I’ve seen this in multiple threads recently and wanted to get people’s thoughts. I want to know if this actually makes sense or if it’s just hype.
Here’s what I’m thinking:
Pros of using an attorney:
- Usually cheaper (flat fee vs. % commission)
- They know contracts inside and out
- No stake in the sale price, so maybe more honest advice?
Cons:
- Probably clueless about which neighborhoods are hot
- Won’t be showing you houses or helping you house-hunt
- Might miss out on off-market deals agents know about
I’ve got questions:
- Has anyone actually done this? How did it go?
- Curious how agents feel about this?
- Does this only work for savvy buyers who know the market already?
- Are we all overthinking this? Is the traditional way still best for most people?
I want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly from people who’ve been in the trenches. Buyers, sellers, agents, lawyers - what are your thoughts here?
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I’ve done this. It’s pretty straightforward. You need to make a lot of phone calls and manage a lot of people.
The process is simple but it does take some work and time. If you can spare the time, you can manage to do it yourself.
For busy people who need their hand held, realtors are a valuable solution.
As far as the cons go,:
You can find out about the neighbourhoods online. There’s a lot of info available.
Even though they’re working with realtors, a lot of people find the homes they’re interested in on Redfin/Zillow etc and ask the agent to arrange a viewing. If you know what you’re looking for, you can find the homes yourself. It’s all public info.
If you want off market deals, get in touch with wholesalers and investors. They have access to a lot of off market deals. Most popular markets have FB groups for cash buyers, wholesalers etc.
I think you sum it up pretty well.
The other con is the buying process is well known to most agents but if you’re a buyer who hasn’t done it before there’s no good resource that tells you how the process works.
Bingo. Bingo. Bingo.
You aren’t necessarily paying for their work on your deal. You’re paying for their work on thousands of deals which makes yours go smooth.
There’s a lot of things that seem very expensive to pay for someone to do, but then you realize they can do it in minutes instead of you spending 40 hours just to learn it, 20 hours to try it, mess it up, etc.
I think agents got a long leash, danced too close to the sun, and are being reigned back in now. But I do think they have a place.
My sister did this and paid a couple thousand total.
You really don’t need to worry about finding homes, with the Internet it’s really easy to find options by yourself.
I bought two homes using a lawyer only, no issues at all. Sellers came down an extra few % not having to pay the commission, cost me under 2k out of pocket for legal fees.
With that said, I’d been through prior purchases, have an amazing team for inspections and loans, and handle a lot of contract negotiations at work. For me it was fun, but may not be
Using just an attorney is ideal if you have the house picked out and have an agreement figured out with the seller, if you’re just transferring a property between two parties and need someone to orchestrate the documents.
If you are househunting, having your own agent is going to make it a lot easier, your search will not be restricted to viewing open houses and FSBOs that will let you in without an agent.
If you plan to call around to the listing agents expecting them to drive back to every listing to take legal liability for a stranger in their clients’ homes, I’m afraid you will be disappointed.
That is something your own agent would do because they know you and trust you and are willing to meet you alone at an empty house and put their license and their broker’s insurance on the line as a guarantee to the sellers that you won’t steal or break anything.
I am gonna respond as if I’m an agent:
Attorneys won’t do non legal work like opening doors, conducting market analysis, walk you through the home buying/home selling process.
On the other hand:
Because they are flat fee or hourly and not work on commission, they are not incentivized to close as fast as possible and do everything to ensure the sale closes (e.g. even if it’s not necessarily to the buyer’s benefit to close).
We have bought and sold three homes without an agent and it’s really straightforward. Tons of info on the internet, information comes much faster when not filtered through an agent and much more money in our pockets.