You don't need a Realtor. You can do exactly what you just wrote. In fact, when we bought and sold our house prior to relocating, we didn't use a Realtor. That's when we realized our calling (my husband and I) was to become Realtors. So this could also be your calling! If so, we'd like to talk to you after you buy a house:) For closing and real estate lawyer you can just contact the one we use: Anthony Surber. He is both a real estate lawyer and a title company. He is also a former Tampa4U client.

Need more free advice? Just email us. No strings attached.

Smoky,

I have to ask you why you would not use a Realtor? The seller pays the realtors, not the buyer. The sellers' agent is not going to reduce their commision just because you work for yourself, therefore, the seller will not reduce their price.

Chances are, unless you are very comfortable negotiating based upon market information that truly changes daily, you will be up against a professional. In the long run it may cost you more in terms of time & money spent or lost on a transaction that is not monitored by a professional. An agent does all the research, sets the appointments, has the sometimes difficult conversations with listing agents that you may not have experienced. If you are willing to drive all over, call multiple agents to meet you at many different properties, each of them preferring you purchase their listing, then take that chance. But if you want a professional to do all the work, organize your viewings and negotiations, then you have answered your own question. The real work begins once the contract is written. While an attorney can review the contract for you, it is a standard document and they are not responsible for calling you to remind you of impending deadlines (financing, inspections, escrow...) that could cause the contract to fall through.

No surprise, most of the answers will be from real estate professionals. I strongly recommend that if you are comfortable doing all of the above on your own, you do so with the advice of someone in the real esate business who is looking out for your best interests. Good luck!

Many good answers here, and as an Accredited Consultant in real estate I must ask you why you think you can get a better deal when not using a Realtor?

I've found, in most cases, that the reason you should use a Realtor is that it is very hard to negotiate on your own since you have temotional ies to the property.

With regards to buying a property, and not using an agent, do you feel competent enough to negotiate against another agent who is a seasoned pro and get the best deal for you? Yes Attorneys are great, but they work M-F, 9-5. . . what happens when a problem arises around those area's?
Lastly, just because you deal directly with the listing agent doesn't mean you'll get a better deal. For instance if a person wanted to use me to buy one of my listings and downgrade the commission, I would say no.

Why? Because I am now doing 2 different jobs and incurring a huge legal expense. I refer buyers on my listings out to other agents who advocate in the buyers best interest. I don't think you can serve 2 masters and the buyer and seller each need someone on their side to advocate in their best interest. So either of those 2 examples will explain why you won't save money.

You are spending a large amount of money, probably one of the largest purcases in your life, WHY on earth would you want to try doing this by yourself?

And to #1Closer... wow, you've got a really big chip on your shoulders against agents. You must have had a really bad experience in the past, but you should remember that there are bad apples in every barrel, and there are good ones too.l Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean you should espouse it all over the world. I hope one day we get the opportunity to business so I can change your mind ;-)

Best regards to all!

Smoky,

You do have options to exercise as pointed out by my colleagues.........

The fact tha many professionals: doctors, educators, entertainers, lawyers.....yes, including attorneys, elect to employ the services of a real estate professional, is a testimony to the value of the services provided that far exceed showing you a house..........

The door is open for you to make a choice that best serves your needs.....

Good luck

Why not? It doesn't cost you anything. And, a good realtor (my experience says that approximately 5% to 10% are good) will actually be able to help you buy right, which is in your best interest - short term and long term

You are able to do this all on your own and many people do it successfully. Everyone has to decide for themselves what they would like to do and are they comfortable with the forms, knowledge of the area, positives and negatives of a certain neighborhood, negotiating the contract and any of the problems that can arise along the way. Only you can decide.

And yes you can use a real estate lawyer. The problem with that is they can often go over the forms, but they do not usually see the properties and have no idea of any of the issues at the property level.

What you get with a great agent is a negotiator with experience of the neighborhoods along with seeing virtually all problems that can arise, and if they have not seen a specific issue there are any number of agents and brokers and at least one has had the same issues.

One person says you save 3% when you do it yourself, but that is most often not true. If you purchase a home that is listed the commission is between the seller and the listing office and you do not get 3% back just because you did not use a Realtor. And in this case you are in essence using the Realtor who has an ongoing relationship with the seller.

