Buying a New House?  Don’t do it Alone!

There is no reason for you to buy a new home, condo or townhouse without representation.  Buying a new home is tricky and things are not always as they appear to be.  Many builders of new homes for sale are offering more “free” upgrades than ever before in addition to slashing their prices to reduce inventory.  In a down market, or any kind of market, you need to remember that no matter what the builders are offering, you can do better. 

You should know that builders are more willing to negotiate an aggressive deal with a Real Estate Agent than they are with you, the consumer.  Why is that, you might ask?  Well, good Real Estate Agents and REALTORS know the market better than any ordinary consumer.  We sell real estate every day; we negotiate every day so it's our job to know the market we are working in better than anyone else.  So when a Real Estate Agent or REALTOR like me tells a builder I can get a better deal for my clients down the street with another builder or another resale property they take note.  The consumer does not always know what terms to negotiate with a builder; I do.  Also there are many other areas where an agent can guide you through the negotiation and buying process and help you avoid potential pitfalls.  Furthermore, when you know that you can get a REALTOR like me to represent you and your best interest for FREE why wouldn’t you?  99% of the time the seller pays the buyers’ agent's full commission. 

Please remember than when you walk into a builder’s model home, open house or sales center EVERYONE working onsite is working for the builder.  There isn’t one single person working for you, the buyer, so bring your Real Estate Agent with you.  Also keep in mind that sometimes if you go to a builder’s model home or open house without your agent and sign in, you may not have the opportunity later to have that agent represent you if you do decide to buy.  Builders figure they already lured you in so why should they pay someone to represent and negotiate for you. 

Builders present you with the “convenience” of having a ready sales contract and a loan officer on site to expedite the pre-approval and contract writing process.  That convenience as always comes at a price and in this case it can be a hefty one.  Builders' contracts are renown for being the most one-sided sales contracts out there; they remove every right and remedy a buyer could possibly want from the contract, leaving no protection whatsoever for the buyer.  This is one of the areas where your real estate agent can be your most valuable asset.
Builders' sales agents can be very persuasive in getting you to sign that contract before you're ready.  Many times they will promise you a specific delivery date, a nice landscaping feature outside your new home like a flower garden or fountain.  These builders’ sales agents are very nice and honest sounding so why would you doubt their word?  Because they’re sales agents!  If they promise you anything, get it in writing; it does not mean a thing to anyone if it's not in writing.  They would promise you a brand new Mercedes (not in writing of course!) if they could get you to sign a contract.

There are many other areas where a REALTOR or Real Estate Agent will be a most valuable asset to have when buying a new home from a builder.  You may wonder whether you should have a home inspection or not since it is a new house.  In most cases you might be surprised to know that you should have a home inspection on a new home and several of them in fact, during different stages of the build.  You may also think (because the builder told you so) that you have to use the builder's preferred lender to get all those extra upgrades.  In many cases that is not true - you can have both.

In conclusion I hope I have made a compelling case as to why you should have a real estate agent represent you in a real estate transaction, especially when buying a new home.  Best of all, in most cases, you can have that representation at no cost to you!
If you would like me to represent you in selling or buying a new or preexisting home call me at (202) 413-3052.

Click here. For information about Rockville Homes For Sale, Bethesda Homes For Sale and general Real Estate For Sale around the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area visit DMVProperties.com. Kacem Benali, The Realtor in Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia that has all your Maryland Real Estate needs.