Just needed to share (house hunting venting!)

---

Posted by casg


Agents and brokers dont show homes to people that dont have a pre approval letter from a mortgage company showing them they are serious about buying a home they go over downpayments etc BEFORE looking at homes.

---

I'm not trying to get in on the debate here - I'm trying to use agents and not having a lot of success so far (keeping my fingers crossed though) but, just wanted to say that our agent showed us a house without having a pre-approval or pre-qualification letter. We told him we'd spoken to a mortgage broker but never said we were prequalified.

Kelly9904 - just wanted to say good luck. I am HATING this process myself right now.

---

Posted by oneday

but, just wanted to say that our agent showed us a house without having a pre-approval or pre-qualification letter. We told him we'd spoken to a mortgage broker but never said we were prequalified.

Kelly9904 - just wanted to say good luck. I am HATING this process myself right now.

---

We have worked with 3 agents so far and not once have they asked if we were pre approved! ONE asked if we were okay money wise, ie had the down payment and such.

Thanks One day! GOod Luck to you as well!
Where are you looking?

---

Posted by casg


just so you know NOT all agents are 60 years old.

There is a difference between brokers and agents..


Why do agents and brokers make 6 figures a year if its a usless field to work in.

ETA

Agents and brokers dont show homes to people that dont have a pre approval letter from a mortgage company showing them they are serious about buying a home they go over downpayments etc BEFORE looking at homes.

If agents and broker dont know more then then an average person about selling and buying homes why do you need to go to school pass 2 tests and maintain 22.5 hours of cont. ed every 2 years.

to become a broker there is more school and more tests.

WHY are there these laws if its SO simple

---

Clarification 1: I never said all agents were 60 yr old women. I was merely disputing the claim that its safer to use a broker or an agent because you never know what kind of criminal will walk into your home if you're trying to sell it on your own. What I am saying is that I won't feel any safer with a broker or an agent especially when so many of them are defenseless anyway (your point regarding statistics).

Clarification 2: I never said it was a useless field to be in - EVERY job out there is available because it's easier to have someone else do it for them. I paid $275 to a plumber to fix a couple of pipes. That may sound dumb to the person who knows all there is to know about pipes but to me it was worth it because I'd spend a week trying to figure out how to turn on a blowtorch (figuratively speaking). I myself am a tax accountant and people pay me good money to fill out a couple of forms and plug numbers into boxes. To me the job is easy but I don't expect it to be easy for everyone. Real Estate agents are needed by people who don't want to go through the process on their own and God bless them, they make a lot of money. I just don't think that going at it on your own is the same as having my wife perform surgery on me (your point regarding going at it on your own). By the way, I watched what the plumber did and next time a pipe bursts, I can save myself some money and do it on my own.

Clarification 3: I think other posts on here will justify my point that preapproval letters while they are probably standard operating procedure are not always used.

Clarification 4: I never said agents know as much as other people about homes. I said they know just as much about the potential home buyers as the sellers do. Meaning that the agents didn't run a credit check and a background history on me before they showed me a home belonging to their client - they just knew I wanted to buy a home. AND, with a multiple listing service, you can expect MANY agents and MANY homebuyers into your home, and they aren't from the agency you listed with.

Going at it on your own is not an easy task, and I never said it was, but sometimes you should look into it and realize it isn't as bad as you think. Afraid to go in a home alone? Bring a big strong guy or girl with you.

Edited to say that I side with Papabear on most, if not all, of his argument here..

where is the house? I can do a search for you internally and see whether or not it's truly off the market..

If it's NOT and they say that it is, that is illegal..

as for preapproval letters, WHAAAAAAT? they are NOT required to get a home or for you to be shown a home.. Are you kidding? Anyone can get a pre-qual or pre-approval at the snap of the fingers.. remember that oftentimes, brokers/agents and mort. brokers will work together (nothing wrong with that b.c it works to your advantage) and the reason why they go over downpayments and how much money the buyer has is bc it's routine and b/c they need to see what they have to work with..

It doesn't take rocket science to become a RE agent, trust me.. it takes the gift of gab and selling...the reason for the tests (which are easy) are b/c NYS Board of Realtors requires them.. they are pretty strict with their guidelines and they are trying to protect their arses..

as for the starter of this thread..

Good luck.. we've all been down that road.. Don't get disillusioned.. You will find a house and one that is right for you.. Sh!t happens, but it happens for a reason.. perhaps that house(s) in particular wasn't meant to be your house.

Not sure if it is still their policy but if you do business with Foxtons they do require a a pre-approval letter from a potential buyer before they will show you a house or take a bid.

since you all became real estate agents overnight

its not a easy job there are a lot of laws and PAPER and phones calls and meetings when we agents/brokers put a deal together its not all peaches. we have good educated negoticating skills that ALOT of people find a need for

selling homes is not just letting people in the house

do you go to a safety class to defend yourself or learn to pick a shady person out
well WE DO


when you brought that FSBO papabear did you get a grant for a first time home buyers ?

but like you said people pay you to do there taxes so you would understand and shouldnt be so judgmental

and agents are supposed to get a pre approval letter before showing homes at least i do and my mother in the business 30 years
does

but most of us shouldnt be on liweddings while at work or come late to work and shouldnt

but you still do it

For the record here, I actually have a RE license..

My MIL has been in the business, very well known in fact, for many, many years..

Perhaps, in your office, an agent is required to get a pre-app but it's certainly not a requirement for all offices..

Also, I'm assuming that the reason your office requires this much is b/c your office doesn't want to waste its time on buyers unless they are approved..

and you're right, it's DEF not easy.. you do need to hussle to make that sale and no deal is a done deal, until closing..

no deal is done till you have the cash and that check is cleared

anything could happen

---

Posted by casg

no deal is done till you have the cash and that check is cleared

anything could happen

---

AMEN!!!

Marcella thanks for the offer, honestly I never doubted that hte house was off the market, someone else on the thread made the comment!

When we first saw the house, the owner seemed like he didnt have it figured out! They didnt have a new house yet, nor had the started looking yet, they just knew the wanted bigger in teh same place! Then when I asked when they were lookign to move, he said well, anytime, we could move in with my parents! So I think they went on teh market to put out a feeler so to speak, now they are probably looking for a home and the RE agent said it will probably be back on the market in like April! (this is just my lil theory)

Thanks for the help! and all the words of encouragement! SOrry to have stated the great debate!

---

Posted by casg



when you brought that FSBO papabear did you get a grant for a first time home buyers ?

---

To be honest I looked into grants but it appeared to me that me and my fiance's combined income exceeded any threshold for qualification as did the purchase price for the home we wanted to get.

As for whether or not there are grants that do not need to meet certain income and home value criteria - i don't know about them.

Just because I do taxes doesn't mean that I would know all there is to know about first time home buyers grants. I don't even work on individual returns - there are many different types of tax returns asides from a 1040.

I'd like to hear what you have to say - I will post a new thread...