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How to choose a realtor for buying a house

How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:54 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by petitefrancaise
In a market as hot as N1cky's you just have to watch everything coming onto the market. .....
I understand that, and every market is different, few more so than Nicky's and mine, but there are still ground rules that the realtor needs to accept - for example "needing some repairs" might be acceptable but it has to be at least "liveable". .... So trying to sell you a "darling home", but with subsidence, fractured sewer line, and a leaky roof is a waste of everyone's time.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:59 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

One technique we used to get a house we wanted was to put in an offer that stated $1000 over the highest offer. That might be a bit risky in this market.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 9:00 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by Pulaski
I understand that, and every market is different, few more so than Nicky's and mine, but there are still ground rules that the realtor needs to accept - for example "needing some repairs" might be acceptable but it has to be at least "liveable". .... So trying to sell you a "darling home", but with subsidence, fractured sewer line, and a leaky roof is a waste of everyone's time.
Unfortunately those houses don't exist around here, I wouldn't mind some renovations... If you have an old house you're either in the mega rich area, where people have lived there for 30+ years and made millions on their purchase, thus spent some of the money making it high end if they are selling. (Way out of our budget) Or the crappy ones not in the lucrative areas have all been bought up and demolished for new apartments/office buildings.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 9:01 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by mrken30
One technique we used to get a house we wanted was to put in an offer that stated $1000 over the highest offer. That might be a bit risky in this market.
LOL, if only that was true here. We've been told if we look at a house listed at $1.25m expect to pay $1.4m
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 9:04 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by N1cky
LOL, if only that was true here. We've been told if we look at a house listed at $1.25m expect to pay $1.4m
So in that price range you may want to go $25k above the highest offer, but would you be prepared to pay over $1.4 m for that house? I probably paid about 20% above asking near the bottom of the market.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 9:07 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by mrken30
So in that price range you may want to go $25k above the highest offer, but would you be prepared to pay over $1.4 m for that house? I probably paid about 20% above asking near the bottom of the market.
How would you know what the highest offer is though? It's mainly closed bids around here, and when you get 20 offers there's not much negotiating to be done as a buyer. Especially when 10 of them are buying cash.

Both agents reckon they get sales when their bid isn't the highest offer. Only time will tell I guess.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 9:11 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by mrken30
One technique we used to get a house we wanted was to put in an offer that stated $1,000 over the highest offer. ....
That just creates a mess when you get multiple people trying that strategy. Round here, if they're interested in you as a buyer, you're likely to get a "send me your best offer" reply, effectively a one-shot auction. At that point trying to game the system is unlikely to work IMO.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 9:16 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Most people just give one offer price. I don't think many people use this technique. I think the house had 5 or 6 offers on it that I bought.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 10:08 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by N1cky
How would you know what the highest offer is though? It's mainly closed bids around here, and when you get 20 offers there's not much negotiating to be done as a buyer. Especially when 10 of them are buying cash.

Both agents reckon they get sales when their bid isn't the highest offer. Only time will tell I guess.
They could well be right.
Ours wasn't the highest offer but the neighbour liked us which was important in our street where we get on very well and have parties/gatherings on the street most weeks.
Another house got sold not to the highest bidder but because it was a family with young kids buying it. The sellers had brought their kids up in it and wanted the house to be a family home again.
You never know, you might get chosen because you have a British accent.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 10:59 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by petitefrancaise
whilst our first offer was accepted I heard so many people moaning that they'd made offers on 12-15-20 houses that weren't getting accepted. I'd have changed agents well before that point!
Often a corrupt agent gets your first offer accepted because he recommends a high bid while a good agent tries to get you a good deal so it takes longer.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 11:14 pm
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by Asg123
Often a corrupt agent gets your first offer accepted because he recommends a high bid while a good agent tries to get you a good deal so it takes longer.
Ours wasn't higher which I pointed out in the first post I made, it also wasn't the highest bid.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 11:39 pm
  #27  
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by petitefrancaise
They could well be right.
Ours wasn't the highest offer but the neighbour liked us which was important in our street where we get on very well and have parties/gatherings on the street most weeks.
Another house got sold not to the highest bidder but because it was a family with young kids buying it. The sellers had brought their kids up in it and wanted the house to be a family home again.
You never know, you might get chosen because you have a British accent.
Thanks! I have heard of this happening. It just seems crazy to me, as a seller I'd nearly always sell to the highest offer. It would have to be within a very small difference, and someone I really disliked (for a good reason, not just gut instinct) for me not to take the highest.

That will be the first time a Yorkshire accent has brought anything good if that happens
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Old Jan 21st 2017, 1:14 am
  #28  
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by petitefrancaise
They could well be right.
Ours wasn't the highest offer but the neighbour liked us which was important in our street where we get on very well and have parties/gatherings on the street most weeks.
Another house got sold not to the highest bidder but because it was a family with young kids buying it. The sellers had brought their kids up in it and wanted the house to be a family home again.
You never know, you might get chosen because you have a British accent.
I'm curious how the neighborhood knew you were English. Whenever we look at houses , it's just us and the realtor. Did you go and introduce yourself to the neighbors before buying?
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Old Jan 21st 2017, 2:54 am
  #29  
 
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

Originally Posted by petitefrancaise
Ours wasn't higher which I pointed out in the first post I made, it also wasn't the highest bid.
There are several objective reasons to accept an offer that isn't the highest - likelihood of the buyer getting a mortgage, lack of a chain/ offer not conditional on selling another house, downpayment is already in the US, so no concerns about "iffy" money. (The last one (non-UK money) bit us, twice, when selling our house in London).

Last edited by Pulaski; Jan 21st 2017 at 3:30 am.
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Old Jan 21st 2017, 3:02 am
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Default Re: How to choose a realtor for buying a house

The weird thing with my house was that I originally offered cash, but would only include closing costs if I had a mortgage. So it worked out cheaper by not paying cash.
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