Is this normal? Realtor won't show us anything without a pre-approval?

[Bren's Mom]

Get a new realtor.

But also realize that every time someone looks at a home, that takes time. Searching for homes for you takes time. Setting up appointments takes time. So I don't blame realtors one bit for wanting a preapproval before showing houses. Can you just imagine how many idjits out there who are looking at, say, $400k houses when all they are preapproved for is $172k and they have $15k to put down?

Get preapproved. It won't hurt. In fact, it could save you lots of headache. What if you get rejected? You can resolve the problem BEFORE you fall in love with a house only to find it slip away because you've got mortgage issues.

 

[brerrabbit]

Each state may vary in the procedure a little but they are usually very similar. I worked in real estate for a while and here the seller pays all commisions. The only thing we would ask was that the buyer sell a buyers agreement which simply stated that if they bought a house in a certain area during a certain time period that the realator was the one who would get the commision. The reason for this is that a lot of people would want local knowledge of a market so they would find a realator from that area. They would have the realator show them a bunch of houses, run comps and lead them to the right house. Then the buyers would call in their cousin who was in real estate and let him do the deal. The cousin said he would give them money back and so they get a better deal. The original realator does all the work and comes away empty handed. The buyers agreement merely made sure the the original realator got paid for the work they do. The request to be pre qualified may be due to the fact that this guy has been burned several times by people who were not pre approved and when they found the house they wanted, could not get approved. Pre approval helps not only the realator but the buyers as well. Put in the same bid on a house as someone else and you are pre approved and they are not 9 times out of 10 you get the house. So pre approval helps you as well as assuring the realator that you are serious.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Are you saying "yes" that it is normal, or "yes" that we need a new realtor?

omg, yes, get a new realtor

someone happy to have you insteaad of being such a pain

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

Get a new realtor!

 

[ccgirl]

I am a realtor in MA. I commonly ask prospective buyers for a pre-approval letter as well. This is just to protect myself from wasting my time if the buyer can't afford the home. It also protects the buyer from falling in love with a new home if they really can't afford it. With mortgage companies getting more stringent with qualifying I would get pre-approved so you know what price of a home you should be looking at. As for his commission, there are buyers agents that will require you to sign a contract where you pay their commission. My sister did this before I became a realtor. If you pay their commission, the seller does not - the listing agent gets that entire portion of the commission. In any rate, if you do not feel comfortable with your realtor - get a new one. It is a huge step and you should feel the utmost comfort with your realtor. I explain it this way...if your child needed an operation, would you use a surgeon you didn't feel comfortable with??

 

[okeydokey]

A pre-approval will not take any time to get and will expedite things later on so you should go ahead and get one. However, with as many agents out there looking for business, there is no reason to work with someone you feel uncomfortable with.

 

[ICF]

I would get a new realtor.....

...and also get the pre-approval process done. Just 'cause you know what you can afford doesn't mean anyone else does. I think that is a fairly normal 1st part of the home buying process.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would get a new realtor.....

...and also get the pre-approval process done. Just 'cause you know what you can afford doesn't mean anyone else does. I think that is a fairly normal 1st part of the home buying process.

Agree there.

 

[kappyfinn]

We just closed on our house this month. We were the sellers. The commissions came out of the sales price (ie we paid them). Also, our agent would not accept an offer if the potential buyer wasn't pre approved.

 

[MAKmom]

Get pre approved if you find something you go in much stronger. Your banker unless he has already approved you for loans in the last few months has no idea if you will be approved with only 10% down.

 

[DMickey28]

I also say just get the pre-approval. It was super easy, took less than an hour with a mortgage broker. We actually got two done, just to be safe. One actually dug up something in DH's past that we didn't even know existed and wasn't on his credit report. We had time to clear it and we ended up going with her because we felt she did a very good job getting into detail with the pre-approval we aren't (very) worried about the mortgage going through.

I am a control freak though so until those keys are in my hand I do not think it will work out and that we will not be in this house!

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

Get pre-approved. It will take very little time for you and your lender and will make everything go much easier. With the lending practices the way they are now, THERE ARE NO CERTAINTIES!! Just because your banker know you and your situation doesn't mean the underwriters will agree.

As a realtor, I won't spend my weekends making appointments and showing houses unless I know someone's serious, and that mean preapproved. I don't want to show you a $200,000 home that you fall in love with and then the lender says you can only afford $175000 and the seller's not budging on price. Then we start all over...I've been burned too many times by this! In our area the commissions are generally paid by the seller, and if they're not, I won't show you that home unless you insist and unless you agree to pay my commission (whatever's mutually agreed upon, usually about 2%).

