Any one Talk to Sellers before making an offer?

[Chandra Venkat]

We are lookign at a multi-family property. It is owned by a builder/developer who happens to own the units. I am working through the Sellers agent. I feel it makes it easier in deals to talk to the actual sellers. In the past my deals went a lot smoother when I talked to the Seller directly, not worried too much about the commission etc, but more of asking the right questions and being able to feel comfortable about the property and the deal and found the Sellers walked away happy as well. Do others request to talk to the Sellers in such scenario? How do you position it to the Realtor? Just looking for ideas and thoughts about the process.

Thanks,

Chandra