It is common for potential Buyer Clients to tell me that they "don't want to waste" my time by phoning me or emailing me when they see something they like and need more information. There is a big difference between wasting my time and letting me do my job.
If you know that you are not going to be in a position to buy for 6 months to a year, going out to look at homes now is wasting everyone's time, the buyer, the agent, the home seller. When I walk into a home with a buyer I am basically telling the home owner and their agent that the Client with me is qualified to buy that home and is actually in the process of working toward a Purchase Decision.
I had to be really firm with a really good friend once because his wife wanted to just go look at a house. At the time, they had no plans of buying. She just wanted to look. I had to say no. It didn't make her very happy at the time but she has gotten over it.
The better practice? If your home purchase decision is more than 6 months away, work on identifying neighborhoods. If you have several neighborhoods in mind, ask me to set you up to receive MLS notices as things go on the market in those neighborhoods. Don't limit that information by price. That way you will get a a really good idea of the range of homes in that neighborhood. You want to purchase a home in the mid-range of the neighborhood. You don't want to buy at the top and you really don't want to buy at the absolute bottom. Buy in the middle. That way, when you get ready to resell, there will be the largest number of potential buyers for your home.
If you see a sign in front of a home, write down the address and then send it to me and I'll get you the information. That way I'll have an idea of what kind of house catches your eye. If you call the phone number on the yard sign, you will either reach the Seller's Agent (who will be representing the Seller and not you) or you will reach the Updesk at the listing office. The Agent who is on the Updesk, waiting for your phone call, is doing it in the hope that potential buyers are calling in.
Over the years, I have gotten some really wonderful clients off phone calls to the Updesk. As an agent, part of what I do on the Updesk is ask the caller if they already have an agent. It is very, very common for the caller to say that they do have an agent but that they "don't want to waste" that agent's time. If I have time, I will do what I can to educate the caller. By NOT calling the agent they are not letting their agent know what sort of home they are looking for. They are shifting the learning curve for the agent by not sharing their actual needs and wishes. In the end, THAT is what actually wastes the agent's time!
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