But like others said, if you're not comfortable with this Realtor, get a new one. If you signed a Buyer's Reg Agreement, usually a letter to the Realtor/company will null and void it. Happy House Hunting!!

 

[trip]

I would find a realtor that you like and have confidence in!! If you are just looking, you can go to open houses without a realtor.

If you are a first time buyer and are trying to get the $8000 stimulus money, remember that you must close before December 1. So, it may be a good idea to get pre-approval now. It may save some time later.

 

[RadioNate]

I'd get a new realtor AND the pre-approval.

Even with something down, loans are tougher these days.

If you were buying here in some areas of FL you'd need 40% down to even qualify for a loan because foreclosures are so high and value is rapidly declining.

My house has declined in value roughly 36% since I bought it in 2007.

I understand just wanting to look but I think this guy is worried that without a pre-approval that he'll spend lots of time on you and then you won't qualify for a loan.

If you have a relationship with your bank it should take very little time to do the pre-approval.

And while you are doing that paper work, call another realtor.

 

[chager]

Get a pre-approval letter and get a new realtor. My friends just bought a new home. Excellent credit, no past issues or current issues. Due to the new guidelines they still had to jump through ALOT of hoops. It took almost 2 months to get a closing and that was WITH the letter! If you are going for the $8000 thing then you need to be ready to move fast because last I heard you had to be closed by the end of the year. It would not be a happy thing if if you find the home you like only to be told you don't qualify for some reason or another. We have been looking at homes and alot of realtors won't even allow a showing if there isn't a pre-approval letter. Alot of the MLS listings in our area even state that. OH, and we were not approved for the amount we thought we would be for whatever reason. It was about $10,000 less. Definately go talk to your lender.

 

[metime]

If you are sure you are going to buy in the next few months then get preapproved now so you aren't wasting your time and you don't have to spend your time convincing others.

It isn't about the the realtor, it is about you. You must consider that a hard pull of any kind can affect your credit. If you think you may spend 6 months or more on house hunting then you will most likely have to get preapproved again which means the first pull may affect your next preapproval.

Back when Real estate was hot you had to be preapproved to move quickly now you don't unless you know you will buy soon.

If you are disappointed easily I would also suggest getting preapproved so there is no surprise but do it for your benefit not because it makes the agent feel better.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

No longer practicing Realtor here....If you are not comfortable with your agent, definately find a new one...buying a home is a very personal process, and you need to ba able to trust your agent with everything throught the process...this is the biggest investment of your life.

As for requiring the pre-approval, it's not all that rare, espescially in today's market where it is harder and harder to get a mortgage. If your Realtor spends months showing you homes, and you finally find one you love, but then can't get approved, you have BOTH wasted your time. Realtors ONLY get paid when they close on a house, so if they spend 100+ hours over several months working with you, and then you can't get the mortgage, they get NOTHING.

Getting a Pre-approval will also help you...you will know what price range to look in...no point in looking at $200,000 homes if $150 K is the max that you can qualify for on the loan. Also, many loans now require 20% down, so it's a good idea to sti down with a mortgage expert ahead of time and see what option works best for you. Then when you DO find your dream home, you will have your pre-approval already, making your offer stronger.

As to the commission question, it is the norm that the seller pays all of the commission. I have seen a few instances where is the buyer makes a lower offer, they will sometimes offer to pay part of the commision in order to get the deal to go through, but that is rare, and would be the buyer's choice. in 99% of the cases (at least in PA, where I am licensed) the seller pays the commission.

 

[1PrincessMomma1]

Get rid of this one.

Too many hoops - you are the customer.

Also, I do believe that the buyer does sometimes pay some percentage of commission.

Not here Sellers pay ALL commission.
OP get a new realtor.

 

[lil mermaid]

I agree with those who say to get both a new realtor and a preapproval. If you want to take advantage of the tax credit, you'll need to close prior to December 1, 2009. You don't want to get stuck with any kind of last minute problems with the mortgage company and miss out.

But also -

We really want to just LOOK at this point. .

You really shouldn't be wasting any realtor's time if you aren't seriously ready to buy. It isn't fair to be taking someone's time that way. If you just want to look, you guys should go to some open houses, or just drive around and look at properties from the outside.

 

[princess momma]

I can understand a realtor insisting on pre-approval. Maybe he/she has had a lot of deals fall through when buyers couldn't get the financing. If you're not seriously looking you are wasting the realtors time. Stick to open houses if that's the case.

We were pre-approved before we starting looking. I can't remember if we were required to show proof.

But if you don't have a good rapport with this realtor, definitely look for a new one.