Or – “Why do I need a Realtor to find a home – one more time!” Self-searching for a home on the Internet has become the rage! Well I, for one, think that’s great. It whets the appetite for potential buyers, and besides, it’s just a whole lot of fun – better than reading e-mail jokes all day! There are so many great sites with so much information, and they are growing more useful every day. Wait to you see what is coming this year on Realtor.com; home values, market trends, transaction records – Our National Association of Realtors is bound and determined to “out-do” the non-Realtor sites like Zillow, Trulia, Google, Yahoo and the many Find-All-Homes-But-I-Want-The-Name-Of-Your-First-Born-Child.com. Ha! We individual Realtors try to compete, of course, with our own search sites – everyone has one. (By the way, mine is the best at www.EastOfTheArch.com – smile.)
Fun, but there is a creeping problem for the home buyer – a problem that is growing in the 2010 market, and you need to know the solution when you search for homes. Not every home listed for sale is equally “buyable,” even on the good sites that keep their listing inventory fresh. We Realtors today are spending much more time evaluating listings to see if they are truly “buyable” for a given consumer, and under what conditions. This information is not apparent to you as a consumer on a home search. Calling the number in the listing for “more information” seldom gets you all the information you need. After all, the purpose of that listing, and that number, is to sell the home – to anybody!
That is why you always need the number or a buyer’s agent in your phone’s contact list. Hopefully someone you know and trust, and have chosen to potentially represent you. Ok, I’ve said all that before, but the 2010 market is making it even more important to you. Let me list some of the categories of homes listed for sale these days. They’ve always been there, but the mix is getting broader in today’s market, and you can’t always tell the difference.
Traditional Sales,
“As Is” Sales,
Short Sales,
REQ sales,
Foreclosed sales,
HUD owned sales,
New Home sales,
FSBO sales,
And more…..
Each kind requires a different buying process that may or may not match your ability or needs – or your interests! Often you simply can’t tell a book by the cover. It takes some research by a Realtor – a buyer’s agent – to get “the rest of the story.” The best solution is to sit down with a Realtor, learn about the different buying processes for various sale possibilities, discuss in confidence your needs and wants, and let your Realtor help you screen your search for homes that are truly “buyable” by you. I’m never too busy to meet with you to do just that – it’s how I work and what I do. Or, simply call me about any listing, but give me a little time to research the situation behind the pretty pictures and glowing description. Every home today presents a different kind of opportunity, and the differences are usually as important as the more obvious features shown in the listings. So yes, you really do need a Realtor to find a home, more than ever in today’s market and Internet environment!
Bob Ashauer, Your Personal Agent
618 581 1695
www.EastOfTheArch.com
