Los Angeles Buyers, This Rant is for YOU!
September 29th, 2008 Categories: For Buyers
I have to rant a little, so please excuse me.
I just got off the phone with a very nice gentleman who thought he and his wife would buy a house without an agent and they entered escrow a couple of days ago. You know, he’s an attorney, they know the neighborhood, why would they need an agent?
Well, let me first off explain to you that what is going to follow is just not my opinion because I’m a real estate agent. I simply hate seeing people being taken for a ride. I also don’t like to see people get into trouble when it could have easily been avoided. I also don’t like to see folks with misinformation, hurting them in the long-run.
So here it goes…
First of all, they weren’t even planning on getting a physical inspection. Do you realize what a costly mistake this could be? This is the FIRST inspection you get. The second you get acceptance on an offer, book your physical inspection. And I hope you have a good inspector. Not all are created equal. And there are other inspections you should get after that. Don’t end there. This is a time that you would talk with your agent about what inspections they’d recommend. Each property will be different.
Second, if you don’t have a good agent negotiating on your behalf during the initial negotiations and then DURING the escrow, you are really shooting yourself in the foot. You may think that you’ve just saved a bunch of $$$ but how do you know that you didn’t just give it right back to the seller because you didn’t get the price you could have landed IF you had an agent? Do you realize that you should renegotiate during the inspections if something unexpected comes up? Well, you should. And if nothing unexpected comes up, you may be missing something.
Third, how did you even figure out the price to settle on? Did you look at home sales on AND off the market? In Los Angeles, many many homes sell off the market. I hope you’re factoring those into your sales price. Did you look at how the market has changed each year and work that into your sales price? How about your price per square foot? Did you go through the Property Profile? It really doesn’t matter what the seller is asking for their price. You must must must make sure you’re not overpaying, especially in this market.
Fourth, if you don’t have an agent, you may be told by the listing agent that you don’t need an agent. BEWARE!!!!! They know that you will NOT know what you should be doing- and that it’s probably going to be clear sailing for them because you won’t know what you don’t know (did that make sense?). They’ll make you sign disclosures to relieve them of any responsibility and then whatever you miss, well, it’s your fault since you chose to not have an agent. And I DON’T mean that you should work with the listing agent. That’s a whole other post.
Last (even though I really could go on and on), how about all the fees and closing costs that you’re going to be paying- agent or not? If you had a good agent, they could also negotiate those for you and get you some money back in your pocket. How about all the repair costs that are going to surface during your inspections? Again, your agent would be negotiating those costs down for you.
Real estate is a different ball game from any other business. Any fool can write an offer. There are about a hundred items that you would not know to cover unless you work in the business day after day. You only know all these things from dealing with countless situations with previous clients. Basically, if you don’t have someone watching your back, you’re flying blind on probably the most important purchase you’re ever going to make. If I was buying a property in an area outside my area of expertise, I would use an agent!!! They are that important.
OK, I’ve said my peace. Thanks for listening.
Noelle,
Thanks for hitting the proverbial nail on the head. Real estate has more twists and turns than a mountain creek and there is something new to learn at every point along the way. Keep saying your peace - it matters.
Michael
GWSleptHere.com