Hi everyone. Not sure if this topic was covered but I did a search and couldn't find any info on the forums here. I'm new to these boards and have a questions.

My wife and I are planning on buying a brand new townhouse. We don't have a real estate agent yet, but we looked around at many new townhouse developments by ourselves that held open houses, that advertised many available units for sale that were within our price range, found the ones we really liked, and narrowed it down to one that we want to purchase.

Now I understand that it's a good idea to get a real estate agent to help us with the purchase. But since we found the place we liked by ourselves, and it's new so it won't require an inspection, and the prices have little movement on them, why would I need to get a real estate agent? Would an agent help me with other issues I'm not aware of? Or would they just help to negotiate the price?

I'm good at doing that myself as I work in the car business, so wouldn't it be in my interest to tell the developer to discount the townhouse by the amount that they would have to pay an agent? Does anyone have an idea of how much a developer would pay a realtor on a $350k place?

Any inpout would be appreciated, and if I am lacking information it is because I've never bought a place before, so I don't mind being educated.

Thanks!

You can do what you want. Lets say you were getting a divorce from your wife. Would you use your wifes attorney to handle your side of the deal?

The builder will likely discount you for saving him the cost of a realtor, and saving the aggrevation of negotiating.

I have also found that new builds need to be inspected more than older homes. Inspectors I talk to schedule them last as they take more time to inspect. Just a though.

I have had new construction inspections come back with 2 or 3 page punchlists of things the builder screwed up.

As for needing a Realtor, your questions all indicate that you probably need one.

I had a buyer last week go back and negotiate without me - he got $900 knocked off the price. Had he let me do my job I could have easily gotten him ten times that.

Problem is that most builders require that your Realtor register you on your first visit in order for them to get a commission. Now that you have gone out on your own, the builder may not be willing to include a Realtor in the deal and you may need to pay for your representation out of pocket. It all depends on how far you have gone with a builder. All you can do at this point is find a great Realtor, disclose everything, and let them do their job.

Thanks for the replies. It's something I need to think over and decide on.

Maybe as a first time home buyer I should go through a realtor and in future tranactions if I feel comfortable enough, I can do it on my own.

The reps at the townhouse complex said if I have a realtor I can bring them in whenever I'm ready to do a deal, so I don't think it would be an issue of the realtor getting paid.

A good Realtor will know what to look for in the contracts so you are protected. When dealing with a builder's sales agent, they do not represent you. They represent the builder. Also, in all cases I have never seen or heard of a builder discounting the buyer if they do not bring an agent. Paying a buyer's agent their commission is expected and the money comes from a completely seperate account the builder has. They do not figure it into the account that allows room for incentives or anything else.

Be smart. Hire an agent.

For one thing builders commingle funds(your earnest money) instead of holding in a trust account.Another one is they have an attorney write their contract forms instead of using your REALTOR association forms which are more balanced and fair to both the buyer and the seller.

I have actually counseled my buyers not to purchase in certain developments because of many underlying factors. Another point is to go talk to homeowners in the development and see how they like it. Find out how the builder has handled problems after the sale and what has been their response time. This can be an eye opening experience.

I could go on all day but you really need a broker. I hope you see that by now.

As Super said talk to homeowners. Pick a nice day, park your car and walk and talk to people. The Homeowners will talk to you. (Just don't talk to the people that have a for sale sign in their yard, everything will be wonderful).