For Buyers
Buying a home is an exciting time in one's life. Making the smart move of choosing a REALTOR® is your first step to ensuring that your new home and community meets your needs. My services and experience range from financial aid to helping you find the home that best suits you and your family. For your convenience, I also provide information on new construction. I pride myself on repeat business and hope you'll come to understand why.
How I Can Help
Before you start looking
Closing Costs
Free Service & Realtors Commissions
As Your Agent, I Will:
- Assure that you see all the properties in the area that meet your criteria.
- Guide you through the entire home buying process, from finding homes to look at, to getting the best financing.
- Make sure you don't pay too much for your new home and help you avoid costly mistakes.
- Answer all of your questions about the local market area, including schools, neighborhoods, the local economy, and more.
Before You Start Looking For Your New Home:
- Check your credit rating. Straighten out any errors before its too late.
- Determine a comfortable monthly budget for your new purchase, including down payment and monthly payment.
- Find a loan program that meets your needs and get pre-qualified (preferably pre-approved).
- Choose a REALTOR® that you trust and who understands your needs.
- Determine what neighborhood best matches your needs.
- Identify important features you need your new home to have.
- Lender fees include charges for loan processing, underwriting, preparation and establishing an escrow account.
- Third-party fees include charges for insurance, title search, and other inspections such as termites.
- Government fees include deed recording and state & local mortgage taxes.
- Escrow and interest fees include homeowner's insurance, loan interest, real estate taxes, and occasionally private mortgage insurance.
Find out how much your closing costs could be.
Helping Buyers Purchase is a Free Service!
What about the REALTOR's commission?
Great
question! Realtors can be paid by either the seller or the buyer.
Although not a common practice, the buyer can pay their representative
compensation for representation. This method, however, is usually seen
more in commercial real estate transactions. The traditional method is
for the seller to pay the selling and buying agent in a real estate
transaction. When the seller chooses a Realtor to bring their home to
the market place they also agree to pay a percentage of the sale price
as compensation to the buyers Realtor.
The listing (Seller's)
Agent offers a split of the compensation to the Realtor who brings a
buyer to purchase the property. This allows a Buyer to be represented
in the purchase without bearing any additional expenses in the buying
process. It's important to note that in this situation, the buyer's
agent works for the buyer, but is compensated in full by the seller
upon completion of the transaction. In most cases, this means that THE
SERVICES OF THE AGENT FOR THE BUYER'S SIDE ARE OF NO COST TO THE BUYER.
Much has been said about fees in the real estate business, but
few people consider the work and extensive costs of advertising a
property, arranging for prospect viewings or the car and office
expenses incurred in the course of a REALTOR's day-to-day business.
REALTORS work on commission, not salary, and get paid only after the
home search is over, the contract is negotiated and the transaction is
complete. Their compensation is based either on the selling price or
less commonly a set fee. When two real estate firms are involved in a
transaction, commissions are usually split four ways -- to the listing
and selling firms and to the listing and selling salespeople. Remember:
Using the services of a REALTOR will go a long way towards ensuring
that the sale of your home will go as smoothly as possible.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind:
-
The seller pays for a Realtor to represent the buyer (also applies to
builders and new developments/preconstruction) and adds no cost to a
purchase when including a Realtor.
- There is no such thing as
a set commission - compensation for services is always negotiable -
depending on the amount and quality of service the client wants. Paying
for more will often get you more!
- Studies show sellers get as much as 10% more when listing there home with a knowledgable Realtor.
-
Over 90% of the properties sold through the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS) are sold with the help of another agent. (Advertising exposure,
presence in the market, company size and image are important factors to
consider.) Making the services the agent provides extremely important
when selling.
Important Things to Consider When Buying!
About the Buyer's Agreement:
In
the past we often provided information and services to buyers without
setting up a formal relationship. The exact nature of the relationship
was sometimes ambiguous. This often meant that Realtors could not trust
buyers to actually use them to buy a house after sometimes months of
showing houses. Buyers could not trust Realtors to fully be committed
to their interests.
This new formalized relationship protects
everyone and builds trust. From a buyer’s point of view, the Realtor’s
role is clearly defined in the buyer’s favor. The buyer has confidence
that in the purchase negotiation the Realtor will be looking out for
the interest of the buyer.
From our point of view as the
Realtor, we now have a stronger sense of working for buyers who are
loyal to us. We now have clients who respect the time and energy we put
into educating buyers and finding the right home. It also makes the
relationship more businesslike as clients consciously choose
professional help.
Why Should You Work With a REALTOR® When You Buy?
There are many compelling reasons to use a real estate agent when you buy a home:
-
They have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which allows
them to search for available homes that meet your criteria.
- They will handle the administrative details of scheduling showings for the homes you would like to see.
- They save you time by providing you with information about schools, neighborhoods, etc.
-
When you find a home you think you might be interested in, they can use
the MLS to find out the list prices of other homes for sale in the area
as well as the sales prices of those that have recently sold. This can
help you determine the fair market value of the home before you make an
offer.
- They will guide you through the maze of offers and
counteroffers, inspections and amendments-always looking out for your
best interests. Their advice and insight in these areas can help you
avoid potential pitfalls and may save you from costly errors. Your
agent will know, for example, which items in the home need to be
included in the purchase agreement; some items can be assumed to stay
with the house while others must be specifically stipulated. If the
inspection uncovers problems, your agent will help you negotiate
changes with the seller. Most real estate agents will not tell you what
to do, but their training, previous experiences, and professional
contacts can help you make better, more informed decisions.
- They can help you find a reputable mortgage company.
- They will explain the closing process and all of the paperwork involved.
Do I need a Realtor to BUILD a home?
Yes,
absolutely. You must remember that when you enter into any new home
builders offices, you are immediately in the middle of a salesroom. The
builders job is to sell you a home and it is the job of the builder’s
agent as well. Although the builders cannot lie to you (that would be
fraud and therefore illegal), they may only focus on the positive
aspects of a particular floorplan, lot or neighborhood. It will be very
rare to find a builder who will willingly tell you about any negative
features of a floorplan, model or location.
Almost all
builders work happily with Realtors and will pay their commission
without adding anything to the sales price. Builders and Realtors have
a good relationship because Realtors are a large source of customers
for builders. Indeed, most builders will not give you a discount for
not having a Realtor.
In the end, it is just as important to
have your own professional advice and representation with a builder as
it is with any other Seller. The builder will pay the Realtors fee with
no cost to you. Therefore, you have nothing to lose and will be best
represented by having a Realtor representing your interests.
