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I am just wondering what Realtor's opinions are on buyers like me. Please be honest, I am just trying to get an idea of how difficult it will be for me to find a good fit when I'm ready to buy.
I really do not want an agent that is going to insist on profiling me or trying to get me to define what I'm looking for, because I won't know. I am definitely an "I'll know it when I see it" kind of person. (Have no problem at all with providing a pre-approval, though)
My husband and I will drive around and look at the dozens upon dozens of houses that we found on the internet that interested us, check out the neighborhoods, commutes, curb appeal, nearby conveniences, etc. If they have an open house, we will go look on our own. Then we will narrow it down and give our agent a list of the 10-15 homes we would like to be shown. There probably won't be any rhyme or reason to our list, but being able to see the homes WE want to see, as opposed to the ones our agent thinks we should see, will result in us making an offer much quicker.
I guess I always would have thought that a buyer like me would be a blessing for an agent, since it's much less work for them, but after reading another thread on this forum, I see that we frustrate some agents.
I'm thinking some of the frustration may have to do with the fact that some buyers who are all over the board aren't ready or aren't really serious about buying... if that is the case, I also wonder if it would make a difference if we have just sold our house, are temporarily in a hotel, and HAVE to buy something fairly quickly?
That is the sort of buyer I have been for my last properties. However, I think you should only ask to work with a buyers agent under these conditions if you know fairly well what you want. For example, you should have a maximum budget and a general target area. I once provided an agent with a list of 20 homes I was interested in from various websites. She then made a map for me of the easiest routes to take to see all 20 from the outside. After my little drive I narrowed my acceptables down to about 6 and then she made appointments to view. (The first one I subsequently picked turned out to be under contract, and the second one was the one I bought.) While looking at the 6 with curb appeal I could have asked the agent to look at additional, similar homes that I might not have caught notice of. Then she would have a good idea of my preferences and we could take advantage of her considerable additional resources. But at the time I was under a time crunch since I was visiting from out of state.
I am a great proponent of the "drive-by". Curb appeal and neighborhood mean everything to me, so why waste everyone's time with houses that you know as soon as you see the front that you would never want to live there. That wastes your time, the agent's time, and especially the seller's time, since they are probably going to run around like crazy getting it just right for you to view as soon as there is an appointment.
i did exactly the same as a buyer. been shopping around on our own for awhile...we are fussy people and we hate to have to drag along another person (agent) to all of our viewings. anyway, when we were finally able to shortlist down to 3 properties....we got an agent whom we had met at an open house and had a good feeling for to represent us and look at the final 3 properties with us and to give us any objective feedback on the properties. we made an offer on 1 of the 3 and closed without a hitch or even a counteroffer! agent said that was "nice and quick" and was the first time something good like that happened to him.
I think most buyers these days are DIY buyers to some degree so I don't think there is anything unusual. My only issue with DIY buyers is that I tour homes all the time and I'm pretty good at pinpointing homes that would appeal to certain buyers. I have a buyer now that wants to see what she wants to see, which is fine, but we have walked into about 8 homes where she walked right back out. They were homes I had already been in and knew she wouldn't like. At some point you have to trust your agent.
It goes both ways. You need to make sure you are seeing homes you want to see, but if your agent is suggesting you pass on some homes because they have been inside and you haven't...might want to take that into consideration.
I can't speak for anyone else but I'd love to work with buyers like you! What's not to like? Now, if you repeatedly drag me around to 15 houses a day without finding something you like, that might be another story. If that happens then you are way too unfocused and need the help I can provide. But, if you do most of the legwork and narrow your choices down by yourself, that's great!
My husband and I will drive around and look at the dozens upon dozens of houses that we found on the internet that interested us... give our agent a list of the 10-15 homes we would like to be shown.
I am just wondering what Realtor's opinions are on buyers like me.
Sure. You're not a buyer. You're a looker.
Despite all the la-de-dah talk about everything else few real buyers will have more than 2 or 3 neighborhood
choices and a rather limited range of size/features in the structure or lot that will meet their needs and budget.
