What Do You Wish Homebuyers Knew Before Starting the Process?

Whether you have worked with one buyer or thousands of buyers, as a Realtor® there are always things you wish your buyers just knew or understood.

If you had one piece of advice to offer to all buyers, regardless of their experience in the process, what would it be?

Before a would-be buyer even starts the process, Bob Moncavage, president of the Realtors® Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, suggests they should interview several real estate agents.

“Find the agent who you feel will best serve your needs. Stick with and trust that agent,” he said.

Additionally, some buyers may not realize that a licensed agent is able to show any property, it doesn’t have to be the listing agent.

“Even if it isn’t our listing, we can still show it to you. Create a business relationship with one Realtor® who you feel comfortable working with,” said Stephanie Johnston, president of the Bradford-Sullivan Association of Realtors®.

Carol Hoke, president of the North Central Penn Board of Realtors®, said, “I wish buyers knew that when they go online and search for properties and request information that it is going out to so many different agents and we are all not the same. We do not work together so it does matter that you stick to one agent and not jump around.”

Amanda Hepinger, president of the Allegheny Valley Board of Realtors®, stressed the importance of buyers becoming pre-qualified before they start looking at homes.

In today’s market, it’s important to be ready to make moves.

“We’re finding in our market that buyers need to be able to act quickly and be prepared to make decisions in an instant due to the pace in which properties are selling,” said Butler County Association of Realtors® President Ron Huber.

And with today’s low interest rates, Terry Solomon-August, president of the Luzerne County Association of Realtors® said she wished buyers would take advantage of them now. “Now is a great time to buy the home of their dreams,” she said. “But if they feel it’s the house for them, they need to submit a more-than-reasonable offer in order to have their offer accepted.”

And compromise is important from both buyers and sellers.

“One thing I wish buyers knew was to learn how to see the value of a house holistically. All too often, buyers get hung up on a roof that might need repair that the sellers are unwilling to fix and the deal falls through, even though they’re getting the house at a fantastic price, even if they had to re-do the roofing themselves. The whole is often far greater than the sum of the parts and letting things like $1,000 one way or another in furniture negotiation all too often pits buyers and sellers against each other rather than working towards the common goal of a successful closing of the house,” said Will Clauss, president of the Pike-Wayne Association of Realtors®.

And don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Lebanon County Association of Realtors® President Rhonnda Bentz said. “I wish buyers knew how much of a true gift the seller helping with closing costs is if they are lucky enough to get it from a seller,” she said.

Bucks County Association of Realtors® President Scott Geller said he wished both buyers and sellers knew how hard Realtors® worked on their behalf. He said he wished buyers knew how much work it took for Realtors® to make the process look “easy.”

“But for their benefit, I wish my buyers knew the true cost and responsibilities of homeownership, as well as its positives,” added Geller.

Quenna Smith, president of the Cambria-Somerset Association of Realtors®, agreed. “Not just on their deals, but how we work to protect their property rights and how we support legislation that would affect them either before or after closing. We work hard on their behalf before and after they are our clients and even the ones that don’t want to use a Realtor®,” she said.