Buying a home without an agent?

I wish I could find an FSBO that I like for a decent price. Unfortunately, I haven't found one yet in the areas or price range we're looking for. I'm still checking though!

I feel confident with our banker. He seems like a great guy and very experienced. He has not blinked an eye when I've called frequently to ask him additional questions or pick his brain about financial issues. He also quoted us a very good rate of 5%. Now I just need to find a place in time to take advantage of it.

During the past few years, many people started selling real estate, because it was easy money.

Now that being Realtor is hard, REAL work, many are disillusioned and may be uninterested, in actually helping the buyer or seller.

Look for a veteran.

We've bought real estate using an agent, and we've done it on our own. What I don't like about using an agent is that they may waste your time showing you properties that don't meet your requirements. We were even lied to once by a realtor, when looking at a home near a sewage treatment facility. She claimed that there were no odor problems, when in fact, there were, and still are in that area. Although we used an agent when we bought our acreage, we did all of the homework, using google earth, mapquest, GIS, and various forums, so that we knew ahead of time what we were looking at. The agent simply drove us around, and handled the paperwork- a pretty easy commission for her. We knew far more about the properties we looked at then she did, having researched the zoning, flood zones, soil type, topography, even crime stats for the area. A good agent can be a great help, especially if you are new to an area, but you should always do your homework on a purchase of this magnitude.

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"What one generation tolerates, the next generation embraces." -John Wesley

Good Morning Everyone,


My fingers are crossed for you OkieDavid. I hope you get your dream property.


Thank you Beeman for the info. TN sounds like CT. I guess there won`t be too many changes for us when we move.


May I also make a suggestion? When you do a closing on your house, make darn sure that you do what they call a ``Walk Thru`` before you cross your T`s and dot your I`s. This is our first house, which my husband and I had bought almost 20~yrs ago. My MIL told us to make sure we get the ``Walk Thru.`` Being our first time in purchasing, we went to the closing, signed papers, and wha~la, it was announced that the house was now ours. I had questioned about the ``Walk Thru.``
which we didn`t have.


Our attorney played deaf, dumb, and blind. Our realtor didn`t realize we didn`t have one. When we went to the house, it was trashed. Here I am 7~months pregnant, with our 7~yr old daughter, wondering how are we going to get this ready before the baby gets here? There were holes in the walls. Grease and oil all over one of the bedroom carpets. The previous owners son did auto repair. Apparently in this bedroom. Their dogs ate wood work and carpeting. Garbage and old furniture left in the basement. 7~Christmas trees piled in the corner of the yard, which we didn`t notice, and then the rotted deck was not replaced as agreed upon in the contract. I just slid down the wall crying.


Our realtor gave us money to buy paint and do repairs, which was nice of him to do. We called our attorney, and this is what he had said; ``Well..... the repairs can be made. Just be thankful you own your own house.`` Can you believe that??? I even called our bank, and they were no help at all. We learned and burned. This will not bear repeating when we purchase again. I am going to be a PITA the next time, trust me.

Have a good day everyone.




Hugs,
Linda

Ugh. Tell me about it. Everyone wanted to know how much we were approved for through the bank, but once we told them the price range we were looking at (much lower) they balked. "Well, we can't show you anything till next month." Hah! That just wouldn't work for us.

Kayleigh

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http://kayleighjeanne.blogspot.com

I also had forgot to mention. Please check the basement! My hubby`s cousins had purchased a little old farm house with some acreage. They never went down in to the basement. When they moved in, there was a head stone down there. No one bothered to tell them that there was a body buried there, and it had been there for years!


From what they were told, long ago in the cold winter months here in New England, if a loved one passed~away, they were buried in the basement. Oh, how nice.


The stone was standing, and the floor was cemented.
In order for them to have the body removed, (exhumed) they would have to get permits, along with having to pay for a new burial plot. Not to mention tearing up the cement floor. They figured it has been there this long, why bother moving it. So, lesson learned. Check the basement.




Hugs,
Linda

TN LIKE CT?? You really have no idea. I lived in the NE and travel there and have relatives there, you are in for an awakening.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

You have a banker friend? Does the banker friend not have any connections as far as repo's are concerned? The foreclosures in E TN are growing by the day. Contact Farm Credit, I'd bet they've got a few or can give you some leads.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

What is a buyer's agreement with a realtor? I have never heard of it. Are you talking about making an offer on a property?

Another trick selling agents do, is if the seller is relying on the agent to help determine the proper selling price, is to "lowball" the asking price. The comission will be less, but the property may sell quicker.

The selling price can be negotiated down, bet never up. We need to do our own homework.

We bought a house directly from the owner. The title company and escrow company really do all the work. With all of the disclosures and what not these days, a little work on your part can save 6% realtor fees.

We have also used the listing agent and requested a reduced commission. That worked OK but the Realtor has difficulty "representing" both sides. Just go in with your eyes wide open, ask questions, get the inspections done, etc.

The best way to find FSBOs is to drive around the area in which you're interested and keep an eye out for signs. Also, check the Internet and bulletin boards in local stores.

