Narrow & Target
Time to review and discuss findings
Looks like your agent has the lists now and you know what to expect from her once you start visiting open houses. At this point, by looking at the listings your agent prepared for you, you might start feeling a little overwhelmed. Indeed, either it is your first house or the tenth, searching for a house is time-consuming and nerve-wracking. Although there are some good deals out there for buying, it is only normal to second guess and to be curious if this is the right decision for you both in the short and long term. For these reasons, it is in your greatest benefit to hiring a buyer’s agent when purchasing a property. Your agent will be able to assist in:
- filtering homes before your arrival by previewing them for you
- analyzing the pros and cons of each property
- evaluating properties for suitability, affordability, and resale value
A couple of suggestions from me:
- You will feel much at ease to compare homes when they are all still new in your mind. Since most open houses are held on weekends, you can visit several homes on the same day. Depending on your schedule and logistics requirements. your agent can gather homes in the same neighborhood to create an efficient route.
- Please take your time to visit and evaluate each property. You’ll need plenty of time to assess each of them and be prepared to raise questions.
In short, your agent will assist you further out than just finding you the perfect house. She will assist you to find the right home in a shorter amount of time while ensuring you get the top contract possible.
Agent to agent discussion
At this point, we have seen some houses you liked and thinking about reaching out to the homeowner or listing agent if they have it.
By the time you start seeing houses and targeting them, you should have realized there is a lot of jargon your agent is using. Please keep in mind that many of the terms she is using have legal complex meanings and are frequently conflated with one another. To give you an example, many consumers don’t fully grasp the difference between an appraisal and an inspection. If you are trying to buy a house on your own, you may get in yourself in trouble by not receiving the answer you need in time if you contact the homeowner or the listing agent about appraisal outcomes when you intended to reference inspection results.
Therefore, it is trivial to request your agent to handle any discussion between yourself and the seller. Your real estate agent knows how to phrase questions and requests in a way that doesn’t put your interests in danger.
On no occasion interact with a seller directly.
Also, sustaining decent communication with all parties involved in a real estate transaction makes closings smoother and faster. Your agent will act like a symphony conductor. She will harmonize unlikely sounds to accomplish a smooth transaction.
