I Don't Care About Your Fertility Issues; Just Shut Up, Stupid Realtor!!!!

The BBQ Pit
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It was almost enough to make me leave - this woman would not stop talking! I now know all about her reproductive difficulties, her recent reunion with her birth father, the new home that the Sellers bought, their new neighbors, the wonderful party they had with their new neighbors, the Sellers’ pets, and the (apparent) fact that deceased chimney sweeps (children) were often found when they tore down old homes in England.

This house doesn’t even have a chimney.

Despite her chatter, my Hubby and I spent 90 mins going over ever inch of this property. We love it - right size, right price, right location, and we’ve GOT to buy a house due to a relocation (there aren’t any appropriate rentals in the area). There’s this ornamental grass just off the deck – I WANT THAT GRASS!!!

I’m going to hire a lawyer to go over this offer before we make it, and I’m hiring my own inspectors ---- that was another thing, the Stupid Realtor wanted me to use her inspector (Marv) because “he doesn’t freak out over a little mold.”

The standard offer form she sent does have plenty of contingencies for inspections and appraisal, and the home (built in 1968) has a Seller’s warranty. She’s already mentioned that the sellers would be willing to cover some of the closing costs.

I know the house has been on the market for 6 months with 3 big price drops b/c the area’s overbuilt – which I can confirm, I’ve been looking online for about that long & the same houses are still available. The owners have long since moved.

Frankly, though, I think this dingaling may be one of the reasons this particular home hasn’t sold (yes, she’s the Sellers’ realtor; no, don’t lecture me, I should’ve gotten my own; I thought the Seller’s realtor was always the one who showed a house [they should know something about it, right?], so I called her first & now that we’ve “established a relationship” based on an initial 15 minute walk-thru, other realtors in this dinky town don’t want to horn in).

My mortgage lender is our bank, one of the big ones, and we’re getting a special First Time Homebuyer rate underwritten by the State; I’m happy with her, she seems to know what she’s doing.

Anything else I’m overlooking? I’ve been following other Doper real estate threads, lots of interesting advice & stories.

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Definitely stay away from Marv, and specifically tell your inspector to look for mold signs. Mold is a bad deal, and can be an insurance nightmare.

It’s not too late to get an agent for yourself. I never understood why someone wouldn’t grab an agent from the phonebook as opposed to going with the seller’s agent. At least with “your” agent, you have the illusion of someone on your side (they want to sell the house, too)! Tell the agent your price, and they’ll work toward it. Unless the market where you are is a seller’s market (and even then, it might not be), it’s good to have a negotiator on your side.

If you’re staying away from an agent for fear of coughing up more commission, I thin kthey split the 6% with the seller’s agent.

-Cem

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Yes, this always annoyed me!
Buyer: “Well, since I don’t have an agent to pay, then I get to keep the buying agent’s 3%, right? Right???”
Seller’s agent: “Um, I don’t think you understand how this works. I get the entire 6% for myself.”
Buyer: “HULK SMASH!!!”

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The reason I originally avoided getting my own agent is I don’t want to spend any more time with realtors than absolutely necessary. I just don’t like or trust them.

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That’s just the mold talking, dearie.

:smiley:

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My take is that the sellers realtor would really try to close the deal, even if it meant that the price came down a bit, after all it is 6% of the total instead of 3%.

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Do you have a lawyer? 'Round these parts, you don’t buy real estate without a lawyer on your side.

I don’t necessarily think that using the seller’s agent is THAT bad, as long as you take charge and ensure your interests are met. Even a different agent isn’t 100% on your side, they want a deal to close, that’s the only way they make their money.

Before putting in your offer, get some data on comparable properties that have sold recently. Roughly same size, same location, same style and see what price they went for.

Get an independant inspection, and watch out for that mold! Mold is eeeeevil, will make you sick, and cost thousands to remediate. It’s not like water dripping on your head, it’s more like getting a headache every morning and not feeling well most of the time.

BTW, we’re closing on our house in 2 days… :eek: it’s a stressful time.

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That reminds me…

No details on the story behind this, but damned if the hairs on the back of my neck don’t stand up when I make the mistake of speculating about it. :eek:

Wow, that’s spectacularly inept.

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Get your own realtor and home inspector guy.

If this chixie asks you why, explain, you didn’t think she was professional at all by giving you details her her life and the infertility stuff. (That would be the dealbreaker for me. Then the mold.)

Also, counter offer with something lower. Home sellers are desperate right now and chances are these people are carrying two mortgages.
Mold, indeed.

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I feel your pain, Cheesesteak - I never realized how frightening this is. What if… fill in blank w/just about anything. OTOH, though, we / you DO have to live Somewhere, might as well be some place we love! Good luck on your closing!

