Good luck finding an agent who exclusively works with buyers on Long Island. We have only recently started doing buyers agency. Let us know if you find one. I would be interested in knowing who is doing it.

Mon Mar 31 2008, 18:22

i honestly dont working this area, but i believe in any market a buyer should buy thnking to themselves "if i buy today can i sell it tomorrow?" or "the price im buying today can i make a profit tomorrow". there are some areas that the bubble mite not be affecting the neighborhood at least not as dramaticly as others but there is still an abnormal fluctuation in prices. id say move on to the next house but keep in touch because sooner or later they will budge, but make it clear that before they consider anyones offer to contact you because you mite be able to match it, because after all that time and effort you spent you want to draw your conclusions. make sure theyll think of you when they look at that other offer.

Mon Mar 31 2008, 17:15

I've decided to try and find an exclusive buyer's agent (one who works for a company that only represents buyers, and does not have any listings). I'm just not getting what I need from this person. I feel like I'm doing all of the work. Thanks. I'll continue to be patient, stick to my guns, and see how it goes.

Mon Mar 31 2008, 10:43

Elvis, For some silly reason, I have a feeling you'd spend the time to qualify your clients instead of going on the hunt for Red October ... but many many don't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't get the "Red October" part, but I'm going to go out on a limb here, and accept that as a compliment. Thank You.

Sun Mar 30 2008, 17:12

My first thought was that you should be going over the comps with your agent before making each offer - especially talking about the list to sell ration for your area. What has sold, at what % of list price, how long on the market, how do they compare to the house you are interested in. I do this for every offer my buyers make so that they are educated on value and can make a good decision about what to offer.

It doesn't sound right that you agent can't get to this info easily. It's possible that their MLS is in the dark ages. Or maybe they are not handy on a computer, or maybe they are new and don't know better. I would have a conversation with them about how important this information is to you. Perhaps there is another agent yours can 'bring in' on the deal to help with this?

Otherwise I would interview another buyer's rep and have them show you what they can provide. If you can't get the info you need to make good decisions from the person you are working with AND YOU CAN GET IT FROM ANOTHER AGENT I would suggest moving on.

Sun Mar 30 2008, 06:31

Tman, you're making much more of an effort to sink the realty ship than any realtor themselves could ever do. One wonders why someone would spend so much of their time and energy on this site in order to badmouth one particular occupation. I can't imagine seeking out a site populated by policeman, teachers, auto mechanics, hod carriers, or whatever---and spending all my time there talking about what lazy crooks they are. I'd be banned from the site for being a troll and rightly so. Talk about having too much time on your hands!

Sun Mar 30 2008, 06:02

Again JR, you are absolutely right ....

I lie, Gizmo lies, all of the thousands of posters before him lies, the Federal Trade Commission lies - everyone lies ... I find it astounding that every consumer that's ever posted here lies ..

Being in an industry that is treading water .. You might consider righting your own ship instead of trying to sink it:

http://www.remaxlawsuits.com/

http://blownmortgage.com/2008/03/17/realtor-magazines-30-und…

http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/comments/225860.htm


Hmm ... maybe the reality is, that you and the truth have never stood in the same room ...


:^)

Sun Mar 30 2008, 04:45

Dear Donna,

It looks as if the answers to your original question have been less than focussed on the topic at hand. FYI, I am not licensed in NY state and thus I am not here to solicit your patronage. I just want to help you. You should be able to get data on the average sell/ask price from your local board of realtors. Here is Sarasota FL, the data is available online to anyone. Most of the realtors I know do use comps when lsiting houses and presenting offers. This is the only data that you can use. You need to have real comps, i.e. you need to compare properties that are comparables. I agree with you that the most recent comps are the most realistic. anything over 6 months could be vastly outdated. What you should do is be patient and go back to those houses on which you put bids on and resubmit the same bids. Their frustrations and/or lack of offers might have soften them up. I have seen many sellers refusing a bid only to ask us a few weeks later whether our buyers were still looking for a house. Hoping this helps.

Michel

Sun Mar 30 2008, 03:49

Elvis,

For some silly reason, I have a feeling you'd spend the time to qualify your clients instead of going on the hunt for Red October ... but many many don't.


;^)

Sun Mar 30 2008, 03:32

My buyer clients are all preapproved before they get in my car. I don't show properties until I know what the client is approved for (and second to that, what they can afford... just because they're qualified to borrow $400,000 doesn't mean they're comfortable with that payment).

I do not, however, bring that pre-approval to each and every "showing" appointment that we make, nor would I offer any information other than "they've been pre-approved for the value of the properties we've been viewing" to any listing agent who asked me about their finances. I would not provide a pre-approval form, nor any info about their finances, until and unless we were proffering an offer.

Sat Mar 29 2008, 06:32

Tman, it seems you exist to lie or, I'll be nice, exagerrate about real estate agents in your past. When did "all" these buyers come to you with agents who did not prequalify them? 1965? As I said, it's hard to believe an agent will go thru all the motions of showing houses and negotiating to a meeting of the minds more than once only to find that the buyer can't afford it. It's truly amazing, these experiences of yours with so many realtors. Much like Gizmo, who was NEVER qualified by an agent. Never ever ever. How many agents have you been out with Gizmo?

