Baite and Switch

[Account Closed]

Hi there,

I am a novice and I am trying to get into the RE Business and become an owner occupant and landlord at the same time. I am having a hard time finding anyone to help me find a house and I don't understand why. Every house I have inquired about is sold or the agents want to show me something that is 3 times more than the property I've inquired about or went to see. In one case I was asked to get a co-signer in order to purchase a place that was 3 times more than the house I went to see about. There are many listings with this particular RE agency that I can afford but they are not interested in selling those homes to me. In some cases they turn me away instantly or want to show me co-ops or condos. My budget is $150K and I've been pre qualified for said amount by Wells Fargo, I have 5% to put down. I realize that finding a house for that amount in the NYC area is a challenge but I know its possible. I'll settle for a single family with a basement before I buying a co-op or a condo.

Any advice or anyone that is in a position to help me find a house so I can get my foot in the door in the real estate business.

Remaining hopeful!!

Sofia

[Wayne Brooks]

Sofia, your first step is finding an agent willing to work with you as a buyer's agent. You'll need to commit to working with just that agent, since they're trying to find a lower end property and that may take a while. The listings you see on Trulia, and all the other public sites, is full of out of date listings that are already under contract or sold. The local MLS is the only accurate one. Your agent can set up an automatic search that will send directly to you all the listings for whatever area and price you pick, as they get listed. You could tell your agent that you'll preview yourself whatever properties the system sends to you, before asking them to set up actual showings, if you want to become that "easy to work with" client.