babylove26
LIF Adult
Member since 8/10 987 total posts
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Re: Am I allowed to ask my realtor what I should bid?
You can ask but remember they are working off commission, so the higher price house you buy the more $$ they make. Look at comps and see what other houses in the neighborhood sold for. I would always bid lower because you just never know and the price never goes lower after an offer.
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Re: Am I allowed to ask my realtor what I should bid?
It depends on what type of relationship you've chosen to have with the agent you are working with. If you are in NY, this should have been discussed at the outset and you should have been asked to sign the NY State Disclosure Form, which sets forth who the agent is an agent of.
In a traditional relationship -- The agent is assisting you, the buyer, with your house hunt and purchase, but is still an agent of the seller and is ethically obligated to protect the interest of the seller. (Which is weird, because in most scenarios, the agent doesn't know the seller and has no relationship with the seller). In this scenario, the agent you are working with has to deal honestly and fairly with you, and can still be of great assistance to you, but more as a liaison and not as an advocate of your interests. In this scenario, the agent has a duty to try to get the highest price for the seller.
In a buyer brokerage relationship -- The agent is YOUR agent, working for you, the buyer. And his/her job is to protect your interests and try to get you the best deal on the house. Most often, this is an exclusive relationship where you commit to working exclusively with your agent for a period of time, essentially "hiring" them as your exclusive agent. (There's no exclusivity with the traditional relationship described above.) There are many, many benefits to having a buyer's agent on your side... YOU are the one bringing the money to the table, so you want an agent who will advocate on your behalf.
So if you are working with a agent in the traditional way, and he/she is not your buyer's agent, then no, they cannot really advise you on what to offer (other than full asking price) without breaching their duty to the seller. In fact, in this case, you should play your cards closer to your vest -- If you tell the agent, "I want to offer $400K but would be willing to go to $415K," the agent is supposed to let the seller know that you would go up to $415K when making the offer. There's no confidentiality.
If you are working with someone as a buyer's agent, then they can advise you on your offer strategy, going over comparable sales in the area and helping you figure out the market value. A buyer's agent's job is to get their client the best deal possible, and they have a duty of confidentiality with you. So in the above scenario, they have to fight to get your $400K offer accepted and cannot mention that you'd go to $415K. So you can speak more freely with your buyer's agent.
The relationship with your agent can change over time. Some of my clients have started out working with me in a traditional relationship, and then once we've gotten to know each other, have hired me as their exclusive buyer's agent. So it's not set in stone.
Not every agent does buyer's agency -- some don't understand it or aren't comfortable taking on the extra responsibilities to their buyers. So you should definitely talk to your agent about it, if you haven't already.
Good luck!
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