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IM LOOKING FOR A TAKE OVER PAYMENT, OR OWNER FI. SITUATION. OR LEASE TO OWN. POOR CREDIT

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:13:00 GMT

LOOKING FOR 3+ BEDS AND 2+ BATHS, POOR CREDIT SITUATION THAT SHOULD BE FIXED IN ABOUT A YEAR. FAMILY OF 4 WITH 2 DOGS.

11 replies

We have credit scores of 636 & 638 we are both retired and would like to buy ,need help with down.

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:41:00 GMT

would like to buy again, we sold our home 4 years ago, we are looking in the 130,000 range so either one of us could make the payments if need be. we need help with down payment and closing costs how hard would it be for us or is there a chanch. income is 41,000 a year

1 reply

A few things I think I have learned about buying

Sun, 17 May 2009 21:52:00 GMT

1. If you look at it like an economist, I am probably paying both commissions.

Think about it, the seller needs a certain amount out of the sale to pay the mortgage, buy a new place, move, etc. How low that can be negotiated will probably be based upon net sale proceeds, not the actual sales price. So really, despite what is advertised, the buyer is paying both commissions in many cases. Especially in this market when (said in my Winston Churchill voice) "so many owe so much for so little."

2. The buyer/buying agent relationship doesn't make complete sense to me (maybe I still don't understand it).

If you assume that most people's business actions are at least partly driven by money, a buyer agent has limited incentive to act in the buyer's interest. The agent gets paid if we buy a house, they get paid more if a buyer overpays. While I am sure that there are many agents who would act in the owner's interest any way and wave them off houses that are clearly overpriced, it is interesting that there is no built-in incentive for them to do so.

3. If you bypass the "refusing to release you" agent and go to the broker (learned on this forum, big thank you), you can almost always get out of your buyers agreement.

We agreed to interview another agent working under the broker, but there is no obligation.

5 replies

Picking a buyers agent

Sat, 02 May 2009 20:32:00 GMT

Based on advice from many of you, we are admitting that we made a mistake when selecting our first agent. While they did a great job selling a friend's house, they have not been a good buyers agent. We only interviewed one agent and did not check references (except for our friend) so this is mostly our fault.

What do you look for in a buyers agent? Should their office be close to the area that you are looking in? Our current agent is 45 minutes away from where we are looking, it causes a big problem with scheduling. Is it reasonable to expect them to show you houses on the weekends as opposed to weekdays? Anything else?

17 replies