Lori Bartosh

"Think about it, once you find the “right house” you’ve already spent the vast portion of effort you will spend on that buyer. The sale may be nerve wracking, but nonetheless mere hours of total time," I wished this were true. We can show property for months spending hours and spending hundreds of dollars on gas without a guarantee of a paycheck. Once we find them a home we have to negotiate a sales price and try and get it accepted. If we do get it accepted we now spend time (at least in my area) explaining all the disclosures to and having the buyer sign them (which the seller might want us to provide). We explain the "escrow instructions to the buyer and have them signed. We remind them to hire the home inspector and schedule the appointment. We make sure we have the time to be at the inspection (which generally take upwards of 2 hours) so we see first hand what, if anything, is found. We can then explain it to the buyer and/or seller if they could not be there while the inspection was being done. We negotiate any repairs that the buyer may ask for. We make sure we stay in touch with the lender to make sure that the loan program is still available and make sure the appraisal is ordered. If the appraisal does not come in at the sales price we have to negotiate with the seller again. We make sure the buyer is getting their paperwork together and sent over to the lender in a timely manner. We give the buyers the names and numbers of all the utility companies and make sure that they order the utilities on. We stay in contact with the seller to make sure their paperwork is being filled out and sent in a timely manner. We keep the seller informed on the status of the loan. We make sure we are there to open the house if the seller can't be there to get inspections, repairs and the appraisal done....but most importantly we help the buyer stay calm and focused when and if a problem arises and guide them through to a successful closing. That does indeed take a bit longer than mere hours. Now the extra work you may be talking about would be to make sure that you (the seller) has the disclosures that are needed in the transaction. Make sure that you (the seller) gets your escrow instructions. Make sure that you (the seller) has someone there to let in the inspectors, repair men, appraisers etc. when you can't .... we will probably be asked to do those things that are usually done by the sellers agent and paid for by a commission that you are now not paying and will probably still do it with a smile. As far as looking out for both buyer and seller interests, the buyer or seller can always ask the office to bring in another agent but I believe that a good agent can watch out for both parties. We the agents also carry insurance in case someone wants to sue (which can happen in a real estate transaction). We are having to cover ourselves in case the buyer and possibly you, the seller, sue us because you or they felt we did not represent them in the best way. The other thing I see is that FSBOs are saving the selling side of the commission but the price has not come down the $20,000.00 that you are saving. You may be different than some of the FSBOs I have worked with. You may give the buyer the saved commission as a discount or do some very nice upgrades on your homes. I hope that is true. You get and fill out all your own disclosures. You know the purchase agreements so you can negotiate the offer and have the forms for a counter offer. You are there to unlock the door and let in the inspectors, appraisers and repair men. You are willing to do everything that your agent would do for you. I hope so. Yes there are 100% offices out there but you must understand that they make up for it in other ways such as charging for the desk, phone, phone calls, copies, forms, e/o insurance etc. That is what our split pays for. I also pay almost $400.00 a year for my license plus $90.00 a quarter. I pay about $125.00 a year for my keypad. I have to pay for the lock box. I also have to take classes to keep my license updated and to keep up with all the changes that take place in real estate. I don't always get the sale either. I could take a client out for a couple of months, not find anything that they like then they get a wild hair and go look at something with a sign call and make an offer on that one. I then do not get paid for all the previous work I have done and they say "oops sorry". If you want to sell the home on your own and pay a selling agent a commission "thank you" but please do your part also and take care of your end of the transaction. Please don't ask the selling agent to do your work for free. It is not the right thing to do. - Thu Apr 24 2008, 01:06

Call a local Realtor. Ask your friends, family and co-workers if they can refer you to someone that they have used and been happy with. The Realtor will know what the HOA fees are and what they cover. If they don't they will know who to ask. The Realtor can also show you other units in the complex. If you have not yet been qualified for a loan the Realtor will have a referral for you. Make sure you do this so if you want to make an offer on one of the units you have all your ducks in a row. You will also learn what your maximum purchase price is so that you do not waste your nor your Realtors time looking at units you can not afford. Make sure you know what your payment will be with your HOA fees, taxes and insurance (if needed) included. Make sure you understand what your down payment and closing costs will be. Walk around the complex a bit and talk to some of the people who live there. Go by the complex a few times at different hours and days to see what evenings and weekends are like. As far as waiting for the market to hit bottom....no one knows when that will be. We could be in the bottom right now. The one thing is that interest rates are low and if the rates start going up your payment will too. The biggest drops have all ready happened in the Inland Empire and we are starting to see prices stabilize. Sales have also risen this last month. It is certainly better to buy close to the bottom or at the bottom than when the prices start going up which is where we could be. No one knows what the bottom is or when it will be here so if you are looking to quit throwing your money away on rent now is the time to buy. Prices are low, interest rates are low, there is a lot of inventory to choose from.... now is the time to make the investment. - Wed Apr 23 2008, 23:15