Angela Schrager

Although you can certainly change agents, if you wish to put an offer on this townhouse that Agent #1 showed you, then he is the procuring cause. ie. it is only through him (Agent #1) that you went to see this property, he took you to see it, you liked it - he is your procuring cause. Because you want to continue to pursue this townhouse, I would advise that you go back to Agent #1, explain your feelings to him, tell him why you've not been happy and are seriously considering going with another agent. I'm sure he will want to make things right and in fact, it could just be a lack of communication between the 2 of you. This should certainly help things. Next step, tell him you still want him to present an offer to the listing agent. The listing agent can give all the opinions he wants but if you insist your offer is presented to the Seller, even verbally, he is obliged to do this unless he has something in writing from the Seller saying "do not accept any offers under $xxx,xxx" or words to that effect. As Sylvia stated, a new agent presenting an offer on a property where Agent #1 has been the procuring clause, is likely to to lose their commission to Agent #1, should they find out. California, like Florida, has a procuring cause clause! (Say that after a couple of drinks)!

Now... if you don't get the townhouse, you're still unhappy with Agent #1, you can and most likely should certainly move onto another agent. I would at the very least, drop a note to Agent #1, explaining that things just didnt seem to click between you, wish him luck but tell him that you'll be changing agents. At least he'll know, instead of wondering what happened to you.

Hope this helps and good luck with that townhouse!!

Angela in sunny South Florida! - Yesterday, 05:31

Dear Primo:

You should speak to an immigration attorney and I can certainly give you a couple of names. I work a lot with Europeans. As long as you can put down a minimum of 25-30% (usually 30%) you shouldn't have too much of a problem getting a Foreign National Loan.

However, owning a property here in the U.S. doesn't give you any advantage in obtaining a work visa. I think that your best and simplest choice would be to buy a business here that has the potential to offer employment to a minimum of 2 U.S. employees. You would apply for an E2 Visa. If granted, it is for 2-5 years. If you have a spouse, it allows your spouse to work anywhere. The Visa is renewable but will never lead to a green card. The key is that your business must be active with the POTENTIAL to hire employees. The usual investment is $100,000 but it depends on the business and 75% of that must be put down up front. One Visa covers spouse and children and a full-time specialized manager. You could buy franchises too! This by no means constitutes legal advice as I am not an attorney. Do please contact an immigration attorney in South Florida and they'll be able to work with you, based on your particular situation.

I know a little about this as I am originally from England and I work with lots of international clients. I wish you the very best for the future.

Angela - Sun Jul 20 2008, 18:05

Hi Oriana... you would be looking at a Foreign National loan. Most of the lenders require 30% down. The interest rates vary, depending on whether you can provide financial information (statement from banks, employer etc.) or not. Obviously, the more information you can provide, the better your interest rate. I do believe there are a couple of banks that may only require 25% but they all vary depending on different criteria. Some will only lend funds if you're buying a single family home, not a condo.

You've received some good advice here. You should speak with a lender experienced in foreign national loans - there are a couple of great contacts who post on this board and I can let you have their information as well as some excellent mortgage broker that I work with. Once you've spoken with them, you should be sure they give you a pre-qualification letter which will tell you how much you should be able to borrow and consequently, how much you'll be able to spend.

Then you can start "shopping". If you would like me to email you some properties, I'd be more than happy to, just let me know. You should start working with an experienced Realtor who can make the entire experience successful, fun and stress-free. There are lots of questions to be asked to determine the right location and to find you the perfect place! Have you considered Fort Lauderdale? Will you be wanting to rent it out? Will you be looking to move here and live in it full time? etc. etc. (I told you there were lots of questions)! :>

Very best of luck....

Angela - Sun Jul 20 2008, 17:46

Dan: Welcome to South Florida! Yours is a great question and one that doesn't have a "right" answer. As each seller has their own motivations, personality, property and situation, there really isn't a "rule of thumb". You've obviously done some analysis and I'm guessing you're not working with a Realtor - it is important that your analysis is based on recently sold homes that are comparable to the one your buying. When I say recent, I'm looking at 3-6 months. Do you know how long the home has been on the market? Do you know why the sellers are looking to move? Are they in financial difficulties? Do they have to relocate? Have they purchased a new home already? Is this a divorce situation? Lot of questions and several more - the answer will give you an idea of their motivation. Have you met the listing Realtor? Have you met the sellers? Has the listing price dropped since it was first put on the market or has it remained static? This usually gives an indication of how motivated they are. Do you have an idea of the appraised value of the home? Do you know how much they owe on their mortgage(s)?

Only when you have the answer to these questions can you really make an educated decision about whether or not your offer it too low. If you have the analysis to support your offer and tell them why (I don't recomment any feedback on their personalities though, but mainly on comps and work to be done, if any), they can understand where you're coming from and your seriousness. Perhaps then, they would be willing to at least counteroffer.

Try it, I always say that if you don't ask, you don't get!!

Best of luck and keep us all posted! If I can be of any help at all, let me know.

Angela - Fri Jul 18 2008, 12:44

Well, this one is going to make me extremely unpopular BUT here goes:

I'm not so sure about unionizing, however, I would like to see the real estate training courses become far more challenging and the ability to qualify as a Realtor should be more difficult and (I hate to say this), more costly. It would eliminate many of the part timers, dabblers and those who don't have a clue. I also think it would go a long way in improving the image of Realtors overall and then perhaps we'll receive more respect from the general public! The NAR could do much more to improve our image but I guess they'd rather have the huge number of members (the more the merrier for them)... they believe in quantity not quality - the root of our problem!

There should be an educational threshold - college degree or equivalent work experience, in order to qualify.

Just my 10 cents worth.

Angela - Mon Jul 14 2008, 20:12