Purchasing my First home, El Paso, TX

Travel back in time with me to El Paso, c. 2007. It was such an exciting time and feeling for my husband and me when we decided we were tired of paying off someone else’s mortgage. It was time to invest in ourselves! I, like most others, went to the mighty Internet to find my Realtor. I mean, if it’s on the Internet it’s absolutely true, right?!? NOT! As first time prospective home owners, our knowledge of picking a Realtor was basic at best. We assumed (yes, I know what they say about people who assume), that we found a competent and trusting agent to have on our side when making this momentous decision and financial investment that was going to span the next 30 years of our lives.  The Realtor we picked was with a well-known company so we hired her to be our agent.  I did not interview any other agents; another monumental mistake consumers make.  As a matter of fact, you may be surprised to learn that more than 80% of first-time buyers never interview another agent. They simply go with the first person they find that can open doors for them. Stop for a minute and think of your personal work situation--I’m sure you’ve encountered people in your profession that were more competent, professional, ambitious, and savvy than other employees.  Realtors are employees and people, too. Frankly, some are better than others. This is the biggest investment you will make in your life, save for buying another home or starting your own business, and you need to know that there are options. You should talk to more than one Realtor and then choose the one who fits your family’s needs. Another segment will follow explaining how to best choose the agent for you, but I digress, let me get back on topic.  Now that I am a Realtor and have the education and training on the home purchasing process, looking back…our agent really screwed us, pardon my language. There really is no polite way to say it that captures the disappointment and frustration I feel when I think about it. She just showed up and opened doors. We had not purchased a home before so we really did not know what right looked like. It seemed okay at the time, but she did not research the property we were buying to give us professional advice on 1) how much to offer, or 2) a fair market estimate of the value of the home. Had the second occurred we would not have purchased a home that was way over-priced. She was not our advocate, and she did not fight for us against the seller and his agent; she was a Yes-Gal at our expense.  Additionally, she did not inform or guide us on our loan choices. I understand Realtors are not loan specialists, but in my humble opinion and the fact that we deal with multiple clients and learn loan options, Realtors should have enough professionalism and care for our clients that we learn about loan possibilities and ask the right questions to ensure our clients are making good decisions. Unfortunately, we did not make the best decision and have since paid dearly for it. Don’t find yourself in our situation on such a big, long-lasting purchase. Do not settle for just any Realtor, and know that you have the right to choose any agent you want and yes, you can fire us too if we are not serving your needs! Happy House Hunting!


Chasity Rosales
Keller Williams Realty
915-873-2772
chasity.a.rosales@gmail.com chasity.a.rosales@gmail.com>
www.kw.com http://www.kw.com>