Buyers
Having built and sold hundreds of homes over the years, I have a unique perspective on the homebuying process. I view things a bit differently than your average homebuyer or REALTOR® for that matter. I routinely see potential assets and potential problems in homes that others often overlook or are unable to see.
As a rule, I prefer to work with my Buyers as a Buyer’s Representative – in a client relationship. In this capacity, I can best utilize my years of experience as a builder and offer relevant advice to my Buyers/Clients and really get involved in working on their behalf to ensure that their best interests are served all the way to closing.
In this capacity, I can discuss with you, up front, the best ways to approach your home search. I can advise you on market conditions, discuss mortgage options, tax implications and get you prepared for the process ahead.
Contrary to popular opinion, finding a home is often the “easy” part of my job. The true challenge comes after the home is found.
Making the Offer
Writing up a Purchase and Sale Agreement today requires in-depth understanding of the standardized purchase contract: the verbage, the implications of each section, and the legal ramifications. Over the years, the official Georgia Association of REALTORS® (GAR) Purchase and Sale Agreement was revised from 5 pages to 7 pages with new options for Buyers and is more complicated than ever. Every years, GAR amends these contracts to stay up to date with current trends in litigation so you need to make sure you work with someone who is up to date on all the changes. A badly written contract can mean trouble!
Submitting an offer and the counter-offer negotiations which inevitably may follow require the assistance and advice of a good, informed, real estate professional. This is the most critical and stressful time for the Buyer and Seller as you try to achieve the best deal for you.
Allow me to utilize my years of experience and training to negotiate effectively for you.
Under Contract
Once the contract is accepted and becomes binding is when my services to you really kick into full gear! The Binding Agreement comes with a multitude of time limits and requirements for both you, the Buyer, and the Seller. It is my responsibility as your agent to ensure that you execute in a timely manner all the details of the contract such as obtaining financing and ordering a home inspection. It is also my responsibility to you to work closely with the Seller’s agent to make sure they are holding up their end of the contract within the time limits established in the contract, such as clearing up Home Inspection issues.
Normally, as your agent, I will send your Closing Attorney the necessary instructions and paperwork for your transaction. My goal at this point is the allow you to focus on the business of moving, not the contract and purchase process. I also strive to always be present at the Closing table, to answer any questions and to provide moral support as you sign the paperwork and finalize the purchase of your home!
Purchasing a home is a major event for most people. With the right representation, it can be a relatively simple process with minimal stress. Don’t you owe it to yourself and your family to work with someone who will be your true advocate, working diligently on your behalf?
BRRETA: What Every Buyer Should Know…and What It Means to You
Working with a REALTOR® is always in your best interest when searching for a home. Sure, with today’s technology, you can do limitless searches on the Internet on your own for homes in the area where you want to live. But finding a home is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to buying a home and the Internet, magazines and newspapers only offer limited, superficial information. It really requires the expertise of a licensed professional to get to the heart of the matter and protect your interests during the remainder of the process.
Working with a REALTOR® from the beginning of your search can provide you with focus, direction and sound advice to ensure your home search is conducted in an effective and efficient manner.
Under BRRETA, Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act, passed by the Georgia Legislature in 1993 and effective January 1, 1994, our state clearly defines the role of Agent/Broker in a brokerage relationship with a client or customer.
In the past, all real estate agents essentially represented the Seller and was responsible for working on behalf of the Seller’s best interests, regardless of who actually had the signed listing agreement with any particular Seller. This left Buyers completely in the cold, fending for themselves, often feeling like they had been taken for a ride.
Today, thanks to BRRETA, a real estate agent ONLY represents a client with a signed representation contract, either in the form of a Listing Agreement with the Seller or a Buyer’s Representation contract with the Buyer. This means that a Buyer can seek representation from a real estate agent and be guaranteed that that agent is obligated only to that Buyer and no one else…be careful of Dual Agency (talk to me for more information on this!)
What’s the difference between a client and a customer? According to BRRETA, a client is one who engages a Broker/Agent to assist them in their homebuying process. As a client, they have the right to a higher level of services from their real estate professional.
A real estate agent is obligated to offer a customer only honesty, fairness, accounting and reasonable skill and care. In this capacity, an agent can perform ministerial acts only, such as acting as a ‘tour guide’ opening doors to the properties but unable to give the customer any advice, opinions or anything requiring their expertise; filling in the blanks on contracts, once again, with no advice and assistance; and referring the customer to other resources to answer their questions. The agent cannot offer any advice to a customer, cannot guarantee confidentiality, does not have to provide full-disclosure.
As a client, however, an agent can advise the Buyer throughout the homebuying process, assist with negotiations, offer full-disclosure of any material information, keep all information confidential, obey all legal instructions, and always act in the client’s best interest above all else.
For more information on Client-vs-Customer services, contact me!
