Real estate question

[digitaldeath]

best way to launder money is through cash real estate purchases


git some el hefe

[Danno]

I owe you for all of the NSFW work images you have posted over the years.

don't we all...

[char]

Commission implys you helped me sell/buy something, right? If the real estate agent had referred you to the listing then maybe negotiate a commision. Otherwise compensate them for their time and move on. No need to straight up hose the RE agent, but in this case it seems the services of a real estate lawyer would serve your purposes.

Yet another reason real estate commissions are dumb. Why not a flat rate for a certain time frame?

[concretejungle]

Commission implys you helped me sell/buy something, right? If the real estate agent had referred you to the listing then maybe negotiate a commision. Otherwise compensate them for their time and move on. No need to straight up hose the RE agent, but in this case it seems the services of a real estate lawyer would serve your purposes.

Yet another reason real estate commissions are dumb. Why not a flat rate for a certain time frame?

So more money the longer it takes them to find you a house? Great idea.

[Beaver]

I like my agent, not sure if he's the best but he is honest and has steered us away from more than a few houses that had issues. I've renoed and built a few houses so I'm not blind to shitty construction but he is a former local builder/contractor so he sees stuff pretty quick, he doesn't try to hide anything from us. I was surprised when we were looking at a house and he said, "You don't want this one." then proceeded to point out a cracked, slumping foundation that had been parged over to hide it.

[char]

So more money the longer it takes them to find you a house? Great idea.

Heh. Good point. But should agents be getting 5-7% on a sale that goes pending in a week?

Are they adding that much value to the transaction? I don't know the answer, but my experience is that they don't. There is a value, but it isn't 5k/100000. Suprised me how cheap title insurance and home inspection services are in comparison.

[liv2ski]

I'm moving out of the Kootenays to Vernon. I've been working with a RE agent he's shown us about 30 houses, it took us a while to figure out were we wanted to be, how much we needed to spend and what we wanted in a house. I recently found a private sale that looks promising.

What is the etiquette for buying a house after you've been using a RE agent but found it privately? Do I just blow him off and do the deal directly with the owner (with lawyers or notaries...) or do I get him to broker the deal?

I would try and get the guy paid if you liked him enough to look at 30 homes with him. Remember; “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”—Malcolm S. Forbes.

[Beaver]

He's going to go talk to the owners for me tomorrow.

[Snow Dog]

I'm moving out of the Kootenays to Vernon. I've been working with a RE agent he's shown us about 30 houses, it took us a while to figure out were we wanted to be, how much we needed to spend and what we wanted in a house. I recently found a private sale that looks promising.

What is the etiquette for buying a house after you've been using a RE agent but found it privately? Do I just blow him off and do the deal directly with the owner (with lawyers or notaries...) or do I get him to broker the deal?

If I liked the agent I would tell them and let him/her work a deal. Real Estate in BC is fraught with peril -- everything from old oil tanks to asbestos to funky construction. If you need a mortgage then the lack of an agent may raise a red flag.

When I was fixing up a place for resale I had some prospects lined up and the agent agreed to do the paperwork for $1,000 instead of a full commission.

A lot of FSBO are overpriced so you may be going back to the agent to keep looking.

Vernon's a nice area and a lot more central than the Kootenays.

[Tippster]

He's going to go talk to the owners for me tomorrow.

This is why I've always thought of you ass a stand-up dood. Right choice. That RE agent worked hard for you. Just because something fell in your lap doesn't change that fact.

You all healed up from the wreck?

[jfost]

...The lawyer / notary is the one who checks the title is clear & checks the contract etc, which is the more important bit.
...

ooooooohhh, don't you dare!

This one time, here, I said that lawyers were somehow involved in every real estate transaction and the whole place went up in flames.

Tough business.

[Huck_Schmuck]

I guess you know this but some recent sale info is available online for free in BC, enough to make an informed choice re price IMO.

Slowly I am thinking your opinion(s) poorly align with your choice of profession.

[Huck_Schmuck]

He's going to go talk to the owners for me tomorrow.

Good for you! Keep us posted as to how it pans out.

