The best (and worst) part of buying a home is the “shopping” part. It is so exciting but it can be exhausting if you are not finding what you are looking for.
10 questions to ask BEFORE you begin house shopping
Be sure to consider the following things when home shopping:
- What neighborhood do I want?
- What are the neighbors like?
- How are the schools rated?
- Will I be able to sell this house for more than I buy it for?
- Is it important to be able to walk to shops?
- Do I need a yard?
- Is there an HOA?
- How many bedrooms and bathrooms do I want?
- Will the house need cosmetic updates?
- How much can I afford? (see mortgage calculator here)
Finding a good realtor
That’s why I recommend finding a great Realtor.
Please don’t use Zillow. You will waste your time. It’s fun to start on Zillow if you aren’t ready to buy, but more often than not, these houses are no longer for sale. Zillow has not been the most up to date in my experience.
I get it, we all know someone who knows a good realtor. But how do you find the BEST realtor. What makes a good realtor?
We have experienced a few different agents. Some good, some bad.
Do I need a realtor to buy a house?
Yes. It isn’t required, BUT when buying a home, you literally have nothing to lose. You don’t pay a realtor when you buy.
So how do they make money? You may ask.
Realtor’s make money on both the buy and sale of a home. The money always comes from whoever is selling the house.
When you buy, you owe the realtor no money out of your pocket. They are happy to assist because:
- They are getting paid out of the seller’s proceeds.
- They want to foster a long-term relationship with you for any of your future buying/selling needs.
- They have information on the area that you may not have.
If you “hire” a realtor, you will have a professional who will be able to guide and support you throughout the home buying process. It isn’t always straightforward.
How to find a good realtor
There are a slew of ways to find a good realtor. I highly recommend asking co-workers, friends, and others in your network who they recommend.
Take this with a grain of salt though, because everyone has a realtor friend. It’s a saturated market.
Ask why they liked using so-and-so. What did that person do to make the buying process easy?
If you are in the Colorado Springs area, I highly recommend David and Caroline Lloyd. They are the Double L Team with Equity Colorado Real Estate and we hired them to assist us in buying a new build, selling our old home, and then selling our new build. (Sounds crazy but we had a lot of change in just a few short months.)
Caroline and David Lloyd pride themselves on caring about their clients and celebrating their accomplishments. They are down to earth making them pleasant to be around making the home buying process stress-free.
They are also really involved in community outreach. It helps immensely when you work with someone who truly knows the area and is deeply rooted in the city. You can reach them here .
If you are in the Bryan-College Station Area, check out Jody Luckie. We have purchased 4 homes with her a sold one. We still own the other 3 houses.
She is extremely knowledgeable, to the point (which I LOVE!), knows the area incredibly well, AND knows the legalities more than anyone I have ever met.
Jody prides herself on her great negotiating skills too. I can attest to that trying to accept someone’s offer and she said “You’re not even going to negotiate that?!”
You can view her listings and other local listings here.
I have used a realtor in the past that was a Redfin appointed realtor. This was actually our first home we purchased in Castle Rock.
While the experience wasn’t bad, I was definitely just a sale to this realtor. This dude was very straightforward, which I liked, but almost to the point of being annoyed he was having to be showing houses.
The realtor didn’t ask us the questions of “house long are you wanting to be here? Are you looking to do updates? Do you have financing in place? Do you know the area or schools?”
He literally just asked “How many beds and baths?” and “What town do you want to be in?”
Have coffee.
All I am suggesting is that you get a couple recommendations and from people you trust, and then schedule a call or coffee with the realtor. You will get an idea of who they are and how they can serve you.
If you don’t have anyone you would like to ask for recommendations, you can always drop into a local open house in a neighborhood you like.
The listing agent will be there and you can introduce yourself and ask them some questions.
I know they would be happy to help.
Finding the house – Hands OFF Approach
Some people want a hands-off approach. If this is you, once you have your realtor, tell them what you are looking for.
If you go this route, your realtor will find a few properties that fit some or all of your needs and wants and then set up a time to see them in person.
Finding the house – Hands ON Approach
My husband and I have always been very hands on with our house shopping. We are pretty seasoned in regards to house shopping, though. We are also handy and open to learning how to do more with our projects.
Having the willingness to learn makes a hands on approach less risky. The good realtors we have used have been willing to set us up with the MLS listings and we were able to roam them freely.
When we were super interested in a property, we would do our research to see if we wanted to see the inside.
I will go into more detail on what research you need to do ahead of time before looking at the property in person in my next post.
Don’t just go with the first property you walk.
You will want to be sure you actually love the house you are making an offer on. Just because you have seen it in person does not mean it’s all cupcakes and rainbows.
DO YOUR RESEARCH.
One last side note – don’t sign a contract saying you will work with a certain realtor. It’s a silly measure and can put you in a bind later on down the road if there is a time limit on it.
In my opinion, a good realtor knows their value and wants to work with people who also want to work with them.
If you do sign one of those contracts saying you will work with a specific realtor, please read what you are signing (as will all legal documents).
Like I said before, I will go into more detail on what you need to do before visiting a property and making an offer on a house. Stayed tuned to make sure you don’t make a rash or uninformed decision!
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