Buying

My job as a buyer’s agent

October 11, 2016

I have laid out 25 steps to buying a home and fully acknowledge there’s much more that goes on behind the scenes you may not be aware of. As your buyer’s agent, I play a pivotal role throughout these processes, managing the affiliated service providers and protecting your interests. 

In approximate chronological order here’s a list of things I do on the behalf of my buyer clients:

  1. Show you properties (obviously!) to help you zero in on the right choice for you
  2. Prepare a comparative market analysis to make sure your purchase offer amount is in line with recent sales
  3. Prepare a purchase offer. As a client (as opposed to a customer), it is my duty to work to get you the lowest price and best terms possible
  4. Successfully negotiate your offer with the listing agent to arrive at the optimal outcome
  5. Oversee the deposit of your earnest money into the appropriate trust account
  6. Schedule and attend your home inspections
  7. Counsel you on appropriate repairs from your inspection report(s)
  8. Negotiate any treatments, repairs and replacements with listing agent
  9. Stay in communication with your lender to track progress on your loan at least weekly or more often as necessary
  10. Monitor the appraisal process with your lender
    This is where working with a local lender is crucial to the success of your transaction! Local lenders have a local reputation to protect and work especially hard to be a successful component in the purchase process.
  11. If the appraisal comes back with an unsatisfactory result, I will need to negotiate revised terms and/or repairs. If repairs are required, we cannot close before they’re complete, so I work with trusted contractors to make sure they’re complete to the satisfaction of the appraiser.
  12. Work with the closing company to ensure title work, title insurance, and closing documents are accurate
  13. Coordinate closing schedule that culminates the completion of all the components of the transaction.
  14. Attend the closing to make sure the final step of the purchase is completed completely and accurately

There are basically three negotiation periods during a purchase contract. Those are all the initial terms, the TRR (treatments, repairs and replacements), and finally the appraisal. As my client, I ensure all those steps give you the best possible outcome.