Buying a Home? Keep it Real with Your Realtor!
Whether buying a home or selling one, there are just too many people out there not ‘keeping it real’ with their Realtor. More specifically, a lot of home shoppers out there aren’t being completely honest with their Realtors and it winds up costing them the home of their dreams. Don’t let this happen to you! Let’s take a look at some of the ways you, as a home buyer, could avoid these common mistakes with your Realtor.
1. Get a REAL Pre-Approval!
I’m not going to get into too much detail here, but suffice it to say that your pre-approval is utterly useless unless you submitted a full set of income and asset documents beforehand. You are only hurting yourself by entering the home buying process with no real idea of what you qualify for or if you even qualify at all, which is exactly what you are doing when accepting a mortgage pre-approval without verification of your documents. The bottom line : If you didn’t submit tax returns and bank statements to your lender yet, you are NOT truly pre-approved!
Read more about why your current mortgage pre-approval may be useless…
2. Be Exclusive!
I’m not talking about going steady and carrying your Realtor’s books to class, but I do find it imperative to maintain an exclusive relationship with your real estate agent at all times. When you deal with a Realtor, they invest their time and money into you, up front, in hopes that they’ll be able to find you a home and make a commission.
Realtors are not paid a salary, they only make money when they complete the transaction and you close on your new home. Does this make them evil? No way! It’s exactly the opposite as a matter of fact. They are obligated to complete their job successfully in order to get paid. I wish that were the case with my plumber that charged $100 trip fee the other day; I can’t think of many other industries that are driven by such an all or nothing approach.
Read our Florida Home Buying Guide
It is for this reason that loyalty is of utmost importance in the home buyer / seller / Realtor relationship. If they know, up front, that you will not leave them for another agent and that you will stick with them throughout, your Realtor will stay up nights and weekends to make sure they find you a home. Imagine you own a store that sells computers. A customer walks in and says, “I know I’m definitely buying a computer from you but I might take a while to find one.” Then you have another customer that says, “I’m just browsing and comparing prices.” Which customer would you go above and beyond for? Exactly… The bottom line: You should never contact another Realtor directly if you are already working with one. If you see a property offered by another agent, your current Realtor can help and will be ecstatic to do so.
3. Get Organized About Selling or Buying a Home!
Realtors aren’t mind readers, so please make sure to communicate all of your expectations that you have for them up front. Make a list of everything you can think of and have them sign it! In exchange, let them know that as long as they keep up their end of the bargain, you’ll stay a loyal client. It’s truly a win-win situation.
For example, if you are selling a house and don’t want it shown on Tuesdays, let them know up front so they can put it on the listing. If you are buying a home and can’t make a final decision without your spouse there, save your home viewing appointments for when you are both available. The bottom line : If you identify what you want from the transaction and convey that to your Realtor, selling or buying a home can be simple!
Have any questions or comments? Need a local Florida Realtor recommendation? Email Jason!
