Mini Rant - agents pushing mo. payment vs purchase price

[Lynn McGeein]

OK. Another article, again, this weekend, entitled "Smiling all the way to Settlement" pushing the monthly payment versus buying it right. Quote: Don't get greedy: We all want to make a great buy, but ... a few thousand dollars one way or the other won't make a discernible difference ... another 10K on a 400K house amounts to an additional $50/mo ... what you might spend each year at Starbucks. End Quote. UGH.

Real estate agents should be banned from using this sales pitch. The average first-time home buyer listens to their advice, pays 10K more than they should for the home, and then cannot afford to sell later when they need to move for work or buy a bigger place as the agents then want at least 4% commission to sell, plus usually grantor's or transfer taxes, etc., and, in today's world, that 10K can mean the difference for them breaking even or coming to closing with cash or needing a short sale. When presented with that bright shiny promise of owning their own home, many will suspend their knowledge that buying right in the first place is key to avoiding problems later on. My son's realtor tried that garbage with him, too, and he had to push her to submit his lower offer, against her recommendation (and he probably would have caved if we weren't pushing him hard in the other direction). The owners jumped on his offer, accepting the same day. The agent acted surprised. UGH.

No wonder real estate agents are on the list of most disliked professions.