10 Things To Expect From Your Real Estate When Buying A Home
Buying a home, especially for the first time, can come with lots of confusion and unanswered questions. Buying a home requires things such as patience, persistence, and dedication. Another very important thing that is extremely helpful when buying a home is making sure you have a top producing buyers agent working on your behalf!
There are certain things that home sellers should expect from their real estate agent when selling their home and it is no different for home buyers. It’s extremely important that before you choose a real estate agent to represent you as a buyers agent, you take the time to properly interview prospective buyers agents.
Like most professions,there are top producingbuyers agents, middle of the road buyers agents, and others fall short of their fellow real estate agents. A buyer who chooses to work with a top producing buyers agent gives themselves a huge advantage over their competition, other potential home buyers. Having a top producing buyers agent working for you can make a huge difference especially if you’re trying to buy a home in a competitive sellers market.
So, what things should you expect from your real estate agent when buying a home? The following 10 things are items that you should absolutely make sure you will receive from your buyers agent when buying a home.
Disclosure / Honesty
When buying a home, it’s important that you choose to work with a buyers agent who is honest and believes in full disclosure. All licensed real estate agents are supposed to adhere to a stringent set of documents called the code of ethics and standards of practice.
It’s not always the easiest task to judge whether a buyers agent is completely honest or is practicing full disclosure, but there are certainly ways to feel fairly confident this is the case.
First and foremost, trust your “gut feeling.” If your “gut” is telling you that something doesn’t seem correct about the prospective buyers agent, then choose not to work with them. There are lots of buyers agents to choose from that will give you a positive vibe.
Another great way to find out whether a prospective buyers agent is practicing full disclosure is to ask for the contact information from some past buyers the agent has represented. The agent should be able to provide at least a handful of past clients you can reach out to.
It’s important that when looking at homes you have an extra set of eyes looking out for potential red flags in a home. An honest buyers agent should be the first person to point out potential red flags in a home when viewing prospective homes.
Frequently Communication
One of the most common reasons why prospect home buyers choose to “fire” their buyers agent is due to a lack of communication. When you set out to purchase a home, you should expect frequent communication, bottom line. A top producing buyers agent should at least acknowledge receipt of an e-mail, text message, or phone call within afew hoursof receiving the message.
It’s extremely important that when buying a home in a competitive sellers market, your real estate agent is staying in frequent communication with you. They should be letting you know when a new listing that might be your perfect home is listed and also letting you know if a home you had interest in potentially buying has been having lots of other showings or potentially other purchase offers.
If you’re actively and aggressively looking to purchase a home, you should expect some type of communication from your buyers agent every couple days.
Use Of Current & “Cutting-Edge” Technologies
Technology in general is changing on a daily basis and that is no different in the real estate industry. There are new gadgets, apps, and programs that are being introduced in the real estate industry daily. It’s important that when you set out to buy a home, you expect that your real estate agent is utilizing the most current and “cutting-edge” technologies.
One of the most popular advances in technology that you should expect your real estate agent to be using when buying a home is some form of digital signature software. There are several companies and programs available that allow a real estate agent to obtain required signatures without having to physically meet with a buyer. This can save lots of time not only for a real estate agent, but also you. Since most home buyers have very busy work schedules and personal schedules, this can eliminate a delay in getting signatures on a required document and also expedite the transaction and help avoid potential delays.
Another piece of technology that your real estate agent should be utilizing is a mobile app that is linked to their respective MLS. This is very helpful in the event you have questions about a specific property as this app will allow the real estate agent to access the information you desire.
Quality Business Connections
Quality Business Connections Should Be An Expectation Of Your Real Estate Agent When Buying A Home
Throughout the home buying process, there are many different professionals that are usually needed. Professionals such as mortgage consultants, home inspectors, structural engineers, and attorneys are just a fewof the professionals who you can expect to be in contact with when buying a home.
It’s important that you expect from your real estate agent that they have a solid group of business connections available to recommend. Without a solid group of business connections, it’s possible you may not receive the quality of service you deserve.
For example, it’s strongly suggested that when buying a home you have a home inspection and having a quality home inspector recommendation is important. Just like there are differently levels of real estate professionals, it’s no different in the home inspection field, and hiring an inspector who is not top notch can cost you lots of money in the future due to missed decencies during a home inspection.
Professionalism
Whether your buying a home, buying a car, or buying a television, professionalism is something you should expect. When buying a home, it’s important that your buyers agent is a professional. Real estate professionals hate when buyers don’t respect their time, however, it should also be expected that a real estate professional respects the buyers time.
When buying a home, you should expect that if your real estate agent says they will meet you at a property at 11:00 AM, they are there at 11:00 AM or before. Being late to appointment after appointment shows a lack of professionalism.
