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     | Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 09:44 am  ive been approved for a home loan. im short on the downpayment, but my mortgage lender says if i just have the seller put in 3-percent of the closing costs, ill have enough cash to move in. i dont understand. why would a seller want to lose 3 percent profit on his/her sell of the home. and, how is this kind of program allowable?
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| | Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 11:19 am The seller is NOT going to give up a 3% profit. If someone else makes an offer for the same price without the credit, and all other terms are equal, the seller is going to accept the OTHER offer. Do you have bidding wars on the homes in your price range? How is it allowable? Lenders make money when they make loans.
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| | Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 11:38 am i dont have a bidding war going on. i just dont have a lot to put down. Ive got the 5 percent part. i just dont have the 3-5 percent closing costs. so does that mean i need to make sure i try to buy a home where the seller wants to include closing costs, and if thats so, that sure does limit my home search, doesnt it?
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| | Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 12:40 pm You need to find a good buyer broker. I know that's easier said than done, but you just have to put in the hours and meet with agents/brokers until you find someone who you feel comfortable with. A good broker will provide you with a sample contract and explain it to you. You'll learn that it's totally irrelevant what the seller pays on your behalf, his only concern is his net, the check he gets at closing. Structuring a deal to make it work is a skill not that many real estate people have. You'd be a fool to look at houses and then pay the asking price. Depending on the area and the market, properties are routinely sold for up to 50% of the asking price. Even in sellers' markets you can pick up property below market value. It's work and your agent has to be willing to write a few offers. If you actually have your written loan APPROVAL, subject only to property appraisal and title insurance, and the closing cost credit condition and a competent buyer broker, you'll have no problem getting your house.
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| | Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 01:38 pm thanks its interesting that you say i can get a house for less than market value. the company i work for has a website that you can get tax appraisal values for any house in the county you select. my wife and i want to get in aneighborhood, and some of the homes are listed for 18-20 percent more than what the market valuation or tax valuation was. for instance, one house we want is listed for 239900. but the tax value is 200500. where would i start the negotiations. also, could i conceivably get the house for less than that/ one more thing: what exactly is a buyer broker and what would it cost to have one. how is a buyer broker different from the real estate agent who would work for the buyer. thax sport guy
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| | Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 05:19 pm You can get several appraisals for the same property and they can easily vary by 10 to 20%. The fair market value is what a property would sell for when it's properly marketed for about 90 days AT that time. You usually find that sales prices are LOWER in fall and winter because there are not a whole lot of buyers. You and your competition determine the value. If you're the only buyer and the seller HAS to sell, you can "steal" the property. That's what investors do. Many properties are NOT marketed well at all. They're not in the MLS and/or access is difficult, listing agents don't return calls, etc. etc. To establish the value you get the "comps" (comparable sales) from your agent. Look at all the sales in your target neighborhood(s), do drivebys to at least see them from the outside. The tax value doesn't matter at all. Look at the current listings (video tape or take pics if possible) and keep the MLS printout with the asking price. Then watch it sell, or sit with price reductions. Once it sells, your agent should be able to get you the TERMS. I.e. Seller carried financing, paid closing costs, etc. and you adjust the price accordingly. Most of my clients, including recent immigrants who barely spoke English, used to be as good or better at "pricing" homes as many agents after just a few months. Every now and then some sucker would pay way too much for one of our target properties and we'd all say "WHY did they pay so much?" Patience and persistence are the key to success. Sellers get anxious in summer, and by that time my buyers usually were ready to offer 20 to 30 day closings, writing offers was routine and we'd just present those offers till we got a taker. I've offended my share of sellers and their agents with low offers, only to watch them accept even LOWER offers a few months later. A buyer broker represents the BUYER only. There are several organizations for buyer brokers, and many agents are buyer brokers only for marketing purposes. Normally, a buyer broker will require that you sign a contract, and you have to pay only if you end up using ANOTHER agent to buy a home. His commission is paid by the seller. The laws on representation and disclosures are very important, although often ignored. Real estate laws and practices vary greatly by STATE and REGION. I'll look for my old page on selecting a real estate agent and put it back up. In the meantime you should read the BayHouse pages in the real estate and mortgage sections: commissions, auctions, mistakes, lease options ... it's ALL relevant to buying a house.
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| | Thursday, March 29, 2001 - 05:35 am wow, thanks i want to find someone who knows as much as you do. my wife and i are trying to buy in irving texas, zip code 75063. problem is, texas is a non-disclosure state, so i dont know what houses in that area sold for. how can i make sure i find someone who represents me that knows as much as you do.
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| | Thursday, April 05, 2001 - 04:43 pm I didn't forget about the agent page, even started to work on it, but it'll be a few more hours and I've just been SOOOO busy. how can i make sure i find someone who represents me that knows as much as you do. Well, you'll be lucky to find someone who knows their market and is SINCERELY looking out for YOUR interest. Go to open houses, call on advertised properties, and be honest. Tell them that you're looking for an agent to represent YOU and NOT the seller. Some agents may not be interested in buyer representation, some may refer you to a buyer broker (and get a nice referral fee.) It GREATLY helps if you got your pre-approval letter and you let them know that you're willing to sign a buyer broker agreement. Don't sign it though until you spent a few hours with the agent and feel comfortable. Ask questions, tell them that you don't know anything, let them talk, take notes. Verify what they tell you, after a while you'll be able to eliminate many agents very quickly because you'll know more than they do. You'll learn a lot about neighborhoods, local customs, real estate terms, values, builders, and of course other agents.
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