How a sharp Agent can help....
How A Sharp Agent Can Help You
Have you found yourself in hot
competition for a popular home? An energetic agent can keep you at the head of the line.
Being one of the first to see a home when it comes on the market can give you a
competitive edge over others.
One way to judge the energy level of an agent is to see how quickly they respond to your
initial call. A serious agent — one who will continually check the computer for new
listings in the neighborhood of your choice — should demonstrate his or her degree of
focus by returning your first phone call within an hour or less, explains one experienced
agent.
Also, according to the expert, "a working agent will be on the computer two or three
times a day to search for new listings for you." When a promising home surfaces on
the market, that same agent will try to get you into the property the first day.
Here are some other points for choosing an agent in areas where buyers are competing for homes:
A GOOD AGENT KNOWS THEVALUE OF PRE-APPROVAL.
A good agent will steer you towards getting a letter from a mortgage lender indicating you have actually been pre-approved (not simply pre-qualified) for a mortgage. This could be your most powerful tool in the presence of rival bidders.(up)
Such a letter makes you a certain buyer in an uncertain world because you’ve proven you can go through with the financing you need to buy the home. When faced with multiple offers, the seller will often favor the purchaser who has clean credit and proof he or she can actually go forward with the deal.
AGENT LOYALTY.
In areas where buyers are
competing for scarce properties, it can be tempting to engage more than one agent to hunt
for you.
Today, however, virtually all agents serving a particular area should have access to
information on any new listing there at nearly the same time. Because of this, there is no
real advantage to working with several agents simultaneously.
YOUR AGENT MUST BE KNOWLEDGEABLE IN
A COUNTEROFFER SITUATION.
Observers agree that in a strong
sellers’ market, buyers don’t have much leverage. That’s why you should
carefully evaluate any serious counteroffer from the seller, if you truly want the home.
Your agent should be decisive. He or she should give you an honest reaction to a
counterproposal quickly and with an eye to recent sales in the neighborhood. Remember that
if prices are rising in the neighborhood, even sums recently paid for similar homes may
not reflect the full market value of the property today or next month.
Still, you don’t want to be bullied by greedy sellers who know they have a commodity
in short supply — a nice home in a prized neighborhood. Overpaying the market to an
unreasonable degree could prove a huge error if the bubble were to burst on the local
economy.
Smart Moves by Ellen James Martin. Copyright 1998 Universal Press Syndicate. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright 1998 Norwest Mortgage, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Norwest Mortgage and design is a registered service mark of Norwest Corporation. Information subject to change without notice. 8A0818A
