Buying a property without an agent

[Diana Reinfeld]

I’m looking into buying an apartment in Chicago to rent out now and possibly use for myself later. A couple of years ago, we purchased a house in Chicago and worked with a buyer’s agent. I know there are different types of agents and service levels, but I wasn’t thrilled with our agent. We did most of the searching ourselves, and he mainly scheduled showings—we ran our own assessments. He did connect us with a lender, a surveyor, and a lawyer.

This time, we’re planning to pay cash, so we don’t need a lender. We have a clear idea of what we want, and I could use the same surveyor and lawyer.

I’m wondering how much sense it makes to work with an agent in this case—especially considering the commission. Has anyone been through a similar process? What are some pitfalls I should be aware of?

[Marian Huish]

@Diana Reinfeld As a listing agent, as well as an Investor myself, Sellers generally feel more confident receiving an offer from an Agent so that there's more assurance that nothing will be missed and handled properly, and actually listing agents generally end up done more work that would generally be done buy the buyer's agent so the listing agent would also rather receive an offer from an agent vs. an investor.  All agents work for a Broker and are held to higher professional standards.  There's plenty of opportunities to 'miss' something that can result in either a financial loss or potential litigation.  I would suggest that since you're asking that question here, you're not yet experienced enough to 'know what you don't know'.  My advice would be to have a professional submit the offer for you-  Most sellers are already prepared to pay the Buyer agent commission and/or it can be negotiated as part of your offer.  (commissions are also a write-off for the Seller).  The 'potential savings', is not worth the potential liability!  Good luck.