Many first time buyers are not aware of all the things that they are about to face when buying a home, so it's good to prepare them for the road ahead. Most of the time they have no clue about the gauntlet they are going to run while seeking a mortgage or the fact that they need to plan for 2 days off so they can attend the home inspection and settlement. Maybe more importantly how to stay qualified by not going out to shop for new furniture once they ratify a contract.
So how can you get your buyers ready for the road ahead? I prefer to issue my buyers a notebook that has pocketed tabs and labeled dividers loaded with information. The 8 tabs in the binder are titled
1. Consumer Notice
2. Buyers Agency Agreement
3. Contract
4. Sellers disclosure
5. Home inspection
6. Finance
7. Addendums
8. Questions
The tabs that I load with information are a as follows;
Sellers Disclosure- I place a blank sellers disclosure inside for them to review what questions will be answered by the home owner.
Home Inspection- This tab has a list of companies that we have used and continue a history of accurate reporting and timely reports along with contact information for the buyers to research them before they need to select a company.
Finance- The finance tab has a list of local banks and mortgage brokers along with their contact information. This list is also full of individuals that have and continue to provide excellent service to my clients.
I also have several additional inserts to give them a little extra knowledge about saving money, home owner tips and things to watch out for while we walk through properties. I try to use a variety of information to start educating them on what is coming.
After we ratify the contract I make sure to give them copies of all the documents and place a copy of the MLS sheet in the cover.
If you are a Realtor then you understand the importance of us educating our first time buyers. It is a sad fact that we hear stories about a buyer not knowing what is really going on, not getting copies of forms or not even having a copy of the contract unless they ask. I recently had a customer list their home with me and buy out of my area. They called me a few times with questions about what they should do, truthfully I was flattered that they wanted my advice but I was upset with the other agent for giving such poor service. In this situation their agent failed to meet the reply to inspection time line and ended up paying for repairs himself. So yes, these things are still happening even with an abundance of technology at our finger tips.
Coal Infantino
Coldwell Banker
(717) 676-5545
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