How To Find a Real Estate Agent

You may be of the opinion that you don't need a real estate agent and that using one will add to the cost of buying your new home.

The fact is that a real estate agent's fees are typically paid by the seller of the home. So, as a buyer, you can get the services of a professional real estate agent without having to directly pay for it. Please confirm this in any paperwork or contracts that a real estate agent may provide because policies vary greatly by state and company. Be sure to ask about fees when you interview agents.

Most real estate agents may work with buyers and sellers but often they specialize in working with one or the other. Make sure the agent that you choose has experience working with buyers and with no down payment transactions.

Be careful if you are speaking with a real estate agent and they don't seem to recognize terms like "Down Payment Assistance Program".

Start making a list of possible real estate agents to interview with referrals from your lender, friends and family.

A referral from the lender is great because you get the services from people that have worked together in the past and are already familiar with each other's systems. This can help prevent any last minute surprises or obstacles.

Questions to ask while you are interviewing real estate agents:

Please explain your fees.

Are you familiar with any no down payment financing programs?

Have you been involved with no down payment buyers in the past?

Would you mind providing sample contracts so I may review them?

Does it clearly state in the contract who will be paying your fees?

How long have you been a real estate agent?

Do you mostly work with buyers or sellers?

I'm looking for a home in the areas of ______. How familiar are you with those areas?

What specific steps would you take to help me find the home I am looking for?

You should also try to get an idea of these factors while you are speaking with the agent.

- Does this person have good negotiating skills?

- Do you feel this agent is trying to understand your situation so that they can properly represent you to sellers?

- How much knowledge does the agent have about mortgage markets?

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More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.