If You Are a Buyer You Need a Buyer’s Agent
Ready to Buy an Arizona Home? You Need a Buyer’s Agent.
When you decide you are ready to begin your search for a home in Arizona you need an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent to represent you and your interests in the transaction.
Why you ask?…… Can’t I just drive around and go into any house that has an Open House sign, or call every agent whose name is on the sign in front of each house? Well you “could” but you will find that most agents in this market will only take you on as a client if you choose them to be your Exclusive Buyer’s Agent and sign a standard State of Arizona document that stipulates you are working with them.
As a buyer you want an agent who is representing your interests. The agent whose name is on the sign in front of a home is representing the seller – not you, the buyer.
If you have a Buyer’s Agent during your search they can assist you by customizing an Internet portal that covers the criteria you have for your home which will allow you to search and see what is on the market at times most convenient to you.
When you have decided on the home you want to make an offer on, your Buyer’s Agent will be able to help you with information about what other homes in the area have been selling for, so you can make a reasonable offer.
Your Buyer’s Agent will also be able to refer you to a lender so you can become pre-qualified for a loan, if you are needing a loan. And your Buyer’s Agent will walk you through the entire escrow process, communicating with the needed individuals along the way, and keeping you in the loop.
What your Buyer’s Agent Cannot Do
Your Buyer’s Agent cannot help you to decide on a “good” community, nor can they suggest which community where you may want a home. These are issues that are against the law under the US Fair Housing laws.
Under Federal Fair Housing laws, your real estate agent cannot direct you to certain communities, or discourage you from communities as to do so would give the appearance of “steering”. Sorry, but the Feds can remove an agent’s license if an agent does this. A buyer needs to decide on the communities where they want to see homes on their own.
Your agent cannot be a tour guide to area attractions. You need to plan to allocate some time to do self-guided touring and clearly decide on what community(s) you are comfortable with and would be comfortable purchasing a home “before” you ask your agent to show actual homes to you. There will be similar homes in many neighborhoods – but only you can first decide what neighborhood(s) you are comfortable in and are near the amenities or activities you like to do, or are close enough for you to your job.
Before you plan to actually see homes, plan to do a self guided tour and drive around to see where the dogs are barking, if that is a concern, talk to the neighbors, drive from the community to where you work to see if it’s too far, go to the local grocery store, or other area amenities — before you plan to actually see homes.
Once you have done enough self guided touring to be sure the neighborhood is suitable for you — then is the time that you need your agent to get involved to gain access to the homes that meet your criteria and price requirements.
Fees
It used to be that generally your buyer’s agent fees were all paid for by the seller — however, in this current real estate market is very common that the seller will not be paying 100% of your buyer’s agent professional service fees. This is because if the home for sale has a bank involved as the seller, the banks have chipped away at what they will pay in the way of expenses. Or another reason may be that the home you are buying has a human owner who has fallen on hard financial times and simply does not have the money to pay the fees that are customarily their responsibility.
Your buyer’s agent can usually tell from the listing information if there may be some part of the fees you will be responsible for and can advise you of this on a home by home basis so you know.
Are You Ready To Be a Buyer? Contact us for assistance. We look forward to helping you get your Arizona home.
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