with me, I will not only tell him to his face that I will seek out his competition, but I will also report him to the Wisconsin Board of Realtors. That final thing, reporting a "bad" real estate person to the state Board of Realtors, works WONDERS!

glenn514

I guess when your realtor is the owner of the agency that changes everything. He wins no matter who sells it. But if it were just another realtor in the office that realtor would get zip if not representing the buyer OR the seller.

 

[jgln]

Keep in mind that realtors do not work for you! They work for the seller. They make their money based on commission. The more you pay, the more they get! Most of them don't care if it is a piece of **** that you are buying. They just want you to buy it and will do whatever they can in order to get you to buy it.

I disagree somewhat with that. YOUR buyer realtor wants YOU to buy the house, not someone else using a different realtor. If you buy the house they get a percent of the commissions, otherwise they get nothing. Now the sellers realtor could care less if YOU specifically buy the house, so long as someone does because they get the commissions either way. Even better for them if they represent the seller AND the buyer.

So yes, in many cases the realtor does work for you as a buyer. They try their best to get you to buy a house through them. Commissions on a 250k or 260k house are not enough difference for them to not want to make the sale at 250k because it is still a sale for them. The seller realtor on the other hand would always go with the 260k offer since they get the commissions regardless.

 

[Synovia]

Yikes. all the more reason not to live there. Bears, Cubs, and White Sox being the other reasons............



I keed, I keed.......

I grew up in Boston, so I feel about the same.

 

[jgln]

Keep in mind that realtors do not work for you! They work for the seller. They make their money based on commission. The more you pay, the more they get! Most of them don't care if it is a piece of **** that you are buying. They just want you to buy it and will do whatever they can in order to get you to buy it.

Actually the selling realtor should really be more concerned that you sell the house through them instead of for how much. At least that way they make a sale. My neighbors went through several realtors over the course of two years and I am sure any one of them would have been happy with a sale at any price but they all walked away with nothing. Well, that is because after two years he found a good job and was able to keep the house.

 

[Bobby_M]

I disagree somewhat with that. YOUR buyer realtor wants YOU to buy the house, not someone else using a different realtor. If you buy the house they get a percent of the commissions, otherwise they get nothing. Now the sellers realtor could care less if YOU specifically buy the house, so long as someone does because they get the commissions either way. Even better for them if they represent the seller AND the buyer.

So yes, in many cases the realtor does work for you as a buyer. They try their best to get you to buy a house through them. Commissions on a 250k or 260k house are not enough difference for them to not want to make the sale at 250k because it is still a sale for them. The seller realtor on the other hand would always go with the 260k offer since they get the commissions regardless.

The point still stands though that while your buying agent wants to see you buy the place, they won't bend over backwards to try to save you money. One way to see if they're lying about a competing offer is to say your top offer is less than what they say the the higher bid is. I tested my agent on my current home and the higher bid was real. I only know that because she offered to kick in the extra $500 so she got the commish.

My advice for people looking is to try to find places yourself and talk directly to the listing agent. If you buy through them, they stand to make the full commission so you know they'll push the deal hard. That means they are more likely to push the sellers to take a lower offer.

 

[Lcasanova]

Try to find a decent apartment for $800. Its just not possible in the city. Frankly, $1600 gets you a 2 bed of about 400 sq ft in any decent area in chicago.

It's even worse when you have a dog, trying to find a place that allows you to have a 60 lb australian cattle dog isn't easy. Almost every place I'd even consider doesn't have any openings, buying at this point is a better option especially when I am paying that much in rent already.