In today’s hot market there are many homeowners that believe they can sell their home without the help of an agent. The truth is they can, the big issue though is they don’t understand when getting into this process they are opening their home up to individuals who may not really be interested in buying the home more than casing the home. The advantage of listing with a realtor is most good agents actually do a vetting process before they take a customer to a property. You ask what vetting do they due? Most agents and brokerages will not show customers a property without getting a copy of their ID, a proof of funds letter, contact information including a working phone number, email address, current living address, place of employment and so on. If you have a realtor who is showing your home and not vetting you need a new agent.
So lets get into the how to buy real estate in a hot market segment of our blog. It is very simple you must be in the market and actively searching. Well I use Zillow daily is the most common thing I hear. Face it Zillow gave a brand recognition to bringing the internet to real estate but they have became so big they are not staying up with accurate information and that is why the doors opened for other companies in that space. So when I say be in the market it is literally that talk to people in your neighborhood or the neighborhood you wish to buy in. When you at the grocery store ask the cashier if they know of anyone who is interested in selling a home. Your hair salon is another great place to inquire. Get out and about where people are and ask this simple question, ” Are you or is anyone you know considering on selling their home?” You will be amazed at the information you will get. If they tell well yes I am or my uncle Benny is you should move forward with collecting all the contact information possible for future deals. Add them to your data base. If the property isn’t something you interested in call the realtor you have been working with and give them the lead. While the realtor can not pay you a commission (if your not licensed) for the lead there are many ways they can help you in the future. Ok so lets say you found the property you want to buy but is it a good deal. Again this is where your friend who is a realtor can assist you with a market analysis to determine a fair price. Once you have established the fair price you can now go the internet and download contracts to purchase, fill them out correctly as they are legal and binding or so you hope. Your seller is now countering your offer so there is more paperwork to do. Finally you both agree on a price and the repairs needing done are on the negotiating table. After many phone calls, emails and face to face visits you both agree on what is going to be repaired or not repaired. Ok so lets move onto closing, your bank is going to handle much of this process for you however you will need to be involved and if you have never bought a house before it can be unnerving. So when its all done you set back and ask yourself one question, was it worth it? The answer should be very clear “NO” and you want to know why? Because when you hire a realtor you don;t pay them. A realtor gets paid commission from the seller. The most common push back is I’m buying an FSBO, if your realtor is any good at negotiating he or she will be able to negotiate a fee from the seller and you the best price.
So let me be clear not all agents are created equal and not all clients are created equal. If you are a house flipper, investor, some one who wants to buy and sell fixer uppers most agents are not interested because you only want to low ball offer. This takes a lot of their time writing offers and never closing. Narrow your search so they aren’t having to due that part of the leg work. When it comes time to sell your flip let them list the property even if it is discounted commission they are getting.