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What Do You Need to
Know as a Buyer?
There is several things to
consider when buying property and/or moving to a new place,
the information below is provided to you in order to help you
make confident and competent decisions. Planning to move to a
new place can seem like a daunting task, however, these tips
can help you with your planning and decisions. We are
confident that this information will make your relocation
experience much easier and more productive. Enjoy, and please
don't hesitate to contact us with your questions and comments.
Representation
What is important about
representation? A good question and place to start when you
are thinking about relocating to a new area.
First let's look at what
representation is. Most property owners looking to sell
property either decide to sell their property by themselves or
hire a real estate professional to help them. Why would
someone hire a real estate professional to help them sell
their property? At first glance, the reasons might be obvious,
perhaps it's because they just don't want to hassle with
marketing and showing their property. Perhaps it's because
they feel that the real estate agent has better tools and
resources to market their property. Or perhaps they just don't
have the time. The truth is it could be all of those things,
but most importantly, even if folks don't want to admit it,
they typically don't have the experience and/or the education
to market property properly, using tools and resources and
tools that are currently effective to accomplish the task.
There is, in addition, a liability issue. That is to say that,
a property that is not properly marketed and sold, has the
potential to leave the seller wide open for legal
ramifications and future hassles, and as we all know this is
no fun, as it can cost folks time, money and hassle. For sale
by owners typically go it alone because there just isn't
enough equity in the property to hire a real estate
professional to help, (boy, we certainly see equity deficient
properties now days, right?). However folks attempting to do
this, without the knowledge or experience, are definitely
taking on some risks.
So, what about the Buyers? Think
about it, most sellers have real estate professional looking
out for their best interests, who is looking out for the
buyers best interests? Well if you are out there just driving
around looking at property and calling who ever is on the sign
at each property that looks interesting to you, several things
are happening there.
- You are possibly wasting a lot a
gas and time, that's just the obvious.
- You may be establishing implied
agency relationships with multiple agents.
- The agents you are talking with
have a responsibility to their clients, (sellers), that
leaves you kind of out in the cold when it comes the
quality of care that they can provide you as a buyer,
(they are looking out for their clients best interests,
the sellers).
- How can a sellers agent help you
negotiate the best deal if they are on the sellers side of
a transaction?
- How can a sellers agent help you
research the property to even come up with a good strategy
to even put together a good offer or even make a good
decision whether of not to pursue the deal at all?
That's right, they can't. As a matter
of fact, there is a good chance that they are attempting to
represent both sides of the transaction. Now I ask you, would
you hire an attorney to represent you and the other guy? Well,
attorneys can not do this anyway, but you get the idea, it
just can not be done properly, and if attorneys can't do it we
as licensed professionals can't do it either. Makes sense does
it not?
The solution is simple, find a
"Buyer Broker" agency that represents buyers
exclusively and select them using the following criteria, much
like sellers interview selling agents to find the one that
will do the best job for them, you should interview buyer
brokers too.
- What kind of resources do they
have to help you determine what you can afford.
- What type of tools do they possess
that can help you find a property that meets your needs
and wants, and are they sensitive to those requirements.
- What is there back ground and
experience.
- Do they have negotiation skills.
- Do they have the resources that
they can share with you to help you when you need
inspections, and other types of professional services,
before, during and after the sale.
- And of course, do they have a
willingness to devote the time and attention that you
desire to accomplish your goals.
I hope that this information is
helpful in selecting the proper representation, as you can see
it can make a difference in whether or not you have a more
pleasant and productive property buying experience. Remember,
It's your move, it's your money, it's important, don't take
unnecessary risks.
Resources
So, you have
the desire to move to a new area, where do you start?
Researching the area that you are thinking of moving to is a
good place to start. Most folks believe that the internet is a
good resource for research, perhaps it is, however, how do you
know if the information you are looking at there is accurate
or even pertinent to your needs and wants. What if you had
someone that could refer quality resources to you, or even
help you do the research, or better yet, do the research for
you based on your questions and comments? Let's say that after
you have done enough research to satisfy your curiosity
concerning demographics, personal interests and services that
fit your needs and wants, you might ask the question, can I
afford to live in this wonderful new environment? Who might I
contact to figure this out? You have already found out what
the relative cost of living is, and what the jobs typically
pay, so what does property cost where you are going vs. what
property cost where you are? Good idea to have a good resource
to figure this out and establish some sense of value. Some
folks might try this on there own, however, just looking at
asking prices of property on the internet, or in magazines and
such, will only provide you with a false sense of value and
massive confusion. It would be important, at this time, to
find out what properties have sold for, during the last 6
months, in the areas that you may be interested in. By doing
so, you have a way to properly determine the market place and
compare it where you are. That being said, what would be a
good next step? How about finding out costs and what you can
afford, not only costs of moving, but costs when you get
there, that may apply to your needs. Also, a good idea at this
time is to contact a good mortgage broker, that would be
willing to help you figure out your financial strategy too.
What about other resources you might require? i.e., who do you
contact for various home inspections, escrow services,
property improvement estimates, utilities, other services,
employment opportunities, medical needs, clubs, organizations
and so on?
Good resources
are invaluable tools for you to make competent and confident
decisions. You might find that a good Buyer Broker could
possess many resources that would really help you with
all of your research and decisions, you know, your buyer
broker might even do a lot of research for you, however, you
might enjoy the adventure of just using the resources provided
to you on your own. Whew! we could all use a little help now
and then, why work hard when you can work smart. Let your
resources work for you, allowing you to make good choices and
decisions.
Planning
Why would
planning be important? Moving to a new environment is a life
effecting decision, like other decisions, there has to be a
reason why you would want to take the time and effort to make
the move, right? Maybe it's for a job opportunity, or for
health reasons, or the weather is just getting to you, or
maybe you just can't stand to live so close to the things in
life that irritate you about where you are. What ever the
reason, be sure that you have some goals and desires that are
worthy of the endeavor that lies before you. Having good
reasons to move will empower you to put together a plan that
can help streamline your relocation efforts. Let's face it,
moving to a new environment can be some of the biggest
decisions we may make in our lives, it doesn't have to be
stressful and over whelming, it truly can be a pleasurable
experience that you look forward to rather then dread. Setting
goals and ambitions and then striving to achieve those
challenges can be very satisfying, to say the least. We all
want to improve our lives, but we don't want it to necessarily
be a chore.
Having a
purpose, making plans, gathering resources, being informed and
getting proper representation, can make moving to a new place
one of the best decisions you ever made. Remember, make it
easy on yourself. Enjoy life!
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