Carlo Gobba

Having a buyers agent is reccomended. They can find what the sherrif deed was recorded at. (This will not include penalties and interest taht are quite up to date but about as close as you can get and this will give you a good idea for what the bank owns it for.) Will they take less. *A good buyers agent can advise you on the presentation and how to package the best possible offer. Cash is king. Know what you are buying but if you are comfortable don't be affraid to make a cash offer with a closing to take place in 2-4 weeks. The banks like this and you may be able to get yourself a better deal, fix up teh home and re-finance it later. (Take before and after pictures and keep good notes of every penny thatyou put into it for the re-finance.)

There is no rule of thumb. Your agent will best be able to help you put the best package together. - Sun Mar 9 2008, 09:54

Sooner is always better than later (to give you time to interview and gather all facts as it pertains to the agents credentials and their expertise in the market.) It does not seem that it is too soon based on your information. It is also a great time to get a jump on the market. The closer we get to Spring, the more homes that will be on the market which will create more competition for sellers and this could water down prices even further. It is best to sell when you have the least amount of competition. There are very few buyers out there with all the new about the bad economy. Give yourself a fair chance to get good exposure! - Sun Mar 9 2008, 09:48

It's unethical for the listing agent to have the seller accept another offer within just hours of you verbally that you were accepting their counter offer. At the very least you should have been notified that an other offer had come in. BUT if they did accept an offer in writting before you got your acceptance to them you may not have a leg to stand on. A Faxed time stamp could be proof. - Sun Mar 9 2008, 09:40

I agree with the fact that you get what you pay for.

YOU ALSO ARE PAYING A "SUCCESS FEE"! Now where else do you get such a thing. Attorneys charge retainer fees, contractors charge you 30-50% down before they will begin work on your home. It's only in real estate that you pay a success fee. (By the way... that means that if this agent is unsuccessful, you pay nothing and he eats the time energy and hard money that he has invested.)

Another way to look at things is that it is taking almost twice as long today to successfully market homes. In a hot sellers market, agents were charging 5-7% all day long. ***I want to point out that the fee hasn't doubled. Agents are working on a thinner margin as it is.

I suspect that this agent is passing along a discount because you are buying a home from him too. But don't make assumptions, (ASK.)

I also see in your question that you specifically state that commission hasn't come up before this. IF it was an issue to you at all, why didn't you bring it up? In my opinion, if you didn't ever bring it up before (and you hired this agent verbally) that's rude. Now, your question makes it appear as if this agent is trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Remember... you get what you pay for an it is a success fee so you loose nothing if unsuccessful. - Sun Mar 9 2008, 09:31

Again... Does a seller really know what a buyer looks like? Because the sign could be the first clue that a home is being offered for sale, it is important.

If you are affraid of the home having the impression of a stale unsaleable listing what will you do to prevent that from happening in the computer systems? The fact is that when a home goes up for sale most sellers want total market exposure if they are really serious about selling. And again, how does nayone know where the buyer will come from? (Sign, internet seeker, an advertisement, an open house, another Realtor)

Only the seller themself can really answer the question as to weather or not a sign is really important. Again only 10% of buyers or so may come from a sign, but if a home that did not have a sign did not sell will the seller just wonder why or blame the agent? - Fri Nov 16 2007, 06:08