Any advice on buying a house? (1 Viewer)

[Dre]

I know this is a broad question, but I do have some more specific questions...
My wife and I are moving to Nashville, because of a great career opportunity for her (goodbye NOLA). We found a neighborhood we like, and we are really looking into some specific houses...but this will be our first house. Her cousin is a real estate agent there, and she is helping us. Anyway...

Is there a general website that lets us see when a house went on the market, how much it was originally listed for, and what it sold for the last time?

And when you do decide to make an offer, on what do you base this? (e.g. Do you just cut like 7% off?)

And finally a question on the realtor. My friend is a law student and he says he just had a practice case in which he learned that the realtor is ethically (possibly legally, but I don't remember) required to provide the seller with all information that could be of benefit to them. Is this true? And is it true even if the realtor has not been hired by the seller? Regardless, even if our realtor is family, she still has a financial interest in our paying a high price for commission reasons. So should I be lying to our realtor about how much we are willing to spend (e.g. telling her our absolute limit is like $15000 less than it really is)?

Thanks!

 

[atceagle]

Not sure about Nashville, but it's generally a buyer's market right now. Your realtor should be able to provide you comparables (comps) in the area that have recently sold. This will give you an idea of what a particular house may be worth in the area. I'd also try to find out how new homes sales have been going in Nashville as well as existing home sales.

As far as how much to offer, you can base this on the comps, the amount of time it's been on the market, how fast you need to close, and ultimately what you are willing to pay for the property. I believe the market will allow you to offer a lower price than what is being asked. However, if the price was just lowered 20k or if the house has only been on the market for a month or two, don't plan on the seller coming down much more. Also, remember it's a negotiation. If your offer is too low, they may feel disrespected and not even come back with a counter. If they come back with a counter, feel free to counter their counter. Negotiate everything,,,asking price, closing costs, repairs, furniture, etc.

Here is the realtor code of ethics.
http://www.realtor.org/mempolweb.nsf/pages/code

TN Realtors
http://www.tarnet.com/main/contacts_and_links/useful_links/

 

[Dre]

Thanks. My wife is the boss hihi and spends most of the time with the realtor, but I just do not have confidence the realtor is really looking out for our best interests (and I certainly understand she needs to take care of herself).

I guess my realtor's real client would still be the seller, since I am not actually paying her, but she will be paid a commission (from the seller).

 

[SWJJ]

LIE to everyone.

Specifically about this and in general.

 

[rich70116]

rent for a year so you can get to know the area ++++ real estate prices are going to continue to go down

 

[Dre]

rent for a year so you can get to know the area ++++ real estate prices are going to continue to go down

do you really think so (again, this is coming from the guy who knows nothing about the subject)? I thought they supposedly hit rock bottom and there were signs they were going to creep back up.

 

[ok awesome]

It's different everywhere - real estate is going up here in Austin as well as in NOLA but continues to suffer elsewhere.

 

[rich70116]

do you really think so (again, this is coming from the guy who knows nothing about the subject)? I thought they supposedly hit rock bottom and there were signs they were going to creep back up.

Yes, this financial mess we are in is not going to magically disappear. A lot of people would like to think so, and it certainly helps if the general public believes, but anything short of a nosedive is largely due to internal manipulation within the financial and real estate markets.

If I were determined to buy now, I would buy property that needs attention in the best, long established area I could find. Live in it as is; don't put in more money into now, just wait. If the market goes back up, then put some money into it.

 

[DadsDream]

rent for a year so you can get to know the area ++++ real estate prices are going to continue to go down

Good suggestion. That's essentially what we did when we moved to Texas.

After setting up in a rent place, my wife and I scoured the Internet real estate listings and spent our weekends just driving around, finding houses and getting to know the area.

We kept a file on the houses we really liked. The price on one in particular kept dropping. We kept an eye on it and after a year we jumped on it.

 

[BigFrosty]

My advice is don't buy a house unless you plan on being there for 5 years or more. Really 10 if you ask me. It will really lock you down to that area.

 

[LKN H20Girl]

I know this is a broad question, but I do have some more specific questions...
My wife and I are moving to Nashville, because of a great career opportunity for her (goodbye NOLA). We found a neighborhood we like, and we are really looking into some specific houses...but this will be our first house. Her cousin is a real estate agent there, and she is helping us. Anyway...

