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Problem With Buying A Home


PTS

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Here's the situation:

 

Me and the future Mrs. Clutch have been looking for a home since December. Eventually we got a family friend as our buying agent. To be perfectly honest, I'm not happy with his performance. His office hasn't gived us any good leads. Every home we went to see together were homes that we've found ourselves and not the ones they sent us.

 

One weekend, we found a great new built ourselves and went to the Open House. We liked it but didn't give much thought then. After a few weeks of unsuccessful looking, we called our agent and told him we'd like to see that house again. When we did, we really liked it.

 

Our agent helped us put in a bid that was under the asking price per our request. The market is tough for sellers and this home has been up for a few months. I don't think they will get asking price.

 

Our realtor acted like he couldn't get that house for that price but he would try anyway -- real pansy attitude. Long story short, apparently they said no to the offer and told us to start looking for another home because they had a contigent offer they were going to accept unless we paid $1000 less than asking price right there and than. We didn't fall into that BS story. Now two weeks later, the home is still on the market and relisted under a new MLS number ... I'm guess to spark more interest.

 

My girl called the selling agent and she said there are/were no offers in writing but there is a lot interest (I call bluff). We are fairly confident we can get that home for a price we can both agree on as long as we cut our realtor out. His 3% is ruinning our chance at the getting that home. A home we found ourselves.

 

What can I do? I'm I screwed from getting the home I really want because I have a realtor who I brought into the puzzle?

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Unless you have a contract with your agent, you can dump him immediately. And even with a contract, you can probably dump him.

 

And when you get another agent, avoid being able to use this sentence to describe them:

 

Eventually we got a family friend as our buying agent.
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i do belive you can deal direct with the people that are selling the house. your agent can then go after the selling agency for his commision for showing you the property . you yourself should not have to pay anything .

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Here's the situation:

 

Me and the future Mrs. Clutch have been looking for a home since December. Eventually we got a family friend as our buying agent. To be perfectly honest, I'm not happy with his performance. His office hasn't gived us any good leads. Every home we went to see together were homes that we've found ourselves and not the ones they sent us.

 

One weekend, we found a great new built ourselves and went to the Open House. We liked it but didn't give much thought then. After a few weeks of unsuccessful looking, we called our agent and told him we'd like to see that house again. When we did, we really liked it.

 

Our agent helped us put in a bid that was under the asking price per our request. The market is tough for sellers and this home has been up for a few months. I don't think they will get asking price.

 

Our realtor acted like he couldn't get that house for that price but he would try anyway -- real pansy attitude. Long story short, apparently they said no to the offer nd told us to start looking for another home because they had a contigent offer they were going to accept unless we paid $1000 less than asking price right there and than. We didn't fall into that BS story. Now two weeks later, the home is still on the market and relisted under a new MLS number ... I'm guess to spark more interest.

 

My girl called the selling agent and she said there are/were no offers in writing but there is a lot interest (I call bluff). We are fairly confident we can get that home for a price we can both agree on as long as we cut our realtor out. His 3% is ruinning our chance at the getting that home. A home we found ourselves.

 

What can I do? I'm I screwed from getting the home I really want because I have a realtor who I brought into the puzzle?

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What kind of house, location and price range did you instruct the agent to look for?

 

If you went to an open house, you surely got their realtor's name and number, and if not, you could contact the owners yourself. Why did you involve this family friend? When you did, a contracted service was rendered, whether or not you like the outcome.

 

You stated that the market was tough for sellers...that's not a situation where one usually hires their own representation - the sellers' agents are frothing at the bit to help you buy their client's house.

 

Your tale is confusing to me - blame your agent, and he might be a bum, but it seems to me that you would have been better served if you and fiancee did a little more legwork and book learning about the ins and outs of homebuying, beforehand.

 

Sorry... :rolleyes:

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Unless you have a contract with your agent, you can dump him immediately. And even with a contract, you can probably dump him.

