After reading The Home Buying Process Step 1, you know where your financial boundaries are, and you have a pre-approval letter, we are ready to go shopping for a house!
There are many factors that figure into defining the type and location of your home. Factors such as where you work, what type of schools you desire, what type of home you are looking for, the ability to walk to restaurants, being near a bus line, and how much return on your investment you hope to gain, if any. I have individual resources for schools, area appreciation and demographics that I will share with you individually as they relate to your needs. These are all KEY in selecting your next home. As an Accredited Buyers Representative, I will take you through a list of questions similar to those below to gather some information on what is important to you and your family. Based on your answers, we create a list of priorities in order of importance. These priorities may shift a bit during our home search, but we always know which are the most important and keep track of them. No home is 100% perfect; there are always some things that get pushed aside for a better kitchen, or school district. But in the end, it is my job to keep you focused on those priorities when emotions tend to take over your thought process.
Example Questions during our First Meeting/Telephone Call:
1. What do you like to do on the weekends or in your time off?
2. Are schools important and what type of school are you looking for?
3. What do you like best about your house now?
4. When do you want to be moved into your new home?
5. How long do you think you will be staying in your next home?
6. What type of return on your investment would you like to see?
7. Are you handy, do you want to do some improvements, or move into a home that has already been done for you?
8. Are you considering a single family residence, or are you open to a condo as well?
Your answers to these questions help me to shuffle you into a few different areas of Cincinnati and even perhaps Northern Kentucky. We then talk about how many rooms, bedrooms, garages etc you will need. Since by this point, you have already spoken to the local lender and have a pre-approval, we will be able to consider your price range and what you can get in a home in a given area for that price. This is where my experience with different communities, their school systems, and what you can expect to get for your price range comes in handy, guiding you to areas that will have what you are looking for. My knowledge and ability to hone in on what is important to you help you focus on what you want and save time looking in all the wrong areas while the home of your dreams sells to another buyer.
Congratulations! You are a VIP BUYER!
With the responses to my questions, along with the lenders pre-approval, we can make you a VIP BUYER! As a VIP buyer, you will get priority treatment from me, sending you emails and scheduling showings for you. It is important for me to give you this VIP treatment, because you have done your best to get yourself pre-approved. You have thought about the things you want in a home. You have thought about a location. We have worked together to prepare you for homes that meet your financial needs and your priorities.
When you are a VIP buyer, I’ll scour the Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky MLS and compile a comprehensive list of new homes on the market in the Greater Cincinnati Area, complete with pictures and detailed information. Every time a home that meets your exact needs comes on the market you’ll be notified via email. This simple program saves time and eliminates guess work, and provides you information on the latest listings and price adjustments before other buyers even get out of bed.
When you see a home come across your email that you like, you just send it back to me, and I keep a file of what you like. When you are in town, or schedule an afternoon to see homes, I will pull out the listings that you liked and we can see them all! Your home hunting trip takes priority for me! Sometimes, you might even need to see a spectacular home within an hour of it being listed, to beat the other buyers to the punch. We will get you in there and get it under contract before anyone else can even see it, even if I need to write the offer on the hood of my car! (It has been done!)
How long will it take me to find the house I want to write an offer on?
That question is asked of me by almost every buyer I have worked with on our first outing. Here is my answer… Once you have a list of several homes you want to see, I take note and LISTEN to what you like, the type of homes, the features inside them. When we go through the homes for the first time, usually a few hours, we talk inside each home about what you do and do not like what you would like to see. I take notes, LISTEN and formulate an idea of what you want to find. We talk at the end of that first day about what you thought of the homes, and try to narrow down types of housing, locations and styles of homes.
Sometimes after the first day of hunting, you may totally rearrange your criteria, but do not be dismayed. We are working to get you one step closer to your perfect home. We will collect more listings and focus a little more on certain areas or types of homes the second trip out, allowing me to assert more guidance in getting you to areas and homes that you expressed interest in the last trip. In this trip out, we get very close if not finding the house you are looking for. This occurs based on my LISTENING to you as to what you like and trying to narrow things down for you to exactly what you are looking for.
It usually takes 2-3 half day trips of looking at homes to really define what you want, and to find the home you want to write an offer on. I do this so efficiently because I LISTEN to what you are telling me. I LISTEN to what you want and I FILL THAT NEED with a home that meets your criteria. Listening to you is the key for me to help you get what you want. So, when we are out looking at homes, talk to me, tell me what you do and don’t like, how you feel in a home or a neighborhood. That is the info I need to move you ahead and closer to what you are looking for. It is an intuitive skill that I have that will save you time and get you the home of your dreams!
In some cases, it does take a bit longer, depending on your price range and specific needs, but rest assured I will find you what you need in a timely fashion. I want you to love your home!
It may seem like a lot of work in just the first two steps, but that is just half of the work! In the next step, you will see my honed Accredited Buyers Representative negotiation strategies and skills at work for you! Why are my skills so sharp, Practice, practice, practice! I sell more than 30 homes a year and negotiate more than 40 contracts a year. There are tricks of the trade, and time tested strategies that are under lock and key for my VIP Buyers only! Hang in there to see what Step 3: From For Sale to Pending has in store for you!
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