Many FSBO sellers don't have the money to run costly newspaper ads for the weeks or months it may take to sell a house, or they become discouraged by the lack of response and let the ad expire. Sometimes if you follow up on an ad that's several months old, you'll find the property is still for sale.

I found my current farm advertised on an obscure website ... it had been FSBO for more than a year. I consider myself very lucky -- I have yet to find another property, with acreage, in the vicinity priced at less than $100,000!

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

OMG! That would have unsettled me a bit. Once I got used to it though, it probably would been kind of funny. (I admit to having a somewhat sick and twisted sense of humor.)

You sign an agreement with a realtor that they are only to represent you and not the seller. This is supposed to help ensure they have your best interests in mind...don't reveal unncessary information to sellers, etc.

Well, we just got back from looking at two places. We really, really like one of them that is five acres and rural - but not too rural or far from my husband's work. We think it is on a well with septic system. The land is flat and mostly wooded. The place is slightly smaller than we would like, but we feel we can work with it. After all, it's only meant to be a temporary home as we build the real house on the property.

Here's the bad part, it's a manufactured home on a continuous foundation, and the drainage directly around the house is bad. However, the drainage further back on the property seems to be fine. There were numerous large puddles behind the home, and there had to be at least 3 inches of water under the home! Granted it was not even close to the flooring, but concerning nonetheless. I'm glad we went out in the rain to look at places. Do you think the water is a deal breaker, especially with the bank? We'll have to have an inspector verify this obviously, but we think this drainage problem could be fixed relatively easily.

I don't know. We like it a lot, but I don't want to waste time or money "hoping" it will all be okay if it probably won't. Know what I mean?

I've noticed some mobile homes are not sited with the same care usually given to a home. And often, I think the folks who buy doublewides pick the biggest, fanciest one they can afford, without giving any consideration for improvements to the site. It always pains me to see an enormous doublewide parked in an empty field, with a two-bit set of wooden steps going up to the front door, and (maybe) a storage shed out back!

Having French drains installed probably would correct the problem with standing run-off. I'd get the septic system checked, too, just to make sure it isn't a soil percolation issue.

If you really like the house, there are a couple ways you can approach this. One is to make an offer contingent on the problem being corrected to your satisfaction prior to closing. However, you can be sure the seller will find the cheapest (and not necessarily the best) way to resolve the issue (at least temporarily). Another is to have a professional out to assess the problem and give you an estimate, then make an offer less the cost of the necessary work.

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

There is no chance of the owner fixing the problem. I believe, based on its vacancy and tax assessment documents, the property is owned by the bank - probably a foreclosure. It is being sold "as is" for a much reduced price.

We keeping talking it over, and we really like the property. We're going to speak with the realtor next week and find out what other problems there may be. Then if we're still interested we'll give a lower offer that is also contingent on the inspection results. I've got my fingers crossed that the problems will be minor and easily fixed AND the bank will accept an even lower offer. It can't hurt to try.

If you would have been at my house yesterday, you would have seen 2 inches of rain all around my house too. Today it is dry. Go back and look again. We got a lot of rain here in TN last week. 3" under the house seems like a problem, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if I liked everything else. You can also bid on it with the drainage problem fixed.

I would investigate the water and whether it's well or city water. wells around here don't work well and get some bad water. Where is the septic? Any chance the standing water you're seeing is the septic drainfield? Water under a home means rot and mold.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

Another update: We have an appointment with the listing realtor's buyer's agent (I guess she is too lazy to show the place herself) tomorrow at 3. Before I even mentioned it, he told me about the water problem - so that's good he admitted it. He is also of the opinion that it would not likely be a difficult fix, just require some drainage system put in. Whether that water has caused any issues below the home, they don't know. To fully investigate we'll have to have someone pump the water out so the inspector can get a really good look at everything.

Other than the water and few minor things we saw, he's not aware of any other issues. However, noone knows whether it is city or well water. Tax documents suggest a well, but noone has actually seen the well on the property. Fun. Monday the realtor or I will have to call the city water company and see if they supply the water. If not, I'll have to have the home inspector locate the water source. It does have water, because they had someone go out and turn it off and winterize the place. The question is where does it come from. LOL. Then if there is a well, of course we'll have to have the water quality tested.

Also, they do not know the condition of the septic system. This will have to be inspected as well. Assuming of course that we like the property just as much when we see it again tomorrow. From what I saw - and smelled - I'm not inclined to think the water may be coming from the septic drainfield. The water in the yard around where I believe the septic field is was not more than I'd expect to see on flat land after the amount of rain we've had. (Fingers and toes crossed.) The places where the water pooled in the yard were clearly because of dips in those areas. The question is why so much under the house...

It stopped raining earlier this afternoon. Tomorrow we'll see how everything looks. So far my only issue is this darn water problem (famous last words). Everything else is perfect (for what we want). When we drove out today, there were even cows in the field across the street. They moo'd at me when I got out of the car as if saying, "Welcome home." Okay, I might have imagined that, but I do hope the water issue is managable, there are no other big issues, and this is the place.

I'll definitely use it as a bargaining tool though if we make an offer.