Is there a general website that lets us see when a house went on the market, how much it was originally listed for, and what it sold for the last time?

And when you do decide to make an offer, on what do you base this? (e.g. Do you just cut like 7% off?)

And finally a question on the realtor. My friend is a law student and he says he just had a practice case in which he learned that the realtor is ethically (possibly legally, but I don't remember) required to provide the seller with all information that could be of benefit to them. Is this true? And is it true even if the realtor has not been hired by the seller? Regardless, even if our realtor is family, she still has a financial interest in our paying a high price for commission reasons. So should I be lying to our realtor about how much we are willing to spend (e.g. telling her our absolute limit is like $15000 less than it really is)?

Thanks!

Your realtor can tell you all of that information. However, the county Register of Deeds can tell you all the previous sales price of the home. The realtor can also give you the comps in the area.

Is your family member the listing agent for the house? If so, don't use her. The listing agent is working for the seller and trying to get the most money for the house and their fiduciary responsibilities are to the seller - anything you tell the listing agent will be used to help the seller.

You need to get a buyer's agent - preferably in a different firm/office than the seller's agent. That prevents dual agency and requires your agent to try to get you the best deal possible. That's when you can find out the comps and all that info you're wanting to know. They are required to work for your best interest and cannot disclose information to the seller's agent that wouldn't benefit you.

Having a buyer's agent does not impact your price of the home. The listing agency has already established the commission at listing and is paid by the seller. Typically, there's a 6% commission on the price of the home as set by the seller's agent's firm. 3% goes to the seller's agent (which is then split between the firm and the agent) and 3% goes to the buyer's agent (who splits with their firm).

You work with your agent to determine what offer to put in. Sometimes you can talk them into going lower than advised.

 

[LKN H20Girl]

Thanks. My wife is the boss hihi and spends most of the time with the realtor, but I just do not have confidence the realtor is really looking out for our best interests (and I certainly understand she needs to take care of herself).

I guess my realtor's real client would still be the seller, since I am not actually paying her, but she will be paid a commission (from the seller).

Just as you wouldn't have an attorney working on both sides of a case, don't have a realtor working on both sides of the deal.

 

[krazy9000]

http://170.190.30.53/WebproNashville/Default.asp?br=exp&vr=6

That's the Property Appraisal/Tax Assessment website for Davidson County (Nashville area). Just put in the address of whatever property you're looking at, and it'll give you a bunch of info on that property. My wife and I just bought a house here in Nashville (well Antioch), so if you have any questions about the area just feel free to ask!

 

[Dre]

My advice is don't buy a house unless you plan on being there for 5 years or more. Really 10 if you ask me. It will really lock you down to that area.

well we are there for at least 4, and we know New orleans is a bad situation for my wife's career.

 

[Dre]

Your realtor can tell you all of that information. However, the county Register of Deeds can tell you all the previous sales price of the home. The realtor can also give you the comps in the area.

Is your family member the listing agent for the house? If so, don't use her. The listing agent is working for the seller and trying to get the most money for the house and their fiduciary responsibilities are to the seller - anything you tell the listing agent will be used to help the seller.

You need to get a buyer's agent - preferably in a different firm/office than the seller's agent. That prevents dual agency and requires your agent to try to get you the best deal possible. That's when you can find out the comps and all that info you're wanting to know. They are required to work for your best interest and cannot disclose information to the seller's agent that wouldn't benefit you.

Having a buyer's agent does not impact your price of the home. The listing agency has already established the commission at listing and is paid by the seller. Typically, there's a 6% commission on the price of the home as set by the seller's agent's firm. 3% goes to the seller's agent (which is then split between the firm and the agent) and 3% goes to the buyer's agent (who splits with their firm).

You work with your agent to determine what offer to put in. Sometimes you can talk them into going lower than advised.

thanks. The realtor we have is NOT the one hired by the seller. But I think we are probably stuck with ours now, since she is technically family. But we aren't paying her a fee, and her money will come from commission; so other than the family bond, I don't see that she has a compelling interest in our well-being. So basically, we chose our agent because she is my wife's cousin, and she knows the Nashville area (we had no other ties to the city), but she is NOT hired by the seller.