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My husband and I are relocating to Charlotte from Northern Virginia. I lived in Charlotte for 8 years, and he did for 1, but we were both just renters. So viewing Charlotte through the eyes of a buyer is a whole different experience! This will be the first house purchase for both of us, so we are definitely a little nervous. We've decided we could really use the services of an exclusive buyer's agent, but this is where we've gotten stuck.
How do you pick one? I've spent a bunch of time poring over websites looking for qualifications and reviews and testimonials until my head spins, but I don't feel any closer. Do you just close your eyes and throw a dart and hope for the best? Does anyone have a good experience with one, or a recommendation on how they picked one? Does anyone have one they feel fanatical about? (Please pm me!)
You are going to get bombarded with PM's now. I just a bought a house and used a coworker who is licensed as agent. He was excellent so let me know if you want his details.
You will get a ton of personal recommendations, so go with one you feel comfortable with. I like many others, have a great Agent, though not an exclusive buyer agent. Normally I would say don't sign any contracts with them, until you find one you want to put a contract on, but I would presume EBA's have stronger contracts, and may even charge a fee, since they make no money selling.
Thanks guys. Perhaps the fact that I am looking for an "exclusive buyer's agent" will keep the general agent referrals to a minimum...
Also, we're going to scope out neighborhoods this weekend, and if we happen across any open houses, we might wander in. Is it okay to go look at open houses without an agent? Does that put us under any obligation to anyone if we find one we love?
(btw, I love this forum. I started reading it back when I still lived in Charlotte, I just never had a reason to start a thread until now!)
The right buyer's agent is contingent upon where you want to live in Charlotte. Different agents are masters of different areas. At the end of the day their skill is limited to their expertise and knowledge of the right area.
I know a few great ones for the South Park area, but they would be lost puppies in Ballyntine!
Thanks guys. Perhaps the fact that I am looking for an "exclusive buyer's agent" will keep the general agent referrals to a minimum...
Also, we're going to scope out neighborhoods this weekend, and if we happen across any open houses, we might wander in. Is it okay to go look at open houses without an agent? Does that put us under any obligation to anyone if we find one we love?
(btw, I love this forum. I started reading it back when I still lived in Charlotte, I just never had a reason to start a thread until now!)
There is no problem with looking, in fact you don't need an agent at all. You can buy and sell houses without agents, it just is a bit difficult and not really recommended, especially on the buyer side (it technically costs you nothing). If you are looking at new homes though, they will sometimes offer a better deal if you don't use an agent, because they save money as well, and usually pass that on. In fact, many of them have you sign something, asking if you have an agent.
If you walk into an open house without an agent, be sure that you realize that the agent listing the property is in no way working for you nor has any of your interests in mind. He or she is solely there to get their client the highest price for their home without breaking the law.
They should make you sign a "working with real estate agents" form that dicloses this information at first substantial contact... if not they could lose their license
We're on our recon trip to Charlotte this weekend, and we feel really good about being able to find the right house for us. Now, we just need someone to represent us, who of course will only have our best interests in mind. We begin the search in earnest for someone this week...
I was curious, why were you so driven to have a exclusive buyers agent, versus a standard agent? (I see some benefit, but in my experiences of buying homes, the standard realtor has been great, and never represent both seller and buyer.
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