Sarasota advice

[LiveBelowMeans]

Will be looking for a home in Sarasota area in the near future. Wondering if anyone has used a real estate agent on the buy side that they were happy with. Would like someone with many years of local experience. Thanks.

 

[socca]

I used a DIY approach to locate and buy a house in Sarasota county in 1Q 2015. I looked at 19 houses in person and probably over 1000 on the internet. When I found a house I wanted to see in person using zillow.com or realtor.com, I contacted the listing agent directly (zillow.com will try to automatically assign you a buyer's agent; I always went over to realtor.com and found the listing agent instead). When it came time to negotiate a price, the offers and counter-offers went through the listing agent without a buyer's agent in the pipeline. I hired a closing agent to handle the paperwork associated with closing the deal. The listing agent was delighted because he didn't have to share the commission with a buyer's agent. I was very satisfied with this approach, and would use it again.

There are a huge number of experienced RE agents in Sarasota. The listing agent for my property was with Michael Saunders. Good luck!

 

[LiveBelowMeans]

Thanks socca for the quick reply. I like your do-it-yourself approach especially as this gives you more leverage negotiating with the seller. I have done this as well in the past. I was concerned that we don't know the neighborhoods well and could use the insight of an experienced agent. That experience costs $$ however.

 

[socca]

I was concerned that we don't know the neighborhoods well and could use the insight of an experienced agent. That experience costs $$ however.

As you probably know, a "buyer's agent" is normally paid out of the commission received by the "seller's agent" (the listing agent). So, using a buyer's agent doesn't cost the buyer any $$. In my case, I didn't see any point in torturing a buyer's agent when I knew I could do a more thorough property search myself. If you aren't already local, then a buyer's agent might be more useful. I've never bought RE as a nonlocal, so I can't pontificate on this subject.

 

[Moemg]

Thanks socca for the quick reply. I like your do-it-yourself approach especially as this gives you more leverage negotiating with the seller. I have done this as well in the past. I was concerned that we don't know the neighborhoods well and could use the insight of an experienced agent. That experience costs $$ however.

I would suggest the best way to learn about the neighborhoods and there are a lot is to rent in Sarasota for six months and then purchase . Michael Saunders real estate is a major real estate group here but sometimes they over price their listings based on their reputation. I would also suggest narrowing down what you are looking for and maybe subscribe to the Sarasota Herald Tribune for awhile to get the feel of the area .

 

[Ronstar]

We used Kristina Talkie at Michael Saunders & Co, and were very satisfied with our sale in Siesta Key. They have a lot of local experience, so I assume they would be good on the buy side as well.

 

[Fishingmn]

I used a DIY approach to locate and buy a house in Sarasota county in 1Q 2015. I looked at 19 houses in person and probably over 1000 on the internet. When I found a house I wanted to see in person using zillow.com or realtor.com, I contacted the listing agent directly (zillow.com will try to automatically assign you a buyer's agent; I always went over to realtor.com and found the listing agent instead). When it came time to negotiate a price, the offers and counter-offers went through the listing agent without a buyer's agent in the pipeline. I hired a closing agent to handle the paperwork associated with closing the deal. The listing agent was delighted because he didn't have to share the commission with a buyer's agent.

As a Realtor I would discourage this approach.

One of the whole points of hiring an agent is that they represent your interests and negotiate on your behalf. If you use the listing agent they are doing neither as mandated by agency law and fiduciary rules.

As a buyer you aren't paying commission so hire an agent who represents your interests. Want to keep your options open - don't sign a Buyer Representation Agreement until you are ready to write an offer. Want to save money - if your agent wants you to pay a Broker Commission/Broker Admin Fee you can try to negotiate that out.

At the very least if you use the listing agent negotiate a reduction in the commission as a rebate paid to you at closing. Redfin agents already give a rebate on part of the buyer side commission even when they just get the buy side.

 

[pb4uski]

We rented in The Meadows last winter for 3 months and between talking with people and going to open houses we got a good feel for the area and prices. We ultimately narrowed in on Palm Aire since we had a number of friends from home there and ultimately ended up buying a property directly from the owner that we heard about from someone I golfed with.

 

[ZMAN]

I have gone to Sarasota on vaca many times over the decades. I think the Meadows is very nice, has some great golf, actual sidewalks, and at least on Zillow appears to be a bargain.

 

[socca]

As a Realtor I would discourage this approach.

One of the whole points of hiring an agent is that they represent your interests and negotiate on your behalf. If you use the listing agent they are doing neither as mandated by agency law and fiduciary rules.

As a buyer you aren't paying commission so hire an agent who represents your interests. Want to keep your options open - don't sign a Buyer Representation Agreement until you are ready to write an offer. Want to save money - if your agent wants you to pay a Broker Commission/Broker Admin Fee you can try to negotiate that out.

At the very least if you use the listing agent negotiate a reduction in the commission as a rebate paid to you at closing. Redfin agents already give a rebate on part of the buyer side commission even when they just get the buy side.

When I bought my first house back in the early '90s in suburban Chicago, I was warned that a so-called buyer's agent is really just a sub-agent of the seller's agent, and that both the buyer's agent and seller's agent really just 'serve the deal' because if the deal doesn't go through, they don't get paid. I don't recall Buyer Representation Agreements (BRAs) being mentioned back then. Then, in Denver in the early 2000's, a buyer's agent tried to get me to sign a BRA that I found ridiculously restrictive. In 2015, the Michael Saunders listing agent called himself a 'transaction agent'. He just functioned as a communication conduit between myself and the seller, which worked fine. Perhaps a first-time home buyer would appreciate the special attention provided by a buyer's agent, but for folks with some experience in RE transactions, the need is less clear.

BTW, when the price negotiation between myself and the seller reached an impasse, the Michael Saunders agent voluntarily reduced his commission to help close the gap.

This thread is supposed to be about Sarasota RE, so the buyer representation discussion should probably be continued somewhere else.

 

[socca]

I have gone to Sarasota on vaca many times over the decades. I think the Meadows is very nice, has some great golf, actual sidewalks, and at least on Zillow appears to be a bargain.

I lived in the Meadows for 8 years before buying a house further south last year. I get up to the Meadows regularly because I have relatives who own property there (I was just there today). I agree that living in the area before buying is a good idea - things are changing, and not always for the better.

 

[Dash man]

Sarasota traffic scared me away when I spent a few days there checking out the area, including Bradenton. We had a place in Land O Lakes just north of Tampa that was growing too fast and traffic made us decide to move. We ended up buying on the east coast north of Ft Lauderdale. Traffic can be an issue, but not nearly what it was on the gulf side, plus we got an ocean view condo right on the beach, and 30 minutes from the cruise port and airport. We traded spring training baseball for ocean sounds and views when we wake up in the morning. We're happy!


Enjoying life!