Are you in the market to buy your next home and you want the best deal on any property you like?
It’s not foreclosures, bank owned/REO or short sales. In fact, I recommend using caution when shopping for these. If you are, I’ll explain here why I don’t recommend them and some of the many problems associated with them.
How to always get the best deal on buying a home is as simple as get a buyers agent! Don’t run yet!! I’ll explain it in two minutes of simple reading below. I promise you’ll be glad you did! Don’t feel like reading? Scroll down to the bottom of this page for a training video, teaching agents the benefits of being a buyers agent to a buyer.
Below, you will find out why you want a buyers agent, why it doesn’t cost you anything, why if you don’t use a buyers agent, you are at a disadvantage and how a buyer’s agent will save you a bunch of headaches and regrets in addition to saving you potentially tens of thousands of dollars!
What’s a buyers agent and what’s it going to cost me? A buyers agent works for you and serves only your interests in a transaction.
1 A buyers agent is on your team. Consider a sport. There is an offense and a defense. You have to have both sides to get the best out of each team. Consider the law. There is an offense and a defense. Unless you are clearly innocent, you are going to jail. A defense lawyer stands in the gap and assures you that if innocent, proves your case and uses the laws to protect you. A buyers agent is no different. A buyers agent knows the business, knows the market, knows the area, knows the values, knows the trends, knows the contracts, knows about stuff the average buyer doesn’t. You need someone on your team to guide you through the process. The sellers agent is only looking out for the sellers best interest (get the highest amount of money), which isn’t the buyer’s best interest (pay the lowest amount of money). The sellers agent is a powerful negotiator and you need someone (a buyer’s agent) to defend you and fight for you for the best deal and when it’s not, know when to walk away.
2 A buyers agent knows their area. Let’s say you buy a condo because of it’s awesome view and next month, they break ground on a new condo that blocks that view. A good buyers agent knows what’s going on in their area. Of course, no one can stop progress, so that view could possibly go away some day, even with the best agent on earth, but not while you enjoy the view first. Just recently I had a situation that knowing the area saved the buyer a lot of time and regret. An out of town buyer found a home on Zillow®. Excellent price, beautiful home! I knew the area and the home was very close to an electric power plant. The smoke and view would always be an issue. The buyer was disappointed, but glad I let him know before he got very involved in purchasing it.
3 A buyers agent knows the area prices. The listing price of a home, any home, is what someone thinks it’s worth or what they think someone will pay for it. If you’ll notice, banks don’t loan money on selling prices for a reason. It’s for their protection. They loan money on appraisal prices. A buyers agent knows prices and can negotiate the price others like it are selling for by using comparative market analysis reports. A buyers agent will save you a lot of money overall and at the closing table.
4 A buyers agent is not emotionally involved in the mechanics of buying a home. Let’s say you fall in love with a home. You need someone that is not emotionally attached. When the obvious and the not so obvious occurs and it always does, a good agent will be there allowing you to fall in love, but not to the point you are blindly buying a bad deal.
5 A buyers agent is an expert in real estate. There are so many ways to convey property. Unfortunately, I was stung really bad by a real estate snake over 25 years ago and I now have a mission to never let it happen to anyone else. It takes an expert to see that all the paperwork is accurate and recorded properly. After all, your home is the center of your world. If your world is not documented and recorded properly, your world can go away in a heart beat and in my case, I still had the bill!
Still not sure if you need a buyers agent? Let’s apply the buyers agent concept to other more frequent purchases and you tell me if a buyers agent would be useful.
Need a shirt? A buyers agent is an expert on shirts and knows what is popular and what is not. A buyers agent would know what the fair market price is and will negotiate that price with the store or drive you to the store that has the same shirt at the best price. But you are thinking, what does this agent cost me and in the end, is it a savings? I’ll get to that in a moment.
Need a washing machine? A buyers agent is an expert on washing machines and knows what is the most reliable, which model does the best job and which model uses the least energy. The buyers agent also knows all of the best prices for each model and will haggle with the store to get you the best price on the model you want. If the store says no, they will drive you to the store that’s willing to sell it at a price you are willing to pay. Still thinking…I got it! But what’s it going to cost me and is it worth it? Hang in there. One more example.
Need a car, a tree trimming service, a plumber? A buyers agent knows every model and level of service and would always be working to educate you on what’s out there, the pro’s and con’s to each and always does the negotiating and delivering the best deal no matter what. And of course, it wouldn’t cost you anything! Still waiting for the answer?
How does a buyers agent get paid?
