Hiring a Buyer’s Agent to Help You Buy Your New Home

Karen Packard

When making a large investment liking buying a home, hiring the right buyer’s agent to protect your interests is extremely important.  You would not put hundreds of thousands of dollars into any investment without doing your due diligence, right?  Would you hire a stock broker with no experience to invest your retirement savings or someone that works part time and dabbles in the stock market?  No, you would find someone with a proven track record of good returns, solid investment strategy, professionalism, good communication and is a committed full-time broker.  If you were being taken to court, wouldn’t you want the best attorney you could get representing you?  Why would you not want the same thing when you are buying your largest, most important investment… your home?

What is a buyer’s agent?  There are two sides to every house sale.  The buyer side and the seller side.  Real estate agents can work for either the buyers or the sellers.  Sometimes both on the same house.  A buyer’s agent is the real estate agent that is representing the buyer side of a home sale.  Most agents switch back and forth as buyer’s agents and listing agents depending on who we are working for.  When I am helping a client sell a house, I am their listing agent.  When I am working with a buyer to purchase a home, I am the buyer’s agent.  As a licensed real estate broker, I can work with either side.  The difference being who the client is.

An experienced, full time buyer’s agent on your side will make the difference in getting the home of your dreams at a price and terms that are reasonable.   A good buyer’s agent can be your secret weapon.  We know various ways to make an offer appealing to a seller that a newer agent may not know. 

The past few years have been challenging for buyers.  There is a larger number of buyers looking for homes than houses available in our area.  This has made it more challenging and many houses have had multiple offers with buyers needing to compete for homes. 

How do you make your offer stand out and win?  Each house is different, each seller is different.  Finding ways to write up an offer that appeals directly to that seller might be the key to you getting the keys to your dream home.

First step to finding a great buyer’s agent is to meet with agents.  Don’t just hire your friend or co-worker that sells real estate on the side.  Talk to your potential agent about your plans.  What your ideal timeline is.  What is your price range.  What towns are you looking in.  Make sure the agent is comfortable in those towns. 

The job of your buyer’s agent is to advise, guide, and steer you through the process using our resources and expertise.  I can help you with the following

·        Identify homes in your budget that fit your wish list possibly adjusting your wish list to what is realistic in this market

·        Send you home listings that fit the criteria you are looking for

·        Set up showings at the properties you would like to tour

·        Write up your offer to purchase on the home you select to buy using any contingencies and terms that work for you and attractive to the seller.

·        Present your offer with all necessary information to the seller’s agent

·        Advocate for you and your offer

·        Give recommendations for attorneys, lenders, home inspectors, contractors and more

·        Manage the transaction throughout the process

·        Keep in communication with the seller’s agent, both attorneys, the lender, the appraiser and the town services to get everything done before the closing date

·        Negotiate any repairs or credits that may be needed after the home inspection

·        Complete a final walkthrough before the closing to make sure the house is in the condition you expect and nothing has changed since you last saw it.

·        Getting you the keys and coordinating the closing day and time

When you hire me or another buyer’s agent, we are legally obligated and dedicated to getting you the best price on your home.  If you buy directly with the listing agent, they are legally bound to represent the interest of the seller not the buyer.  There is little to no downside to having a buyer’s agent represent you so why would you buy without one?  Having someone working directly for you puts you in the best position to achieve your home buying goals.

A good buyer’s agent is trained to see things you would not.  We advise you on what we know may be potential problems or hazards and help you steer clear of making a bad investment.   For most homeowners, this is the largest financial transaction in a person’s lifetime and the average person buys and sells three times in their life.  Would you consider yourself an expert after only doing something three times?  No!  I average approximately thirty home sales every year.  I am an expert in buying and selling real estate.  I also have experience renovating and flipping homes, I own investment properties and I have bought and sold my own homes with my husband over the last twenty-eight years of marriage.  (I know 28 years is a long time 😊).  I also own a real estate school and teach new agents what they need to know to be successful.  I have worked on foreclosed homes and short sales.  I often work with off market properties as well.  It takes time and experience to be a great agent so be careful about who you hire to work for you.  Make sure you have good representation when buying your new home.

I know my columns often sound like I want everyone to hire me.  That is not true.  I started this column to help reader know what to look for when hiring an agent.  I work with a lot of agents who are not well trained.  I have had to navigate sales with incompetent home inspectors and even challenging lenders and attorneys.  Just because someone has a license does not make them good at their job.  I made it my mission years ago to help anyone looking to learn.  Whether it is consumers who want to know how to hire an agent or people looking to get into the real estate industry.  That is why I opened Central Mass Real Estate School.  So, I could teach the licensing class and help teach people not just how to get licensed, but how to be a great real estate agent.

If you are looking to hire an agent to help you buy or sell, feel free to reach out with any questions.  Even if I am not taking on new clients when you call, I can help direct you to a great agent to help you.  Don’t do it alone!  You can email me at kpackardrealtor@gmail.com with any questions.