What's the best attitude when buying a house?

Question

I'm 24. I have my credit approved to buy a house. I feel so lucky the second real state agent I went to was very nice, explained everything, and offfered me a deal that was more than what I expected for the loan I'm getting. I still want to shop around, but the other agents I've seen are not helpful, they only want to convince me that I can only get the houses they want to show me which are not better than the plan I was already offered with this second agent. They offer me very high leases and high montly payments, and only want to show me houses that I know are not worth what they want to sell them for. I keep asking them to show me a better deal, but they insist they showed me their best deals. I want to know how get them to show me better deals before I decide to go with the second agent. He offered me something great, but I want to be 100% I won't get something better with another agency.

Answer 1

The best attitude to have is the following:

Tell the agent "exactly" what you want. They will get close. If you tell him that you are looking for a house between 200000 & 250000 they will show you homes 250,000-300,000. You don't want to buy a house for what you are "preapproved" for since you would probably not be able to make the payments & have money left over for upgrades or the rest of your life.

Example of how I got my house. I told the agent that I want the following:

I want a house between 3600 north to 500 south
2000 east to 4000 west

I want it to have a full basement, a spot for a garage or a spot in which one can be built.

I was preapproved for 280,000 I told them that I was looking for a house in the neighborhood of 200,000 (I wanted to have my monthly payments to be approx 1200.00 in which I can comfortably spend & have money for any repairs or improvements).

My house was on the market for 199,000 & they were accepting bids. I like the house so I bid 215,000. My mortgage payment came out to be 1205.00 a month 5.65% 30 year fixed (no points). When I went to my mortgage broker I told him if he couldn't do 5.5 we have nothing to talk about... again like the agent they come close 5.65. Not bad. Everyone will always add on so if you place you sights low & they add stuff on.

Remember you are the customer so make demands on what you want. If they cannot deliver... find someone else that has your best interest in mind.

When you find the house that you will want...you will just know since it will just "feel" like home. We looked at close to 30 houses & walked into one & it was just a feeling of home..... That was it.

Hope this helps,

SS

Answer 2

THE FIRST THING! you should do is your own homework. Search for houses on the MLS. The MLS is accesible to the public with out the help of an agent. The searching is limited but you could get a better list of homes than the one the other agents are presenting to you.

One of the reasons why the agent is only showing you some houses and not all of them could be simply because according to what you specified to him as your needs then he is just searching for those specifics in a home OR it could be that he is trying to show you homes that his co-workers from the same company have listed OR it could be that he is only showing you homes that have a higher commission for the buyer's agent. In reality it could be many different things so I advice you to do your own homework and search on the internet, newspaper and simply by driving around so you can tell your agent "show me this home"

If you have the same problem with your loan officer, it could be because according to what you told him/her, the loan officer could be looking for only that one loan he/she feels is best for you OR it could be that he is trying to put you in a loan that will give him the highest commission. So here you should also do your own homework. Lear how mortgage loans work and what your options are. I have a long list of articles that are very informative about mortgage, credit and real estate. You can read all these articles at www Jbienesraices.blogspot com.

One last word of adivce that you should take VERY SERIOUSLY. When searching for a home, I always tell all my clients, NEVER buy your home with your heart. Buy your home with your wallet because ultimately the one that pays is your wallet not your heart. If the wallet cannot afford it, the heart cannt help you. I hope you understand what I mean by that.

Good luck and think carefully about your purchase because real estate is the best investment you will ever make in your life.

Answer 3

It is a common trick used by real estate agents to get people to buy a house that they want them to buy. Sometimes it is because of their own personal interest, but most of the time they went through the houses that fit your needs and found a few that were the best deals then they show you those houses along with a couple that are really awful so you'll like the ones they picked as best for you. If you want to make sure you are getting the best deal, ask to sit down at the computer with your agent and go through the MLS listings together. That way you can see all the houses that they weeded through to pick the ones that they thought were best for you. If you find others that you like better, then you know they weren't being completely honest with you.

Answer 4

If you like one of the other houses better (one that they aren't giving you a good deal on) you could always just place an offer and see if the owners of the house will accept it. You don't have to go by what the agent is asking. If you really like the house with the great offer, then go for it. You don't want to buy a house you don't want, this is a long term commitment. Just because the bank approved a certain amount, that doesn't mean you have to purchase a house that is the full amount. I just bought a house, we were approved for 50,000 more than what the house we bought cost. You need to be comfortable with the loan payment amount.

Answer 5

You have to keep looking until you are satisfied with the deal.
My comment would be that if a deal is a LOT better than other deals there might be something wrong with it. They should all seem about the same, really. Real estate agents want to sell you a house. they are not holding back on showing you houses. you can make an offer that is less than what people are asking for a house if you think the price is too high.

Answer 6

Tell them you have someone else offering you a better deal, better house, and if he/she wants your money you are going to take the best deal. If they want your money, they will work with you. If they don't show you better homes then take your money to the other guy. My best friend is an agent, that is how they work,.... who wants your money the most

Answer 7

here's the deal: pick one realtor, agree to work exclusively with them as their client, and they can show you any listing you want to see. since you've established a relationship with one that you like, sit down with that agent, and sign the paperwork to say "i will be your agent and i will help you find something you're looking for". you need to be loyal to an agent and one agency in particular, not many at a time, otherwise you will not recieve client-level services, only customer services. this agency agreement only states that you will work with a particular agent to find what you are looking for.

I hope you find the home you're looking for! YOU know what YOU want, and what you can afford, so don't let pushy agents tell you otherwise.

Answer 8

If you are in the US and Canada you can go online and check things out, but what you describe is nothing like what I'm used to seeing. All I know is that in most European countries, the seller is who the agent represents and the buyer just takes what they can get. Not a fair system...

Answer 9

get an agent you get a good "gut" feeling about. one who listens to what you are saying. each time you go out to look you should be getting closer to what you are looking for. ask to see the market research on pricing when you find one to make an ofer on. a good agent will pull recent sold comps before suggesting an offer price.

Answer 10

Shop around, and compare interest rates.Also be sure that your payment includes escrow ,so that you dont have to come up with a bunch of money at the end of every year.A lso be sure to check out past utility bills.