 

And when you get another agent, avoid being able to use this sentence to describe them:

660252[/snapback]

 

My gut tells me no can do and heres why. If the selling entity has a co-op agreement with the realtor, which I assume they do, they are legally required to pay the buyer agent(your friend) the commision as agreed upon. If not, what would ever stop a listing agent from saying, eh, drop your agent and we will split what would normally go to him as the buyer agent. And I would assume you have a buyers broker agreement with this guy. As an aside, if no buyer broker agreement in place, realtor professional ethics say that broker should be working for the sellers best interest, not the buyers. But those ethics aren't worth the papar their printed on in that indusrty.

 

If any of you are familiar with the head hunting business, same principal. Once I, as a head hunter, send a resume to you, a hiring manager, you must pay me the commision. Doesn't matter if you getted pissed at me, or your buddy also sent the resume in a day later, I get paid.

 

However, i would investigate how long that commitment is, and tell your friend...dude, you get outa da way i get my house. Now, I know you spent time shlepping us around and looking for houses, and heres what I'm willing to pay to get you outa dodge

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i do belive you can deal direct with the people that are selling the house. your agent can then go after the selling agency for his commision for showing you the property . you yourself should not have to pay anything .

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Seller's supposed to pay the buying agent's commission, anyway. If you're a buyer, and your agent's making YOU pay the commission...odds are he's trying to get paid by both ends, and ripping you off.

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Seller's supposed to pay the buying agent's commission, anyway.  If you're a buyer, and your agent's making YOU pay the commission...odds are he's trying to get paid by both ends, and ripping you off.

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I think he was saying that if the agents commision goes away, his offer adds up to the same net to the seller.

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Unless you have a contract with your agent, you can dump him immediately. And even with a contract, you can probably dump him.

 

And when you get another agent, avoid being able to use this sentence to describe them:

660252[/snapback]

 

Depends on the contract. I know ours says (said, since we got the house), we had a working relationship with our agent for 90 days...but could sever the relationship before then if we were dissatisfied.

 

Clutch, your business arrangement with your agent is just that: a business arrangement. It can be ended. If there's a written agreement between the two of you, and you can document his non-performance, you can kick him to the curb relatively easily. If everything was done with a smile and handshake, it'll be a lot harder (he can take you to arbitration, and although you'll still probably win, it'll piss you off)...but you can still kick him to the curb.

 

Either way, if you're dissatisfied, ditch him. You're not required to put up with unsatisfactory service. Unless it's a cell phone company. :rolleyes:

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Either way, if you're dissatisfied, ditch him.  You're not required to put up with unsatisfactory service.  Unless it's a cell phone company.  :rolleyes:

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The absolute worst service industry has to be Mortgage Servicing. In what other business can you absolutley piss off your customers to no end, and yet they just cannot leave? If ya got a low rate, what ya gunna do, take on a 7% mortgage when your at 5.75 cause your pissed? Beautiful set up for them

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Eventually we got a family friend as our buying agent.

 

Mistake, but by now I presume you've learned this lesson.

 

Eventually we got a family friend as our buying agent.

My girl called the selling agent and she said there are/were no offers in writing but there is a lot interest (I call bluff). We are fairly confident we can get that home for a price we can both agree on as long as we cut our realtor out. His 3% is ruinning our chance at the getting that home. A home we found ourselves.

 

 

Unless they've changed the way it works, you aren't paying his 3% and it wouldn't impact your ability to buy the house. Under normal circumstances, the seller has a deal to pay 6% to the selling agent. The large realtor outfits generally agree that a buyer's agent will be entitled to half of that amount -- to be paid by the sellers agent. Alternatively the two agents can cut whatever deal they want.

 

You don't need to use your agent to bid on the house. Call up the selling agent and make another offer. But assuming you signed an agreement with him, he is entitled to a share of the commission if you buy the house.

 

In the meantime, find another realtor and ask them how to get out of your contract.

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