> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Bruce Bostwick > Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2008 12:39 PM > To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion > Subject: Re: choice... > > On Nov 8, 2008, at 12:24 PM, Dan M wrote: > > >> it was not my preference to accept the banks terms. my options were > >> limited to signing the loan. or not buying a home. i did what the > >> realtor > >> said because that is the way the system works. > > > > Let me jump in here. You know I've been arguing against John a good > > deal on > > this subject, but let me now look at things from another > > perspective, since > > I think that the sub-prime mess is not just about > > deregulation....that other > > fundamental problems are involved. > > > > I'm not sure when you bought your house, but I originally bought > > mine late > > in '92, and was able to obtain a beautiful 3000 sq. ft. house in a > > desirable > > neighborhood with a mortgage payment of about $850/month. I > > followed the > > market, including refinancing, and was always able to borrow 80% of > > appraised value for <7% interest. The terms were always 30 year, > > with no > > balloon payment. I did take a variable rate on my last loan, but > > that was > > because I knew I would be selling the house by now. This was all in > > the > > Houston area. > > > > To my surprise, a couple of years ago my daughter was able, in mid- > > Virginia, > > able to obtain a 5% down loan for an interest rate that was, IIRC, > > in the > > 6%-7% range, fixed with no balloon payments (I asked before she took > > the > > loan). > > > > So, I'd be interested in exploring why our experience has been > > different > > from yours. I have some possible candidates, but I think this > > exploration > > would reveal some of the contributing problems to the present housing > > situation. > > > > Finally, now that we are renting, we are paying for 1300 sq. ft. > > less than > > the mortgage our buyers are paying for 3000 sq. ft. It doesn't make > > financial sense to rent here if you plan on staying put. > > > > Dan M. > > The difference can often be one between a realtor who is genuinely > motivated to act as his/her buyer's agent and negotiate aggressively > for a good deal for the buyer, and one who is motivated more by a > desire to get the commission from the sale and inclined to push the > buyer into a fairly adverse deal just to close the sale.
First of all, the buyer rarely pays the realtor. Thus, the realtor I have used the most in my life (once to help me find a rental property, twice to buy a house, and once to sell a house) told me explicitly that legally she represented the seller when I was the buyer/renter, so I should not count on her to look after my interest. Further, I didn't go to my realtor to get a loan. The second time, I had a loan guarantee set up before I did my serious house shopping. I followed the interest rates carefully, and knew what was available. Isn't it the job of buyers to shop? I know, when I go to my regular bank location, they have advertisements for their mortgage rates in the lobby. They are the second biggest bank in the nation (Chase), so they certainly fund a lot of mortgages. So, while I think this is part of the problem, something else has to be going on. For a purchase as big as a house, it has to be worth a few hours on the phone or in the car asking banks about their loan terms. Dan M. The > population of actively working realtors in this country does include a > fairly significant number who are best described as unethical slime > (not my words, those of a realtor friend who sees the worst of the > business every day), and a fair number of others who are basically > honest but largely incompetent, and even a few who are fairly > unethical *and* not all that good at navigating the business for > themselves, let alone buyers/sellers. > > I always wonder what's going on when I hear about a buyer or seller > who "did what the realtor said", because it seems to me that that > power balance is exactly backwards if that's how it's really working > for them. (And there are realtors who won't talk to you until they > have a signed buyer agreement from you, and after that point, feel > free to do a least-common-denominator level of work for you because > they know they have you contractually bound to them and they literally > *can't* be fired at that point.) > _______________________________________________ > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