How about when you buy a home from a builder? Again when you go in to a model home center, the sales person works for the builder and their price is to make the most money for the builder with each sale. They do not discount the price because you come in on your own. When you go in to the model home center the salesperson knows you will likely only buy one home, but when they see me or another Realtor come in they know this may be one of several homes that we will sell to our buyers. That means they will usually negotiate a better deal for us than for a buyer who will buy one home. Even if the particular Realtor has not sold a home there, when you look at the company or the greater Realtor community, we sell most of the builders homes, and they want to give us an incentive for bringing them more buyers and that is in lower pricing. If the builder would provide 3% off for buyers to come in without a Realtor then very few would buy through us. Builders consider us a marketing cost, the same as advertising for customers on TV, radio or in the newspapers. Bringing you in through newspaper and TV can cost the builder more than paying us a commission.

I had one couple buy a brand new waterfront home after I had shown them several days worth of homes. I had told them of several brand new homes, but they said they only wanted to see pre-owned. They suddenly called and said they decided to hold off on their home search. Later, I saw they bought a brand new home that I had told them about. I called and congratulated them and asked why they purchased on their own, and I wanted to see if I could have done something differently that would have caused them to buy through me. They said no I was great, however they knew even though I had said differently that they could save more if they went in on their own. They said they tried to get 3% off the price but the builder would not come down that low as it was a furnished model. They came down from just over $1.3 million to $1.2 million. The funny thing was the reason I recommended that they see that home was the builder was closing out that section of the community and moving to another and had told me they would accept $900,000 as they were moving to a new model home. Although I lost the commission, they paid $300,000 more than they needed to.

Finally, I and other Realtors save buyers from the things that are unknown to them and to most people. I often point out that due to the number of foreclosures in the community and the HOA is having problems paying the costs of maintenance, that there could be special assessments coming, or that the golf course that is supposed to be paying the HOA some of the profits has not been making any. We also know of many of the issues other buyers have had with a certain community or builder. I know of subidivisions that look great, but when there is a tropical storm with lots of rain, the streets flood so you cannot bring your car into the community, as the main entrance slopes down and the lower sections fill with lots of water. These folk have to park outside the community until everything dries out.

Yes Realtors can save you big headaches on the little things that could cost you many thousands of dollars. And even the Real Estate lawyer who never shows a home would not know of most of these problems. Certainly most buyers would not know until they experience the problems.

Sincerely,

Jeff Launiere, P.A.
Real Estate Consultant
Keller Williams Realty
ALHS - Accredited Luxury Home Specialist
CPS - Competitive Pricing Specialist
TRC - Transnational Referral Certified
e-PRO - Certified Internet Expert
Tampa, FL
813-469-3163 (Direct)
800-622-0886 (Fax)
Info@SweetHomeTampa.com
http://www.SweetHomeTampa.com
http://www.SweetHomeTampaBlog.com

As a realtor - I would always prefer that Buyers use a realtor but I understand that like anything else in life it is a personal choice. Some of it is convenience and personal preference such as doing your own taxes, picking your own investments, and making your own legal documents online. Buyers agents are great for giving you information about local areas, new finance rules, and new legislation. Using an agent is also a great way to buffer a tense situation like negotiation - to act as a sounding board and a third opinion when situations arise. We also have the experience of doing this over and over again about 20-30 times a year and dealing with every situation from required repairs to zoning requirements and fixing liens. Plus it is always better to have someone more on your side when things get tough.

There is one thing that people will tell you over and over again - that not using an agent saves you 3% on your sale. This is not true. If the seller has a real estate agent - they have already signed an agreement for commission and this is the same for a builder too. Someone in the transaction is going to get the commission and if the seller doesn't pay it then they are keeping it not you. A real estate attorney is always a good choice.

Smoky,
You can certainly negotiate your own deal and pay an attorney to review documents. It works for some and not for others. If your comfortable and trust your own personal knowledge with this real estate market, then by all means go for it. The #1 concern I have for the layman going into a transaction is knowledge of what is happening in this market and establishing the right offer price.
There are also hiccups that may jump out at you if the property you're interested in happens to be in a pre-foreclosure status. You may end up thinking you negotiated a good deal and saved 3%, but what if a good agent could have negotiated the same price, or as statistics show saved you even more??
What has happend to many buyers and sellers is they never really had an experience with an agent who is a true professional. The market has been soured over time with part-timers and every Tom, Dick and Harry who tossed grabbed a license to make a buck.
Well times are a changin' and many of those have since gone back to Walmart and Target and those of us survivors are still making a living at what we do best, negotiating strong deals and satisfying clients.
Best of Luck in your endeavors!
Mark Zabilowicz
Tampa Realtor

Depending on your state of purchase or residency, you can go through an attorney it is your call.
With a Real Estate Professional their duty is to represent you with the negotiations, forms and work through closing on all contingencies etc., however if you feel comfortable representing yourself then its your obligation to know Buyer Beware and go for it.

Yes you can. Plus you can save 3%. No reason to need an agent in this market. Check out some listings and then make an offer (at a ver low price).