All Forum Posts by: Lance Thibault

@Joe Splitrock I do agree that if you can find a good realtor and build a relationship with them, they can help you find good property deals before you even know they are there.  This particular case for me is likely going to be a one off scenario.  

I've been working with a realtor since December and I'd say he's been above average so far.  Having said that, I already mentioned the one property where I didn't get anything from him and yesterday I found another.  I waited till late morning today then I sent it to him.  A short time later I got a good response and shortly after that I got back neighborhood videos and more information.  Which is all helpful, but who knows if I ever would have gotten it if I didn't send him the property.  

You mentioned your agent getting into heated discussions with the sellers agent.  Did he/she do this without a prompt from you?  Asking because that would be awesome if they did, but my assumption is you had a conversation with your agent and they in-turn had a conversation with the sellers.  So I guess why not just have that same conversation directly with the seller or the sellers agent?  Why is it better if it comes from another agent?  I'm not trying to be argumentative; I genuinely don't understand.  

@David M. to your first couple statement; I'm learning as people reply and doing my best to reply accordingly.  

Regarding the ethics, I'm not asking the sellers agent to put their financial interest ahead of their client.  You keep reading more into what I've asked then what I've actually said.  I'm also not asking that they only show my offer or show my offer before another offer.  But if they present the facts of all offers, maybe me not having an agent and closing with cash gives me an advantage over other potential buyers.  Maybe the seller and realtor are friends or family.  If presented similar offers, maybe the seller opts for the one that allows his friend or family member to benefit more vs the other offer, given that the seller is getting similar results either way.  I don't know.  Maybe the seller will assume I can be taken advantage of without an agent and will opt to accept the offer over one presented by a buyers agent.  There are probably several others reasons that can be made that don't have anything to do with the selling agent having to violate the Realtor Code of Ethics.

If you were in a state that allowed it, would you turn down a cash buyer, with a good offer, without an agent that came to a property you were the agent for?  Or do you think you could be an ambassador for the profession and represent your client while presenting the facts of that offer, and if the seller accepted, also make sure the buyer knew what needed to be done to get to the closing on time?  I think you could do that without violating any laws or ethics standards.  Are you saying you couldn't do that?

@David M. Who said anyone was "unethical, unscrupulous"...I know I didn't, so don't say I did.  I also never asked the agent to put the commission first.  Your words, not mine.  The selling agent can provide all the info to their client.  Are you saying all closings that didn't involve a buyers agent are unethical?   If client accepts the offer the closes fast for them and happens to benefit the agent more then another offer, then it sounds like I gave the client the best deal.  

Talk to me about the post contract activities.  What actions do I need to consider post inspection and post appraisal?

Again, not saying I won't use an agent.  Trying to weigh the pros of using one against the potential pros of not using one.

@James Sutton I'm not saying I definitely won't use an agent. I've reached out to realtors about getting my foot in the door for off market property. I've expressed to them that I know I'm not going to be their first call since I'm from out of state and a new name to them, nor do I have some real impressive real estate related resume that I can provide them to help ease their mind about calling me. It's no surprise I have not gotten a call yet. I have not signed any kind of agreement, but I have an agent now that send me listed property. The problem is that listed property is moving fast when it's even remotely close to a decent CAP rate. I was going to make an offer on single family home that popped up. I hadn't gotten it from the realtor yet. It had a CAP rate of little over 8% which is not great, but better then the other properties I had analyzed. It went from listed to pending with in the day and I never did get anything from my realtor. This weekend there were 3 properties close to what I was looking for, but none of them have a CAP better then 4%. When I find something I want to put an offer on, my thinking is now I have cash to close and if I didn't use another realtor, I may get some leverage I didn't previously have in terms of speed to close and by providing both sides of the commission to the sellers agent. If I can run the numbers to make my offer, schedule an inspection and appraisal and maybe learn something in the processes, what is the downside to the added leverage? Or is there no added leverage by giving the full commission to the selling agent? It's not that I have a low opinion of the buyer agents,...it's that I have a general trust in people including the selling agent.

@James Sutton in this specific case there are not that many properties that meet my criteria, so scheduling is not an issue.  However, since I'm buying out of state the point about knowing the neighborhood is a valid one and something I'll have to consider.  Between a friend who lives close enough to the area that he can tell me where I definitely should not buy and what I can find out online it just seems like I can learn enough to make an informed decision.  It may not be perfect, but finding a realtor that gives me less then exceptional performance is also a risk.

@Jimmy Lin the selling agent getting both commissions is also what I was thinking about.  Glad to know you've done this and it did make a difference.

@Steve Vaughan there is no requirement but I should have said that I will also still get it appraised.  Thank you for brining that up.

@Steve Morris I do not have a specific property in mind yet.  My intent is to have the property inspected once I find something and also to pull the title info just to make sure there are not additional leans on the property.  I'm not sure what else I would need to do.  I'm not opposed to using a realtor, but I guess I thought they provided more use in a traditional mortgage purchase and not nearly as much use in a cash close.  I know the stacks of paperwork I've had to sign with closing with a mortgage purchase and I've seen the couple pieces of paperwork that were required at a cash closing.  Just looking for some insight either way what the realtor might provide or why having one may not be worth the added cost.

Hello,

I'm going to purchase in full my next property essentially with cash (HELOC funds already available).

If I find the property myself, what benefit does having a realtor on my side provide?

Thank you.

Incidentally, has anyone else come across verbiage like this when looking for financing recently? 

"Due to unprecedented market conditions, we have temporarily suspended accepting new applications for home equity loans and home equity lines of credit."

NFCU was the only place I saw it.