What a buyer’s agent can do to help you through the home search and home buying process:
- Access all of the for sale listings in your preferred area that might meet your needs—and often, give you information on homes that haven’t been listed yet
- Plan and schedule tours of properties and accompany you to showings of homes you’re interested in
- Evaluate the listing price of a home and create a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report to inform you about the home’s reasonable value
- Advise you about what offer to make based on research and expertise—and write up and present your offer
- Negotiate the sale price: you want an expert negotiator on your side
- Help you through the inspection process after your offer is accepted (this involves helping you understand which inspections are possible and desirable, scheduling the inspections, and reviewing the inspection reports with you)
- Help you negotiate for repairs and understand the process if there are repair estimates that need to be obtained and repairs that need to be made
- Help you understand various documents you will be reading and signing when purchasing a home
- Help guide you all the way through the process to your signing appointment and the closing of the transaction
A buyer’s agent should communicate with you and explain the home buying process to you. This is what you can expect from me as your buyer’s agent—as well as a keen eye for detail, close review of documents, and negotiation expertise that come from being an attorney.
Is it a good idea to be prequalified for a loan before starting to look for homes?
Yes! You will want to talk with a mortgage professional about prequalification for a loan. It’s best to do this before you start searching for homes because when you find a home you like, you often need to move quickly to submit an offer. Take a look here for information on the loan application process: http://hownw.com/home-buying-process/applying-for-a-loan/. I can help connect you with loan officers or mortgage brokers if you have not already found someone to work with.