Home Buyer Tips ~ #1 - Is your real estate agent a good fit for you?

Back in June, I posted the Top 10 Tips To Take the Stress Out of Homebuying. And as I work with buyers these days, especially first time home buyers, I’ve noticed many are still very confused about this whole process. They must not have read my blog! lol

Of course, as real estate agents, we do this stuff every day. It’s our job (even though we don’t always get paid for it…but that’s for another day!). My point is, to those of us in the business, these things are second nature. And many of us may assume our clients just instinctively know what we know! Some do…but many don’t.

Besides helping folks buy and sell houses (and every tiny little detail that goes along with the process), it’s my responsibility to educate my clients, too! That said, I’ve decided to tackle each of the 10 tips individually. My goal is to post a “Homebuyer Tip of the Day”…. so here goes Tip #1:

1. Find a real estate agent who you connect with. Home buying is not only a big financial commitment, but also an emotional one. It's critical that the REALTOR® you choose is both highly skilled and a good fit with your personality.

Now for the purpose of this blog, I'm going to focus on the personality part of this tip. You can research your realtor-of-choice to read testimonials and see how many transactions they've got under their belt, but the "chemistry issue" is strictly between you and them.

Let's say you, the buyer, are surfing the real estate sites and see a house that looks perfect. After clicking the “Contact Me” button, you are connected to a real estate agent.

The two of you set up a meeting and you hope, like a blind date, that you will like each other. Believe me, if you do not like the person helping you with your biggest purchase, it could be much more stressful getting through the next couple (sometimes several) months. Do you have to hang out with your realtor? Invite her (or him) to go bowling with you?? Of course not…unless you want to! But you will definitely be communicating on a regular basis - sometimes daily.

And please remember if you don’t ‘click’ with each other, you can choose to work with someone else. Maybe a friend or co-worker can refer you to someone they’ve worked with in the past. Referrals are the #1 source of business for most real estate agents and if someone you like and respect also likes their agent, there's a pretty good chance you'll get along well.

Like they say about work (and yes, buying a house is work), it doesn’t seem like work if it’s fun! Not only for the clients, but for us, too!

www.SoldBySueGabriel.com