Yesterday I read a post by Liz Moras on this subject and it prompted me to talk to buyers in my area a little.
I got a call Saturday evening at home.
The customer dialed the office number, but at Lane Realty if you dial our office number after business hours, you still get an agent (please don't call after 11, we do need sleep). It's been a long standing practice at Lane Realty to forward the phone to a full time agent for customers who call during evening hours or before the office opens at 9 a.m. We strive to be available when customers/clients need us. And you never know what time someone might call to make an appointment.
Back to my call. The caller had been at Lake Sinclair earlier in the day with a cell phone that had service from a company that didn't offer good service in this area. He was calling to inquire about the price of a home we have listed. It was not a clear connection and his cell dropped the call. The duty agent had tried to reach him back and left voice mail. Later in the evening he was calling to make an appointment to see the home he had inquired about. I explained to him that I would get in touch with my agent that had duty that afternoon and have them contact him. He seemed upset that I would not make an appointment with him. He said, "It doesn't matter who I talk to, I don't care."
Well, I'm about to explain why I think he should care...
When you are looking for a home on Lake Sinclair there are many avenues to do plenty of looking on line. You can find houses and photos that peak your interest and call agent after agent to make appointments, but it's my opinion this isn't the best way to find a house that suits you.
It's my opinion that you should first decide if you like this area and would like to purchase at home here and then take the following step.
FIND AN AGENT TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR SEARCH FOR PROPERTY.
You see, Lake property is a very unique thing and Lake Sinclair has 15,000 acres and 417 miles of unique shoreline. It's about so much more than finding a neighborhood you like and a house you like. You need an agent with good communication skills to help you with the so much more. There are things like:
- Do you want a boathouse? a double boathouse?
- How deep do you want the water?
- Do you want property with a boat launch?
- How large would you like your dock?
- Would you like open view on the main lake or a quiet cove with less boat traffic where your children or grandchildren can play in the water?
- Do you want an area with building restrictions?
- When boating are you going to have to let the top down to go under a bridge to get to the main lake?
- Do you want the best fishing places on the lake?
- Do you want the best skiing places on the lake?
- Three counties border the lake with three very different millage rates for property taxes, which is in your budget?
- Information about schools and hospitals in the three different counties vary also, would how long it would take an ambulance to reach your home matter? how about a fire truck?
- There are 4 types of ownership on Lake Sinclair: Fee Simple, Strip lease, residential lease, and full lease.
You see, it's complex, and once you hire an agent who is familiar with these things and let them know what is important to you, you can be emailed lists of properties that would fill all or the most important of your wish list. We are also as agents familiar with which lenders have products for each type of property you might be considering. For example if you are looking at a lease lot we know which lender to send you to see, or if you are looking at a manufactured home we have loan officers who do those also.
So it really is to your benefit as a purchaser to find an agent and hire them. If you sign a Buyer's Brokerage Agreement that agent is then obligated to work on your behalf to help you find a home.
If you wanted to paint your house and you called Lowe's, Home Depot and Ace Hardware and Sherman Williams to inquire about paint... you are still sitting there with the same color. If you hire a painter and make a contract you will get your house painted. Same principle. If you hire an agent, that agent will work FOR YOU to find your Lake Sinclair home.
At Lane Realty we have a staff of full time agents to help you located and negotiate to find the best house at the best price available. Just give us a call today if you are looking for a home on Lake Sinclair and would like to HIRE an agent to represent you and help you have a Lake Sinclair home soon.
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