Quote:
Originally Posted by mreid
Use Zillow, then find an agent to show you the homes you like.
Anyway, you can do 90% of the work online, but you need a realtor to get the total picture and in most states access to the available homes.
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Nailed it. The resources are online for you to eliminate most of the ground work from the comfort of your home. If you don't know the area then I would definitely rent for 6+ months to figure out where you want to live. I would NEVER trust a realtor to recommend the community I am looking to invest and live in. Loads of variables, schools, commuting, crime, rentals, investments...etc... Only you know what is a priority and what you can live with.
Ideally, you find a home w/o a realtor and negotiate with the selling realtor as they would be on the receiving end of both sides of the commission. Selling a home you definitely need a realtor/broker who can get you on the MLS and you will have to pay % to the buying agent (1.5 to full 3%). In a sellers market you can negotiate to a 4% total commission for buyer/seller agent. The last 3 homes we purchased we found on our own...no realtor needed. As already mentioned, less than 1% know what the hell they are doing. Most are just looking to close w/o your best interest in mind.