An attorney is not knowledgeable about the real estate market statistics. If he knew the real estate market well, I would suspect he was a weak attorney without many law clients. An attorney’s role is the legal review of contracts. An agent’s role is real estate data and advice.
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You could use a real estate attorney. They have close ties to the real estate and home lending community. Once you know the house you want, and the right amount to offer, there is nothing wrong with having an attorney take your side. The only drawback is that you are paying for it out of your own pocket.

Mon Jun 9 2008, 11:15

An attorney is not knowledgeable about the real estate market statistics. If he knew the real estate market well, I would suspect he was a weak attorney without many law clients. An attorney’s role is the legal review of contracts. An agent’s role is real estate data and advice.

You can research the market yourself by pretending to be a potential revenue source for a commissioned agent, then dump them. If you do that, you are dishonest. If you want a rebate, accept the limitations of the data provided by the rebater. The idea of waiting for a listing to expire to avoid payment of fees smells of questionable character. I am currently seeking a buyer agent to work with me on a FSBO purchase and will pay them by the hour, and then I will have my attorney handle the contract. I am seeking a listing agent to work for a consultancy fee while I sell my house FSBO. If my house does not sell FSBO within 60 days, I will list my house for a commission with an offset of any fees already paid.

Mon Jun 9 2008, 08:54

Reddingite, good morning....

Have you thought about using a real estate attorney ..? .. they will cover your back before, during and after the sale.

You can usually find a very good one to handle everything for "around" $1,500 or less depending on the property and closing time.


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Mon Jun 9 2008, 04:50

Remember you NEVER have to pay the buyers agent anything, the fee is paid by the seller of the home, the buyers agent looks out for your best interest and goes to bat for you and your interests.

Sat Jun 7 2008, 13:16

This is from 60 minutes ...

Thousands of buyers and sellers doing it their way -- with great success.

More food for thought: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/11/60minutes/main2790…

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Thu Jun 5 2008, 10:17

First and foremost read the documents carefully. A flat fee broker should have a contract and s(he) should be well versed in it. Realtors cannot give legal advice so if you have a question about what you are signing ask a lawyer to interpret it. There is more to a sale than just writing the offer, presenting it and negoiating on your behalf. There is a long list activities that must occur prior to closing. Who will be resonsible for those activites? Again, read the documents first before signing anything so you know exactly who is responsible for what!

Thu Jun 5 2008, 09:46

PS. i just saw galileo's answer and while his concerns are warranted (a lot of people have had bad real estate experiences and are very wary of agent sales tactics) everything he said about the "buyer agent" wouldn't be true with a flat fee agent who is salaried. For example if you want to low ball and decide later not to buy the house, our agents would not be crushed in any way as unlike traditional agents it wouldn't affect their pay check. This is exactly why we built our agency. It is 100% buyer centric. You never have to worry about steering or pushy sales tactics. Actually our agents get bonuses based on the amount of $ they negotiate off the purchase prices (over the course of a year) so they are always working to get that lower price for their clients.

Thu Jun 5 2008, 09:24

Galileo,

Buyers should choose their agent based upon the belief that their agent will give them straight up advice. There are plenty of buyer agents out there who are more interested in the long term relationship, referrals, and their reputation than they are a quick sale.

What you describe might happen sometimes....but far less than your post would imply. There are many posts on Trulia by agents who have indicated hat they have dissuaded a buyer from a purchase because they believed it was not in the buyer's best interest based upon price or some other characteristic.

I pushed a buyer very hard to walk away from a house after 2 inspections because of instability of the foundation. The buyer kept thinking they could fix the problem with less work and expense than both inspectors recommended. The buyers wanted the property and were looking at the problem with rose colored glasses; denying the severity and expense. Had my buyers been prepared for the actual repair work and expenses, they might have purchased this property. When I could see how much they were in denial, I pushed them into estimates and creating budgets and timelines. As a result of that exercise, the buyer did walk away from that property.

Buyers should seek out an agent based upon the agent's qualifications, knowledge, willingness to work hard, and level of trust. Too often, buyers just hook up with whoever is available at the moment and can unlock the door. I much prefer the buyer who interviews, chooses his agent, expects accountability, and remains loyal. Those buyers are far more likely to be satisfied with the agent, purchase and contract.

For you to imply that most buyers agents do not look out for their clients is a woeful misconception. As a sellers agent, I have had buyers agents tell me that they were going to recommend their buyers walk if my seller didn’t agree to “x” credit or “y” repair. As a broker, I have had buyers agents become angry with sellers agents for not pushing their sellers for concessions.

There’s a lot of buyers agents out there batting hard for their clients. Buyers, if you are in the market, go find one of them!

