By Joseph Callaway,
Those Callaways
Whether you are moving up, downsizing, or relocating, making the decision to buy a home is an adventurous time filled with excitement and wonder. Where will it be? How big? Gated or non-gated? One story or two? There are so many decisions to be made, and it can be so much fun – the joy of anticipation is hard to beat.
The next joy is finding out you qualify for a mortgage. That perfect home for you can be found at every price point, but knowing where you fit and that you fit can be empowering. The words “you’re approved” can be music to your ears.
Here is the biggest joy of the whole home hunting process – free help! That’s right, you are the star in this movie and if you are wise, you will enjoy the ride. This is how it works: each seller wants to sell their one property and you, the buyer, get to choose between thousands of homes on the market. The market’s solution to this dilemma? Commission! And the seller pays!
Enter the Real Estate agent.
REALTORS® are wonderful. They give you their time, expertise, experience and market knowledge. They know every area and everybody. They will probably watch your kids and wash your dishes, and they do it all for free.
Your Real Estate agent is so helpful, you’ll want to get one as early in the process as possible. In your home-buying process, a REALTOR® can save you time and guard you from mistakes. Your agent gets you answers and helps you ask the right questions. Your agent is the one who makes this home search a joy.
Many people, and you may be one of them, prefer to do their own searching on the internet, and this is fine. However, you can suffer from information overload or worse yet, disinformation frustration, when you find out that the perfect house you just discovered is actually sold. This is not joy.
So how to you find the right agent for you? Open houses are a good resource. Ask your friends – they often share your values. Use a relative but be careful that they will tell it to you straight. Friendship can be a candid killer. Friends hesitate to say some things you need to hear. Just have this conversation up front and tell them to treat you like a client, not a buddy. Be sure to use an agent who is experienced. A newbie can be enthusiastic but you’re looking for joy and that comes with time on the job.
The final joy of buying a home is when you get the keys. This is a special day and those keys open the door to your next adventure.
That’s it – have fun, get qualified, choose an agent who will bring you joy, and get those keys!
Those Callaways are an independent real estate brokerage with 23 years of experience buying and selling homes in the Magic 85254 ZIP Code.
