Six Great Services From the Great Buyer’s Agent
by Craig Goebbel
President & CEO, LoanTek, Inc.

In my opinion, hiring a great buyer’s agent to represent you during your quest for a new home is the smartest thing you can do.

Why?
It costs you nothing since the seller pays the buyer’s agent commission. Second, they know the territory better than you. Although you may have lived in your neighborhood all of your life the great agent is on the ground every day and knows the territory like the back of their hand. Here are six things the really great buyer’s agent will do for you.

1. They will take the time to interview you prior to taking you out to look at property. Absent that interview, you would likely be spending wasted looking at property that does not have what is important to you.

2. During the interview, they will give you the option of how you would like to locate your next home. For example, they will ask you if they you would prefer to have them locate and preview properties or they will let you participate in the screening process. They may also offer to let you cruise listings on the Internet and screen your picks for you before you hop in the car.

3. When you are writing the offer, they will give you the best data available, offer advice and let you determine the price you want to offer. They will not try to convince you of a price they think you should offer. A great agent knows if they try to convince you of a price rather than assisting you in the initial offer they may lessen your trust in them. Eroding your trust in them lessens their ability to effectively negotiate and as a result, decreases the probability of a successful offer and closing.

4. They will never use words like "bottom feeder," "low ball," or any other derogatory terms to describe your offer when it is presented to the listing agent. If they did that it lessen their ability to powerfully negotiate on your behalf. Instead of using these terms, they will simply state that you have elected to make an offer substantially under the asking price and then let the negotiations begin.

5. During a negotiation they will never criticize the seller or the seller’s property in front of the other agent or owners. A great agent knows they are dealing a host of issues during the negotiation of a purchase. Although they will be candid with you, they know they are dealing with someone’s home and sellers often have deep emotional (if not always rational) attachments to it. For example, an agent trying to appear to be a property expert may comment on the condition of a certain aspect of the property and totally alienate the seller. This could adversely affect their ability to negotiate a great transaction on your behalf.

6. Last and most important, their only job is to represent you. They don’t represent the seller, the listing agent or the mortgage company. They are there as your representative and your advocate and in this capacity a great agent is indispensable.

© 2004 LoanTek

Craig Goebbel is President and CEO of LoanTek.com, mortgage loan brokerage.  He is also producer and host of Real Estate Radio Show, a Seattle-based talk show featuring mortgage and real estate news, interviews and listener calls. It is broadcast on KVI Radio AM 570 in Seattle, Washington. Past show are also webcast via the Internet at http://www.realestateradio.net.

Real Estate Radio Sponsor

Real Estate Radio with Goebbel and Gray is the leading real estate radio talk show in the world and is hosted by Real Estate home mortgage expert Craig Goebbel, owner of LoanTek Home Loans and Robb Gray of John L. Scott Real Estate.