8 tips to keep in mind when shopping for your dream home
Are you looking for a real estate agent to help you find your dream home? Realtors® like me pride ourselves on finding the perfect home sweet home for our clients. Take this Mid-century Modern pictured at the top of this blog. I found the impressive home perched privately atop Santa Barbara’s Riviera that hits all the buttons my customers were looking for in a new residence. Now they’re getting ready to move in! Are you next?
Here are a few simple protocols you can use while shopping for a home that will keep you out of hot water and on good terms with your real estate agent. Especially your own agent.
- Find the right agent
Read my previous blog on what you really need to know to find the perfect agent. - Agents work on commission
Agents are highly motivated to do a good job for you. Most of us are paid a commission on transactions we close. That means if we don’t close a transaction, we don’t get paid. - Keep appointments and be on time
Never make an appointment with an agent and then forget to show up. It’s okay to cancel or be late, just let your agent know in advance. - Do not contact the listing agent if you are already working with a buying agent
Listing agents work for the seller, not the buyer. Ethics prevent a listing agent from doing the buying agent’s job unless you’ve contracted your agent to do both. - Open house protocol
If you attend open houses without your buying agent, make sure you let the listing agent know you have representation. Better yet, hand your agent’s business card to the agent hosting the open house. - Sign a Buyer’s Broker Agreement with a Buying Agent
Expect to sign a buyer’s broker agreement before you start your property search. This solidifies the relationship between you and the agent and explains the agent’s duties to you, and vice versa. - Sign the agency agreement
By law, agents are required to give buyers an agency disclosure. In my case, the agreement will be with my new agency, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties. - Do not sign anything you don’t understand
Don’t feel silly asking your agent to explain a form to you. Many forms are second nature to agents but not to you, so ask for explanations until you are satisfied that you understand.
If you aren’t ready to move, you don’t need a real estate agent. Anyone can go to open houses by themselves and contact listing agents for showings, but please be honest. Say you are “only shopping.” Don’t waste an agent’s time if you aren’t ready to act.
If you are ready to act and find your dream home in Montecito, Hope Ranch or any of Santa Barbara’s upscale communities, please check out my profile and read my testimonials. Then, give me a call at 805.886.9378 or email me at [mail_to email=”Cristal@montecito-estate.com”]Cristal@montecito-estate.com[/mail_to]. I can help you sell your property too. My latest sale, an impeccably upgraded Mid-century beauty perched above Summerland, just sold in record time for top dollar. I’m looking forward to helping you with all your real estate transactions!