All Forum Posts by: Mark Hove

The short answer: it depends. But what your agent has said is not outside of the ordinary in the Triangle. You and your agent should be attentive during showings! Best of luck!

@Noah McPherson

Be organized and attentive. Review and know the sales contract so they don’t have to explain it to you over and over again. Be an easy buyer, don’t ask for little stuff that bogs down the transaction. Send referrals! Hope this helps

I can’t speak for all markets but I’m in Raleigh/Durham... inventory is lower than it was last year which means there are less homes active on the market and they sell quicker BUT the total sales volume per month has been HIGHER because of more transactions and higher prices. More commission to go around. Most agents I know are doing well. Buyers can be really tough. “Gotta list to last”

@Abraham Moreno-Riano

The triangle is a tough market!! Sellers market, hard to find a killer deal, especially on the MLS. Doing the legwork to find an off market deal is DEFINITELY worth your time. My wife and I are on our second househack. One duplex and one triplex under our belt! Be patient! Feel free to reach out, always enjoy talking about it.

@Ryan Hazelwood

I’m 24 years old. My wife and I own 2 properties, a duplex and a triplex. We are about to move from the duplex and into to the triplex. 5 “doors” and we live in 1 of those, rent out the other 4.

@Michael Lettieri

I can’t speak for every state but in NC when the seller signs a listing agreement, they agree to pay the listing firm a percentage, in your example it might be 5%. The agreement says IF a buyer agent from another firm brings the buyer, the listing firm will pay that buyer agents firm 2.5%. So if you have an agent, the agent gets paid. If you are unrepresented, the listing agent gets the whole 5%. There’s not an easy way to get around that.

If you want the savings on commissions for deals listed on the MLS, get your license and represent yourself. You could also hustle and contact sellers directly and get an off market deal ;)

As people have said, a good agent is worth every bit of their commission. To negotiate the terms, protect your interests, and preform proper due diligence on the property. Good luck!

@Bailey Kramer max out your Roth IRA. At your age, starting now (2020) vs starting in 2021 will likely be a 500k difference by age 60. After you've maxed out your Roth, see if you can buy a house!

I certainly don’t know the future but I’m not sure pending sales is the best way to measure all this. Here in Durham NC we had a county order that didn’t allow realtors to even SHOW a house for 3 weeks. Now realtors can only show vacant homes. Sellers aren’t wanting to list their home if they live in it for their own personal safety. Of course there are going to be less contracts written under these circumstances! Does all this mean a crash is coming? I don’t know, but I’d look at more data than just pending sales. Had a listing receive 10 offers last week and go over list price. Buyers and still buying... just a few more hoops to jump through during these crazy times ;)

@Adam O. My wife and I are currently in a duplex, living in one side and renting out the other. We just closed on a triplex a week ago and will be moving shortly, intending to keep the duplex and rent out both sides. Feel free to send me a direct message!

@Jonathan Woody Welcome! I live in Durham and work as a realtor and have a few rental units myself. My wife works at UNC so I’m pretty familiar with that neck of the woods. Happy to connect! Sorry your senior year got cut short!