Skip to content

Posted over 6 years ago

How to Buy a House (With Actual Steps) Part 2 Realtors

Once you have spoken to a lender and have a pre-approval letter in hand the next step in the process of buying a home will be to speak with a Realtor and actually start viewing homes.

You can find a Realtor a number of ways including, referrals from friends, at open houses, and of course on the internet.  Keep in mind that if you are only buying a home and not selling your current home, there is no charge to work with a Realtor.  It is usually best to speak with a Realtor over the phone so that you can quickly discuss your criteria and they can set up a search that will filter properties that meet your criteria.  Make sure that you get along with your Realtor and that they understand what you are looking for.  Be candid; it won't hurt their feelings if you don't like a particular house or type of house, but also be realistic, don't expect your Realtor to find a property in perfect condition 50% below market value.  Communication is key; the more honest, candid, and realistic you are with one another the smoother your interactions will be.

You may be used to looking at properties through Zillow, Trulia, or other websites, but the search that your Realtor sends you will not include properties that are pending sale, or pre-foreclosures that are not actually for sale yet.  The Realtor's search will have the most accurate and up to date information, and the other search methods should be supplemental.  Many Realtor searches will also have a system for rating properties, this information can be seen by your Realtor and can be very helpful in organizing showings.

After you have selected properties online that you would like to see in person, let your Realtor know and schedule a time to go and view the properties.  A great way to save time is to ask your Realtor to show you properties that you picked out as your favorites from the search they sent you.  By doing this you aren't shown properties that you have no interest in due to location, condition or other factors.

If during your viewing you find a property that you would like to purchase, ask your Realtor to write up an offer, there are several decisions that you will need to make when writing up the offer and the first offer is where all these decisions are made.  We will cover writing an offer in more detail in Part 3 of How to Buy a House (With Actual Steps)


Comments