Buyer’s Common Misconceptions
Here are common misconceptions home buyers have when buying a home. That they can either do a better job themselves in sourcing a home for sale, or that they are going to get a better deal if they approach the listing agent directly. These are misconceptions. Let’s paint a picture of a typical home buyer trying to find a home on his own. We will call him Mr. Homebuyer, HB for short: HB starts his search online looking at every imaginable site out there. I’m sure you can already see the stress mounting.
HB cannot find the phone number of the listing agent and when he does, trying to get a call back can be challenging.Imagine trying to get 10 different listing agents to show him their properties and lining up appointments…
HB may call only to find that the property is no longer on the market. Many online sites out there are not up-to-date.
He may have wasted time looking at properties that are not available.
HB may be sophisticated enough to recognize a property listed as a short sale and understand the ramifications of buying one of these properties, but many other home buyers don’t.
HB may approach the listing agent on purpose thinking that he is going to get a deal by going directly because the listing agent does not have to split his commission. But lets remember who is paying that commission – the seller.
There are way too many things that can go wrong when HB tries to buy a home buy himself. I will point these out by showing what can go right if HB uses a buyer’s agent.
Let’s see the benefits of using a buyer’s agent:
HB sits down with a Realtor® and together they discuss the criteria for the search. However the first thing that the Realtor® will ask is that HB speaks with a lender and gets a pre-approval. Without this nothing can be accomplished. The Realtor® will know the limits of the search and HB will not be disappointed buy having set his heart on homes he cannot afford
The pressure is off HB. His Realtor® will build a search that will update HB at least once daily and send out new listings to him which should not include homes that have been sold. Trust that most everything that is on the market will be on the MLS so HB doesn’t have to worry that he is missing something, although I’m sure he is still going to peek.
Now, HB can just make himself available to visit the homes at appointment times his Realtor® sets up for him.
If any of the homes are a short sale, the Realtor® can find out the background. How many liens are on the property; what kind of experience the listing agent has with short sales; has the process been started; all important things to know in order to decide whether making an offer on the property is viable.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, HB’s Realtor® is going to be representing him and him alone. When a listing agent is representing both sides of the transaction impartiality is a problem. Remember who is paying the commission – the seller. Put yourself in the position of someone trying to negotiate both sides of the deal while not divulging to one party what they know about the other one.
Above all hiring your own agent is going to cost you nothing. Using a buyer’s agent is the best money you will NEVER spend!
