Buying a House? Step 1: Find the Right REALTOR®.

By the time you’ve come to the conclusion you’re you’ve likely spent many Sundays visiting open houses and hours flipping through the internet checking out homes you could imagine or dream about owning. Of course, finding the right home is crucial; however, making sure you have the right professionals to guide you through the process often proves to be the difference between a successful experience and a painful one.

Before you receive the keys to your home you’ll be facing a multitude of decisions about loans, payments, pricing, credits, closing costs, time periods and property condition to name a few. You’ll also be introduced to a myriad of jargon and terminology far from familiar including; contingencies, escrow, liquidated damages, sewer lateral, MLS, PMI, CLTA, FHA, REO and my all time favorite liquefaction. So what’s the first thing you should do to be sure you don’t find yourself hoping you’ve done the right thing as you sign—what feels like—your life away? Find the right realtor to meet your needs.

It’s important to note there is a difference between a REALTOR® and a real estate agent. Both are licensed by the Department of Real Estate and can represent buyers and sellers in the state they’re licensed. However, a Realtor conducts their business in accordance with the National Association of REALTORs® Code of Ethics and must be a member in good standing in national, state and local associations. A realtor has access to the latest contracts and disclosures developed by the California Association of REALTORs® to ensure you are well informed and achieve the greatest level of protection when purchasing your home.

I always recommend prospective buyers interview at least three realtors to be sure they have the right person working on their behalf. We are very fortunate in Alameda as we have many well qualified highly experienced Realtors in our community (there are over 200 members of the Alameda Association of REALTORs®) but it’s important to find the right one for you. To start, think back on those open homes you visited. How were you greeted when you entered the house? Were you welcomed warmly, were they knowledgeable about the home, were you comfortable and at ease when talking with them? If so, add them to the list. If you know someone who recently purchased a home ask how their experience was and if they’d recommend, or more importantly, use their realtor again. Another option, call local brokers, let them know you’re a first time home buyer and ask for a recommendation for someone who could represent you in your home purchase.

Once you’ve narrowed your list down, call your top three candidates to make an appointment for an interview regarding representing you in buying your first home. You may want to ask them to bring references you can call and speak to after you’ve met. Before your appointments, sit down and put together a list of items important to you and any questions you have about the home purchase process:

• What are your expectations?
• When do you hope to be in your new home?
• How many active clients are they currently working with?
• Do they work in the cities you’re considering?
• How do they communicate with their clients?
• What is their general process
• Anything else that is important in you decision making process.

As with any interview process, take note of more than the responses to your questions. How quickly did they respond to your initial contact, were they on time and prepared for your meeting and most importantly, was there a connection made between you and the realtor?

This latter point may seem a bit on the warm and fuzzy side, but the reality is this person will be guiding you through one of the most important decision making processes you’ll be making. The connection I’ve referred to is not whether you’ll be great friends, go out to coffee and become hard and fast Facebook friends. Was there an establishment of mutual respect, an alignment of work process and a formation of trust? If so, you have likely found the best realtor for you. Of course it’s not such a bad thing if you enjoy each others company as you’ll be spending a lot of time together!

Never forget you are selecting the person who will represent you in the largest financial transaction you will make at any given time. You should feel confident they will do so in a positive and professional manner, providing you the information you need to make sound decisions and be responsive throughout your working relationship.

Once you’ve selected your realtor it’s time to line up your lender, but I’ll save that for the next post! You do want to remember each candidate has taken time to meet with you, so once your decision is made feel confident with it and advise each of them how they fared. If you have any questions just reply below and I’ll respond as best I can.