...and buyer agents are eggs, or at least similar to eggs. What comes first??? The question has been asked so often for so long that it has long ago achieved cliche status. Should a first time buyer first find a real estate finance specialist, or should they first find a buyer representative?
Like the chicken and egg, there may not be a definitive answer, but we all have an opinion. A loan originator can advise you about the amount of financial commitment you will be able to make based on your qualifications and your individual comfort level. Armed with accurate personal finance and qualification information, you'll have a clearer picture of the destination when you begin sorting out neighborhoods and individual homes for sale.
If you begin your lifestyle upgrade journey by finding a buyer representative, you will have the advantage of feeling more secure in your ability to make that move successfully. It's harder to find the best fit for you and a buyer representative because our function is more diverse than that of a loan originator. Although financing is possibly the most important part of the home purchase grid, it is only one part, and it is most easily evaluated and quantified. The buyer agent needs to be a better fit for several reasons.
When you choose a buyer representative, you are choosing the person with whom you will be working closely, possibly for several weeks, several times a week. You will meet once or twice with your loan originator, but you will be spending numerous hours on numerous occasions with your buyer representative. You will be getting together to discuss buyer agency and its importance in the house hunting process. You will be touring homes, both for first hand market exposure and to find the best fit for your lifestyle upgrade. You will be meeting to discuss strategies for buying and to formalize the offer with a written purchase agreement. Once your buyer representative successfully negotiates the purchase on your behalf, he or she will accompany you to the inspection and assist you in negotiating any issues that it reveals. The buyer agent will be your contact point for any concerns or questions that arise during the entire process from first engagement right up to final closing of the sale and beyond.
So, where do you start? Ask most agents and they will tell you to start by finding an agent first. Ask most loan officers and they will tell you to find a loan originator first. I think we're all correct and you should start wherever you want. Oh, and if you ask your landlord, he will tell you not to start. He's got a good thing going as long as you do nothing but pay the rent. Did he tell you about the increase yet?
Comments(2)