Realtors...

[MaggieTheCat]

My husband and I are looking to buy a house. I posted last week about building a KB Home, but we decided to look around at what's on the market. We got in touch with a realtor pretty much at random. We found a house we wanted to look at and emailed the real estate agency and they had one of their realtors call us back. I'll call her "B."

I gave B a list of houses that we wanted to see and we met with her for the first time on Friday to look at these houses. There was one in particular that we are interested in, so on Saturday I asked her to get us some more info on the place, such as the Seller's Disclosure and the Consumer Market Analysis for the location, as well as a couple of other questions about the house. When she got this information back to us, she also told us that there are a couple of offers on the house already, but since they're both FHA loans, the offers won't be considered until February 5. I didn't quite understand the jargon of it, but the basic jist was that if we wanted to put an offer on the house, it would be best to do so before Feb. 5th since we have a conventional loan.

Today I got a call from B and let it go to voice mail. She said she was calling, "So we can set up a time to write a contract" for the house. This really miffed me, because I never said we were going to put an offer on the house in the first place. Yes, we did request a lot of info on the house because we're interested in it, but we never said anything about going the next step to writing a contract.

This is the first time that either my husband or I have bought a house and she knows that, so I have a feeling she is looking for an easy sale from a young and somewhat naive (in the house-buying business) couple. Her jump from "here's the info you requested" to "let's sign a contract" in 2 days, without consulting us about it, has turned me rather off from her. There are tons of realtors in the area and we actually got a recommendation from a friend of ours over the weekend for a realtor that he's worked with and liked.

So, am I reading too much into this? Or should we consider meeting with another realtor?

[trailerparkmedic]

I think with the money you're spending, you should be comfortable with your realtor. I'm not quite sure what's up with your current one--she seems either pushing to make a sale or thinks you're very interested in buying the house and realizes you have limited time so she's trying to move things along so you don't miss out. I'd ask her why she's moving so quickly. If you're not sure, try out the other realtor. There's no rule against talking to two realtors, right?

[Flying Grype]

Realtors can be pushy because they're commissioned. Don't let them push you into something you don't want. If she's making you uncomfortable, who knows what else she's misrepresenting? I'd find someone else.

[draggar]

Realtors can be pushy because they're commissioned. Don't let them push you into something you don't want. If she's making you uncomfortable, who knows what else she's misrepresenting? I'd find someone else.

I don't think I could have said it better myself.

Don't be afraid to call other realtors.

[strawbabies]

There's no rule against talking to two realtors, right?

Just make sure one doesn't find out about the other. And there may be issues if one of them finds a house you want, but you get the other realtor to finish up the transaction.

[MonsterDon]

Dump the Realtor. I wish I had dump mine, I would have been so much happier.

[Amina516]

She's doing what shes been trained to do, which is assuming the sale. Just dont let her push you into something that youre not ready for. Keep your options open and if she pushes too much, dump her arse and go with someone else. OR find houses on your own. the internet has soo much info, a realtor can be unneccessary.

I bought my first (and only so far) home with no agent on either side of the bargain...dangerous, yes. But its worked in my favor so far and Ive been here for 3 years now.

[JustaCashier]

Whether you stick with this Realtor, or go with another, do you have a trusted family member, or friend (perhaps the friend that recommended the other Realtor?) that could be readily, and regularly available to check out the different houses with you, and become part of the conversation with the Realtor?

It would be especially nice, if this person has been through purchasing of one, or more, houses themself. They might have a better understanding of the RE lingo, and of all of the 32 zillion papers that need to be signed and/or initialed, should you go through with a purchase.

They would also be a good set of objective eyes, especially if they know what to look for, in a house you may be looking at; "Oh, check this out! Looks like there's been a mold problem here" or, "Hmmmmm... is that dry rot?"

Even if they aren't extremely well versed in what to look for, they aren't going to have the same level of excitement that you and Hubby may have, if you spotted "That perfect house!", so again, they can be looking at it with a more objective pair of eyes.


Don't be ashamed to ask for help from others, this is a major purchase, and a major life choice for the two of you. I purchased my one and only house over twenty years ago, at almost age 29, (had lived in the house for two years as a renter), and was totally overwhelmed by all the paperwork. The person I was buying it from, was a friend, with RE experience, so I just had to trust her through all of the various paperwork. Even now, whenever I get into a situation with a lot of legalese type paperwork, it's like my brain just freezes up, from the onslaught of info I don't particularly understand.

Good Luck!

Mike

[MaggieTheCat]

Thanks for all the advice, gang! I sent B an email saying basically, "Thanks for all the info, but we never said we were signing a contract." And just left it at that. I'm thinking of calling our friend's realtor tomorrow to see if we can set something up with him later this week.

We don't really have anyone in the area who can go with us who has much experience in house-buying; my parents would be great (they've both built and bought houses, and they quite literally built the house they're living in now -- by themselves, they didn't have it built by a place like KB, they actually built it themselves) but unfortunately they're in Wisconsin and we're in Texas. They have said that they'd come down if we really want them to, to check a few places out, once we find some that we really like. The friend who recommended the Realtor has a little more experience than us, but when he bought his house, he went in with his parents so I'm not sure how much of the legal jargon part of it he was in on. Still, we have talked about asking him to come with us when we get a couple more options that we like.

[Sonoma]

I went with the realtor my Mom recommended, who happens to be the one that sold my parents' last house, along with helping them find the one they're in now, after my Mom got out of selling real estate. There were times that I felt like we were moving way too fast, but in my local market, you have to. If yoyur market is anything like mine, even with a great realtor, it's overwhelming.

Best of luck on the search.

[Eric the Grey]

The only thing I can caution you regarding talking to another realtor is to make sure you don't have a contract with the first one.

When D and I were looking to purchase a house, we signed a contract with our realtor basically saying that we would not go to another one before the termination of said contract (it ended after 6 months). That wasn't a problem because my older sister and brother-in-law had worked with him and he's great.

At any rate, if you did sign a contract, make sure you fire her officially, or you may have problems when you finally buy a place.


Eric the Grey

[TheSHAD0W]

This is a sales technique called the "assumed close". Don't be too put off; it's merely their training. Just recognize it and understand what it is. It could be worse; while looking at one builder's model homes I had their rep pushing a clipboard at me and instructing me to sign at 3 minute intervals.

If the realtor keeps trying, tell them you're not ready and their behavior is putting you off.