Working With Real Estate Agents During Home Buying Process
This BLOG On Working With Real Estate Agents During Home Buying Process Was PUBLISHED On May 12th, 2019
Real Estate Agents are licensed professionals.
- Realtors work with home buyers and sellers
- Agents are knowledgeable not just in helping buyers with buying and selling homes but are extremely knowledgeable in lending, insurance, appraisals, renovations, property values, and the areas where they represent
- Home buyers and sellers need to get along with their real estate agents in order for them to have a smooth home buyer and/or selling process
- Realtors are known to be the quarterback in real estate transactions
- Most agents have a network of professionals such as lenders, title companies, contractors, attorneys, and other third-party vendors
In this blog, we will discuss Working With Real Estate Agents for home buyers and sellers.
Working With Real Estate Agents And How They Are Paid?
Most real estate agents work on commission.
- What this means is if they do not sell, they do not get paid
- Realtors are motivated in working with their clients and maintaining a great relationship so they can get paid
- Agents will do extensive research, market analysis, and quarterback the whole buying and lending process with you to get you to closing
- Home sellers list their homes with a listing agent
- Sellers are not obligated to pay anything unless the home sells
- The standard realtor’s commission is 6%
- If the listing realtor finds a buyer, then the listing agent will make the full 6% commission
- However, if another agent brings the home buyer, the listing agent will split the 6% commission with the buyer’s real estate agent
- Listing agents normally pay for open houses, internet marketing, mailers, ads, open houses, and other marketing expenses
- Agents and their clients should be respectful to each other with common courtesy
- Home buyers should not expect to have their agents to drop what they are doing to go see a property
- The agent needs to make an appointment with the listing agent
- The listing agent then needs to contact the homeowner and see when the subject property can be shown
- Please make sure to honor the time of the appointment
There are ways with Working With Real Estate Agents when shopping for homes. There are many parties involved in scheduling a showing. If running late or cannot make the appointment for one reason or another, please contact the agent and keep them updated.
Choosing And Working With Real Estate Agents
Home buyers and sellers would want to choose the right realtor who they can get along with.
- Buyers should hire an agent representing them instead of dealing with the listing agent
- Interview agents whom you get along, have the same interests, know your expectations
- Let the agents know that you are interviewing agents and be upfront and frank with them
- Do not interview multiple realtors from the same company
- Never contact the listing agent if you have a buyer’s agent
- If you contact the listing agent already before hiring a buyer’s agent, the listing agent is going to expect to represent you and the seller
- Hiring the listing agent to represent you as a buyer’s agent in hopes of getting preference and a better deal will normally not work
- This would be violating ethics rules and laws and the realtor can lose their license
What To Expect When Shopping For Homes And Working With Real Estate Agents
Open houses are held every weekend in most towns and cities.
- Some open house will allow attendees to be accompanied by a realtor
- When attending an open house without your agent, make sure to have your agent’s card
- Hand the listing realtor and/or open house host your real estate agent’s business card
- Let your buyer’s agent know if you want to proceed with making an offer on an open house home you are interested in
Do not start any negotiations with the listing agent if you are represented by your own realtor.
Paperwork Required When Engaging With Working With Real Estate Agents
Once you decided which agent is going to represent you, expect to sign a home buyer’s real estate broker agreement. It is a contractual agreement between home buyers and the real estate agent.
- It outlines the realtor’s duties, expectations, and scope of work
- There are exclusive and non-exclusive realtor’s agreements
- Make sure you thoroughly review it before signing it
- Ask your loan officer to review the agreement
- Make sure you are able to get out of the contract if both you and the agent do not get along
The Realtor should give you an agency disclosure document which is a fiduciary responsibility written agreement.
Working With Real Estate Agents And What To Expect
Buyers can have their agents to pick them up or meet them at the subject property.
- If you are only looking at one home, you can meet the agent at the subject property. Or if you intend in visiting multiple properties, it may be best in having your realtor pick you up or meet the agent at their offices. Let the agent know what your expectations are. Do you want to be updated daily? Weekly? By phone? By text and/or emails? Agents want to make home buyers comfortable and happy. Open communication is key. If you do not understand certain forms and/or documents, tell the agent to explain. Ask many questions to avoid misunderstandings
If you need a third party referral such as an attorney, title company, lender, contractor, insurance agent, ask the realtor. Most realtors have a list of referral partners.
Entering Into A Real Estate Purchase Contract
Once you find the homes of your dreams and are ready to enter into a purchase contract, let your agent know. It is the role of the real estate agent to negotiate the purchase contract.
- The buyers and sellers agents will go back and forth on the price, contingencies, sellers concessions, closing date, and other factors
- Listing agents will not accept an offer unless the buyer has a solid pre-approval letter from a mortgage lender
Make sure that your pre-approval is solid and your loan officer is experienced and reputable.
Working With Real Estate Agents With Extensive Experience
Julie Hayward is one of our top referral partners at Gustan Cho Associates. Julie represents many home sellers who are facing foreclosure and can help quarterback short-sales. Julie teams with her attorney husband Chad Hayward and can help home buyers looking for short sales and/or foreclosure properties. Here is what Julie Hayward says about how she can help buyers and sellers:
We are a residential real estate firm with an emphasis on distressed properties. Whether your property is going through the foreclosure process or you are having difficulty selling your property, we can help. Our first step is to conduct an extensive analysis to uncover the gaps in the selling process. We then correct those gaps and effectively market the property to achieve the highest price in the shortest amount of time. If it is a complex transaction, we work closely with a legal team to ensure our clients receive the guidance they need. Under current market conditions, we have helped many clients in short sale transactions and many have qualified for a seller’s credit from their bank to cover moving expenses up to $10,000. If a short sale wasn’t an option for them, our law firm partners were able to advise them on the best option for their situation which includes foreclosure defense, loan modifications, and bankruptcy. If you have tried selling by owner with little success, your property has not sold and been on the market longer than you would like, you are facing foreclosure, or are a buyer looking to invest in a distressed property, our team can assist you. Our platform allows our clients access to the most up to date market information in real time. This gives our buyers and sellers an edge since they see accurate information as soon as it’s available. We provide complimentary consultations, competitive market analysis, and problem area assessments.
Getting Pre-Approved With A Direct Lender With No Overlays
The pre-approval stage is the most important stage of the home buying and mortgage process. Make sure that you do extensive research on your lender and loan officer. This holds especially true if you are a borrower with less than perfect credit and higher debt to income ratios. Over 75% of our borrowers at Gustan Cho Associates are folks who either got denied at other lenders and/or are stressing during their mortgage process. This is mainly due to the inexperience of the loan officer and/or lender overlays. If you need to qualify for a home loan with a five-star direct lender with no overlays on government and conventional loans, please contact us at Gustan Cho Associates at 262-716-8151 or text us for faster response. Or email us at gcho@loancabin.com.