r/AskRealEstateAgents

Hello!

Potential first-time home buyer here who's placed a bid and completed the inspection on my (hopefully) home. I'm getting very confused about a few things I hope some here can advise me.

The sellers listed for 300K, I bid 295 at my agent's advice and asked 3% towards closing, and they counted with 305K for the house and agreed to the 3% towards closing. My agent said this seemed good and we moved on to the inspection.

The house is 90 years old (and super cute!) but obviously has some issues. I assumed we began the negotiating stage for repairs, but since the sellers (say) they have no more money, my agent says we skip this step because any repairs we ask them to make, they'll have to take from the money they contribute towards closing costs. So I either get $9,150 towards closing costs, or, if I ask for them to repair something for 2K, they spend the 2K on the repair and I get $7,150 towards closing.

Based on research I've done on the internet and one friend's advice, I thought we could now negotiate a lower sales price. I asked my agent directly if we should try to negotiate the lower sales price, and her response seems odd to me.

Here's what she said:

I would suggest keeping the 3% and having these things done after since you will be paying for it either way but at least you will get to choose who does it. This would be the same in asking for a lower sales price, their bottom line is the same. The current terms have them paying $5K in closing costs, they would not be able to lower the price unless we took off the full amount of closing costs so they would be able to repairs and what repairs would be dependent on the cost.

I'm very confused about how their bottom line is the same, and why I can't ask them to lower the price if there are some potential big electrical, roofing (this old house has a slate roof!), and plumbing (also has some original plumbing!)

I do get that the sellers might not be able to afford to sell this house at a certain point/price, but doesn't it seem smart to try to negotiate some? Like even to get them to go back to the 300K asking price?

Am I missing something? Does anyone have any insight or experience they could share with me to better understand this?

Thanks so much for your time and advice!

Ok so I am an habitual felon, I’ve been working to change my life over the past year. Will this stop me from getting sponsored by a broker? What all do they look at when they do the background check? I have maintained sobriety, a job, almost have my 90 hour pre license course complete, and I have graduated from Ivy tech within the last year.

Selling my house - first two weeks got offer for 780 contingent and one for 775 non contingent. They got cold feel after the inspection. Now I got an offer for 743- I’m listed at 750 and this was their list. It’s a 25 year old home in a low cost but highly desirable (top 10 in America) city

What do you guys think I should do. I went with a young kid Relator and I regret it but I wonder if switching is a bad idea bc I’m under contract already with another home he helped me find

How do I negotiate this inspection they gave me.
Remove and repaint areas of peeling paint on the exterior.
Repair rotted wood at casing at the front door.
Repair settlement of front & rear steps to proper height. kepal negauve araling m paulo area
Repair/Remove dead tree in the backyard.
Drip leg to be installed in main gas line before the regulator at the manifold.
Install combustion air venting in utility room.
Move neutral wire to neutral bar on main panel.
Tighten/repair receptacle to the right of the kitchen sink & washing machine.
Create GFCI receptacles at laundry room & four gang receptacle between garage doors.
Secure dishasher to cabinet, kitchen sink, kitchen faucet,
Repair leaking drain line in kitchen
Have a 2 inch clearance from the siding to the roof.
Remove and repaint areas of peeling paint on the exterior.
Repair rotted wood at casing at the front door.
Repair settlement of front & rear steps to proper height.
Repair negative draining in patio area.
Repair/Remove dead tree in the backyard.
Drip leg to be installed in main gas line before the regulator at the manifold.
Install combustion air venting in utility room.
Move neutral wire to neutral bar on main panel.
Tighten/repair receptacle to the right of the kitchen sink & washing machine.
Create GFCI receptacles at laundry room & four gang receptacle between garage doors.
Secure dishasher to cabinet, kitchen sink, kitchen faucet,
Repair leaking drain line in kitchen

How do people typically handle the gap in valid residential address for driver’s license and vehicle registration during a relocation if their house sells earlier than expected?

For example, I plan to move from Virginia to the Midwest and list my Virginia home about 5–6 weeks before my fixed relocation date. If the house sells earlier than planned, I would stay in a nearby hotel rather than renting it back. In that case, is it acceptable to keep my driver’s license and vehicle registration temporarily(quietly) linked to the old address for 2–3 weeks after the sale, even though I no longer own the house (not live in the house)? At what point is it required to update DMV records after the property is sold? I may not have a valid address for 2-3 weeks, only hotel room.

A good friend of mine recently changed career paths and became a real estate agent this past year. She's been inviting me to their quarterly client appreciation events, but I'm not a client of the brokerage group shes employed with so I'm a bit confused?

So far they've had a Sunday happy hour at a brewery, a lunch and learn of sorts, and the next event is a suite at the Rockies game (CO based) - which actually sounds fun. I haven't been able to attend anything yet because my husband and I travel a lot for work making our schedule fairly unpredictable unless we're on actual PTO.

For background, I bought my house back in 2020 with some family inheritance that fortunately set me up to invest in a slightly nicer home than I'd expect with my salary. I've been working on some big upgrades over the years that's increased the value as well.