And few people will ever own more than one home at a time.
When you actually are ready/able to buy... focus on those 2 or 3 neighborhoods.
Find an agent who works there. A lot. Answer their questions and get a RE lawyer too.
Quote:
I also wonder if it would make a difference if we have just sold our house,
are temporarily in a hotel, and HAVE to buy something fairly quickly?
Of course it would. First rule of sales is "qualify the prospect".
The degree that you are able to follow through on a transaction...
will dictate how soon you will be successful doing so.
Last edited by MrRational; 09-11-2012 at 10:31 AM..
I am just wondering what Realtor's opinions are on buyers like me. Please be honest, I am just trying to get an idea of how difficult it will be for me to find a good fit when I'm ready to buy.
I really do not want an agent that is going to insist on profiling me or trying to get me to define what I'm looking for, because I won't know. I am definitely an "I'll know it when I see it" kind of person. (Have no problem at all with providing a pre-approval, though)
My husband and I will drive around and look at the dozens upon dozens of houses that we found on the internet that interested us, check out the neighborhoods, commutes, curb appeal, nearby conveniences, etc. If they have an open house, we will go look on our own. Then we will narrow it down and give our agent a list of the 10-15 homes we would like to be shown. There probably won't be any rhyme or reason to our list, but being able to see the homes WE want to see, as opposed to the ones our agent thinks we should see, will result in us making an offer much quicker.
I guess I always would have thought that a buyer like me would be a blessing for an agent, since it's much less work for them, but after reading another thread on this forum, I see that we frustrate some agents.
I'm thinking some of the frustration may have to do with the fact that some buyers who are all over the board aren't ready or aren't really serious about buying... if that is the case, I also wonder if it would make a difference if we have just sold our house, are temporarily in a hotel, and HAVE to buy something fairly quickly?
I appreciate your help and feedback!
You sound like a fairly typical couple to me. I would suggest you be very straightforward with any agent you interview, and present along the same terms you do in this post.
And you should be open to the possibility that after seeing some homes, the agent may have good recommendations of properties that will fit your needs, too.
Despite all the la-de-dah talk about everything else few real buyers will have more than 2 or 3 neighborhood
choices and a rather limited range of size/features in the structure or lot that will meet their needs and budget.
And few people will ever own more than one home at a time.
i don't think that's entirely true. if there are many nice neighborhoods in the area, why limit yourself down to only 2-3? and for some people, they might just be very flexible with regards to budget and features....not everyone will narrowly focus on a few neighborhoods or only look at houses at a certain price range
It sounds like the only thing you may know right now is your price range. You don't sound bad to me. I would send you an email of everything in your price range in the areas you want in order to help you.
With all due respect, you kind of took my comments out of context. Yes, when we are looking at dozens of properties a day, we would be classified as lookers. But, by the time we enlist the services of an agent, we are ready to buy.
I think what a lot of you say about focus and trusting your agent to find properties for you makes sense for many buyers. Most buyers have specific needs such as minimum SF, number of bedrooms, school ratings, etc.
We don't, however. It is just my husband and I, so our minimum need is a 2/1. Ok, so that includes 99% of listed homes in our price range.
In all honesty, our most important criteria for a home is a safe neighborhood. Our second most important is how much we like the appearance of the property from outside (curb appeal). Those two things are the most critical, and fortunately, are things we can determine on our own by researching online and driving around. We may love an old 1930's downtown home and a 2012 suburban model home equally. It's just not really something that someone else generally can predict.
Most of the measurable criteria (number of bedrooms, etc) is way secondary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by silverfall
I have a buyer now that wants to see what she wants to see, which is fine, but we have walked into about 8 homes where she walked right back out.
I did that once, with a home I had chosen to see after driving by. There was no door on the master bathroom. It wasn't like someone simply took the door off, either - there was no frame for a door. There was this weird wall that kind of looped around - like something you might find in a public place, leading to the sink area of a public restroom. I walked out of that house pretty quick...
But if I remember right, we did consider all the other ones carefully before making an offer on our current home.
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