HOMES + I N S I G H T
Julie D. Martin
The Do’s and Don’ts for Homebuyers
Real Estate Broker
Nobody likes to be told what to do (and what not to do). Well, at least I know that I don’t. In fact, the more someone orders me around, the less likely I am to listen to them. I’m sure I probably got myself into some trouble over the years for having such an independent spirit, but it has also served me well in other areas of life. I’ll let you in on another one of my personality traits. As much as I don’t like to be submissive, I probably hate losing even more. I’ve learned that if I want to win in life, it doesn’t just take hard work and grit. It also takes listening to the right people, people who have wisdom and a history of making good decisions. So, if you are a Buyer and you want to win, follow some good advice. Here is some of the best advice I can give you to help you to win in this market.
DO
Hire the Right Agent
I once had someone who told one of my buyer clients “your agent wasn’t very nice to me”. It was regarding a situation where the seller had left a garage full of their junk right before closing day, and I had to get a little pushy to ensure my client wasn’t left with a headache to deal with. My client later told me that he told this person that he didn’t hire me because I was nice; he hired me because I was smart. We got a good chuckle out of it, and it became a funny story to tell. But, seriously, there is a lot of truth in this. If you want to have someone help you in a tough market, you need to hire someone who is tough. There’s no reason to be rude just to be rude or to assert power, but you must ensure you’re working with someone who is strategic and not afraid to assert themselves on your behalf.
DO
Get an Accurate Pre-approval
You can’t go shopping without knowing what your budget is. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and will prove to be a very frustrating experience, so this is the first thing you should do before you even start the process of viewing homes.
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DO
Be Realistic About Property Values
If I could put my finger on the most frustrating part about this current market (and I mean frustrating for buyers and buyer’s agents alike), it’s that there’s no rhyme or reason with pricing. There could be 10 very similar listings pop up on the same day and the list prices can vary by more than $200,000 or more. So that you don’t get your hopes up, allow your agent to inform you prior to booking showings approximately what they think the property will sell for based on recent sales data in that neighbourhood. If you have a budget of $650,000, don’t look at homes that are likely to sell for over $700,000. The longer you view homes that are out of your reach, the more you will end up spending in the long run because lost time allows the market to increase in value which results in you either spending more for the type of home you want or getting less of a home than you wanted in order to fit your budget.
