Buy a Home

I see my role as your buyer’s agent in two ways: I keep you out of trouble and I maximize a financial result for you. You have to like a property. That’s a highly personal decision for you to make. My primary role is to make sure the property is a good to great investment for you. I do this by:

1. Help the buyer buy within a reasonable budget.
Ground clients in what they tell me their limit on price is early in the process. Remind them of their budget to help avoid over-spending. Though wonderful, a house is NOT the key to happiness. Buying beyond one’s means can be the road to misery.

2. Know the Market. Make sure clients see enough, or more than enough homes; provide research, and make offers only after due diligence is completed.

3. Make sure the home is a good long term fit. A home not only should fit a person’s budget, it must provide the right options as a family grows and changes.

4. Do a Comparative Market Analysis before writing any offer. Just as I would when pricing a property for sale, I perform a value analysis. The client has to like the house and find it affordable. My primary role though is to make sure the property is a good, safe investment.

5. Draft and execute smart, accurate, and legal contracts. Though what is said in real estate carries weight, it is what is written in the contract that is the legal basis for the transaction.

6. Perform due diligence after a deal is struck. In rare cases, formal inspections may seem unnecessary. In my experience a thorough inspection, including a radon test, is a prudent part of this process. 

7. Help the buyer follow an organized process. Provide guidance and legwork while fully coordinating the process with the lender and title company. Provide resources to the buyer that help them make a smooth and easy transition to their new home.

Build

Building a new home rather than buying a preexisting one is a solid option in many of our communities. Many people, however, underestimate the importance of realtor representation when building. The agent representing the builder owes their fiduciary duty to the builder, not to you, the buyer. As nice and ethical as the builder representative may seem, they are constrained from acting as an advocate for you.

Having representation also forces the builder to be accountable to me as your realtor and to my broker, rather than just to you. Builders live on their reputation and there is far less risk of underperformance when they have to please the agent and the broker, since we know what is usual and customary in a builder transaction. Builders are also prohibited by law from charging you more as a buyer with agent representation, than one who isn’t represented.