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"I'm ready to buy a home -- I'll call you when I find it!" |
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Wait a minute! Let's examine that . . . A friend recently made this comment at the end of an unrelated conversation. His plan was to start looking on the web, going to open houses, going to see houses for sale with the listing agent for each of those houses, and then when he found the one he wanted --- he'd call me to help him buy it. I told my friend that if he plans to enlist my services to assist him in buying a home, that we ought to approach the task in a slightly different manner: 1. We discuss his needs/wants in a home. 2. We review (online) the currently available properties, and we go view (in person) the current options. 3. We both monitor new listings (and price changes) and go to view (in person) new options as they become available. 4. When we find "the house" --- we make the offer, negotiate, coordinate closing details, and close on the house. In my conversation with my friend, I didn't go into all of the details below, but I did touch on a few of these reasons why I suggested this alternative course of action: 1. Knowing about all of the options -- many of my clients are highly adept at searching for homes online (or in other mediums), but when I also set up the search criteria within the local MLS (with e-mail alerts of new matches to myself and my client) we always find a few other good options to consider. 2. Leveraging my wider familiarity with similar properties -- many of my clients are real estate junkies (and are very familiar with currently available homes), but often they focus their search on homes that meet a specific set of criteria. As I begin to view homes with a buyer, I begin to understand what they like and dislike, and what they want and need. I am often able to recommend options my clients had not considered (because the property didn't quite meet their given search criteria), because I show many buyers many homes, and have a wider familiarity of similar properties. 3. Avoiding wasted time for other Realtors -- if I am going to represent someone in their purchase of a home, it's best for that buyer to have me view the property with them, as opposed to the listing agent. In the past, I have worked with buyer clients who didn't want to bother me with viewing lots of homes -- and thus they decided to call the Realtor representing the seller of each home in which they were interested. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with this, as it is in the best interests of the seller for their Realtor to show the prospective buyer the home (as opposed to refusing to show the buyer the home). However, if I will be representing the buyer (and getting paid to do so), it is best to utilize my time for the viewings, not the time of each listing agent. 4. Conserve your time -- the buyers referenced above, who were so gracious as to not take up my time, expended a LOT of their own time in order to do so. When the buyer wanted to see three houses, they would call three Realtors (possibly have to wait to hear from them) and set up three appointments to see the properties. Instead, my clients could have called or e-mailed me with the addresses or MLS numbers of the three properties, and I would have coordinated the three showings for them. 5. Know my role -- I have had clients in the past who saw my job as a "sales job" and thus thought I would be trying to "sell them" on a house. That's not how I see my role when I represent a buyer. I'm not working to sell a house to a buyer, I am working to help a buyer identify and purchase the house that is right for them. This is a big distinction --- again, I never try to convince a buyer client to buy a particular home, instead I endeavor to understand their goals, needs and desires, and assist them in finding (and negotiating on, and closing on) the home that is most appropriate for their situation. In summary --- if you plan to have me represent you (and your interests) in a purchase, let's start working together earlier rather than later. Doing so will allow me to better assist you in your home search! Recent Articles:
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
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