Simple! This is not unique and applies to all real estate sales except some FSBO’s. The listing agent, also known as the seller’s agent, makes an agreement with the property owner to get a percentage of the sale to handle the transaction for them (also known as the commission or professional fee). This percentage is then split 50/50 between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent. Half goes to the sellers agent to handle all aspects in listing and marketing their property and half goes to the agent that represents the buyer for finding, pricing, negotiating and making sure all the paperwork is done fairly, legally, honestly and recorded properly. It’s in the best interest of the seller to agree to this and it’s signed into the contract. If you buy a home without having a buyer’s agent, the seller’s agent changes positions to a transaction broker and becomes both the selling agent and the buying agent and keeps both sides of the commission per the contract. (Half to the seller’s agent and half to the buyer’s agent) It costs the seller the same either way! Remember, the selling agents legal obligation is to get the most money for the seller and represent the sellers exclusive best interest. There is a conflict of interest if the selling agent is trying to give the buyer the best deal.
Here is my broker Adrian Petrila, explaining why going without a buyer’s agent and going directly to the listing agent will cost you more! This is a 12 minute training video, not a promotional video.
Not only does a buyers agent cost you nothing, I will save you a lot of time, money and headaches!
If you don’t use the services of a buyers agent to serve, educate and protect your interests, you just paid the seller’s agent to take advantage of you. Because, the seller’s agent is probably a more experienced real estate negotiator than you are, which puts you at a strong disadvantage.
7 reasons you should use me, Curtis Rudolph as your buyers agent.
#1 I don’t talk fast, wear a plaid leisure suit or smell like moth balls. Kind of funny, but many do.
#2 I am a real person. I don’t adhere to the standard real estate, fluff talk and rarely wear a tie.
#3 I am very approachable. I have been told I know no strangers.
#4 I am honest and trustworthy. A home is generally the largest investment in one’s life.
#5 I am an effective communicator.
#6 I am a professional. I am loyal to my word.
#7 I am accessible. I work hard 7 days a week.
Most real estate agents are part time. Even the ones that say they are full time are difficult to get in touch with, surprisingly during the day, but nearly never found at nights or weekends.
I work 7 days a week from early in the morning until late at night.
Test my accessibility now by calling or texting my cell at 813.240.6054!
The greatest opportunities are only because of timing. I promise accessibility like no one else in the industry!
Do you have the cash or are you financing? If you are ready to buy a home within the next 60 days, you must have cash or be pre-approved. The real estate market moves very fast and the right home at the best price will slip away if you are not prepared. If you are financing your next home, get pre-approved. Go to a lender of your choice for a pre-approval letter. Not sure where to go? Call me for a recommendation. Be sure to mention my name for preferential treatment.
Note: Most mortgage loans today still require 5% to 25% in cash at closing. And, in nearly all mortgage loans, the cash cannot be borrowed. Even the zero down, USDA programs must have at least 1% earnest deposit and 100% of the difference over appraisal or you won’t close.
Are you ready to buy within 60 days? Got cash or some cash and a pre-approval letter? Need an expert buyers agent? Call me at 813.240.6054 today or go here and get the freshest properties to hit the market and Let’s get to work!
You say you have a little more time or just want to see what’s out there? Fill out the floating Contact Us form and I or one of my team will contact you ASAP to set up a 15 to 20 minute face to face. With all your wants and needs, we’ll set you up in our system for an auto-search. This auto-search will send you an email the moment a property gets into the MLS® that meets your criteria. This focused search will save you a lot of time by filtering out what you don’t want and only sending you what you do. Contact us today!
We specialize as buyer’s agents in South Tampa, SOHO, Davis Islands, Channelside, Harbor Island, Westshore, Culbreath Isles, Culbreath Bayou, Bayshore Boulevard and Plant High School district homes. Specialty zip codes 33606, 33602, 33611, 33609, 33629. We are buyer’s agents for the rest of the Tampa bay areas including: Westchase, Country Way, Citrus Park, Fawn Ridge, Carrollwood, Carrollwood Village, Old Carrollwood, Keystone, Odessa, Lutz, New Tampa, Seminole Heights, Wesley Chapel, Land O Lakes, Avila, Lake Magdalene, North Dale, North Lakes, Lake Ellen and Forrest Hills. Zip codes: 33613, 33604, 33603, 33614, 33612, 33624, 33618, 33556, 33558, 33559, 33625, 33626, 33635, 33634, 33544, 33543, 33549, 33548, 34639.