Why won't my Realtor give advice about what to offer on a house?

Question

my husband and i are first timers and this realtor we are working with was very upfront about how good she is at bargaining and getting good deals. But here we are narrowing down and putting in some offers and she wont give advice! she always says "whatever you want to offer". We know obviously its up to us but we want her professional opinion. I cant tell if its a legal thing why she wont help or if she just doesn't want to be responsible if our offer falls through. what's the deal?

Answer 1

Drop her and get a new Buyers' Agent. You are her boss and she is refusing to follow your instructions.

Answer 2

Remember this is a business to her,she is trying to take her money from your pocket, that is how those kinds of people think.

Remember its a buyers market, and everyone is out to save themselves money and or make money.

Good luck and remember when making your payments to make then a little more then the payment

Answer 3

Find a different realtor.  

Answer 4

She really should give you some advise. Did you get the 'comps' for the ones you made offers on from her?

She should at least come up with a suggestion to help you unless she is more interested in her commission and I don't see that being a huge factor. Maybe she just sees the two of you as 'easy' and not willing to put too much work into the purchase.

You may want to look around for another realtor  and switch companies. You need someone you can depend upon and trust.This is a HUGE undertaking and you need all the help you can get.  

Answer 5

It's improper for the agent to say it's a buy or sell at a specific price. The ultimate decision is yours. And everything is negotiable! Who pays closing costs, who pays for which fees, home warranty, etc.

Have the offers been getting rejected or ignored? Try the direct approach, " If you, (Ms/Mr. Agent), were interested in this place, what would be reasonable? What have other places sold for in this area?"

If a realtor tells you how good they are, get references to start. It may be an insult to get them now. If nothing happens in two months (or the end of your contract with them, shop for another realtor.

Answer 6

If the buyer's agent is also the seller's agent they legally can't give you advice on what to offer.  

If the agent is only the buyer's agent, they can give you some advise. It can include comps (showing you what similar properties in the area sold for) or show you similar houses for sale in that range.  Since the amount you offer would effect the size of your agent's paycheck they can't give advice on what to offer.  

I would suggest going on

http://www.realtor.com

You can search listings by zip code there and get an idea of what is reasonable.  

If you are set on someone telling you what to offer, you may try some type of real estate attorney (especially if it is for sale by owner) or a prepaid agent.  Those are not as common here but I know in places where the market is more aggressive they are used.  

I hope this is helpful and good luck in your search

  

Answer 7

You don't say what state you live in.

Here's the deal with realtors:  All realtors are expected to work on behalf of the SELLERS to obtain the best selling price.  The only exception is for a realtor who is working as a Buyer's Agent and has signed a contract with the buyers stating this.  Even a Buyer's Agent can run into a conflict, though - if the sellers listed their house with another realtor who works at the same realty firm as the Buyer's Agent, then both realtors and the firm itself have strictly defined responsibilities in order to prevent giving either the seller or the buyer an advantage in negotiations.

Your realtor can't tell you what you should offer.  That's the law in most states.  They can give you information on what other homes nearby have sold for.  They can help you find out if identical houses nearby have sold.  They can also go through the house and point out any problems they see that might have a bearing on what you would choose to offer.  But they can't tell you "This house is listed at $185,000 but I think you should offer $172,900."

Remember, unless she's on contract an a Buyer's Agent, she is obligated to help the sellers get the best possible selling price.  

Once you and your husband have decided on a price and made an offer, your agent may get to show her negotiating skills.  There are a million things they can do to help you once you've named a price you're willing to pay.