Putting your trust in a Salesperson

As a first home buyer you likely feel very vulnerable because this is your first foray into the real estate market and therefore your knowledge is limited.

You are somewhat at the mercy of the salespeople you connect with. This you will do in the first instance by phone or by attending an open home. Your instincts when you initially make this connection will be your best defence against those who may not work with your best interests at heart. The salespeople that take the time to question you about what limitations may have been placed upon you and what requirements you need met, those that then supply you with factual, honest information, are those you should seek out to work more closely with.

Many salespeople prefer to work solely with you on their company’s listings. This is a positive move for you “if” they do get back to you regularly with what is new to the market – interestingly, not all real estate salespeople are set up to work with buyers, preferring to work listings only.

A great salesperson will stretch your thinking on criteria, budget, location. Getting to know you and what you are looking to achieve with your purchase, will better equip the salesperson to make viewing selections based on what will actually work for you. The fantasy of first home buying must be quickly tempered by the reality of what your budget will actually buy. A trusted salesperson will be making those decisions for you without the emotion you are more than likely bringing to the search.

For instance, you decide on the criteria of four bedrooms in order that both children can have separate rooms and one room can be used as an office. You have two vehicles that need to be undercover and therefore state you need double garaging. You do not want to look the Southern side of Tauranga because you have heard there are traffic delays in peak hour.

A good salesperson will look past this and show you the three bedroom home with an office nook in the living room. It may have a single garage and a carport but the carport may have been enclosed as a garage – something you will not know by just looking online. Your perfect property could be found in the locations you dismissed and once you realise your shift work takes you out of the traffic queues, it all works for you!

Above all know that we consider the right property to be the one that meets about 80% of your criteria – there is NO perfect home, even with a larger budget and do not ever let your mind blend “this” section with “that” home because that property is non-existent.

Be patient – be adaptable – be proactive. When you find your home … act on it and put your offer forward. You will not be able to second guess the market, interest rate hikes or decreases, nor vendor motivations. Believe us when we say, as professional real estate salespeople, we have tried … and failed. The market is the market is the market – just get into it and make sure you can afford to fund the decisions you are making.

Now you know more than some salespeople – enjoy the ride!