3 Reasons Why You Should Stop Wasting Your Time Online And Call An Agent Instead
I recently had the pleasure of taking on a buyer client interested in new townhouses. They have a unique situation: They’re getting married in October and need to register their kids for school by early September so they need to find a home. Oh, and it’s the second to last week of August.
My next question after hearing about their unique situation was why they decided to wait until the end of summer to do this. Turns out they didn’t but they were unable to find a home while searching on their own (using the internet) and didn’t want to use a broker until they realized they had no other option. Ouch.
During our first tour we found exactly what they were looking for. Not only was it in the perfect neighborhood with the right amenities but the community is near a newly finished on-ramp for a interstate highway giving them easy access to major commuter routes. +1 for the broker community.
I don’t think their intent to buy a home without a broker was in any way due to ill will towards the agent community but rather a DIY mindset that pointed them in the wrong direction. In this case the value of a good agent was misunderstood and ended up hurting them in the long run.
Here are three reasons why you should stop wasting time online and just call a GOOD agent instead:
Good agents know what options you have and can give them to you after one conversation. - I know exactly where every past (built within the last 20 years), recent and under construction community is in my local area. I write about them fairly often on my blog so if a buyer contacts me about a newer home I can give them all of their options within a few minutes of conversing.
Online information isn’t always accurate. – Ringing especially true for third party search sites like Trulia, information found online isn’t always accurate. There are price reductions, market status changes, unspoken (unwritten) incentives for buyers in new home communities and more that just can’t be found online. I’m as progressive as the next iPhone slinging guy but I know there are some things that a local expert handles better than the internet and real estate is one of them.
Having a good buyer’s agent can save you thousands on your next home. – I know it sounds cliché and not sexy because its been said to death but the fact remains: a good buyer agent can negotiate a better deal for you than a dual agent (representing both parties) or if you tried negotiating on your own.
Falling back on my new home experience as an example, I always receive emails from local on-site sales reps who tell me what kind of deals they’re willing to give if I bring a buyer client in to their sales centers. Now imagine what I know, especially since I’ve likely sold a few homes in the community you’re interested in versus what they might tell you if you go in there unrepresented.
A good, experienced agent can not only save you a lot of time (in my buyer’s case I could have given them their entire summer of searching back with one tour) and money. Remember to interview an agent at the same time they are interviewing you to make sure you’ll have a great working relationship and that they have the experience needed to find the home you’re looking for.
About the Author: Josh Ferris is a Hudson Valley real estate expert who specializes in new home sales and marketing. Learn more about Josh’s local market, including homes for sale in Rockland County New York, by visiting his blog.
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