Using a Buyer's Agent for a New Construction?

[usagisisa]

Hello,

Generally, my husband and I have been against using a realtor when selling a house. We have had very good success selling houses privately and have not seen a need to engage a listing agent.

Currently, we are considering purchasing a new construction and are weighing the potential benefits of engaging a buyer's agent. My husband had a horrible experience buying a new build and dealing with the builder; I also have found the sales representatives in new construction offices to be less than forthcoming.

We think it might be in our best interest to engage a buyer's agent to help us navigate the negotiation and construction-pitfalls associated with dealing with builders. I understand that the commission generally comes from the builder's marketing budget--builder sales reps probably don't like working with buyers agents, since it likely cuts into their commission (correct me if I am wrong), but I think we might need someone exclusively representing our interests in this case.

Anyone have any experience using a buyer's agent for new builds?
Anyone recommend any realtors in the Waterloo area who may specialize in being buyers agents for new builds?
We only want to engage the agent for the purchase of a new build; we feel at this time we are experienced enought to sell our current home privately.

We would love to hear some experiences from other buyers.
Thanks!

[Irene]

I would suggest you thoroughly search for builders' names on this site. You will quickly get a feel for which is (are) great and which are not so great to deal with.
I have bought from Fernbrook and have a totally positive experience so far and have met others who have closed and are very happy too.
Other friends of mine dealt with Mattamy and Monarch and they too are quite happy.


The prices of the houses are pretty much set - perhaps you could negotiate a little on structural or upgrades with some builders. I have not heard of anyone who got deals that way though.

You do have to monitor the build throughout the process to ensure no mistakes are made - a buyer's agent won't do that for you.

Originally Posted by usagisisa

Hello,

Generally, my husband and I have been against using a realtor when selling a house. We have had very good success selling houses privately and have not seen a need to engage a listing agent.

Currently, we are considering purchasing a new construction and are weighing the potential benefits of engaging a buyer's agent. My husband had a horrible experience buying a new build and dealing with the builder; I also have found the sales representatives in new construction offices to be less than forthcoming.

We think it might be in our best interest to engage a buyer's agent to help us navigate the negotiation and construction-pitfalls associated with dealing with builders. I understand that the commission generally comes from the builder's marketing budget--builder sales reps probably don't like working with buyers agents, since it likely cuts into their commission (correct me if I am wrong), but I think we might need someone exclusively representing our interests in this case.

Anyone have any experience using a buyer's agent for new builds?
Anyone recommend any realtors in the Waterloo area who may specialize in being buyers agents for new builds?
We only want to engage the agent for the purchase of a new build; we feel at this time we are experienced enought to sell our current home privately.

We would love to hear some experiences from other buyers.
Thanks!

Selling a property is entirely different from buying a property. While buying a land it is better to go through a buyers agent. Search in the internet for experienced buyers agent ,they will help you to make a better deal and also save some bucks.

[Thussy]

We had an agent we were looking for resale homes with and decided to go with a Branthaven new build in Waterloo region. We were on the fence on if we needed an agent, but we decided to go ahead with ours. It's nice to have someone to ping to get questions answered. At the end of the day, I believe the sales rep would have collected buyer/builder side of the deal if you don't have your own agent, so go ahead and bring one along who will solely be working for you.

Here's a link to our agent: http://www.wollerealty.com/bobbunker.htm.

[Slvrado]

hello,

Before you get anyone involved, make sure its okay with the builder. We tried this too, even had our agent contact head office, and was told he could absolutely not be involved.

Builders are not in any position to negotiate on price...if you leave the offer someone else will jump in. From their standpoint there is no reason for a buyers agent to be involved.

Fortunately, we have an awesome sales agent in our development who is very honest and not pushy at all. He even helped us make decisions that were in our interest, not the builders. We were able to negotiate quite a few areas in our structural/electrical plan in price and we have been quite pleased with this. The same for our decor upgrades.

Also, make sure you have your lawyer read over the agreement before you sign it, the builder should be promoting this.

I hope that helps.

[Selvi]

No point having agent for new build, can't negotiate prices like a resale house w/ builders.

[*Harmony*]

We are experienced homebuyers - this will be the third home we've purchased (but first new construction home). Very early on in the process, we decided we wanted a buyer's agent. Our agent ended up finding us another builder in the same neighbourhood that worked better for us. He has also been working with the builder's agent on details like closing dates, upgrades, etc.

This realtor found and sold us our first and second homes (as well as selling our first home and will be the listing agent on this home) so he knows us, our needs, our personalities, etc. so he can speak to our interests when dealing with the builder and their agent. I think we probably would have made it through without a buyer's agent, but with 2 young kids and both of us working full time, it has been REALLY nice having someone else to focus on the details so far!