How do most of you handle getting comps from agents? What do you offer them? Most agents do want to work with me unless they are your agent.
Can’t really answer your question because I’m an agent, but I get questions from friends all the time asking about a particular property or they’re just curious about how much someone they knew paid for a property. I just go ahead and send them the info on the basis that maybe someday they’ll send me someone.
I’ve heard of a few agents that make you sign a buyer’s agent agreement, but there’s also lots of other agents out that that don’t do so. Any particular reason you don’t want an agent working for you? The biggest myth out there is that you can somehow get a property for a lower price if you use the listing agent instead of your own buyer’s agent and it’s really not true. The seller signs a contract with the listing agent and they get the full amount of the commission when they sell it themselves. It’s a bonus to the listing agent. Normally they would just split the commission with a buyer’s agent.
Bottom line is that if it’s listed in MLS, you should be working with a RE agent as a buyer, if it’s FSBO, then by all means, don’t sign a contract that makes you pay a commission when you buy.
Thanks henryinma. I see your point. If the listing agent gets the whole commission, Why not use a buyers agent and they can get paid too.
Hi DClark,
Are you planning to get an agent to sell the property?
let’s say in my case…when I will buy the properties to fix and then sell them the agent who will be working with me will get the listing so of course he has an incentive to give me properties and info.
Ang.
Yes, in most case I want an agent to sell the property. I have a meeting with an agent on Wednesday. I’ll see how it goes.
Hello,
Just an alternative idea, even though it may take a bit more work and time, is that every transfer is in the public record. Sometimes, especially when in a competitive and agressive market, and often if dealing with larger, more lucrative properties, you may not want other folks, even a real estate agent, to know what you are looking at and where you are looking. An example, a client is buying a parcel for $60,000. The parcel is really worth a conservative $300K, but probably much more. It was gifted to a religious organization back in the 70’s out of an estate and has sat in inventory since then. It sits in a very restricted and highly regulated area and has a 3 acre private man made lake on it. The lake is a stocked lake and is a very unique and valuable thing. What no one knows is that there are three over grown existing foundations on the property that pre-exist the regulation and consequently make it eligible for redevelopment under grandfathering clauses. You can build three 3500 sq ft + homes on this parcel that each would sell, for $800K+. Since the property has been given no attention since the 70’s and the entity that has it really has no knowledge of the foundations and believes it to be present us as vacant land forever, the property is extremely valuable and has gone under the radar during the recent real estate boom. This is not something you want to have a real state agent comp for you. This is something you need to verify your values without any attention to your efforts or you will create an instant bidding war that will be won by deep pocket developers.
Many transfers are published in the newspaper and you can access most newspapers on line. A quick map search will tell you the location and a quick view of the State GIS sites will alert you to any feature that may add or subtract value in comparison to your subject.
Also, don’t forget that your title company partner closes a lot of homes, they too can point you to those that sold recently. I would also scan the listings available on sites like www.realtor.com. You cannot use these as direct value indicators but by regularly scanning the available homes in your zip code you will become acquainted with what lingers and what does not. Note the price, location and nature of what lingers and it will give an indication of what is going on the market at what prices and how long it stays there. It will also help show what types of new construction is being built, give you the general room counts and squar footage that are more prevelant in your area and let you know if you have something skewed out of the ordinary. This info will not necessarily define the Fair Market Value but it will certainly define ranges and let you know when you are not there.