Want to Buy a Home This Year? Hire Your Realtor Now

A good Realtor is an advisor, a teacher, a planner, a neighborhood expert, a skilled negotiator and, sometimes, a marriage counselor. You wouldn’t hire a financial advisor the week before you retire. A good relationship takes time to build, and you will need to rely on them and be confident that their advice has your best interest at heart. Don’t wait until the home of your dreams is for sale to start calling around looking for a good Realtor. Hire your Realtor early in the process and they will guide you all the way home.

Here are some of the ways bringing your Realtor on from the jump will benefit you in the long run:

• They take the time to get to know you: Make sure you find a Realtor that has the time to get to find out what is important to you. Make sure they listen to what you are really saying and not just what they want to hear. In order for you to be able to trust their advice, you need to know they have your best interests at heart. To do that, they need to care and adjust their approach to address your needs.
• They connect you with vetted and experienced professionals: You will need financing from a lender with great services and rates, an experienced home inspector to check out your new place before you buy it, and a title company to do the title research and handle the legal documents on the day you sign documents. Who should you trust? Your Realtor can make those introductions upfront so you know who to call on when you are ready.
• They look at the data and let you know what market trends will impact you: Not every neighborhood is the same when it comes to price appreciation… or the ability to rent the home out in the future. Depending on what you need the home to do for you as an investment, you need to know your goals and be open to data that will impact your investment. Your Realtor can show you what the data is saying and can suggest different locations or housing types that would work for your goals.
• It is never too early to work with a Realtor: Many buyers don’t want to bother their Realtor until they are “more serious” and don’t want to “waste anybody’s time” as they get prepared. On the contrary, a good Realtor prefers to work with their buyers throughout the process and not just when it’s time to fill out paperwork. Make sure you work with a Realtor who values your time and is willing to invest theirs to ensure you have the information you need when you need it. In terms of compensation, the property owner pays realtors’ fees out of their proceeds at settlement.

Having a qualified Realtor to help you navigate the home buying process is essential in today’s highly competitive market. Why go it alone when you can have a seasoned professional working for you? With interest rates at historic lows, the DMV is a competitive market for buyers, and you need a great Realtor on your side.

GreenLine Real Estate’s Buyer’s Agents are the best in the business and can help you plan for your purchase and, when the time is right for you, to help you buy your next home. Find more homebuyer resources here.