Thanks for the opinions - I’ve lined up a lawyer. The purchase agreement really isn’t that complex, just 4 pages & there are only a couple of paragraphs that I don’t understand.

Chixsie ::snort:: - I’m offering a couple grand less than they’re asking, which is a couple grand more than the current appraised value. It’s not like this is a major piece of real estate, it’s a cheap house by current market standards ($130k, 2000 sf), but the 1/2 acre it’s on is sweet.

Another observation about Realtors – it seems like everyone has a story about how great THEIR Realtor was. Like “Oh, she drove us past this one house we liked, and pointed out the power lines. Not everyone would be that honest.” And “She wouldn’t let us bid on one house, said it was overpriced. Not everyone would be that honest.” I smell a scam - it wouldn’t be difficult to find a lemon or two to show your buyers, and there are plenty of reasons why a Realtor would want to talk someone out of buying one property in favor of another.

Reminds me of Congressmen, how everyone loves THEIRS, although they think the rest of them in Washington are a bunch of crooks.

Anyway.

There is a trace of green mold or something in the ceiling of the far corner bedroom, so we’ll investigate that carefully. We didn’t get in to the attic, just not enough time, but I did shine a flashlight into the crawl space & it looked dry. I’ll keep researching - gives me something to do in between diaper changes & Elmo.

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I disagree with Shirley – get your own inspector and agent, but don’t give the selling agent any reason for it. It’s your right, and the reason is none of her business. Not that you have to be unpleasant about it or anything. In fact, I think making your objections to her behavior (which I agree is unprofessional, to say the least) is much more likely to make her hostile to you, which can result in a worse price for you or just more hassle in the course of the deal.

Good luck, and do have the inspector look hard for mold.

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Be sure that the house isn’t built over a desecrated graveyard…

Check flood plain data if you’re near bodies of water.

You might also check the tax profile for that jurisdiction.

If you’re really paranoid, check the address against EPA Superfund sites.

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Oh, no. Not everyone! :wink:

When we sold our house, the realtor came over, told us how much they’d list it for, then disappeared. Left me to do everything from showing the house, to negotiating the underground oil tanks (NJ lawyers love nothing more than a good underground oil tank fight!) and didn’t even show up for the closing. We were told they do that all the time. The lawyer mailed them their check for the 3% they were entitled to. Apparently, simply posting the house was all they had to do! Nice job. Where do I sign up?

It’s also a lot of fun when the realtor who’s trying to find you a new house totally disregards any criteria you specify and wastes your time taking you to places you’d never live, assuming they can even find the place!

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Man, don’t EVEN get me started on what a crook our first agent was! I could write a book.

My advice is what saved us when we were sued: write into the contract that any repairs that the owner does to the house must be completed prior to close and that they must be to your satisfaction. In other words, if the inspection turns up a flaw such as electrical work which needs done and the homeowner agrees to repair it before you buy, you should have the work inspected after it’s done.

What happened to us was that the homeowner agreed to do repairs but chose the cheapest contractor who did little more than slap a Band-Aid over the problems. Had we not had that clause, there would have been nothing we could do about it.

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I have a very real-estate-savvy friend who has made a serious bundle of money over the years (mostly buying, renting & selling multi-family dwellings in the Boston area). One of his favorite sayings is that real estate agents are a tax on stupidity.

His basic point is that they do little or nothing that smart buyers can’t do for themselves. They often cut corners, and are motivated to close quickly so they can collect their commission - even when this may work against the interests of their buyer or seller. They love the idea of collecting 6% of a transaction for next to no work. He freely admits that there are a few good ones, but believes these tend to be hard to find in a sea of mediocrity and cupidity.

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(New Jersey) Real Estate Person checking in:

First of all, if you ask any REALTOR for any recommendation (inspector, contractor, mortgage agent, etc), they are required by law to give you at least three options.

Second of all, you can switch REALTORS until you sign the contract. Your agent is the one who procurs the contract, and the law doesn’t care if 10 different agents show you the same house. If you find an agent you like, they can show you any house that is on the market. You don’t have to go with the listing agent.

Third of all, the agent does not get the commission. The BROKER gets the commission. The Broker runs the office, and if there are any problems, go to the broker and talk to them. Brokers are fined if any agent does anything they shouldn’t.

Fourth of all, the National Board of REALTORS oversees real estate agents. If you have a legitimate beef against any agent, contact your local branch.

Fifth of all, your state’s real estate commission can also go after the agent AND the broker if anything serious happens.

I would definitely speak to the agent’s broker about her unprofessional behavior. You’re there to buy a house, not to hear her life story.