question about buying a house

[Shawn Foster]

their is a house that my parents are intrested in and they want to find more out about the house such as how ong on market, orginal asking price and so on. I was wondering if anybody knew of a place were this could be done. they dont want to talk to the agent just in case they find something out that makes them disintrested they dont want to have wasted their time.





Thanks

Shawn

 

[Robert Cuenca]

your county should have a website, for free public use, that shows the taxes due on property, try typing in www."whatevercountyyoulivein"taxcollector.gov

 

[Dreman]

Ask another agent. Any agent can look up a house. Even if they don't work for the same company.

 

[Robert Stanton]

Agents have a listing updated regularly in which things like the list date and original asking price are shown; it's generally information not available to the public. Sometimes the realtor selling the house will list some of this information on their web site, but not always.



Generally when looking at houses you don't want to work through the selling agent... their primary concern is selling the house for the highest price it can get. You want to find a buyer's agent and ask them to get that information for you.

 

[Frank Marano]

find out what company it is listed through and check their website. now-days with digitalcameras, most houses are listed on the web.

 

[Bill V]

Talk to another agent--and if/when you find someone you feel comfortable working with, hire them. Generally, buyers who hire agents don't have to pay them a dime--they get paid at the time of the sale by the sellers, out of the selling commission. It shouldn't affect the price you pay at all, and you now have a professional in the industry working to get you the best deal.



Also, there are MLS listings for most cities available online--but in many areas, those listings won't show all the information, such as time on the market. That information is on a separate database, available only to professional realtors. Yet another reason to find one to work with you when buying.

 

[Michelle Widell]

When I was looking to purchase a house, the agent I worked with showed me the listings and their histories. She was a great asset in determining how long a house had been on the market, what prices they had asked, etc. I didn't have any trouble at all getting information from her. She even explained the codes on the histories and gave me paper copies.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

The title company researches whether or not taxes are due on the property, as well as any outstanding liens that may be out there. When you buy, the title company will usually offer title insurance which will cover anything that their search doesn't find. Most banks will require this assurance before they will loan the money.



In addition, the home should be inspected by an ASHI-certified inspector of your parent's choosing. I did this with my purchase and they inspector found enough things that needed to be repaired, that his fee was more than covered by the repairs the seller paid.