There are buyers who know what they are doing and those who only think they know how to proceed as they search for a new home.
I happen to favor those who get what works best.
You won’t be surprised to learn that their key understanding is their appreciation for the help a real estate broker can provide.
Even though buyers these days are about as good as any agent or broker in finding online properties that have been put on the market, those buyers are not in the business of real estate day in and day out year after year.
What they cannot do quite so well is read between the lines. Many can translate “cozy” as “impossibly small” and “make your own” as “needs to be gut renovated.”
But how many consumers realize that only the word “bright” to describe an apartment probably means that views are onto brick walls? How clear is their interpretation of a floorplan in which there is no way to add the second bath to which they aspire?
Of particular importance is this question: Are most homebuyers able to analyze a listing in terms of its place in the market — price, virtues and flaws of a unit’s building, neighborhood issues and so on? And how well can they negotiate for themselves?
In another of his excellent blog posts for RealtyTimes.com, author and real estate guru Dirk Zeller lists thinking they can go it alone as one of four misconceptions that some buyers harbor.
The second major point he makes concerns buyers who believe they don’t need to work exclusively with a single agent. When assisting a buyer who refuses to work exclusively with her or him, a broker risks receiving nothing for the time, energy and expertise spent with that consumer.
Why work potentially for nothing? The best agents won’t do it. That is less true in New York City, where exclusive agency agreements rarely exist.
Third, Zeller says it is a mistake for brokers to have anything to do with buyers who claim they don’t need to be financially pre-qualified. In this market especially, only the foolhardy think they can wait. Well, they can wait, but they likely will be wasting everyone’s time by aiming higher or perhaps even lower than they can afford.
Finally, numerous are the buyers who think they can find the perfect home if they look long enough.
In my experience, it never ever happens! I’ve written it before, I’ll write it here now and I’ll undoubtedly write it again: No one ever fails to accept compromise at any price level.
To take your own bite out of the Big Apple, you have the option here to search all available properties privately.
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Malcolm Carter
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
Charles Rutenberg Realty
127 E. 56th Street
New York, NY 10022
M: 347-886-0248
F: 347-438-3201
Malcolm@ServiceYouCanTrust.com
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