Sat Mar 29 2008, 06:01

Gizmo, I am so suprised no one has asked you about being financiable. I do not see how as an agent, no matter buyers agent or listing agent,... how one is not to be in contact with the loan officer involved in the transaction.

First off when I am acting as a buyers agent, financing is an intregal part of the offer. I have to write in all terms. Conventional, FHA, VA, RD, Cash etc. Not to mention several other things like down payment, interest rate etc. I need to have that information from a loan officer.

The other trick to that is I need to know up front what type of loan a buyer is getting. If they are an FHA buyer, then some houses are not going to fly. It helps me as a buyers agent to know what to look for within the guidelines of the houses my buyers look at. Not to mention I do not want my buyers to fall in love with a home that just simply will not meet the guidelines of their loan. If for example FHA is not on the listing card and my buyer wants to see that property, I will call the listing agent and inform them I have a buyer who wants to see the home, but I need to know if the house will qualify for an FHA buyer.

I am here in Michigan where the foreclosure rate is 50% meaning 1/2 of the houses that are selling are foreclosures. When I am writing on those, which happens often at this time, the bank will not even look at the offer without at minimum a pre-qualification letter and sometimes a pre-approval letter, as well as a copy of the EMD (earnest money deposit.) Therefore, it is not even possible to write an offer without having some form of contact with a loan officer.

Maybe I am different than other agents, but I don't feel that it is quality of service not to be in contact with a loan officer no matter what kind of agent I am acting as. Not to mention that many buyers call before they have even spoken with a loan officer and do not even know what they can afford. Therefore, I will refer them to some of the loan officers I have worked with in the past.

I hope this helps clarify for you why an agent needs to be in contact with a loan officer.

Sat Mar 29 2008, 04:51

Gizmo,

** .. no agent has asked me about my finances or pre-approval or anything..**

It's absolutely incredible isn't it...? .. and you're one of many, not one of few.

I can't tell you how many times an agent has brought a potential buyer to look at a property and the first thing I'll ask them .. "is your client pre-approved, where is their paperwork, how much down and - for how much.?" ... from the letter I can make a 5 minute phone call to the lender and he can fax the rest of the guidelines before we go any further.

Sorry Melinda, but they make all the difference in the world between being a buyer and a looker.. (and you've been in the business, how long.?)

But .. the majority of the time, you'll get the "dead mullet look " from the agent - and usually the same answer: "aah, they'll know more next week .. they haven't called a lender yet .. everything is in progress.." ... hello, what are they thinking.? .. first time buyers and they're looking at a $585,000 condo with a $500 a month maintenance
fee.? .l.o.l..


Of course Melinda agrees with JR .. if she said there was giant green chirping frogs coming from Mars tomorrow she would support that - they're agents, protect the nest and all that other rubbage.. they just need to be honest with the public and leave all these drama lessons at home.

I literally, have gone direct to the seller because the seller wasn't aware their "potential buyer" wasn't or couldn't get approved for "X" amount of money, but the agents were holding up the works hoping for a blessing from above .. keep in mind, it's a commission driven business.

You're right though, it was very presumptuous of Barbara to go through her dog and pony act ... that said, she might have had bad closings or bad potential buyers dropped on her by "wonderful" agents that just kinda forget the basics.


: ^)

Sat Mar 29 2008, 03:57

I'm confused. Why do RE agents have to deal with loan officers? I thought only buyers had to. So far, (I am a buyer) no agent has asked me about my finances or pre-approval or anything. Of course I'm not worried since I have awesome credit history and can make a 45% down payment... but I'm surprised no one has asked me and yet it seems that it is a common practice below by buyer's agents.

Tman, I was not not giving Barbara credit. Please read carefully. I am saying what Barbara mentioned about asking for credit history/approval sounds wise but obviously, these sellers didn't even care as they hadn't asked Donna about her finances. But it was rather presumptuous of Barbara to imply that Donna didn't have a good credit history by grouping Donna with just regular, reckless buyers. Anyway, I am all for sending a bunch of people there low-balling the hell out of these people until they come to their senses. Good luck, Donna. I am in the same boat as you and am even contemplating a 15% discounted lowball!

Fri Mar 28 2008, 22:34

Tman, pre-approvals aren't worth the paper they are written on! What you need to find out is what the guidelines of that particular loan officer is for giving a pre-approval. I have had pre-approved buyers before with a letter in their hand. At the end of the day they were not financiable. Irratation!

I am with JR. It takes one time before you become keen to these buyers and get familiar with loan officers and /or have a 20 questions conversation with a loan officer you have never worked with before. (I apologize to all of the good LO's out there, but I have run into some that give LO's a bad name...Just like there are a few real estate agents out their that give most REALTORS a bad name:)

Fri Mar 28 2008, 20:36

No, Tman, the problem is you are myopic.

Fri Mar 28 2008, 16:03

JR,

That must be some pair of rose colored glasses you wear ..

.. obviously you have them for everyday of the week .l.o.l..


:^)

Fri Mar 28 2008, 16:01