That being said, my friend has me in their system so they know where I live and the estimated value of my home. I don't plan on selling until I retire in 25 years, you'll have to pry me from the house to go through the painful moving process again.

My friend knows I don't plan on moving any time soon but I have this odd feeling that the only reason I'm invited is so her coworkers could mingle about selling and using them as the listing agent.

Maybe I'm just cynical, but the agent I worked with back in 2020 only has annual holiday client appreciation events that I've been invited to every December which seems more reasonable since I am their client.

Is it typical for real estate agents to invite friends to their client appreciation events? Something just feels off

My friend sold his land rights through an agent. Initially, he told the agent that he only needed ₱200k from the sale. When he later found out that the agent had sold the rights for ₱320k, he insisted that he should receive ₱210k instead.

The buyer paid a ₱50kdown payment, from which my friend received ₱30k. The remaining balance will be paid by the buyer at ₱15k per month for 18 months. The problem is that the agent insists on taking ₱5k from every monthly payment immediately. My friend proposed that he should first receive the full ₱210k that he expected from the sale, and only after that should the agent receive the rest of her commission. The agent refused.

Another concern is that during the first monthly payment, the agent didn't even attend the meet-up and simply asked my friend to send her ₱5k afterward. My friend and the buyer had to prepare and sign their own acknowledgment receipt.

There was no written agreement regarding the agent's commission or how the payments would be divided—everything was agreed upon verbally.

Can the agent legally insist on taking part of every payment despite there being no written agreement? Would it be reasonable for my friend to refuse to remit any more commission until he has received the full ₱210k, or even demand a larger share now given the circumstances? We'd appreciate any legal or practical advice. Thank you very much.

No buildings or utilities, just 3 acres of land. Looking to sell to family member. Curious to what all would be involved. Never sold land before.

Hey I am in BC lower mainland, looking to sell next year. Trying to achieve the best value in regards to selling fees when selling my place - wonder if anyone has this success with this scenario.

If paying for the marketing/staging upfront ( photos, video, staging, virtual walk through, floor plan etc) how much can I realistically negotiate off the selling agent fee? Basically looking to create a turn key listing for my selling agent, as everything would be payed upfront on the marketing side there’s very little risk on their end if we end up getting nothing but low ball offers. Keep it the market rate obviously for the buyers agent.

Hey everyone,

I am doing some market research for a real estate services concept and need some insight into industry etiquette, MLS compliance, and listing agent sentiment.

My Questions for Listing Agents:

1. If an independent runner contacts you stating they are a paid proxy videographer for an interested buyer, what is your immediate reaction? Do you grant them access for a private showing, or do you flat-out refuse due to liability/lockbox rules?
2. If they bypass private showings entirely and only operate during your scheduled Public Open Houses, do you still have an issue with them taking detailed video of the layout and mechanicals for a commercial client?
3. Is there a specific line this service would cross that would make you instantly refuse access to a runner on your listings?

Trying to understand the gatekeeper friction - I know that there are a lot of real estate investors that can't get to every property (whether due to their schedules or their agent's schedules), and I assume a listing agent would welcome as many eyes on their listing as possible.

Would love feedback.

Hi community, My name is Graham and I am trying to gain some insight for my new app. I was wondering what processes commercial real estate agents would like automated to improve their workflow. If you have any suggestions please leave below.

Best Graham
Realmation

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In Florida

I am doing a short sell with Truist bank because we were facing foreclosure. But we learned we can apply for another loan modification..we already submitted the loan remodification to the bank. It is currently in review. The rep said they usually will approve.

My agent however after learning we decided to do loan modification and want to keep the house. Is still insisting showings and updated her online postings to "highest offer by this coming Tuesday"

She does this after the fact we told her we want to pause everything until I get a answer from the bank about loan modification. And if it's denies I'll appeal etc. but the agent keeps acting well if you get denied you can short sale. I would try to fight to keep home with lawyer at that point then.

I am wondering is the agent has my best interests? Is she trying to submit offers to bank so they don't look twice at my loan remodification?

When I tried to cancel the short sale earlier this week she told me fathom realty which is her broker, I'll owe 11,000 but she got them to lower it to 7,000.

So I said pause everything until I hear about my loan modification then but that's when she started insisting on more showings and added that best offer online by date.

Is this legal? Will it affect my changes of loan modification? I keep reading online you can't do both. I have two babies at home that she keeps making us leave for showings. And we want to keep house. My loan modification is currently still in review

Also it's a short sell so bank has to approve any sales too. But I real online it can't co occur . But we definitely can apply for loan remodification

The contract says a cancellation fee of 1,500 and it also says compensation of 6 percent house value of they find a able and willing buyer . But the bank has to approve all potential buyers due to short sale

For context, I’m an agent selling high-end condos and penthouses, and I’m realizing my current business cards look way too generic. Handing a thin, cheap-feeling card to someone looking at a multi-million-dollar property just feels completely wrong and just ruins the first impression.

I want to completely redesign them so they actually feel premium and stand out. For those of you dealing with luxury clients, what makes realtor business cards look luxurious to you? Is it better to go with super thick paper, a matte texture, or some subtle metallic foil? I just want something clean and high-end that a buyer will actually keep instead of tossing out.

