Buying A Home? Find The Right Agent!

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February 2020
Buying A Home? Find The Right Agent!
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So youre getting ready to start the home hunting
process and youd like to enlist a professional-
great! But where do you start? The first thing
to ask is this property represented by an Agent?
If its not, if its a For Sale By Owner, if its
someone youve met through the grapevine that
you heard wants to sell their home, then the
truth is you do not need an agent! You can lean
on your attorney and mortgage lender
more. However, if the home is listed, youre
going to end up with an Agent one way or
another. What are some tips you could use to
better help you land the best agent? No need to
worry, we got you covered! Below are some steps
you can take to help navigate the real estate
waters so you may obtain your dream agent! Step
1 Understand the difference between agents (and
selecting one correctly). So what are the
different kinds of agents and which one is right
for you? Well, weve broken it down by the laws
of agencies, there are technically three types of
agents The Buyers Agent Their sole duty is
to represent you, and only you the Buyer. The
great news is, its free! It doesnt cost you a
dime out of pocket. No matter how long it takes,
no matter how many homes you see, no matter how
many times you call them Well, you get the
picture. Why is this? Because their commission is
paid for by the Seller you cant get any
better than that! Its also recommended for
first-time homebuyers to utilize the services of
a Buyers Agent since this is their
specialty. Their responsibilities are plentiful
and they include Helping you nd a home
Theyll be on the hunt for properties you may be
interested in (based on the criteria you provide
them with) plus you can bring homes to their
attention and they can set-up a viewing. Theyre
going to facilitate the sale for you. Their job
is to make sure you see the good, the bad and the
ugly of every home that you go into. They walk
through the overall process of the transaction
for you
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Theyre the Intermediary between the Sellers
Agent (whos working with the Seller) and the
Attorneys. Theyre responsible to help manage
everything in the transaction from the contract,
the inspections, etc.
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The Sellers Agent Their responsibility lies in
representing the Seller meeting the Sellers
needs and fiduciary responsibility. They have a
direct responsibility to the Seller so this means
that anything you say to that Agent has to be
disclosed to their Seller. Multiple times
within the industry Sellers Agents will have a
Buyer contact them directly even when theyre
working with a Buyers Agent! Theyre usually
looking for advice or insight and may sometimes
converse about their wants, needs and financial
situation. Be careful what you convey to that
Agent as everything will be relayed to the
Seller By law, they cant provide you with privy
information on their client. A Dual Agent If a
home is listed that means its listed with a
Sellers Agent aka Listing Agent in some areas.
The key of the crossover there is that if you,
the Buyer, connect with the Sellers Agent who is
under contract with the Seller of the home, then
that becomes Dual Agency. The Cons of working
with a Dual Agent The responsibility of that
Agent becomes split. You no longer have that one
single agent working for you and only you. They
have to spread their attention across both
parties and represent both parties equally. They
may not be able to dedicate as much time showing
you homes as a Buyers Agent would and work with
you on other personal matters. The Pro of
working with a Dual Agent There is more
incentive to want to please you as theres more
money at stake. (They earn more commission since
theyre working on both the selling and buying
side.) So whats the best choice for you? Well,
a Buyers Agent can give you advice on ANYTHING
The price, condition, and qualities of the home,
but a Dual Agent cannot. They can do a
comparative market analysis and give you the
statistics to make your own decision, but
according to the law, they become a mediator and
cannot directly advise you on an offer price.
