Buying your first home in US. Headache or super fun time?

[Fandango 1,439]

Well...yes i am not familiar with the american way of buying real estate. You are correct, but the people, who were americans, were also not able to explain it to us so we understand it, as i already mentioned we are first time home buyers...so obviously we don't know a whole lot about this.

Now let me clarify, I am sorry, i stand corrected, we did put $1000 in ernest money, but we decided to withdraw the offer for a week, as we could not close untill april anyway, and the seller-bank wanted us to close in march, so that would buy us more time. So we decided to wait a week, then put another offer in. But in that week we came to the conclusion that our realtor is lying to us, and on top of that is not a very good negociator, so we decided to let her go.

We never signed a buyer's realtor contract with realtor A, but we put an offer in for a home with realtor A, and that entitles her to part of a comision in case we decide to get someone else for this job.

We were recomended another real estate agent, and we were very pleased with them, but when they called realtor A to tell her they are representing us, she told them they will be sued, if we end up buying this home, if she doesn't get part of the comision. I would guess our new realtors did not want to get involved in this, as they said their hands are tied when it comes to this house.

Realtor B IS the brocker, she owns the company, and the only other person working with her are the secretary and her son, so you can understand that after all that comotion we do not want to go back to her, or her son.

NOW....we want this house but no realtor would work with us because i'm sure no one wants to split the comission...

SO, knowing this, we have one choice but to work straight with the seller, negociate straight with the seller, and when we are ready to close we will hire a lawyer to review the contract to make sure everything is all right. I heard a lot of people hire a lawyer just for that one aspect. And that would be because we have no realtor to represent us.

Yes, you are right we could buy another home, but we love this one..

If we would have known that this will be the situation we would probably just stayed with this realtor A, but in the same time, i don't want to promote her lying, and misleding people. I hope she learned something from this experience and next time when she will try to play smart with first time home buyers she will think twice.

thank you guys for baring with me.

so you still think we should not get a lawyer? It's a shame lisa you are in florida, otherwise maybe you would take our case, as this part is the easiest...no need to see any homes, just negociate and sign the final contract:)

have a great sunday!

Aww ty! Yes, it is a shame, I would have loved to help you! It makes me mad to see agents adding more stress to people, not easing the stress and educating buyers to how the process works. I even have a whole workbook outlining the process that I give to the buyers I work with, so they can access it at anytime.

Two things I'm curious about - why realtor B even called realtor A. I suppose it might have to do with the laws in your state, although I can't clearly see the rationale for it. If you were NOT in contract, then there's really no duty for you to be forced to work with someone you don't like. To pursue this particular house, however, is a bit of a dodgy situation - since realtor A showed you the house, she is legitimately what's called 'procuring cause' for it.

if the offer is dead right now, where is your earnest money? Why hasn't the broker released it to you? Does she know how miserable you are at the thought of working with her? Is there NO compromise for her? Is there no compromise for you? Finding a home is kinda the easy part...the part you have in front of you is what I would say the hairy stuff...and I would NOTNOTNOT recommend you going it alone. There are going to be documents flying back and forth, and if you don't have a firm grasp on what they realy say, you could be getting yourself into a right mess. Let me put it this way: you NEED representation.

This situation is truly beyond my comprehension as far as where the law stands and whether she is owed a full commission just for showing you the home. I would actually go for a consult with an atty (providing it's free), or make amends with realtor A and let her earn her money. But trust is a big issue now - it's broken, and I don't see how forcing you to work with someone whom you don't trust would really be a good situation, either.

Would you be open to setting up a meeting with realtor A, telling her why you don't trust her, telling her that you are even contemplating putting in a complaint, and seeing whether she'd accept even just a referral fee for the deal? Realtor B could then give her a % of the comm, while helping you through the deal. But make no mistake about it - finding the house is not earning the full commission. There's a lot more to do.

[Krikit 1,163]

Yeesh. I have a headache just reading this. I agree with RJ and Lisa.... it sounds like things are being overly complicated. Silvana, if you truly want this house, you need to go after it. If it's such a good deal it's not going to wait for you until you are ready. The market isn't like that in NoVA.

Lisa: Speaking as a purchaser in both FL and VA, what you are saying about the laws and process in FL is also applicable in VA.

Edited February 14, 2011 by Krikit

[silvana.toma 15]

Ok, so i will make a long story short and make it as clear as i can, so maybe you can understand me better this way.

1. started looking at homes with realtor's A's help, (but never signed buyer's agreement with her).

2. found our home on our own, then we went to see it, we fall in love.