Proven Track Record & Success
When buying a home, you should expect that your real estate agent has a proven track record and a sales history. One big mistake that buyers make when choosing a buyers agent is not asking about their sales success. A real estate agent who hasn’t sold a single home or only a couple is not going to have the same level of experience and knowledge as an agent who has sold fifty homes.
Make sure when buying a home, you expect that your real estate agent has a proven track record and you know what their sales history is. When you’re interviewing prospective buyers agents, make sure you ask them about the number of homes they have sold to buyers in the past year.
Knowledge Of The Local Real Estate Market
Real estate markets can drastically change from one town to another. It’s important that you expect your real estate agent to haveknowledge of the local real estate market that you’re looking to buy a home in.
Why is it important that your real estate agent have knowledge about the local real estate market? When it comes time to determine how much to offer for a home, a buyers agent who has sold several homes within the local market is going to be able to recommend a price that is likely to be more accurate than an agent who has never sold a home in the local market.
Knowledge Of The Local Rules, Regulations, &Required Documents
Just like the market values can drastically change from one town to another, the local rules, regulations, and documents can as well. When buying a home, you should expect your real estate agent has a strong knowledge of the local rules, regulations, and various documents that maybe required.
If you’re going to be purchasing a condo, it becomes even more important that you expect your real estate agent has a strong understanding of homeowner associations. There are many differences betweenpurchasing a single family residence and a condo. First and foremost, the purchase contract is different for purchasing a condo. It’s also important that your real estate agent has experience helping buyers purchase a piece of real estate that is part of a HOA.
Availability
When Buying A Home You Should Expect Your Real Estate Agent To Be Available
Buying a home, as mentioned above, takes time and devotion to have a successful and enjoyable experience. When buying a home, you must be ready to make yourself available when you’re not working. This being said, you should also expect that your real estate agent is available to devote time to you, even if it’s not during themost convenient times.
One of the best aspects of being a real estate agent is the ability to have a flexible schedule. One of the biggest things that people who are thinking about getting their real estate license fail to think about is that with a flexible schedule often means that the hours that potentially can be worked are long and often odd times.
If the only time you’re available to look at prospective homes is after 7:00 PM on weekdays or weekends, than you should expect that your real estate agent is going to make time to show you prospective homes. If time and time again you’re requesting to see a property at 7:00 PM on a weeknight and your real estate professional is always making up excuses, you may want to reconsider whether they are the best fit for your home search.
Strong Negotiator & Reputation
When buying a home, you should expect that your real estate agent is a strong negotiator as well as they have a strong reputation with their fellow real estate professionals. A top producing buyers agent will advocate for their buyer until they are blue in the face. It’s important that to obtain the best possible price they have are able to be strong but not overly pushy or aggressive with the sellers real estate agent.
It’s also extremely important that you expect your real estate agent has a good reputation with other real estate agents. A real estate agent who is known to be difficult to work with on transactions or who is lazy is a great way to have a purchase offer rejected. Believe it or not, if a seller is looking at two comparable offers, the reputation of the buyers agent can play a big role in which offer wins!
Final Thoughts
Since buying a home requires lots of patience, dedication, and persistence, it’s important that you have a top notch buyers agent in your corner. There are certain things you should absolutely expect from your real estate agent when buying a home, many of which are listed above. By having a top producing buyers agent in your corner, you’ve given yourself a huge advantage over other home buyers.
Other Top Home Buying Resources
- The Ultimate Guide To Buying A Home via Raleigh Realty
- Top Frequently Asked Questions From Home Buyers via Rochester’s Real Estate Blog
- 20 Cold, Hard Facts in Real Estate Home Buying via Imagine Your House
- Home Buying Checklist: What Happens After Your Offer Is Accepted? via Great Colorado Homes
- How To Buy A Home | Top Real Estate Resources For Home Buyers via Bundlr
Are you a prospective Rochester, NY home buyer? Are you trying to find locate a top Rochester, NY real estate agent to assist you with your home purchase? If so, make sure you expect the above 10 things from your real estate agent when buying a home. I’d love the opportunity to help you with your home search and explain why I’ve helped hundreds of home buyers move around the Greater Rochester, NY area! Contact me for a no obligation, no pressure appointment to discuss your housing needs so we can determine whether we willmutually benefit.
About the authors: The above article“10 Things To Expect From Your Real Estate Agent When Buying A Home” was provided by the Keith Hisco*ck Sold Team (Keith & Kyle Hisco*ck). With over30 years combined experience, if you’re thinking ofsellingorbuying, we’d love to share our knowledge and expertise.
We service the following Greater Rochester NY areas: Irondequoit, Webster, Penfield, Pittsford, Fairport, Brighton, Greece, Gates, Hilton, Brockport, Mendon, Henrietta, Perinton, Churchville, Scottsville, East Rochester, Rush, Honeoye Falls, Chili, and Victor NY.
Visit our website atwww.Hisco*ckHomes.com.
