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May 6, 2009
buyers broker for...?
Me and my wife have been looking for a 2 family on our own, no broker. Now we found a place and were considering enlisting a broker to help us negotiate. Before you yell at me, hear me out: last time we made an offer and did the back and forth negotiating, I think I got the short end of the stick and ended up with a higher price than I should have been (we ended up not going through due to a poor inspection). Assuming I pay nothing for it, does it make any sense for me to enlist someone who knows how to play the game and the unwritten rules (i.e. between an insulting bid and a solid low offer)? Feel free to shoot me down, but I thought the added insight might be helpful- of course, in the end the final call is up to us, but maybe a knowledgeable go-between might be a good thing...? (Added note- the broker we were considering is a trusted family friend)
Comments
So the broker is doing this for free?? He/she won't get paid by the seller because he wasn't there initially.
I don't really understand how you expect a broker to negotiate a better deal. Get your terms together (inspection, lawyer's approval, mortgage contingency, etc) and make an offer below your absolute top price.
Presumably this broker/family friend has already advised you on all of this.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at May 6, 2009 7:58 AM
If you HAVE a broker, whom you trust, is a friend, and is doing it for free, where's the possible downside?
Unlike DIBS, I do think that if you're nervous (and have had one bad experience,) why not have a friendly person there on your side? It's stressful enough otherwise.
Posted by: cmu at May 6, 2009 8:26 AM
cmu, I agree that if they are nervous they should seek advice and have someone on their side. There is no downside to having someone who you know well do it for free. My point was more that if you bring a broker in after you've already established contact with the seller and his agents WITHOUT a broker initially, you can't bring one in later and expect fee sharing.
But yes, certainly seek all the advice you feel you need. If you're serious about buying a place, and it sounds like you are, get your attorney involved at the beginning of the process.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at May 6, 2009 8:47 AM
I see this over and over again on this thread about getting a lawyer. A lawyer does not advise regarding the value of a property. They protect your interests in the purchase or sale of the property contractually.
Posted by: broker at May 6, 2009 11:36 AM
Go ahead and make your offer. Put it in writing, and if, as you say, your low offer might be insulting, just explain how you came up with your figure. Chances are, if your logic is correct, they will counter offer. What can you lose? At worse you will have made them understand the property may not be as valuable as they think or wish, and they'll be better prepared to entertain low offers in the future.
Unless the broker is your mother, you can forget about anyone in the middle helping you. Brokers (like so many other people) work for themselves, for their commission.
Posted by: Ray at May 6, 2009 2:15 PM
I see this over and over again on this thread about getting a lawyer. A lawyer does not advise regarding the value of a property. They protect your interests in the purchase or sale of the property contractually.
Posted by: broker at May 6, 2009 11:36 AM
No but an attorney can advise the first time purchaser as to the finer points of what will and won't be included in a contract making the offer, along with its contingencies, stronger, sounder and more realistic.
Never take advice regarding a contract from a broker.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at May 6, 2009 3:22 PM
Listen to a good lawyer on the contract, but you are basically on your own when it comes to price and negotiation. Be tough. In this market, nothing is insulting to the seller. Believe me, I sold a property recently. Had a bunch of offers I was totally unwilling to accept, but found none of them insulting. Truth was, I was sort of happy someone was bidding something...
A serious seller does not consider an offer insulting - get that out of your head. He might consider it unacceptable and try to make you feel like he is insulted, but he is not insulted. I have never heard of someone lowballing and then coming back with a better and acceptable price, but being told that his better offer is unacceptable because the prior one was too insulting. Just doesn't happen - any broker who tells you otherwise is lying.
Posted by: CuriousGeorge at May 7, 2009 1:41 AM
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