3. Realtor A made the first offer on this house on our behalf(put a $1000 in Ernest money)

4. the seller(it's a foreclosure, and the seller is NOT Realtor A) made a counteroffer to close in march

5. we can not close so early, so we told Realtor A to postponed the 2nd offer, to buy us some more time.

6. while waiting we discovered Realtor A is been lying to us(long story) and her negotiating skills were lousy.

7. told Realtor A she is fired

8. talked to Realtor B, explained the situation, Realtor B said they will have to call Realtor A to make sure she doesn't want part of the commission, as she can come back and sue them

9. Realtor A of course wants a commission

10 realtor B refuses to take the case as they do not want to share the commission

11. we are s##########

And NO, we are not buying a home we can not afford, that is why people don't have homes right now, and NO we are not "talked into" buying this home, we love this home and i feel like I'm talking the bank into getting me the best price for something that already has the best price...but that's just me- i want a bargain even on clearance items

We might not know the technicalities of real estate, but we are not idiots( we would still be with realto A if that would be the case)we know a good deal when we see it, and we just want to get it, but now it's a bit more difficult to do it BUT we will manage, i am a capricorn...very stubborn, we will find someone to help i'm sure, we just need to shop around a bit.

Against all odds, and head aches, we will get this home, for a great price too, if not hey..it's not the end of the world, we will just go back to realtor B(as they know what they are talking about) and go from there.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Is Realtor A by any chance the agent who listed the home? Is she the one who has the contract with the seller to sell the home?

[Ken y Leidys 20]

For me, it was stressful with all of the "Home Improvement" projects involved. Try to work together on all of your home projects. I pay $2450.00 per mo. here in Southern CA. Be sure you are working with a nice Loan Agent that is up front with all related fees and his/her fees charged for the transaction. Read over your mortgage agreement page-by-page, or ask what every page means before you sign. Treat it as an educational experience. Good luck!

[silvana.toma 15]

Is Realtor A by any chance the agent who listed the home? Is she the one who has the contract with the seller to sell the home?

No, realtor A is NOT the one who listed the home, we met the listing agent-is a guy, so i know for sure it's not her.

[juliava 80]

Silvana, if you truly want this house, you need to go after it. If it's such a good deal it's not going to wait for you until you are ready. The market isn't like that in NoVA.

oh,I agree here 100%!!!Silvana, you need to be very agressive if you want that home. Good luck!!!

ps: I'm a Capricorn too.

[silvana.toma 15]

oh,I agree here 100%!!!Silvana, you need to be very agressive if you want that home. Good luck!!!

ps: I'm a Capricorn too.

Thank you Iuliana for the support, I agree, We are going forward with this home. Today we just put a second offer on the home,(as there is another couple who just put an offer in today) and we used the listing agent.. so now he also represents us.

We did not sign a buyers agreement, he will only represent us for this particulare house, and i have to say he seems like a very genuine nice old man(he was a cop his entire life) and he explained to us every single detail of buying a home, without sugar coating us too much and now we get it, we finally get it!!!!

Are you are a capricorn too? yey!!!

[Darnell 8,478]

I still vote for 'super fun time'.

I picked up a commercial building 3 weeks ago, on 3 acres of land.

The owners wanted 4 months to 'move out', so we have nice sales contract on that, they're paying me a monthly lease

and waaaaaaaaaaay in the back, I've moved in 2 old Victorian Houses that were 'thrown away' by some other land owners, they gave them to me.

The asking price on the commercial property was about 1/6 of it's value, I got nice loan on 1/2 of it's value, having fun with the new cash. I like new cash, always.

The commercial property reminds me of 'What would it look like if Frank Lloyd Wright designed a commercial property?' Property prices in Irving are really depressed right now, but property values are NOT.

Sounds like yer having fun training up yer realtor !! Yay !

[silvana.toma 15]

Yesterday we signed the second offer on that house we liked. We had to use the listing agent. They wanted 2500 in Ernest money, but i said no, 1500 will be enough as we are first time home buyers.

Then last night the listing agent called us as there is another couple who put an offer on this home, and he wants our best offer, as today the seller will take both offers and compare them and either they will counteroffer one or accept one. Ha HA HAh...Yeah, like I said I might be first time homebuyer but I am not falling for sales traps that easy. So we said: Sorry we are firm on the 150k (the asking price is 154) and the seller pays 6k in closing costs, and if the other people will get it, then it wasnt' ment to be. This home requires us to spend at least 8k just for us to be able to move in it, and has almost no back yard, just a huge second story terrace; these are the 2 big downsides to this home....but again it's 154k...we got to sacrifice somehere.

