Whether you’re thinking about buying your first home here in Northern Virginia or you’re already a homeowner who wants to upgrade, you’ll want to enlist a professional real estate agent to help you navigate the complexities of the home buying process. In this blog post we’ll share a few tips that you might not hear from your average real estate agent and why they’re important to you as a homebuyer.
The Seller’s Listing Agent Might Just Be Our Best Friend
As you probably already know, the vast majority of real estate agents are paid on commission – meaning that they don’t get paid until they close a sale for the seller. Understanding this key fact is vital as it works in your favor as a homebuyer and allows you to submit offers on your terms. Listing agents are highly motivated to close their sales as quickly as possible, so if you table an offer that is “good enough” and there’s no other bids to entertain the agent will push the seller to close. After all, the listing agent has other homes to market and keeping this listing alive for days, weeks or months isn’t going to help.
Be Ready and Willing to Walk Away
The negotiation process can end up having a lot of ups and downs, especially if you’re dealing with a stubborn home seller who just isn’t willing to bend. As a buyer you have quite a bit of control in the negotiation, but in order to maintain it your real estate agent needs to be able to communicate that you’re willing to walk away from the deal. If your negotiations fall apart or you can’t get the seller to move on the price or purchase terms, simply walk away. You’ll be surprised at how quickly things change if you give the seller a few days to sleep on the fact that they missed a great chance at closing.
Don’t Skip the Final Closing Walkthrough
So – you’ve reached the end of the escrow period and you’re ready to sign all of your closing documents and take final possession of your new home. Why waste time with another walkthrough? Because it’s your last chance to ensure that the seller followed through on their commitments and that they haven’t damaged or otherwise changed the home since your inspection was complete. There are endless horror stories from individuals and real estate agents who tried to speed up the close by skipping the final walkthrough, only to find out the house had recently flooded or none of the required painting was actually done. Don’t skip the final walkthrough!
Are you ready to learn more home buying secrets? The real estate professionals here at The E4Realty Group are happy to share their experience to ensure that your next home purchase in Northern Virginia is a success. Contact us today at 703.722.5018 or by email on our contact form and we’ll arrange a quick consultation so you can let us know what you’re looking for in that perfect new home.
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