You Must Have A Realtor Present To View A House.
Love this, LOVE! Mainly because I have experienced this recently quite frequently & know this is the potential buyers intent 9 times out of 10. Enjoy!
Last week a buyer called my phone and asked if she could make an appointment to view one of my listings. With 20 minutes notice it was all but impossible. When I tried to reschedule her for a different time she let me know that she would not be working with a real estate agent and that she also didn't want me showing her the house.
Let's recap because I was confused too.
Buyer X want's to view my listing, but doesn't have an agent. She also doesn't want "or need one." Additionally, she wants to view the home herself without my involvement.
That's like going into a restaurant and then demanding to prepare the food yourself.
There's not one home seller on the Houston MLS that isn't represented by a Realtor. Not a single one. At anytime there are over 45k listings on HAR.com. Each seller has an agent that represents them. If you want to see the home the listing agent has to let you in and they also have to be present when you view the home. If you don't want to work with a Realtor that's your choice, but you will have to interact with them, answer their questions & demonstrate an ability to purchase.
You can do these things without being represented by the listing agent, but why you'd want to defy the process when it gains you nothing is senseless. It's in a buyer's best interest to have an agent. Even a real estate attorney would be better served by allowing himself to be "represented" by the listing agent. It's not a matter of "giving in" or not being able negotiate. It's just easier on the paperwork and the overall process. At the end of the day the terms, price and set of conditions are all negotiable. Let's work together, not against each other. Buying and selling is not like a lawsuit where there's sides who are adversarial in nature looking to "win" or conquer the other side.
Most of the documents for a real estate transaction can be downloaded for public use, but should be used carefully and with the help of an experienced agent.
And despite what you might think, you won't get a better deal or better price if you don't have an agent. Even new builders are waiving this incentive. The listing brokerage still retains the entire commission. That said, it's wise of you to get an agent or be specific about your negotiations if you agree to let the sellers agent represent you. Agents in Texas cannot provide concessions (from their commissions) unless they are directly to their principals (clients) and even then, it must be disclosed in an intermediary transaction. So, if you can figure that out, then you've got yourself an opportunity to be an even smarter buyer than before you read this post.
Greg Nino, Houston area Realtor®.
Helping residential buyers, sellers and tenants 7 days a week.
Available @ 832-298-8555RE/MAX Compass (Formerly RE/MAX WHP)
The information contained in this blog is believed to be reliable and while every effort is made to assure that the information is as accurate as possible, the author of this blog, and its comments disclaim any implied warranty or representation about it's accuracy, completeness or appropriateness for any particular purpose. All information is copywritten and the property of Greg Nino.
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