If you are an Albuquerque real estate professional, anywhere, you have received this call. “Hi, I want to see this house right now.”
If you are a home buyer, or just a curious window shopper, you have probably made this call.
Here is why that call is just not the best way to go about shopping for a home.
1. Have you talked to a lender about getting financing?
I know, you don’t think ‘it’s a problem’, you know your financial situation like the back of your hand and you know you can get the money. In fact, you might have it all in cash, stashed away just waiting for the right house. But, if you can’t provide your real estate professional that information, you may not get into the house! Many sellers today are requiring that their homes not be shown to anyone who can’t substantiate that they have talked to a lender or provided enough information to establish themselves as real home buyers. This is a rather strange world we live in now, and security has become the main focus of our every day living. Why would a home seller want to open their doors to just anyone looking? If you have taken the time to talk to a lender, starting the process of preparing yourself to actually buy…the sellers have more confidence that they are showing their homes to someone who isn’t casing the joint, looking on a Chamber of Commerce tour, or just kicking tires. It takes alot of time for a seller to get a house ready to show, leave the house for the showing, and then get back to the day’s activities. Not to mention it is, first and foremost, their private property. It shows respect for the seller and the process to establish yourself as a qualified purchaser.
2. It’s the seller’s private property…it takes effort to prepare the house to show!
See number 1 above. I can’t stress it enough.
3. Are you working with a broker already to see homes?
If you are making this call to my office because your broker is out of town, can’t be reached, or is otherwise not available to show you homes themselves, then you need to have a talk with your own broker. There are ethics involved in meeting with another broker or agent’s clients. Enough said.
4. What are your plans, really?
Who are you, what are your goals, what is your present situation? Why are you moving? It’s really a better approach to find a broker first to frame the home buying process, rather than shooting a shotgun and see where it sticks. Come to our office, have a consultation about what your buying needs are, your plans, your wishes….otherwise, skepticism reigns supreme.
5. I want to buy from the listing broker, I’ll save money.
Really? Probably not. Our listing contracts are confidential between us and the sellers. Only if we have an agreement in the listing contract that if we sell it ourselves the buyer reaps the benefits of a reduced commission will that happen. The winner is the listing broker.
6. I’m in town for a few days and really just want to see a few houses to see what they are like.
See Number 1. Ask for a drive-around self tour package; I do them all the time! It will send you through neighborhoods with printed information about each house for sale, or past sales, and you get to ‘feel’ the neighborhood for yourself. I promise you will get the information you need about the area, the neighborhoods and the city with a self-guided package. Email me today and I’ll set one up for you.
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