Do you really know what you should be asking about that home?
You are out driving around and see a home that looks great, so you stop to take a flyer out of the box and give the listing agent a call. STOP!!
First of all, let me just remind you that listing agent works for the seller. Before you actually go in and see a home, you should absolutely have a buyer’s agent representing you. Any information you give the seller’s agent may work against you when it is time to make an offer. Secondly, if you decide to go ahead and call the listing agent, be sure to have your questions prepared and be on your guard.
The first question you will want to ask is if the property is still available? Often times agents will not let on that a property is under contract in hopes of pulling in a few buyers that they can turn on to other properties. The next thing you will want to know is if the property is privately owned, bank owned, or is a short sale? The reason being, if you are wanting to be into a home by a certain date, you may not want to make an offer on a bank owned or short sale property which can take several months to close.
Next you will want to know is the property vacant or not? This will help determine the sellers motivation and how much pressure you can put on them in the offer. An ideal situation would be one where the seller has already moved and purchased a new home and urgently needs to sell their old one.
Lastly, you’ll want to ask how firm the seller is on their price? Sometimes real estate agents can be loose lipped and give you more information than they should. In other cases, they may have already gone through part of the process of short sale or submitting an offer on an REO property and know what bottom number is acceptable to the bank.
The answers to these questions will give you the information you need to decide if you even want to look inside the property. For example, there is really no point in even looking at a short sale home when you need to be moved in 45 days.
Don’t ever give listing agents any more info than you have to!
Once again, I highly suggest that you run all these questions through your buyers agent to avoid giving the sellers or seller’s agent any information they can use against you during a negotiation.
Do you have more questions about buying your first home or need an experienced buyer’s agent to help you purchased the property in the Seattle area? Call me at 425-773-3149 and let us discuss what questions you have and how I can help you find your next home!
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