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We have looked at about 15 houses with our realtor, and I'm starting to feel guilty that we haven't found "the one". We really do intend to buy and have come close a couple of times, & we definitely do drive bys, go to open houses and do our homework beforehand. Should I feel guilty about using the realtor's time to go in houses? I do! I just wish I had my own little lock box opener to go in houses that are vacant.
We have looked at about 15 houses with our realtor, and I'm starting to feel guilty that we haven't found "the one". We really do intend to buy and have come close a couple of times, & we definitely do drive bys, go to open houses and do our homework beforehand. Should I feel guilty about using the realtor's time to go in houses? I do! I just wish I had my own little lock box opener to go in houses that are vacant.
If you are being straightforward with your Realtor regarding your wishes and ability to buy, and reasonable as to what you want for what you are willing to pay......
Well, No! No guilt at all is warranted!
Your agent is paid to wait on you. Their $10,000 thank-you awaits. No guilt.
How much an agent gets depends on the home price. Not all commission checks are this big.
We are not paid to wait on you...we are paid to help you. I have had many clients feel the same way you do. This is what we do and at least for me...I point out things to clients all the time that might make a home more desirable and stay on "their list" or things they don't notice that take it off their list.
Also, sometimes it takes agents a while to figure out exactly what you want and touring a few homes together makes it easier. That way, when they are out previewing or screening homes online, they can start to really target your tastes. Some people just have a hard time articulating what they want.
There is a lot of inventory in most places. Touring 15 homes doesn't even get to all homes that clients can see these days. This is a HUGE financial investment. Don't feel quilty. Make a good choice for you.
Keep shopping! If you've employed a good Realtor, he/she will hang in there with you regardless of time or money. Not common, but I remember looking at around 100 houses with a couple of first time homebuyers several years ago. They had similar feelings to yours, so sometimes we went in their car, shared meal expenses, etc. I got to learn more about the products and eventually they found the perfect place. And the best of all, I made some good friends that I'll never forget.
If it's really bothering you, bring it up and their answer should help guide you. I do know agents who won't show more than x number of homes. Our first agent, gave us printouts (this was before MLS Online) and told us to do drive-bys. If we liked the house, he'd make an appointment. I don't miss him at all!
Our Realtor was shocked when we came into town with the list I had e-mailed her of the properties we wanted to look at and she had a game plan. She wanted to add a LOT more homes for us to look at but the 6 we had picked were doable in the time frame we had and we had spent a LOT of time talking to her and poring over the listing sheets of the MANY homes she sent us, and we found looking online (we lived 1500 miles away). We knew what we wanted, knew what we were going to spend and knew the area we wanted to be in. We never made it out of the 3rd place before we made an offer. According to her, that was a first for her. She said she usually can figure a couple of months spent with somebody looking, and dozens of homes gone through with them in during that time, before they find what they are looking for. I wouldn't think 15 is that many after talking to our Realtor.
15 houses really isn't that many. It is enough to help your agent (and you) zero in on what you really want - which, frequently, isn't what the buyer started out thinking they wanted at all, until they saw what was out there!
As long as you aren't looking online and wanting to see every house that looks even nominally appealing, ignoring the fact that your agent has already eliminated it because it has a real "dealbreaker" that you've told them about, and as long as you're communicating with your agent regarding what you do and don't like about the houses you've seen, you're doing just fine.
We have looked at about 15 houses with our realtor, and I'm starting to feel guilty that we haven't found "the one". We really do intend to buy and have come close a couple of times, & we definitely do drive bys, go to open houses and do our homework beforehand. Should I feel guilty about using the realtor's time to go in houses? I do! I just wish I had my own little lock box opener to go in houses that are vacant.
I understand how you feel. We go pretty exclusively to open houses because I feel guilty putting the realtor through the paces (not to mention the homeowner) if we don't have a strong feeling that this might be "the one."
So far we've seen four homes with our realtor since February. (Three were homes that never offered open houses.) Not too bad, but I don't like the feeling that she has to drag along with us while we fence sit.
Incredibly, a new listing came on yesterday that looked very promising. I emailed her about it and since there was a realtor's open house she went. She emailed back that she didn't like it for us.
That gives me a lot of confidence in her. Faced with the prospect of us possibly pulling the trigger and giving her a commission, she levels with me about the downside to the house that she doesn't see being a match.
She's doing right by me. I'd like to do right by her.
I work a single zip code/100 square miles. I know the dirt. I rarely show a property I have not seen before. I do a lot of upfront buyer profiling. I need to know why a buyer wants what they want. I need to know what size bed they have, how they live, how much stuff they have, if they entertain ....what's important to them.
And sometimes what a buyer wants is not something they can afford and so counseling is necessary. I can usually nail what the buyer wants in 3 showings and show them more to compare and contrast value.
If it's inbound relo with a short time to buy, we might see 30 homes in a weekend. I will not allow them to carry more than three homes in memory, at the same time because otherwise, at the end of the day, it's one big blur.
Now, there is substantially more inventory, pricing dynamics and choices. Buyers are generally more fearful of making a bad decision. And I know, with almost certainty, that in 2-3 weeks that perfect, albeit curently over-priced colonial, is going to become relo-owned and we have a shot at it. It's all about the match-making for me.
My clients generally do not need to do their homework because I do it for them. Some buyers however, want to do their own legwork, enjoy the process and we talk about what they saw and felt and they begin to trust me.
Many agents work broader markets and cannot possibly know the local dirt. This works well for buyers who are looking at a broad range of communities. Some agents prefer to profile as the hunt progresses and some clients don't " reveal" themselves quickly. There is no right or wrong here.
Please don't feel guilty. It's your money and you have to feel comfortable with your final choice.
Don't feel guilty. I think most agents expect to show you a bunch o' houses. Especially in a market like this where there is so much inventory. You don't want to make too quick of a decision without considering all your options.
The last agent we used was terrific. We were interested in a particular area of town and asked around until we found an agent (with good references) who worked almost exclusively in the neighborhood we wanted. We spent a couple of months riding around every other weekend, and he was more than happy to not only show us the homes, but to educate us on the market. That was years ago and we still stay in contact and I've referred a couple of people to him.
The bottom line was that he knew we were serious buyers, and he wanted to make sure that we felt good about the purchase. IMO, that is the key to the relationship. Since you seem like a serious buyer, you don't have to feel guilty as long as the agent really wants to help you find the right house. And if they don't, then you still don't need to feel guilty because that should be important to them! Best of luck.
I do a lot of upfront buyer profiling. I need to know why a buyer wants what they want. I need to know what size bed they have, how they live, how much stuff they have, if they entertain ....what's important to them.
You sound like a brilliant and thoughtful realtor. I doubt most would ask such insightful questions.
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