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Be the Most Successful Buyer You Can Be
1. Pick a lender(s). Get referrals and visit at least two if not three, starting with your current bank or credit union. Don’t even begin looking with an agent until you’ve been qualified to buy. The lending climate is entirely different today with many more inflexible requirements for the buyer and the property. No seller should accept an offer without a pre-approval letter.
2. Pick an agent to work with. Get a referral from friends, relatives, co-workers, bankers, accountants or attorneys. Look for agents with experience and education (designations). Visit open houses. It will give you a feel for the market and a chance to meet a variety of agents from various offices. Settle on one who has real estate as a career and watches multiple listing everyday for the home you want and who will be readily available for showings, negotiations and all the many details involved in today’s transactions. Randomly calling a different agent each time you see an interesting listing will ensure that you’ll be the last to know when houses first hit multiple listing. There is no motivation for loyalty if an agent knows the buyer is working with whoever is passing by when they decide to purchase. Most important: Call the agent you have selected when you want information on a house. They are the ones who will be paid a fee so they should be doing the work. If they are unavailable there should be an agent, generally from their office, covering their business. As a last resort, call the listing agent and tell them immediately who you are working with, why that agent is not showing them the house and don’t give away any information to the listing agent that would hurt your position should you decide to make an offer. If you like a house that you see at an open house, let the open house agent know who you are working with and then go back through the house with your agent. Do not let the open house agent convince you that you will somehow get a better deal if you write the offer through them.
3. Make a list of 10 “must haves.” Expect to get no more than 7 out of the 10. Share these with your agent and when your agent calls with “the perfect property” go and look ASAP. As your list evolves, share this with your agent. Probably one quarter of the sales have a feature or are in an area that the buyer absolutely positively didn’t want in the beginning.
4. Realize that you, as the buyer, drive the transaction. Be straightforward, honest and reasonable in negotiations. This should a win-win “business” deal. However, it has a heavy emotional component that can derail what is best and fair for both parties. Enter the Buy/Sell process with a thorough knowledge of the market and unless you can clearly see a weakness in the seller’s position, don’t make an insultingly low offer. You will most likely not even get a response and if you love the house, you’ve probably lost it.
You are embarking on an important new era in your life. Embrace the adventure.
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