Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Hi, Everyone.
My husband and I just got married this past winter on February 15th. We have decided we want to look into buying a house. We are in no rush but if we find something nice and we can afford it, we figured why not go for it. The problem is I am not quite sure how to go about doing this. I don't really want to go through a real estate agency, because like I said we are in no rush and real estate people can definately be pushy. We don't really want to have to pay a real estate fee just to look for a house. I have been searching online but you only see so much and you again have to go through a real estate company when you see something you like. Is there anyway to get around this? I was hoping some of you who have already bought a house or are in the process of buying one would be some help. We would like to buy a house in Queens, more specifically Floral Park, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, or Rego Park. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

see below.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Since you don't want to go through real estate I suggest checking NY Newsday. You can also try Harmon Homes which you can get the local magazine in your local supermarket and they have homes in Queens. Also try mlsli.com which also list homes in Queens.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Maybe you can even drive around areas you are interested in during your free time. We did that when we were looking. That is kind of how we found ours. Newsday is probably another good idea. THat is how my parents sold their house a fews years back on their own. Good luck!

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

You can start off by going to open houses and homes that are for sale by owner. When you want to look at a home that is listed with a real estate agency then you will have to deal with a real estate agent. As a buyer you don't pay the real estate agent, the seller does. Some buyer's brokers (real estate agents that work with a buyer charge but not all do). Good luck. I think it is wise that you are starting to look without the rush to buy. You will get to find out what you do and don't like and you'll become more comfortable with the whole process. Keep us updated!

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

just wanted to tell you that you do not have to pay a real estate agent to LOOK at homes. The seller pays the real estate fee when they sell their home, at the closing. So you can give a few relators your info and what you are looking for and look at homes without paying a penny. I would tell them upfront that you will only purchase homes in a certain budget with certain specs.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Our house was listed in the NY Times Sunday paper. We bought it directly from the owner.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

There is also a website for homes that are sold by owner, it does not usually have a ton of homes to look at. the site is www.fsbo.com.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

here are some online resources:

MLS

Coldwell Banker

FSBO LI

Realtor.com

Harmon Homes

Help-U-Sell

I have more at home, I would need to look up the links

GOOD LUCK TO YOU, we've been searching for 2 months and haven't found anything (and it doesnt help that everything is sooooooo overpriced and that we are being extremely PICKY!!)

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Thanks for your help ladies. I don't know why I thought the buyer would have to pay a real estate fee. I guess it was because at one point a few years ago when me and my FH were looking for apartments, we had to pay the real estate a finders fee. I guess that only applies to apartments.
Anyway, thanks for all of your help. I will let you know how the house hunting goes.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

just wanted to let you know...Forest Hills is a great area...and the high school is among the best in the city

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Start by looking at open houses that are listed in the local Pennysavers for each area. You will get a good idea of what $XXX amount will buy you in each area. You will start to get a feel for what types of homes/setups you like/dislike.
(for instance MUST all bedrooms be upstairs, do you NEED a basement, do you care about the size of the kitchen). Its good to start going just to educate yourself and start 'window shopping' (of course dont tell them your 'just looking'. Ask as many questions as you can, write everything down in a little notebook as you go along.

GOOD LUCK !

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Unofficially, the buyer does pay the real estate fee because usually the price of the home will be more expensive so the seller can pay the realtor. And you're paying the homeowner who then turns around and pays the realtor.

If you're looking to buy a FSBO your best bet is to look through Newsday and go to some open houses. You just have to keep at it and devote your weekends to it. Look online at various websites that everyone posted just to get an idea of what interests you. That will help narrow down your search.

Good luck.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Hey girls, I'm a realtor in NJ, but if anyone has any questions, ask away!

If you don't use an agent, the only person you would be able to by a listed home from would be the listing agent...and that could get ugly, remember that the listing agent wants to get the highest price for the seller and (even though it isn't legal) some won't work as hard for you. These are the people that give us bad names!

If you don't use an agent and buy from a FSBO, make sure you know a lot of the laws regarding the transaction...get a really good real estate attorney....not any other kind.

Jenn - That's not true....homes aren't more expensive that are listed with realtors, if they were then they would never appraise for the market value and no one would be able to get mortgages. Also, I have never heard of a FSBO pricing their home under what they would be able to get for it if they listed it with a realtor.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree. I used to be a realtor myself and I don't mean to imply that they are highly overpriced, but the realtor will always tack on a couple of extra bucks so that the homeowner gets more money and they get paid. In my experiences FSBO's have sold a little bit less than a home that sold with a realtor. And since most homes are sold by realtors the appraisers will pull those comps and the prices will be higher.

But one thing I didn't point out that I would like to add is sometimes a FSBO can be dangerous because a homeowner really doesn't know what their house is worth. They hear what their neighbor sold their house for and they think hey my house is bigger and in better condition, I can get more money than they did. So sometimes you do wind up paying more money through a FSBO.

A very important question to ask whether it's through a realtor or a homeowner is 'How long has the home been on the market?' Especially in today's market with everything going so quickly. A home that's been on the market for a while is probably over priced.

Re: Buying a Home- Need some help in this area.

Have you considered hiring a buyers broker?