I have a dumb question about getting a real estate agent

Everything through Realtor.com connects you to a Buyer's agent. It'll be tough to contact the listing agent directly.

Just ask your buddy to represent you. You don't owe him a dime for the legwork and paperwork. The seller of the house pays the commissions to all agents involved in the transaction. Just buy your buddy a bottle of wine

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Tigerbait337

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This guy thinks he knows what it takes be a real estate agent

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For your first home purchase I would definitely get a buyer's agent.

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Cool, it actually has "buyers agent" on their card.

And this isn't really a "friend", more so a casual acquaintance I know through mutual friends. Honestly I haven't spoken to this person in probably 10 years, but I went to a good friend's birthday the other week and she was there and that's when the topic came up. I guess what I'm saying is that whatever happens in this thing it's not really going to put a strain on our "friendship".

We found ours by going to a couple of open houses until we found someone that we liked and asked them to show us more houses.

The only dumb question, is the one not asked!

Being that you are admitting to being new at the game, and don't know a lot, an agent is probably your best bet.

The problem with the contacting of a listing agent is this: They are representing the seller. So sure, they could sell you the house. But they are representing the seller, so in most states, the are also not allowed to represent you. That would be a conflict of interest.

You could represent yourself, but again, given your lack of experience, that might not be best for you at this time.

So what happens in my experience is that most of the time, the selling agent just won't return your call, or they will pass it off to someone else in the office, in the hopes they could be the buyer's agent.

The problem with many buyer's agent is that they will likely want you to sign a contract that indicates that ANY house you buy, whether they show it or not, they will get a commission. If you are buying a house listed by another agent, no problem. But if you want to buy a house FSBO, the seller may not want to pay any commission, and then you are on the hook for paying the buyer's agent (at least this is my understanding).

In the end I've never used an agent. I've bought two houses. First was new construction and I bought straight from the builder salesman. Second was FSBO, and I knew the seller, so we just hired an attorney and split the cost of it.

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Were you able to get a better deal in this situation because there was no agent to pay the commission so it went back to you and the builder?

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I felt I got a good deal, but I had a unique situation.

The house was built and the person who was supposed to buy it, it fell through, so it became an inventory house. The list cost, which was the original cost with no incentives, plus options, was $158K. The house was done and just sitting. Further, the builder was just about done in the neighborhood.

We negotiated and we ended up paying a price of $123K. In addition, we got 6% back in closing cost assistance, plus we got a $2,500 gift certificate to Gallery Furniture. The 6% assistance was enough to pay all closing costs including a full year of insurance and pre-paids for escrow, AND had enough cash to buy down the interest rate by a full half-percent. We were Katrina refugees so the FHA had a program where we could buy a house with no down payment needed. So I literally did not pay a dime at closing.

Would I have gotten a better or worse deal using an agent? Dunno. I was getting transferred there after the storm, I needed a house, he needed to sell a house, we viewed the house, opened, and completed negotations over the course of a weekend, and closed in 22 days.

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You don't need an agent at all. Use Zillow / Realtor.com / or your local MLS to find a place you like. When you're ready to see to see it call the listing agent.

If you absolutely feel the need to use one contact one you see on zillow. You can ask them questions and get them to show you properties. They will work for you for absolutely free. They will get paid by the listing broker of the property you buy.

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Worst advice right here.

You do not want want to call the listing agent, they have an established relationship with the seller already and will look out for their best interest. This is like using your spouse's divorce attorney because you know, it is cheaper than having two attorneys involved.

If your friend is an established and experienced agent that may be your best bet. But I would still read online reviews to see what others say about them as an agent.

I work with agents daily, some are good and some are horrible. Working with the wrong agent could cost you quite a bit of money.