If you’re shopping for a home, you’ve likely enlisted a Realtor®. The home buying process can be fun, frustrating, daunting, confusing, exciting, and many other conflicting emotions. Your Realtor® is much more than a person to get you through the front doors of potential homes. He or she has local market knowledge of pricing, trends, availability, and often gets tips on homes that are coming soon to the market. Your goals are aligned—to find you the home you want within your price range. So be sure to work as a team rather than against each other. While your Realtor® is your service partner, there are things you can do on your end to help him work most effectively.

Keep Communication Open and Upfront

Let your agent know your expectations about the process, as he should let you know how he works. He’s been on both buying and selling sides of a transaction many times, so trust his expertise. If you have concerns about the process, share them. Expecting something to change without talking about it won’t help either of you.

Keep Your Expectations Realistic

In certain circumstances, it’s possible to bid low on a home and get it, but keep your expectations realistic. It’s unlikely the seller of a home priced at $450,000 is going to entertain a bid of $350,000—unless that home was miles off in pricing from the start. Don’t blame your agent for losing the house on a low bid if he warned you it was way off the mark. Also, keep expectations in check when you have a long list of wants for your home. Even if you have a healthy budget, it’s hard to find an available home for sale that has every single checklist item. Your Realtor® needs to know which wants are at the top of the list and which are flexible. And if you have a low budget but you still want a move-in ready home with the kitchen and baths updated, you may need to make some concessions to find a home you can afford.

Know What You Want

Most buyers spend a lot of time searching for homes online and viewing photos in detail. Get a feel for what you want and need, then relay that information in specifics to your Realtor®. She will likely set up an automated email that sends you home listings in a certain price range with specific features you’ve requested. If your thoughts change on what you want, let her know immediately so that she’s sending you the right kinds of options online. Also, it’s better if everyone isn’t chasing their tail looking at a wide variety of locations and styles of homes. This only confuses you and doesn’t allow your agent to help you make progress. Narrow down locations and home styles so that both parties can focus productively.

Use Available Resources

Ask your agent as many questions as you want about the market, his thoughts on pricing and value, and what kinds of watch outs you need to anticipate. He’s there for guidance. Also, be an informed consumer on your own. Use your agent’s website to look at pricing to confirm what size and style homes are selling in your price range. Drive by locations you’ve chosen at different times of the day or evening to ensure you’re getting the full picture of where you’ll live. And find out what shops and restaurants are nearby that suit your needs.

Share Your Positive Experience with People You Know

If you appreciated your agent’s service, professionalism, and real estate expertise, refer him to others you know. His business is built much on word of mouth, so spread the word. Offer to write him a testimonial for his website or tag his site on social media when you post a photo of your new home.

Your Realtor® has your best interest in mind. Making an effort to work as a team will ultimately help the process go smoother.

Platinum Service Realty