Its pretty logical when you think about it- they
have to represent the seller too so they know
the inside scoop of how low theyre willing to go
(and not go) and thats an unfair advantage to
you. The opposite is also true if they know the
details of your finances and how high youre
willing to actually go above your initial offer,
they cannot advise the Seller of that
either. Based on this information, its really up
to you and what youre comfortable with. Step 2
Finding Interviewing Agents Find an Agent and
do a Buyers Consultation with them. To find an
Agent Look for a referral, networking
opportunity, family member or friend. You can
always go online and search out any of them and
read the reviews, learn how long theyve been in
business, how many buyers theyve helped nd a
home. One of the more speci c ways to perform an
online search includes using Zillow by visiting
the Zillow homepage, going to the top left
section labeled Agent Finder Tab, enter the
town/state, select specialties, then select
Buyers and click-on best local reviews. If
youre in an area, where you might not know
anyone Microfocus on an area where you want to
be. Pull-up online for general listings, doesnt
have to be in your price range exactly, but
youll start seeing familiar faces popping up
which means theyre doing a decent amount of
business in the area. Inevitably, theyll be
hosting an open house. Go to it! You can see how
they interact with people and see how they deal
with you. You can easily go to 5 or 6 open
houses in one day. Choose the top few youd like
to have a private meeting with. When you meet
with them, you may want to consider asking them
the following questions How long have they been
a licensed real estate agent? Is real estate
their full-time career or part-time? Youre
looking for how available to you they can be and
how much time you expect them to dedicate to
you. How many homebuyers are they currently
working with? What about Sellers? How much
business theyve done in that speci c area? How
many homes did you help buyers purchase last
year? On average, how many homes do you generally
show your buyers? Can you provide testimonials
or past client referrals I can connect with?
What is your preferred method of communication
3
Do you attend the home inspections? What type of
support staff, team or resources do you have?
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DO you work with homebuyers who have pre-quali
cation letters? BIG TIP! IF they say yes, not a
good sign you As there is a big difference
between a PRE-APPROVAL letter and a Pre-Qual
letter. A Prequali cation letter is based on a
very loose process where the forms of nancial
documents are not closely screened or vetted. A
Pre-Approval is more solid in that banks
carefully monitor and fact check all paperwork
and nances. Ask whats important to them when
working with you? At the end of the day, thats
what theyre doing, theyre working for
you. Another HUGE TIP Youve GOT TO LIKE THEM!
If you interview them and you dont click, keep
moving. However, you also want to steer clear of
BEING CAREFUL to not get TOO casual in your
choice. You might really like the person, but,
if you feel they are rushing you into buying a
home too quickly or theyre trying to talk you
into paying a price youre not satisfied with
paying (Based on reason For example, comparable
homes selling within the same neighborhood at a
lower price.) It may be time to seek an agent
that has your best interests in mind. With that
being said, you also want to be sure that the
Agent doesnt mind taking their time to properly
vet the properties youre interested in (or they
think youd be interested in) based on the
guidelines you supplied them with. On the flip
side, you might get REALLY lucky and find your
perfect home as the very 1st home you walk into
dont GET SCARED and force yourself to go look at
others. Snatch it up! If you dont, itll become
the one that got away. In some markets, if you
drag your feet for a few months, and homes are
appreciating, you might have to spend more for
that home than you would have previously! Bottom
line is that you dont feel the need to drag out
the process, but you also shouldnt feel rushed
to the finish line either. In the consultation
with the Realtor, it should be clear that they do
not NEED you to buy the first or second home
that you see, but if that 1st or 2nd home is THE
ONE, theyll have the ability to guide you as a
professional Telling you whether or not it fits
the criteria. Now, if you end up looking at 25
homes on multiple trips and still feel
wishy-washy, theres an issue as well. You
should take the time to sit down and more clearly
define your priorities on your own, but also make
sure your Agent understands what youre looking
for (That way, youre not wasting each others
time.). You also want to be sure that the agent
is up-to-date on the newest digital solutions.
Having access, and the ability to navigate real
estate listings, mortgage processes and contacts
by using the newest technological advances will
give you a leg-up and streamline the homebuying
process. Thank you so much for reading! At Get
A Rate, we understand the importance of finding a
great agent. Were passionate about the home
buying process which is why we open our doors to
anyone in need of suggestions in regards to
agents and mortgage solutions. Feel free to
reach out to us anytime at 888-562-2611.
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