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Unfortantly often times listings agents for these types of properties already have buyers in hand and it can be hard to compete. A buyers agent can help you jump through all the (flaming) hoops when it comes to REO properties. Many of my clients become frustrated with the process, but buyes agents help you negoiate the best deal. Just remember that listing agents work for the seller.....
:)
Hang in there! Try looking into HUD homes as well.
Makes perfect sense - the bank took the "best" offer, the cash offer, the one that had the highest probability of closing. At least that's probably/perhaps what happened.
Being an unrepresented buyer will almost always be beneficial. How beneficial will vary quite a bit depending on a number of things, not the least of which is how on the up-and-up the listing agent is. At the end of the day, if everyone is playing by the rules, it shouldn't make any difference, but that would be ignoring the commision structure, and that's the primary motivator.
Dump the "buyers agent" and get close to the agents that are getting the listings from the banks. On the up-and-up or not, it will probably help.
The system is open to abuse. You are making an offer, and seeing only the agent. Not the seller. Seller's agent is calling your agent and telling that seller did not take the offer. And your agent is telling you the same sentence.
How can you be sure that seller's agent presented your offer to the seller?
On the other hand, 3% of 700K is 21K. If the agent present someone's offer who does not work with a buyers agent, probably gets 2 or 3% more commission. It depends on their agreement but at least gets some percent more. Even 1% is good money in today's market.
CL, OnePawUp - just remembered his handle, he's in SD, went through the same thing this past summer that you're going through now. I don't think he stops by anymore but you could look up his handle and message him to ask if he has any feedback. He was asking the same questions, had run into the same situations, but he did finally buy a property.
Do you note, the seller & buyer do party togather at their backyard ?
Cash is king right now. A cash offer will always get preference over an offer that will require a mortgage. The buyer's agent's commission, could have been an issue as well, however, typically when there is no buyer's agent, the listing agent gets both "sides" of the commission.
My friend's daughter just bought an REO for 90 cents on the dollar, paid cash, no mortgage, and was able to close in 7 days. They ignored other offers to accomodate her.
It is a very good possibility the buyer's agent commission may have been an additional factor. Even 2% on a $300K house is 6K more in the bank's pocket. Be patient, offer early and often, and move on as soon as your offer expires.
I strongly diasagree that cash is king right now in every case. As I have mentioned numerous times if you committ to getting a loan through the bank that owns the property there is a very good chance that you will compete just fine with cash buyers. If you're comfortable with the process and know what you want then going straight to the seller's agent can't hurt. If you want some consulting find a great local agent who can provide you with figures to help you and then just pay them a seperate consultation fee but do not have that person represent you. I have done this for many buyers agents. It's a win-win as I get paid a fair sum of money for putting together the figures and they get the added bonus of having those numbers but still telling the agent he can represent them too.
... and, it's free and anonymous
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Should we forgo a buyer agent all together???
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18 Via Monte, 91320
We tried to buy this short – failed.
We tried to buy this as an REO – made an offer the 1st day it was listed. We were told that same evening that 5 other offers had come in and at least 2 of them were for over the asking price which is more than we were willing to go.
I have been unable to find the final sale price of this house and today we met a REA very familiar with this area. She said the house went for $750 – less than what we had offered and *much* less than the asking price. She said it was a cash offer that closed in 10 days.
Does this make sense to all of you???
Just in case this is important – we have nothing to sell, have 20%+ sitting in the bank, have very good credit scores, secure established jobs, and were pre-approved for a loan. But I guess this doesn’t equate to a cash offer???
Oh – one more thing… We were also told that the people buying the house approached the listing agent without a buyers agent. I have a feeling this is really why it made a difference… I’m thinking that my husband and I should forgo a buyers agent ourselves if we want to pursue Shorts and/or REO’s
I just thought I would post all of this and see what you think.
Thank-you
CL
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