Purchasing the largest asset of your life without representation…?

If the above statement doesn’t worry you… It should! Think about it… You are going to venture into purchasing your largest asset that you will ever own, and you plan to do so on your own without expert advice…? Even as I write this I begin to get anxious for those people.

I sit in on open houses EVERY weekend and it blows my mind how many people are out there searching solo. I believe that the general concept is that buyers think they will get a better deal if they don’t use a buying agent? Please comment below if you believe this or not.

This works 2 ways… You can easily use an unexperienced agent who is going to end up costing you thousands, or even 100’s of thousands of $ in the long run. Or, you could also walk into an open house and purchase with the listing agent… who’s fiduciary interests are already on paper with the seller!

Both are a terrible idea.

Think about it like this… You’re going through a divorce with your partner, and you both choose to use the same lawyer! Doesn’t make sense does it? You need someone COMPETENT and looking out for your interests.

In a perfect world every realtor out there is experienced and knowledgable. But this isn’t the case… I see complacancy all the time! We live in a city with an ever-shifting real estate market and anyone who thinks they are going to keep up with it part time, is crazy.

Make sure your realtor is fluent in the mechanical aspects of a home and can recognize a damaged foundation, knob-and-tube wiring etc…

THIS PARTS IMPORTANT… At least I believe so…

So many realtors out there advertise “MY BUYING SERVICES ARE FREE!” This is not true….

Yes, its true that the seller pays the real estate commissions! But, they are paid from your purchase price. Meaning that YOU are paying the commission for your buying representative… This is important because the market will tell you otherwise.

What does this mean?…. This means that you need to value the services, knowledge, opinions and hustle of your buying realtor! After-all, you are paying for it. So if you have any hesitation that your realtor does not have a firm grasp on the market they are helping you navigate.. You’ll need to end the business relationship ASAP because you ARE paying for their services.

There’s PLENTY more to a property search than viewing a property and submitting an offer, the work is done on the back end… and through market knowledge!

So my advice to you is to ask the hard questions and be very harsh on your realtor’s buying services, because despite the “MY SERVICES ARE FREE” slogans… They’re NOT!

Always happy to chat further!