Deborah

Thu Jun 5 2008, 09:23

Advantages to hiring a flat fee buyer agency like ours (thanks for the plug Mike):
1) You know your agent will never steer you towards one property over another since they don't work with sellers
2) The flat fee incentivises the agents to get you the lowest and best price; You will never have to worry about them chasing percentage commissions that pays agents more when you pay more.
3) They offer you buyside expertise. The difference between seller and buyer needs is VERY different.
4) Our agents are also salaried, not independent contractors, so not only are they incentivised to get you the lowest price possible but they won't hassle you to buy because their pay checks aren't tied to closing deals.
5) REBATES! Always nice to put money in your pocket after the sale. Our clients have used this money

If you want to see an actual diagram of the above just click this link:
http://www.territoryre.com/about.php

It really helps outline the difference in service compared to a listing agent/tradition agent.

You can also watch a client testimonial video on our site (home page). One of the clients in the video had a very similar situation... He knew the house he wanted to buy and we stepped in to help with a market and property data analysis and negotiate the offer (plus help with all the other steps from offer to closing).

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Thu Jun 5 2008, 09:16

You should definitely get some expert advice on how much to offer.

However, be especially wary of any advice you get from a buyers agent. Remember that they have a tremendous incentive in making sure that you offer enough for the sale to go through.

I'm not saying that buyers agents aren't decent and ethical. Most used car salesmen are decent and ethical. But their incentives can't help but skew their advice. Consider the incentive a used car salesman has to sell you a car and multiply it by about fifty --- this is the incentive that your buyers agent has to get you to buy a house. If you are thinking, "Hmm... should I make a strong offer and almost certainly get the house or make a lower offer and be prepared to walk away and look elsewhere or rent for another year if it doesn't get accepted?" the very last person you should trust to answer this question is your agent.

Thu Jun 5 2008, 08:38

I recently met w/ contractors at a client's home to secure quotes on work on behalf of the client. One contractor had quite the elaborate suggestions for cosmetically fixing a problem while leaving the underlying problem. The contractor implied that the unknowingly would never figure out the “problem" for a long time, The contractor further went on with suggestions on how to develop the need into an insurance claim.

My client and I were outraged by the suggestions. The contractor further went on to suggest that I could provide him leads and he could pay me a kickback. Yikes! I would suggest any and all stay far away from this man!

The mind that dishonestly travels one road, will search for additional and alternative dishonest avenues also.

The seller who would lie and cheat their Realtor will also be likely to do the same to a buyer. Beware.

And, shame on anyone for suggesting that anyone should breach contracts or cheat. If you negotiate a great deal for a great price, congrats to you. When you lower yourself to deceit and then applaud such behavior, shame on you.

Thu Jun 5 2008, 08:37

Tman

Go ahead those contracts have a 12 to 24 month protection clause!

Thu Jun 5 2008, 08:19

>>>>Contact the owner yourself and ask the owner when the listing contract expires. The listing broker will be more likely to cut the commission as the expiration date approaches>>>>


Joep,

Good post ... it's the 3rd leg on a 3 legged stool for the consumer.



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Thu Jun 5 2008, 08:10

9. Last one would you go to discount doctor for a surgery?
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No Charo, don't do it!!! I am often pro-Realtor, but never understand why Realtor throw this line out so often! It cheapens you as it comes across as begging. Once you go from pitching your own services to preying on people's fears (implication is that discount surgeon = chance of harm), you sound like a sleazy sales person. Take the high ground, don't do this to yourself and your profession.

Thu Jun 5 2008, 08:00

Reddingite,

Without making any unfair assumptions about the flat fee agent's ethics or motivations, my opinion is that there are no disadvantages. You are still permitted to hire an inspector, and you pay for that service anyways, it is not part of the realtor commission.

If you are in Watertown, I recommend Micos at Tiger Home Inspection. The guy takes about 2 hours to inspect a home, but he does a great job.

Thu Jun 5 2008, 07:14

My first question to you would be how did you find the home on your own? Where you able to see other comparable homes at open houses or how did you see other homes?

Disadvantages:

1. You don’t get clear comparison and price analysis.
2. you don’t get expert and experienced opinion
3. They may not protect your rights ( They may not have E & O )
4. They don’t care if you pay too much
5. You don’t have team of experts to do your inspections
6. They are not negotiators
7. Different people will do different task
8. You may feel that you are lost, nobody pays attention to details in your transaction
9. Last one would you go to discount doctor for a surgery?

Advantages:
1. You feel you saved the commissions


Your disadvantages are greater than advantage buy not using a professional in the industry.

Thu May 22 2008, 14:03

Most flat-fee agents will refund a portion of the buyers' agent commission to you. Speak to the folks at http://www.territoryre.com about flat-fee arrangements more. I know them personally and they are good folks. As long as you know what you need help with and what you don't need help with, you should be fine.

Thu May 22 2008, 13:06