Is it possible to look at homes without going through a realtor?

[DesiPower]

Looking for a new home and don’t want to be tied down to any one realtor yet. I am not new to home buying, this will be my forth, there is nothing a realtor can tell me that I already do not know. For all three of my previous experiences, the realtors were not that knowledgeable and in many cases I provided them information that they did not have about stuff. This time I want to do it on my own especially because I do not have any time frame, I would like to move before the next school year, but no pressure. I might look at homes for 2 week and then disappear for 2 months... depending on my mood.

There are homes that I looked on Zillow and I am interested in taking a look at them. In Zillow at the very bottom there is a "Listing Provided by" and that probably lists the selling realtor. Can I contact them directly and ask to see the home? Anybody has any experience with doing or trying to do so?

 

[bignateyk]

Sure. And you're entitled to half the commission if you don't use a realtor as well. If the realtor won't let you look at the house, stop by sometime and let the sellers know their realtor is turning away possible buyers.

Also, a lot of times the sellers' realtor will have an "open house" that anybody can just show up to.

 

[DesiPower]

are you sure about the commission part? I though legally only realtors get the 3%...

 

[dank69]

Yeah the lockbox codes are usually pretty easy to figure out.

 

[bignateyk]

are you sure about the commission part? I though legally only realtors get the 3%...

"Legal" is whatever is in the contract.

 

[Thebobo]

Open houses

 

[Evadman]

*knock knock*

 

[OlafSicky]

Yes just knock on the front door or get their number. I think most people will let you walk through

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Yes just knock on the front door or get their number. I think most people will let you walk through

I wouldn't let you in if I was selling my home. You'd need a realtor, an appointment, and pre approval letter before stepping foot in my home.

 

[shabby]

In Zillow at the very bottom there is a "Listing Provided by" and that probably lists the selling realtor. Can I contact them directly and ask to see the home? Anybody has any experience with doing or trying to do so?

Yes you can do that, just call them and tell them you'd like to see the house.
Now when you actually want to buy the house is where it gets a bit tricky, normally if you'd have a realtor they would write up and offer and send it to the sellers realtor. Since you don't have one can possibly write up an offer, again not sure about this, or you can ask the sellers realtor to write one for your, however you'll need to pay them for this since they won't do it for free. This would be less than they'd normally charge if they were your realtor since they're not helping you find a house.

 

[BoberFett]

Sure. And you're entitled to half the commission if you don't use a realtor as well. If the realtor won't let you look at the house, stop by sometime and let the sellers know their realtor is turning away possible buyers.

Terrible.

First, you are not entitled to half the commission unless you're a licensed agent.

The sellers have a contract to sell at a certain commission to the listing agent. The listing agent agrees to split the commission with the buying agent.

When you don't bring your own realtor, the listing agent can certainly agree to modify their listing agreement to a lower percentage, but a lot of listing agents won't do that. What happens is some idiot walks in off the street without their own agent thinking they can do the transaction on their own. They then proceed to fuck things up in a variety of ways, causing lots of extra headaches that the seller may have avoided by choosing to sell to someone who isn't a dimwit. In addition, if they listing agent helps out the buyer in any way without a buyers contract, they may be violating state dual agency laws.

 

[lothar]

Using Realtors to buy used homes is okay IMO. I don't see a reason not to use one.

However, is there any need to use a Realtor for a new construction? Do the new construction builders pay your Realtor like sellers do? If you decide to do without a Realtor, will they take the price of the home down?

 

[shabby]

However, is there any need to use a Realtor for a new construction? Do the new construction builders pay your Realtor like sellers do? If you decide to do without a Realtor, will they take the price of the home down?

With new houses you basically go straight to the builder, they got their model homes set up, you pick a house you like, leave a deposit and wait till the closing date.

 

[DesiPower]

I will use realtor eventually, just dont want to use one right off the bat, want to do some scouting myself first. When you have a realtor, its not the same, there is always a pressure and obligation...

 

[purbeast0]

i just found houses that had open houses via redfin, and then went and saw them myself until i saw the one i liked. i also used redfin to tour me on some outside of open houses. and the guy that tours you isn't an agent or anything, he just takes people on tours. the guy who toured us used to be a contractor and in construction so he was helpful pointing out things too.

but we ended up getting the house we saw from going to an open house.

 

[fjmeat]

we had our house for sale last year. we had a handful knockers-on-the-door. We walked them through the house (but only after talking with them in the driveway first to get the feel of them to see if they were legit/safe)

 

[Dendra]

You do not need to use a realtor, though they want you to think you do. Commissions can be negotiable. When I was looking for homes without a realtor a few years ago, and I asked the seller's agent if I could get a cut in commission if I did not use a realtor myself, every single one of them said 'yes'. You might not get a 50-50 split, but you can negotiate, and you might save yourself a few thousand.

If you are buying a 'by owner' home or you do not want to use a realtor at all for the paperwork, you can hire a real estate attorney to help draw up the papers, including the offers, contingencies, etc. Realtors cannot give legal advice anyway, at least in my state. And you also can have the escrow company help walk you through the deal - they will tell you what you need to do next. Of course if the seller's agent won't give you a deal on the commision in the first place, there is no reason to not use an agent of your own choosing.

If you have natural savvy and know your area, you easily can buy a home without a realtor.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

We did that for almost 2 years. Called up the seller's agent and identified ourselves as a buyer and got appointments. Its only advised to do so if you know the ins and outs of the ways you can be screwed over though.

 

[jupiter57]

Holy Crap!
The outrageous lack of knowledge & basic common sense in this thread is astonishing!

 

[Wyndru]

I will use realtor eventually, just dont want to use one right off the bat, want to do some scouting myself first. When you have a realtor, its not the same, there is always a pressure and obligation...

Keep an eye out for open houses in your area, (posted in the newspaper). It will help you get a feel for what you can get within certain price ranges.

My agent was pretty patient. She let us know there was never any obligation, and my wife and I were pretty picky. It probably annoyed her, because we went almost a year looking at houses (usually 1 or 2 weeknights/month, each about 3 hours).

But that's what they get paid for. If you ever feel pressured while working with a real estate agent, just find another one. There is no shortage of them, that's for sure.

 

[gorcorps]

Yeah the lockbox codes are usually pretty easy to figure out.

They don't have combination lock boxes anymore, at least not around here. They have these electronic blue boxes that require this little electronic keypad to open. Each realtor has a keypad, and they get the code for that door from their system or the selling realtor. The keypads can be activated/deactivated remotely so only licensed realtors can enter. It also keeps track of who entered the house and when.

So, even if you're looking on your own you still need the selling realtor to let you in.