Vernon Summit this winter? I'm over due a trip "East."

[jfost]

Slowly I am thinking your opinion(s) poorly align with your choice of profession.

there's a bunch of legal advice online too though.

[sirbumpsalot]

This is likely one reason agents get such high commissions.....to make up for the "free" services they give to people like you.

I wouldn't worry about it....it happens all the time. You might give your agent a token gift and say you are sorry if you can't get them to broker this deal for a small fee.

[Bromontana]

He's going to go talk to the owners for me tomorrow.

Nice. If the owner is a raging asshole that won't deal w your broker, it's probably best you let him continue to be an asshole to other people and not you. If he's reasonable you can work with all parties to get a legit price, use your agent and inspector to mitigate some cost of the agent while making sure you don't get left with $X,000 in repairs/mandatory repairs in the short term.

Only way you lose on this approach is if the owner is realistic on price and the property condition is flawless, which is almost never the case. Gl-

[RootSkier]

This one time, here, I said that lawyers were somehow involved in every real estate transaction and the whole place went up in flames.

You are still wrong, because in many states, no lawyer ever sees any part of the vast majority of residential transactions.

Just sayin'.

[RootSkier]

Heh. Good point. But should agents be getting 5-7% on a sale that goes pending in a week?

I don't know, should they get MORE if the house is on the market for two years and they have to deal with a pain in the ass seller the entire time?

[el hefe]

Good for you! Keep us posted as to how it pans out.

Vernon Summit this winter? I'm over due a trip "East."

Sounds like a plan. I have lots of stashes!

[oftpiste]

The lack of understanding about why agents earn their money here is monumental. We don't get paid for 'finding' a house. If that were the case we'd be extinct with online info as available as it is. We get paid because we know how to navigate the process and get problems solved.

It's like lots of professions. Sure, I can remodel my own house but every time a problem comes up I have to figure out how to solve it (lots of time), go to the store and buy the right tools (time and money) and then do the work at my (slow and unprofessional) pace and I might fuck it up and have to start over, or cause a bigger problem. A tradesman has the skills, the tools and most of all the experience of having solved all kinds of problems I haven't.

Good on the OP for giving your agent a shot at it. that's the right thing to do.

[char]

I don't know, should they get MORE if the house is on the market for two years and they have to deal with a pain in the ass seller the entire time?

Sure, why not? If the seller is truely a pain in the ass. Would allow the RE agent to walk away with something for their time if they don't want to deal with the seller anymore. "For x rate we will list, show, etc for x time frame."

Seems market dependant. In a hot market with low inventory and bidding is a selling agent worth 12k in a 200,000 house that gets multiple offers in the first week? Maybe. Seems like a agent for the buyer is worth more in that environment with their ability to get early info on homes going for sale etc.

It's totally market dependent and I don't really understand why the commission seems to be the same in most markets. Maybe an RE agent can offer some insight.

[jamesp]

Slowly I am thinking your opinion(s) poorly align with your choice of profession.

Just pointing out that there is information available to buyers other than relying on what a RE agent might advise.

I'm cynical enough not to blindly trust RE agents that have inherent conflicts. An agent working on behalf of a buyer should be trying to reduce the price for the buyer, but it's also in the same agents interest for the sale to be a higher price (more commission for them).

[Kinnikinnick]

An agent working on behalf of a buyer should be trying to reduce the price for the buyer, but it's also in the same agents interest for the sale to be a higher price (more commission for them).

Your wild oversimplifications show that you don't know diddly about RE. In a hot market they'd be doing the buyer a disservice by trying to reduce the price when competing against other offers. How about creative structuring of offers and/or encouraging the buyer to consider other options other than the properties that are being wildly bid up because they have granite counter-tops and stainless steel appliances that they could put in themselves?

[jamesp]

Not sure about Vernon but the rest of interior BC is nothing close a hot market right now../

[el hefe]

It's been pretty solid here since the spring of 2014. 2 of my best years in 10 years at Remax.

Lakeshore has been quiet this summer compared to last but everything else doing very well. Prices aren't sky rocketing like 04-07 but sales volume way up.