Please suggest any printers that do really nice personalized and premium cards, thanks a lot!

so the house next to ours is vacant. yesterday, a guy on a walk with his two dogs walked up to the backyard gate and just walked into the backyard. there is a small gap in the fence and his pitbull stuck his head through and my Australian shephard went and they both got into it. the pitbull ripped the gap wider (we presume) and my dog went through to the other side while my puppy stayed in our yard and cried for us. I wasn’t home but my partner was and eventually checked it out (he thought it was our dogs barking at the neighborhood cats as usual). anyway it took a while to break the fights up, and my dog has 4 punctures and one of them is clearly infected and leaking pus so we have to take him to the vet. I called the company and complained about them leaving the property open, even threatening to lock it up myself. Can they be held liable and pay us back for these fees?

This will be my first time selling a house. Is it okay to keep a set of keys after I've moved out and leave everything to listing agent?

I'll be relocating about 12 hours away, so if the house takes a while to sell and close, I may want to drive back on some weekends to check on the property, pick up any mail if not forwarded, or make sure everything is okay. I don't feel comfortable leaving the house unattended for an extended period.

If the house sells and closes quickly, I may never need to return. In that case, I can either dispose of my keys or mail them to the buyer at closing if needed. Is this a common practice, or should all keys be turned over to the agent before I move?

Context: I'd like to optimize the cost of selling our house a bit. We've found a new house that we're ready to put an offer on and with how much time we've spend researching house purchase I feel like we could do fine representing ourselves. However, developers don't do discounts if you're not using buyer's agent. My though process is this:
- Get an agent to be our buying agent - easy money. We've already done our research. Just need to close.

- In exchange we'd like them to be our selling agent and wave or significantly reduce their fee.

In other words, do you see it possible for me to pay all or most of selling fee with offering "easy way to earn buyer's commission" on a more expensive house? Has anyone done that?

I am looking to invest in a multifamily property for the first time and I am having an issue getting my foot in the door. A lot of sellers do not want to sell to me because I am coming with an FHA loan and in addition to that I would also need a couple grand in concessions. I keep getting my offers rejected and in some cases I am offering way more than what they are asking for. Pessimism is creeping up and I feel like no one will want to sell to me. Am I valid in feeling this way or is this just the way it is starting out? Also is there something I can do (or ask for) to make my offer more appealing to sellers?

Let me start by stating this was in the US, and I am a first time home buyer with ZERO real estate experience.

This week was inspection week. I had my general inspection which brought up i should bring in a structural engineer and or foundation repair to inspect the foundations on the home i was under contract to buy. It had previous crack epoxied and bracing done but had some additional unaddressed cracking and an exterior wall with lateral shift.

I requested both a engineer and foundation repair be scheduled, i had my agent schedule all inspection as I am a first time buyer and thought they would know better who to schedule.

Come the day of inspection they were to both be there at the same time, 2 hrs before appointment I get a txt from the engineer stating they are on the way and will be there 1.5hrs early. When I arrive My agent isn't there have had no communication from them all day outside of telling me when the inspection was to take place that day. The sellers agent shows up and proceeds to follow us through the house. Inspection is completed and I leave as I cannot stay for the 2nd inspection. Agent reaches out to me she is starting to fill out the resolutions, I ask if the 2nd inspector showed up yesterday and get no response, I ask again and get a vague story about how he was late and the sellers agent had to leave, and also find out my agent didn't actually schedule the engineer or so they claim,which leads me to believe the sellers agent hired the structural then turned away the inspector my agent hired.

Either way NONE of this was disclosed to me and it wasn't a cancel and reschedule it was "you aren't needed someone else looked at the foundation." This again is my first home purchase further details are my agent scheduled a 21 day close I did not know how extreme that was, and had inspections ending the weekend of July 4th in the US. In my mind at the very least something unethical occurred either with the sellers agent or my agent. Feeling as if something unethical occurred I requested via txt and a phone call to my agent no longer wanted the house and they pushed back saying well talk later about this. So I called her broker and requested release from the purchase and buyers agency. At worst I feel like it borderlines on defraudement, but would like input from someone with more experience. Should I report this to the state licensing board or file a police report?

Selling my house in the Chicago suburbs. My realtor sent me the agreement which shows 4.25% seller brokerage commission, while the buyer’s agent commission is left blank.
When I asked why, he said the 4.25% is the total commission, I pay his brokerage, and they pay the buyer’s agent out of it.
Is this actually how it works, or is he trying to lock me into paying 4.25% when I only want to do 2%? Something doesn’t feel right. Is he fooling me into this?

I’m in attorney review was shopping around for home owners insurance to get a feel for what I will owe and found out there was a claim for water damage in 2022
15k payout. This was not on the sellers disclosure.
Realtor asked listing agent. Seller responded “ I forgot about it” and said a line burst in the laundry room.

During viewing no obvious signs of any of this.

What should I do now before I’m out of attorney review ?

Have a hard time believing the seller “forgot” to list this