Real Estate Etiquette: Buyer’s Edition
Tanya LaRose 0 comments 10.04.2016
- Know the difference between SHOPPING and HUNTING – Shopping is a pleasure, a hobby, a way to pass the time between other life obligations and this includes home shopping. Hunting is goal-driven and time-oriented. REALTORS® are hunting guides, not shopping partners.
- Use one REALTOR® only - Find a real estate agent that you like and be loyal to them. Don’t ask five different agents to show you five different houses. Not only are you wasting their time, but you are also sabotaging the results of your home search because none of these agents know your objectives so you will not be receiving effective assistance.
- Don’t ask to look at houses that don’t meet your criteria – You are wasting your agent’s time, the home owners time, the owner’s agent’s time, and your time.
- Accept your REALTORS® advice – If you have chosen a true professional, they are advising you with expertise they have accumulated from working day in and day out surrounded by all things real estate. It may not always make sense, or you may not like what you hear, but there are reasons behind every piece of advice.
- Don’t get mad if you are told something you weren’t expecting – You might have been approved for a mortgage much less than you were expecting or submitted an offer that was refused with no counter-offer, either way it’s not worth wasting energy being upset when you should be focused on getting the house you want.
- Be honest with yourself and others – Whether you have good credit, bad credit, are quitting your job, have a tendency to lose your temper, are bad with money management, changed your mind about what or when you want to buy, you need to communicate this with the people helping you buy a house (eg. Mortgage broker, REALTOR®, etc.)
- Don’t expect everyone to be on your timeline – There are deadlines on contracts, and there are other buyers looking at the same houses as you. When your REALTOR® tells you that time is of the essence, few things are more accurate in the real estate industry.
- Keep on schedule – If you request a showing, don’t cancel 20 minutes before, or not show up at all, unless it is a life threating emergency. The homeowner may be a mother of five who spent all day cleaning the house so you can look at it, so be respectful of other people’s efforts.