The house stayed on the market for more than 6 months...chances are it's not going anywhere, and they should be happy to sell it to us 4k less than the asking price.

There is another home we like(exactly like this one, same exact everything)it was 194k 4 weeks ago, and 2 days ago i saw it listed for 177k, it's move in ready(yey...no painting walls and changing carpet), no need to spend any money on this one as everything is almost new....so if we don't get the home we put the offer in yesterday, we are free free free to get a realtor and start pursuing this other home.

Worst case scenario we wait some more, it doesn't look like the prices are going up anyway, on the contrary..they are going down as we speak.

[Fandango 1,439]

Yesterday we signed the second offer on that house we liked. We had to use the listing agent. They wanted 2500 in Ernest money, but i said no, 1500 will be enough as we are first time home buyers.

Then last night the listing agent called us as there is another couple who put an offer on this home, and he wants our best offer, as today the seller will take both offers and compare them and either they will counteroffer one or accept one. Ha HA HAh...Yeah, like I said I might be first time homebuyer but I am not falling for sales traps that easy. So we said: Sorry we are firm on the 150k (the asking price is 154) and the seller pays 6k in closing costs, and if the other people will get it, then it wasnt' ment to be. This home requires us to spend at least 8k just for us to be able to move in it, and has almost no back yard, just a huge second story terrace; these are the 2 big downsides to this home....but again it's 154k...we got to sacrifice somehere.

The house stayed on the market for more than 6 months...chances are it's not going anywhere, and they should be happy to sell it to us 4k less than the asking price.

There is another home we like(exactly like this one, same exact everything)it was 194k 4 weeks ago, and 2 days ago i saw it listed for 177k, it's move in ready(yey...no painting walls and changing carpet), no need to spend any money on this one as everything is almost new....so if we don't get the home we put the offer in yesterday, we are free free free to get a realtor and start pursuing this other home.

Worst case scenario we wait some more, it doesn't look like the prices are going up anyway, on the contrary..they are going down as we speak.

Earlier in this thread, I did explain that might happen. It's unlawful to lie to buyers to say there's another offer actually written if there's not. Sure, you can say 'there's other interest' but an actual offer? no. It might be lower than what you offered, but at the same time, if you want this house, it's a gamble.

Good luck!

[silvana.toma 15]

We do not want to offer more, as this home needs a lot of work...and the problem is we will have to do that before we even move in...i want to say about 8k of work...just to make it livable. So, if the other people(if it's even true) will get it so be it, there is another 2 homes just like that(one is short sale unfortunately) that we can pursue.

The reason why I am very suspicious about the "other couple who put an offer in" is because we talked to the listing agent on friday and on monday he called us to put the 2nd offer as there is someone else interested in this home...so it's a pretty big coincidence...but i'm not saying it's bogus...it could be true, but we will just have to take that risk.

I'll let you know as today he will let us know what the answer is.

[Fandango 1,439]

We do not want to offer more, as this home needs a lot of work...and the problem is we will have to do that before we even move in...i want to say about 8k of work...just to make it livable. So, if the other people(if it's even true) will get it so be it, there is another 2 homes just like that(one is short sale unfortunately) that we can pursue.

The reason why I am very suspicious about the "other couple who put an offer in" is because we talked to the listing agent on friday and on monday he called us to put the 2nd offer as there is someone else interested in this home...so it's a pretty big coincidence...but i'm not saying it's bogus...it could be true, but we will just have to take that risk.

I'll let you know as today he will let us know what the answer is.

Sometimes things happen like that, it's pretty funny. There's a saying in London iirc that you wait an hour for a bus, then 3 come by within 5 mins.

That's fine if you don't want to offer more. I was just saying if you were holding out based upon suspicion & principle, then it's best to think again. If that's your highest & best offer (I explained that earlier), then hopefully it'll work!

eta: if you need to do work to the house before making it livable, you need to be sure to check with your loan people to see if that's going to affect eligibility for whatever specific loan you get. (ie - no refrigerator, no flooring, major roof work, electrical issues, etc) Some loans won't lend the money if there's an issue with the home which makes it inhabitable. Again, check with your loan officer/mtg broker/etc.

Edited February 15, 2011 by Lisa C

[Darnell 8,478]

Mondays are super busy for Realtors - as they've had many conversations and showings over the weekend, and TODAY (Mondays) the banks are open.

[silvana.toma 15]

well...then wish us luck!

If we get this home I would invite all of you for a barbeque, but unfortunately no one is from virginia.