My husband and I bought our first house 2 years ago. We were anxious to get out of the crappy apartment and we wanted to lock in the 3.25% interested rate. The house is sweet, but we made some very amateur mistakes. The main mistake we made was to trust the real estate agent. I distinctly told her that I did not want to live in a subdivision and that I wanted a unique house. I didn't care if it needed a little bit of work - if it was a bit older - but it had to be unique. So, the agent showed us 6 houses. The first one was exactly what we wanted - a cute little Acadian with a big tea-sippin' front porch. It was outside of the city for that country feel, but close enough in for the commute not to be a drag. We said we wanted it. "Oh, shoot, it just sold!" she said, less than a day later. Was it a ploy, I ask you?
Then she shows us 5 houses that look exactly the same - all 3 bed, 2 bath, squared off and boring little things that were all built around 2007. We start to get frustrated. "Is there nothing else?" we ask. "I don't know what to tell you; in your price range there just really isn't much. Plus, as you saw from the Acadian, they're going like hotcakes, so you better jump if you like something." Really? I smelled a Game on her.
So, the last house she shows us is similar to the others, but it has a screened in front porch, a large shed in the backyard, and a whole-house generator. We jumped. Now, it's completely my fault for not doing more thorough research, for not circling around the neighborhood a few times, but as I said, we were anxious - and that's not even to mention the fear of real estate purgatory we thought we'd find ourselves in thanks to the agent's hotcakes comment. Fast-forward a few months: we're all moved in to our new house, but we realize that in that neighborhood, the builders constructed a house that looks like ours every third or fourth house. Thus, by the time you get 8 streets away, you've already passed 20 houses that are our model.
Yes it's my fault!!! But, doesn't the agent share in the culpability? Did she not have the responsibility to listen to what I wanted and, as my agent, help me find just the right fit? Does she not owe a professional duty? Or, since commission comes from the seller not the buyer, was I always going to be screwed because her allegiance was elsewhere?
Ultimately, of course, I blame myself because I didn't do the research I should have. And, one should never trust anyone else with one's choice of a home. Now, two years later, hubby and I seek a new home. The former agent called us and said "I see you have a For Sale By Owner sign in your yard. You know I can help you market that better than you can yourselves." I bet you can, you old shark, but karma is a bitch. Truth be told, I will be hiring another agent, not because I enjoy giving away 6% of my house's value, but because I know how hungry those damn agents are and I know they'll do anything to make a sale. Fool me once, fuck you. Now I know how to play!
Then she shows us 5 houses that look exactly the same - all 3 bed, 2 bath, squared off and boring little things that were all built around 2007. We start to get frustrated. "Is there nothing else?" we ask. "I don't know what to tell you; in your price range there just really isn't much. Plus, as you saw from the Acadian, they're going like hotcakes, so you better jump if you like something." Really? I smelled a Game on her.
So, the last house she shows us is similar to the others, but it has a screened in front porch, a large shed in the backyard, and a whole-house generator. We jumped. Now, it's completely my fault for not doing more thorough research, for not circling around the neighborhood a few times, but as I said, we were anxious - and that's not even to mention the fear of real estate purgatory we thought we'd find ourselves in thanks to the agent's hotcakes comment. Fast-forward a few months: we're all moved in to our new house, but we realize that in that neighborhood, the builders constructed a house that looks like ours every third or fourth house. Thus, by the time you get 8 streets away, you've already passed 20 houses that are our model.
Yes it's my fault!!! But, doesn't the agent share in the culpability? Did she not have the responsibility to listen to what I wanted and, as my agent, help me find just the right fit? Does she not owe a professional duty? Or, since commission comes from the seller not the buyer, was I always going to be screwed because her allegiance was elsewhere?
Ultimately, of course, I blame myself because I didn't do the research I should have. And, one should never trust anyone else with one's choice of a home. Now, two years later, hubby and I seek a new home. The former agent called us and said "I see you have a For Sale By Owner sign in your yard. You know I can help you market that better than you can yourselves." I bet you can, you old shark, but karma is a bitch. Truth be told, I will be hiring another agent, not because I enjoy giving away 6% of my house's value, but because I know how hungry those damn agents are and I know they'll do anything to make a sale. Fool me once, fuck you. Now I know how to play!