Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Hi! My husband and I are looking to buy in a couple of areas, mainly the Morrisville or Chapel Hill areas. I've always thought it a good idea to have a buyer's agent who specializes in the place where you're going to buy, but most agents seem to have a specialty around here. I don't want to be disadvantaged by choosing a Cary/Morrisville expert only to fall in love with a house in Chapel Hill.
Does it matter that much where the buyer's agent is based?
How would I go about finding the best person to deal with both of those locations?
Hi! My husband and I are looking to buy in a couple of areas, mainly the Morrisville or Chapel Hill areas. I've always thought it a good idea to have a buyer's agent who specializes in the place where you're going to buy, but most agents seem to have a specialty around here. I don't want to be disadvantaged by choosing a Cary/Morrisville expert only to fall in love with a house in Chapel Hill.
Does it matter that much where the buyer's agent is based?
How would I go about finding the best person to deal with both of those locations?
Thanks in advance for any information!
For the most part....agents should know the whole area around here in general. I honestly do not know Chapel Hill well, but know Wake and Johnston counties very well. You can hire an agent for Chapel Hill only and then another agent for Cary only....just put a clause in buyer's agreement that they represent you only in the Chapel Hill area and same for other agent...BUT, you may be able to find an agent very familiar with both. To be honest though, if you only wanted one agent, which I would recommend, that agent...whichever area they know less, can do their own research and guide you in your decision. Ask people you know who they used......best and safest way to hire a Realtor is from their past clients Hope this didn't confuse you.
My advise is to find an agent with the ABR designation. This stands for Accredited Buyer Representative. You can start your search at REBAC Home Page and search by state and city. These are agents who have additional training to work with and negotiate with buyers specifically.
Honestly, I don't know how any agent can "know" this entire area. Between what was here, all the new development, keeping up with the different school districts, airport flight patterns, etc. There is no way one person can know all of it.
However, most agents have a good knowledge of more than one town. I myself don't claim to stay up with the goings on in parts of Cary (changes on an hourly basis), Durham or Raleigh. I know my way around but would have to do the extensive research to discover all of the that is happening now and in the future to feel confident.
Apex, Morrisville, Chapel Hill and Carrboro are the areas I know best mostly because they are the areas that surround where I live and therefore I shop, go to restaurants and regularly visit.
When you find an agent, and there are many wonderful ones who volunteer their expertise on this forum to start with, ask them where they regularly shop and play.
If you found an agent that specializes in Cary/Morrisville, and want to look in Chapel Hill why don't you ask your agent for a referral so that she can get compensated if you buy a house in Chapel Hill.
Hi! My husband and I are looking to buy in a couple of areas, mainly the Morrisville or Chapel Hill areas. I've always thought it a good idea to have a buyer's agent who specializes in the place where you're going to buy, but most agents seem to have a specialty around here. I don't want to be disadvantaged by choosing a Cary/Morrisville expert only to fall in love with a house in Chapel Hill.
Does it matter that much where the buyer's agent is based?
How would I go about finding the best person to deal with both of those locations?
Thanks in advance for any information!
I was use to working with agents who specialized in small sections of Portland instead of the whole city. So it was odd for us to come here and find that agents really do specialize in all of the Triangle. Here unless you are looking for a very unique property then I think you are fine picking any agent that you connect with and is willing to show you homes in both areas. Now if you are looking for a truly historic home (assuming you are not since I don't think Morrisville has many of those) or a home w/ 5+ acres then I would look for someone who specialized.
as many people do want to look in a number of towns. There are some agents who will limit themselves to an smaller area for various reasons, but even these should have someone they can refer you to for other towns. Those who do cover the entire Triangle may not know every neighborhood everywhere, but there are ways to get loads of information and a bright and experienced agent should be able to do that easily. In other words, we do this all the time here and it usually works out quite well, so not to worry!
If you found an agent that specializes in Cary/Morrisville, and want to look in Chapel Hill why don't you ask your agent for a referral so that she can get compensated if you buy a house in Chapel Hill.
I totally agree. Many agents feel they can't part with the potential of the commission and especially if you have been working with clients for some time. As all agents know but much of the public doesn't, we do alot of work with no pay until we close a transaction.
Now, since I am not a volunteer and would eventually like to see some compensation for my time with clients, I am all for referring them to an really good agent if they become interested in an area I may not feel I know as well. It is the best solution for the client and can eliminate time spent with me trying to get a handle on an unfamiliar area by connecting them with someone who can take the reins and go. It is a win-win for all involved.
Find a good buyers agent - usually referrals are the best. Then sign an exclusive agreement with them and they will work hard for you. We moved from California and found a great agent from a referral from this site. We flew out for a week and that agent took us everywhere we wanted, devoted her whole week to us.
I have a wonderful Realtor as well, if you would like the recommendation. Even if she didn't know an area, she would go there the day before and research everything for us. She pointed out everything bad, the landfills, nuclear power plants, water treatment facilities, etc. as well as all the good, parks, YMCAs shopping. We learned more from her in two days than we had learned in our two years of research. BTW she was a recommendation from someone off this board also who relocated from NJ.
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This is also a problem for agents...
