We’re in the process of buying a house. We have a realtor lined up and have funds lined up (we have not signed anything yet). During this process an acquaintance of ours mentioned that they would seriously consider selling us their home (this came out of the blue), since they will be looking to move soon. We aren’t “friends” with this family but have every reason to trust them (my wife tutors their daughter and they have a great relationship). Their house is in the school district we want, in the price range we want. This person used to be a mortgage broker and is familiar with the buying/selling process.
Still lots to figure out but assuming everything is right with their house, and we all want to move ahead, does it make sense to remove realtors from this process? I imagine the pros would be saving money on fees. The cons could potentially be not having all angles covered that a realtor would know. Any thoughts from the LR consortium?
if you signed an agreement to use a realtor, you can’t just walk away and buy a place.
make sure to get an inspection regardless.
buying from someone you know can be too personal. Do you want to offer less than they want
and have to deal with that? what if the sewer blows up one week after you move in (as the house I sold did)
it might be worth it to have a realtor take care of that for you, that way you are one degree away from the oddness of a dispute
or price negotiation.
we haven’t signed anything. we also know this family casually, and they love my wife, and it sounds like the price they would offer would be standard market if not below.
we could likely work out the inspections all on our own – assuming we know all the things that should be inspected (and again this person has experience with the home buying/selling process).
The real estate agent usually gets 6%. If you can get 3% off of the seller’s price, you both come out ahead. Get a real estate lawyer to handle the purchase for you and you’ll have it covered.
If I were you I would ask the seller that if you buy his house that he would pay a 2-3% commission to your agent (presuming he/she is good and will work with you through the whole process)… He’s saving much from the typical 5-6% commish that he would otherwise be paying if he listed it. You definitely need expert representation on your behalf with the house buying process; there are many legal and financial implications that are negotiable that can help or harm you. You’re making a huge purchase and will be taking on a large debt. The seller can represent himself if he wants to, and it sounds like from you that he might since he is in the business. Good luck!
I am reading this as if you will let the seller take care of the inspection. Do not do that.
Use angie’s list or the better business bureau to find a highly rated home inspector.
This is too big of an investment to “trust” the sellers inspector.
A good home inspector ensures that everything from plumbing to electrical is up to code. You want someone representing your best interest. You definitely do not want a conflict if interest .
If you didn’t sign any agreement with your agent, you owe them nothing and can cut them loose and deal directly with the seller.
Before you do that consider that they agent may still be of some help to you. They have experience with transactions that you lack. How will the price be set? Will you get an appraisal? Do you know what inspections to order? Do you know if you are getting hosed on closing costs?
Remember, the seller is not your friend. If you have a diligent agent, you might approach them on several levels: handling just the paperwork for say 1% commission, or have them represent you for a reduced fee. SOme agents wont do the paperwork thing for that low of a commish due to liability but some will.
Or, you could write up a simple contract, take it to the title company and let them walk you through the transaction. A residential transaction is a bit of a mine field these days.
I guess my advice is to see if your agent will work for you in some kind of limited capacity. Everything is negotiable.
We met with the realtor today who walked us through the process and the type of inspections we would pay for (house, septic, water, radon), so we know we would need to pay independent companies to do those inspections - whether we go through the realtor or not. Our mortgage broker even told us that if we have the opp’t to avoid the realtor, to do so. This is assuming we have other people involved in the process helping us know what to look for.
The seller would absolutely not be looking to screw us. Quite the opposite, which is why this is option is something we’re considering.
Get some representation on your side. The seller knows the home and knows the angles they can play. Even if they mean well, it is THEIR home they are selling and may allow you to overlook a few nuances a third party professional would catch.
If for some reason they are offended by your request for a third party, well then now your gut may be telling you to think twice about the purchase. Buying a home isn’t about making friends - it’s about one person selling something the other person wants, with both sides having a min/max in mind.
I sold my house w/o a realtor, went fast, went decent. The sewer pipe backed up into the house and we found out that the pipe to the road was damaged and had to be replaced. A $2,500 thing. The buyer immediately contacted me to pay for it. Luckily the guy was reasonable, we split it and it worked out. If it would have been a big thing/expense of the buyer as a dick, having a realtor would have been nice.
Buying my new place, I used a realtor and feel the if you find the right guy, they will easily pay for themselves.
You don’t realize it if everything goes right, but if anything goes wrong, you’ll wish you did it.
You have to manage them though. After a series of house price back and forth, my realtor got weak knees before I did.
I was willing to lose the place over a $5k price difference, but he wasn’t. But a conversation cleared that up.
You didn’t have to pay a thing if you didn’t want to. The house should have been sold as is. Your lawyer should have had that in the contract. I don’t know how having a realtor would help in that situation. Your a nice guy.
Everybody should have a home inspection before buying although I don’t know how they would have found the damaged sewer pipe. They don’t snake the lines as part of their inspection.
The reason the realtor caved was he didn’t want to lose the sale.
