We've bought 13 houses, and we located everyone of them, then contacted the realtor for a showing.
What usually upsets us the most, is when you tell them exactly what you are looking for, and the price, and they still take you to see homes that do not meet your criteria.
And ours is taking us to homes that match what we want.... except we're finding ones that are much better, and for significantly less.
Really, all she is good for is being keeper of the magic Realtor key that lets us in to see the places.
You can go to Realtor.com and look up agents by Certifications in your local market. Trust me, it makes all the difference in the world between getting a professional and a brand new licensee who got you while doing floor time waiting for a inbound call to the desk.
Since we're moving across the country, we didn't exactly have time to shop for a good agent and basically picked the first one that fell into our laps.
Pros: She (and any agent) have keys that can let you into any home at almost any time. If your home is listed, it is just about open to any other agent who wants to show it.
Cons: Other than THAT, just about everything. She is doing squat. Gone are the days when agents helped you FIND a home (we're doing that ALL on our home), so why are they going to get 20 grand?
So..... Has anyone bought a home recently where their agent actively helped, using their knowledge of the area, find a home?
We have just had an EXCELLENT experience on both sides of the deal......our agent in Omaha was assigned to us by our relocation company, and has spent literally hours with us. We gave her our criteria, and she picked out the homes for us..........after we looked at about 6, she realized what we liked in a home and what we didn't, and she narrowed the list down based on that. It didn't take long for us to find the perfect house, and she's handled pretty much everything since then, such as the inspections, the walk thru with the builder, and much, much more.
Our agent here in Michigan has been extremely helpful as well..........
__________________ "Many people view their relationship with God like a "color by number" picture. It's easier to let someone else define the boundaries, tell them which blanks to fill in, and what color to use than it is for them to take a blank canvas and seek inspiration from the Source in order to paint their own masterpiece"
Ok, so apparently some of them aren't worthless. lol
The problem of course is that we're tied into a contract with her that isn't up till July -at which point we will have been there for almost 4 months.
She hasn't even been responding to any emails the last couple of days..... AND when we were in the car with her, she did nothing but talk on the cell phone.
Boy - I guess I am behind times - I've NEVER heard of being tied to a realtor by a contract if you are BUYING a home - only if selling. That's like being tied by a contract to only one car dealership when buying a new vehicle. I could understand the moral and ethical obligation, IF you decided to buy a home that the first realtor had already shown you - but.... something smells fishy to me. If the realtor I was working with wasn't working in my best interest and I didn't feel he/she was actively looking for what I wanted ..... I'd fire them! - and if there was a contract, I'd be reading the fine print - surely you have an out.
__________________ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Since we're moving across the country, we didn't exactly have time to shop for a good agent and basically picked the first one that fell into our laps.
Pros: She (and any agent) have keys that can let you into any home at almost any time. If your home is listed, it is just about open to any other agent who wants to show it.
Cons: Other than THAT, just about everything. She is doing squat. Gone are the days when agents helped you FIND a home (we're doing that ALL on our home), so why are they going to get 20 grand?
So..... Has anyone bought a home recently where their agent actively helped, using their knowledge of the area, find a home?
We bought ours 8 years ago and our agent was very helpful - every step of the way. Told me which bank would be best to finance through, put me in touch with the best surveyors, etc. I was on the phone all day for a week, but we got it done! I would use this particular guy again, if we needed to.
Since we're moving across the country, we didn't exactly have time to shop for a good agent and basically picked the first one that fell into our laps.
Pros: She (and any agent) have keys that can let you into any home at almost any time. If your home is listed, it is just about open to any other agent who wants to show it.
Cons: Other than THAT, just about everything. She is doing squat. Gone are the days when agents helped you FIND a home (we're doing that ALL on our home), so why are they going to get 20 grand?
So..... Has anyone bought a home recently where their agent actively helped, using their knowledge of the area, find a home?
Too bad you aren't moving to my area... my husbands an agent and he bends over backwards for his clients. Both selling and buying.
And I might add, he's been shafted by clients more times than I can count. So there are dishonest folks on both sides of the coin.
__________________ Mrs. LPW
Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
And ours is taking us to homes that match what we want.... except we're finding ones that are much better, and for significantly less.
Really, all she is good for is being keeper of the magic Realtor key that lets us in to see the places.
When we bought our house, I searched on the internet for the houses that I wanted to see and yes, the realtor set up the appointments and provided the magic Realtor key.
Remember that you are the consumer and if you find a house that you want to look at, you can demand that your desires are met. And if she doesn't want to show them, then I would think you would have grounds for breaking the contract.
Just a personal vent- we used people that were in "church", thinking that they would be ethical and were proven wrong. We won't make that mistake again.
Since we're moving across the country, we didn't exactly have time to shop for a good agent and basically picked the first one that fell into our laps.
Pros: She (and any agent) have keys that can let you into any home at almost any time. If your home is listed, it is just about open to any other agent who wants to show it.
Cons: Other than THAT, just about everything. She is doing squat. Gone are the days when agents helped you FIND a home (we're doing that ALL on our home), so why are they going to get 20 grand?
So..... Has anyone bought a home recently where their agent actively helped, using their knowledge of the area, find a home?
Yes, we have. When we were getting ready to move across the country, I was able to find a realtor who has been great! They are hard to find...I ended up using the one who would keep in touch with me and return my numerous phone calls.
And ours is taking us to homes that match what we want.... except we're finding ones that are much better, and for significantly less. Really, all she is good for is being keeper of the magic Realtor key that lets us in to see the places.
I think this is basically true of most realtors. In all our homes except the one we are living in now, I found them myslef. This one we currently live in our realtor found for us...thankfully!