TRUSTED PARTNERS

During the home buying experience, you will have a few various people helping your side of the transaction to make sure things go smooth. Knowing that, your realtor can make a big difference in the home buying process. Here are just some of the difference I’ve personally seen over 20+ years of working with many Realtors, there is a reason I prefer a Trusted Realtor.

Realtor vs Real Estate Agent Disclaimer – A Realtor is a licensed real estate agent who is also a member of the National Association of Realtors. NAR is the largest trade association in the U.S., so many real estate agents are Realtors. Realtors are expected to adhere to NAR’s standards and code of ethics, and they must participate in regular training to maintain their status. For this article, we will consider anybody Trusted a “Realtor”.

Q: Can you show me this home?

•  Trusted Realtor – Looking at the home you want, when you need to! Properties go under contract fast, a good realtor will even go check out the house for you if you aren’t free (sometimes). They will also be happy to tell you if something is wrong, even if it means you skip that property.
  
  • Not Trusted – Some realtors want you to work around their schedule, by then the home you wanted is under contract. You may not get a showing for a few days or even the weekend. Or even worse, they will push you to go see a house in an area convenient for them. Another thing I’ve had happen, is the realtor will tell you everything great about every house just so you buy and not disclosure health concerns if there are some.

Q: Negotiating Price & Credits

• Trusted Realtor – Any great Realtor will work with you on a fair offer you both are happy with! They also know the area and market to know how to structure the offer. Many realtors include the lender on the email with the offer. I will call the listing agent to follow up the offer to give a vote of confidence of why you are the best choice! Same with credits, these are seller credits that help you bring less money to closing.
  • Not Trusted – A bad Realtor can refuse to offer the price you want, or push you into what they think. They might not know how to fill out the contract, or not put the offer in for a day or 2 later. Then you lose the offer due to them. But they have every excuse why it didn’t get accepted. (This happens more often than you’d imagine)

Q: Are they a FULL TIME Agent?

• Trusted Realtor – All my of Trusted Realtors are full time and do this for a living. This is probably the biggest red flag when choosing a Realtor. Full time, also means they know the current market, trends, pricing and neighborhoods. Listings may try to hide things they don’t want you to know. A good realtor will spot them and tell you beforehand.
  • • Not Trusted – Most people have a “family” realtor or friend. The truth of it is, more and more people are “part time” realtors. Which means they have their full time job, and they hold a realtors license. Usually they do this just to get a random paycheck throughout the year, but have no intention of learning the industry. These are the hardest to trust. They generally don’t know current trends in the industry, pricing, structuring of a contract or how to negotiate. They might forget to check a box saying the washer and dryer were included. That means you are not getting them. They don’t stand a chance negotiating against a seasoned veteran. They are only in it for a side paycheck. Don’t let this person cost you more because they know you.
      

Q: What if I have some issues with buying?

• Trusted Realtor – All of my Trusted realtors will work with you, regardless of price or problems. The grass isn’t always green and every purchase is different. That’s OK! My realtors all know that if I issue a pre-approval, that means we have gone over any issues you might bump up against and we have a game plan in place to get you the home of your dreams. That’s how great teams work, we all talk to each other.
  
  • Not Trusted – I’ve had situations where a realtor hears you are an FHA borrower and they treat you like a second class citizen (there is an unspoken stigma around FHA borrowers that’s simply not true, people use FHA for various reasons), they don’t want to show you properties because they assume nobody would ever accept FHA. They basically act like you aren’t good enough for them. You get no help and they just don’t care. When this happens, I happily refer you to a Trusted Realtor, then magically you start looking at properties you want, and offers are put in. The worst a seller can do is say no. But generally, most say yes or negotiate. In the end, you become a homeowner!
    

A Trusted Attorney can make a major difference in the transaction for so many different reasons. Most don’t know a  real estate attorney. Luckily I have worked with some great attorney’s over the years and have a selected few that I highly recommend. Attorneys are also your choice, these are recommendations, but not requirements to use any Trusted Attorney. As the buyer, you should feel comfortable with your attorney. Remember, we all work for you during this transaction. Here’s some key things an Attorney or Lawyer does for you.

Q: How can the attorney make any difference?

•  Trusted Attorney – In so many ways, they are responsible for protecting your earnest money from being lost, they help negotiate repairs and make sure you get what you want and you stay protected. A good attorney is worth their weight in gold. They can help you against an aggressive HOA for example.
  
  • Not Trusted – I have had attorneys who forget about mortgage contingency dates, which puts earnest money at risk. Sometimes they will give their paralegal the file and never get involved until they have to show up to closing. Some will accept customers and not double check paperwork because its not their “primary” focus. 

Q: Negotiating the Inspection

• Trusted Attorney – These negotiations are vital for you as the buyer. Having an attorney that can get the sellers to agree to repairs and get it in writing is not always an easy task. Negotiating methods and prices also matter here. They can give you the best advice on how to handle this based on your inspection.
  
  • Not Trusted – There have been situations where an attorney tells the buyer that there is nothing the seller will give without even asking. Just so they don’t have to bother. Or they will negotiate and delay the amendment to the contract over for credits etc and it gives the seller time to change their mind.
    

Q: What type of law do they practice?

• Trusted Attorney – A Real Estate Attorney who primarily practices real estate will know more about the process. They know other Real Estate attorneys in the area and know how to negotiate with them. The world on attorney’s is just as small as any other. So they will see each other on deals quite often.
  • • Not Trusted – We had a closing where the seller used their neighbor, who was an attorney, but he didn’t do Real Estate. However told them he could handle it. We get to closing and found out title showed a lien on title from 18 years ago that was never cleared (from a refinance). Buyers attorney asked repeatedly about it before closing and he said it will be taken care of. It came up at closing and we could not close. 2 weeks later luckily we found out who owned that title co at the time of closing. They did us a favor and insured the lien and we closed. Moral of the story, the sellers attorney had no idea what he was doing and made everything a headache.