To Help Serve You Better …all the information you need to make the right choices that benefit you. A home is so much more than four walls and a roof. And for most people it represents the biggest purchase they’ll ever make. Buyers and Sellers are on separate sides of the fence when it comes to home sales. A Buyer wants a steal deal on property while the Seller wants top dollar. They still share the same ultimate goal..They want a sale.Having a concerned and objective third party …like a Realtor, will help you stay focused on the issues most important to you.
- UNLIMITED ACCESS Agents Know What to Look For..Buyers usually have a pretty firm idea in mind of what they want in a property, from number of bedrooms to an attached garage to any number of other must-have and must-not-have factors. You’ll probably feel pretty comfortable looking at homes with that list tucked firmly in the back of your mind. But your agent will be alert for issues that might not cross your mind, such as furnace issues, leaks, roofing problems, and mold and insect issues. An agent will recognize the telltale signs of these problems and know how best to approach them. Again, this experience and knowledge can end up saving you thousands down the road. You know exactly how much you want for your home if you’re the seller, but is the price you’ve arrived at reasonable? You might only know for sure if you’re able to identify comparable sales that confirm that you’re in the right range—or not. Agents can do comparative market analyses in their sleep. An agent can hand over researched, current, and reputable data regarding a neighborhood’s demographics, crime rates, schools, and other important factors. That’s a lot of time-consuming research to do on your own, particularly if you don’t know where to start. **It is my full-time job to act as a liaison between buyers and sellers. Between myself, my team and other professionals in the industry we know what needs to be done to get a deal together. Your time is worth something too. By hiring me you get to focus on your career, your life, the people in it, and the things that make you happy. I’ll handle the phone calls, bookings and questions!
- NEGOTIATIONS ARE MY FAV We Have Super Power Negotiating Skills..You might not be a negotiation shark if you don’t happen to be an attorney, mediator, union rep…or a real estate agent. Remember that fiduciary responsibility your agent has to you. It’s your agent’s job to get you the best possible price for your home, or to see to it that you get the best possible deal on the property you want to buy. Agents are trained to negotiate well, if only from experience. They know what normally works and what does not. Most have tried-and-true techniques all their own. And, most importantly, they have no emotional stake in the outcome that can cloud their thinking. You, on the other hand, might be willing to come up with $10,000 more to purchase that to-die-for home, never realizing that it’s really not necessary because you possess certain bargaining chips. It’s just more money saved if you have an agent who prevents you from taking an unnecessary financial plunge. It would be lovely if every party who came together to do a transaction were full of reason, but it isn’t always the case. Not only am I educated and determined to get you the best price, I am also able to convey your concerns in a positive and constructive way to get you the best deal. I’m not afraid to play the bad guy to keep your relationship neutral with the other party.
- THE CONTRACT PROCESS Attention to Detail…You might be far out of your element when it comes to reviewing and understanding the multiple documents involved in a real estate deal, and you should have a thorough understanding of what you’re getting into regardless of whether you’re buying or selling. Purchase agreements alone can top 10 pages. Luckily, your agent will be far more familiar with all this paperwork than you are. Consider this if you’re still thinking about saving money: Some mistakes or omissions in these documents can lead you into small claims court and cost you as much as that commission you were trying to avoid paying—or even far more. Here’s an example: Maybe a buyer makes an offer on a home, but it’s contingent on getting a mortgage. There’s no possibility that the buyer could purchase the property without first securing financing—but there’s no such contingency or escape hatch built into the purchase agreement to let the buyer out of the deal if financing fails. The buyer is obligated to go through with the sale or be sued if it turns out that a mortgage isn’t happening. When you decide to buy or sell a home, contracts are there to protect you and to ensure that your best interests are accounted for if certain conditions aren’t met. As someone who deals with contracts on a regular bases, I am familiar with which conditions should be used and when they can be safely removed to take care of your needs throughout the transaction.
- I ONLY WORK FOR YOU AND YOUR BEST INTERESTS Privacy, Confidentiality and Fiduciary Duty. Your real estate agent has your back whether you’re a buyer or a seller. Agents have what’s known as a “fiduciary” responsibility to their clients. They legally obligated to put their clients’ best interests first. This duty imparts a very high standard for confidentiality. As a buyer, do you really, really want to turn over your most intimate financial details to a FSBO seller who’s under no legal obligation to keep the information confidential? The same goes for turning any and all information over to the seller’s agent, who has no fiduciary responsibility to you but only to the seller. Your own agent would know whether any information the other agent is requesting from you is reasonable. You do have recourse if you’re the buyer and the seller’s agent has lied to you, misled you, or disclosed confidential information. You can report it to the agent’s professional association, such as the National Association of Realtors. But again, this assumes that the seller has an agent. You’ll have far fewer options if the property is FSBO. As agents we take a pledge to act in the best interests of our clients. I take that very seriously. Transparency is key. Transparency paired with being available, driven, competitive and positive makes me the perfect candidate for your job. The best compliment I can earn as your agent is a referral. Your referrals mean the world to me and it is with your support that I survive in this business. Doing what’s best for you is my top priority.
- SAVE YOU THOUSANDS It’s All About the Money Honey…Consider this if you’re contemplating going “FSBO”—for sale by owner—when listing your home. Of course, you want to get as much for their home as possible, and you might think that means not parting with extra commissions. You might think that by cutting out a realtor that you have the opportunity to save some money but it is unlikely. Overall FSBOs fetch about 30% less profits than agent-listed properties. And you’re probably going to have to pay a commission anyway if your buyer is represented by an agent. The buyer’s agent’s commission is typically factored into the deal—although you’ll still save on the commission you would otherwise have paid your own agent. And why not use an agent if you’re the buyer? After all, the seller is paying the commission, not you. Of course, there’s always a slim possibility that the seller will refuse to do so, but this would not be in their benefit although it can depend on whether you’re shopping in a buyers’ or sellers’ market and who has the upper hand. On the sale side; consider things like exposure, marketing, negotiations, top price, bookings, calls, questions, etc. Now remember that you also have a full-time career, relationships to keep, activities to do with your spare time.. As a buyer, you don’t pay me! And I’ll tell you now, it is not as easy as saving a few bucks.
My WHY & The Bottom Line
Henry Ford once said that it proves that you’re smarter than they are when you hire people who are smarter than you. The trick is to recognize when you need help and to find the right person. While there are certainly people who are qualified to sell their own homes or represent themselves as a buyer, it isn’t as direct as posting/purchasing an old shelf on Marketplace. Google frequently asked questions on for sale by owner websites and see what I mean. And… when the going gets tough, it will save you money to have a professional on your side.Id love to hear your opinion about this and if you have questions about the market – give me a call. I would love the opportunity to share what I can do for you and how I can get you the best value on your Okanagan purchase and/or sale.