When to Contact a REALTOR®

I’ve been contacted by homeowners and buyers both saying early in the conversation that they don’t know how the process works and when they need to talk to professionals.  Well, they already completed the biggest first step – bringing in a professional (me) to answer their questions.  In the case of the buyer, another fantastic first step would be to reach out to their chosen lender for guidance.  I’m very happy though that they chose to come to me FIRST.  So let me answer the question for you…

If you are a HOMEOWNER and are thinking about selling your home, I suggest you bring a REALTOR® into the conversation early.  Let that agent know where you are in the decision process.  If you feel pressured by the agent, the agent is not respecting your timeframe, is pushing you to list, and they make you uncomfortable, or is negative about the features of the home, then move on to another agent.  Once you sign a listing contract, you will be tied to that agent for many months and it would be better for you to know right away if you will be able to work with that person for an extended period of time.  Be honest with the agent.  Tell them your motivation for selling, when you are hoping to be out of the home, where you plan to be going, and when you hope to make a decision on listing.  The agent will most likely follow-up with you at some point.  As I said though, if they are pushy and that makes you uncomfortable, interview another agent.  I despise ”pushy-ness” so I will never push a seller to list.  It is too important of a decision to be pushed into.  If in the end the job offer doesn’t come through or you decide that now is not the time after all, that is okay.  You are under no obligation to list when you invite an agent into your home.  It’s your home – you call the shots.  As an agent, I am here for advice and to provide you fantastic service.  If you do not think that agent can competently provide that for you, move on.  It’s better to know that early on.

If you are a BUYER, contacting a REALTOR® is a good first step to get an organized home search going, but an even better first step is contacting a lender.  Why?  Sometimes when buyers decide that it’s time to stop renting and start owning, they are very excited and jump right into home shopping thinking that they shouldn’t get a lender involved until they find the right house.  The problem with this is if you don’t know what you can afford, you could be wasting time seeing homes that you can’t possibly purchase.  Plus, in today’s market, and in recent years in fact, seller’s want to see a Pre-Approval Letter submitted along with the offer.  If as a buyer you are ready to write an offer but have been informed that other buyers are also ready to make a move on the same house, you could be left behind if they have their Pre-Approval Letters and you still need to start talking to a bank.  Getting that Pre-Approval Letter can take several days as the bank gathers all of your financial information and determines what amount they believe they can lend to you.  If you don’t know where to go to find a lender, then contacting a REALTOR® first is a good decision.  The agent can point you to several lending options which may be from credit unions, smaller local banks, large regional or national lenders or even mortgage brokers.

No matter when you bring a REALTOR® into the conversation, they will be able to guide you through the home sale or purchase process.  We do this everyday so why not rely on our experience?  Whether you are a buyer or a seller and would like a personal real estate consultation, please contact me.  Check out my profile for my contact info.  Allow me to help you navigate the kettles and hills of real estate.  -:-:-:-Adrienne Killey, REALTOR®