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home buying process
This page
will help you (the potential homebuyer) understand my role in
helping you find and buy a home! Please read this carefully as
it clears up quite a few questions that many people have as they
begin the process of searching for, and purchasing, a new home!
SEARCH THE MLS
Search for a home.
In Houston, there is only one service that aggregates all the
real estate listings of properties for sale. This is the
Regional Multiple Listing Service or RMLS. Real estate
brokers choose whether or not they wish to make their data available
to you over the Internet. In Houston, 95% of all brokers
share their listings and make them available for you to view on the
Internet. The MLS data provided on my site is REAL TIME, so
all listings are updated every day, as soon as they are posted to
the system.
You can also research
homes that are FOR SALE BY OWNER (FSBOs). Click
HERE if you would
like to see a listing of some sites that feature listings of FSBOs.
CALL OR EMAIL ME
Statistics reveal that
most people will spend four months searching for homes on the
Internet before they contact a real estate agent. That's
great!! To be honest, I dislike real estate agents and only
use them when I need to see a property or make an offer. When
I buy a car, I shop on Sundays when the salespeople are not working.
I want to find my new car without someone hassling me. That's
why I became a real estate agent -- to serve someone like me,
someone who want a highly skilled, low pressure, honest person to
help them (when they ask) to find and buy a home.
At this point you either
have some properties identified and need someone (me) to show them
to you, or you want more help with your search. In either
case, you would call or email me. I will help you.
BUYER REPRESENTATION
AGREEMENT
I primarily represent
buyers. I do not list many homes. I will, but I do not
actively solicit new listings. I like working with buyers.
How do I make money? The ONLY way I get paid is by
representing you, the homebuyer, in your search for a home. In
order to do that, the State of Texas requires that I ask if you
are currently being represented by another agent. If you are
not, then I will ask that you sign a BUYERS REPRESENTATION
AGREEMENT.
In most instances, when
I reply to your initial email or phone call, we will have a
conversation like this:
BRENT: Mr.
or Mrs. Homebuyer are you currently working with another Realtor?
MR. / MRS.
HOMEBUYER: No.
BRENT:
Great! Would you mind if I faxed or emailed you a Buyers
Representation Agreement, so that I may represent you in your quest
to find and buy a new home?
(This is where many
people freak out, because they think that I am trying to get them to
sign their life away. I HATED signing a Buyers Rep when I was
looking for a property. Primarily, because I didn't want to
get stuck with a Realtor that I did not like.
To help overcome that
objection, I am fine with a 30 day Buyers Rep Agreement, which gives
you the ability to dump me in 30 days if you are unhappy with me in
any way, shape or form. My goal is get my clients into the
best possible home and to make new friends by making the process as
easy and informative as possible. If you are unhappy with me, then I
don't want to make your life miserable.)
MR. / MRS.
HOMEBUYER: Sure that sounds great. Why don't you
email me the Buyers Rep Agreement. Let's start out with a 30
day trial period, and if it works out well, then we'll extend the
agreement to the standard 90 or 120 day period. I'll read it
over and sign it, then either fax it back to you or bring it with me
the next time we get together.
BRENT: Thanks!
That sounds great. I'll get that out to you ASAP and we'll go
from there!
WHAT IS A BUYERS
REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT?
The concept of a buyer’s agent is
recent. Prior to Texas law changing, an agent could work for a
buyer and a seller on the same transaction; an obvious conflict of
interest. The agent's duty was to the person paying the sales
commission (seller), regardless of who first contacted the agent.
What that meant was an agent didn’t necessarily represent the
buyer’s interest in achieving as low a home price as possible.
Today, a buyer’s agent works
exclusively for the home buyer, and cannot represent the seller
unless specifically agreed upon by the buyer. The agent for the
buyer can freely advise the buyer about all aspects of the property.
When you initially meet with a Realtor to discuss looking for a
home, you will be asked to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement.
This Agreement basically states that as a buyer, you are hiring the
real estate company exclusively, to locate suitable property and
negotiate for it’s purchase. The fee for this service is typically
free to the buyer. The fee is paid by the seller of the home you are
buying. The agreement does have an expiration date and can be
canceled by either the buyer or the real estate company.
CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE
INFORMATION ON BUYERS REPRESENTATION!
Showing Properties, etc..
Once the agreement is in
place and all parties on the same page, then we will begin working
together. We'll schedule times to go out and view the properties and
neighborhoods. We'll exchange emails and phone calls and we'll
both work closely together to make sure that all possible properties
are researched!
We may make a few
offers, and then one will get accepted and we'll proceed to closing
in 30-60 days. Throughout the process I am there to assist you
with such things as Title Insurance, Appraisals, Inspections,
Surveys, Property Taxes, Financing, etc.. I do
everything in my power to get you in to your house with the least
amount of pain possible.
My incentive is that I
do not get paid unless the house closes!
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