Regional Context:
Hey, just for context…Depending on how you discovered this article you may be in a region with different regulations than those listed below. My office is in New Westminster, BC Canada and I operate under rules that apply across the country, the province, and my region (the Lower Mainland of BC). Regardless of rules, the net result of my information below is that at some point you want to build a relationship with a local professional…preferably someone ethical who adheres to their region’s rules. Let’s get into how to get serious about buying a home.
You’re ready to get serious about buying a home…How should you start your real estate search?
You’ve been browsing listings, considering your budget and mortgage eligibility. You’ve probably looked at a lot of properties online. You knew it wasn’t your time to dive in and get serious…until now. You have choices on how to take that first step. Different steps will feel more comfortable to each individual. Rule Number One: you can choose your path. The beginning of the process can be flexible, but keep in mind that the process gets more rigid once you’re ready to make an offer.
First steps to choose from when it’s time to get serious about your real estate search in New West, Burnaby or the Tri-Cities:
- Go to open houses
- Contact an agent to have a “Buyer’s Meeting”
- Make an appointment to see your favourite listing you’ve been stalking online
- Contact a Mortgage Broker or Mortgage Specialist
This is the hard part, because it’s time for first-contact. One way or another you need to reach out to someone. What’s the protocol? The short answer – there is no protocol. You might feel apprehensive about contacting an agent directly. You might not be 100% serious about buying, but you want to see a specific home in real life. I encounter many people at open houses who feel guilty attending because they aren’t really ‘ready to buy’. Don’t worry. That is the most common buyer-type to walk into an open house. Go to an open house. You are absolutely welcome. The downfalls? One is that you might have to wait around for access if it’s busy. The second is that the agent hosting might really hope that you will choose to work with them, and their pursuit can get a little sales-ey. And some people not interested in an open house confidently call, email or text with a request for a private viewing.
The confident-ones get frustrated because eventually the Seller’s agent starts to lead into questions trying to learn if the Buyer has a relationship with a real estate agent. There are two reasons for that. One is that it changes the questions I (as the Seller’s agent) am permitted to ask if someone has an agent. The second reason is that I like the Buyer’s agent to join in for the showing. It protects me from misunderstandings regarding meddling, and lastly if an agent is going to write an informed and productive offer on my listing they really should see it for themselves.
So you see the property and maybe it turns out you like it. Now you’ll want your own agent to represent you. More to come further down about meeting with, and choosing an agent.
Let’s say you don’t have a relationship with an agent…
Can you call and make an appointment even though you’re just starting your real estate search? You can, but you’re going to be asked to review some forms that warn you of the risks of not having an agent to look out for you. The agent for the Seller works exclusively for the Seller. Most people find this part a bit of a headache and a little too ‘serious’ considering they’re just curious to get a look inside the house. I understand the sentiment, but those are the rules that bind us in the Province of BC. Get past the forms and you are welcome to make the appointment and view the home without choosing (committing to) a Buyer’s agent.
Did you try to request an appointment and the agent never answered? This happens. Why? Some (not all) agents know that the way you are making contact and the fact that you don’t have an agent means you aren’t really ready to buy (right now) and it’s not a great use of their time if their time is limited. You’re just getting started with your search and they want more serious buyers.
How do you avoid the annoying questions, gatekeepers, and non-responsive agents?
Have a “Buyer’s Meeting” and start a relationship with an agent. Your agent can then push past all the hurdles with ease and make appointments for you at your request. Now we’re really getting serious! You just wanted to see a house and now you need to start a relationship!?
Yes – Seller’s agents are gatekeepers. But Buyer’s agents are also almost always open to taking new clients (at least getting to know a new lead). So go ahead, get started, have a chat. If it doesn’t feel right and you’re not sure this person was the right choice, just tell them. They will shift their focus to other opportunities. Agents are paid when you buy, so if it’s not going well, they know they won’t be getting paid anyway. Best to break it off (or improve the relationship) before either of you invests too much time.
Buyer’s agents and Seller’s agents are not two exclusively separate job titles (some agents choose to focus more on one or the other). Most agents do both, but it’s the role they play during individual client interactions that identifies their title in the moment. Seller’s agents just aren’t really permitted to make friends with Buyers who want to buy their listing.
Let’s say Agent Q works in your area. Agent Q is loyal to their clients (Buyers and Sellers). When Q has a property for sale, the Seller is their priority so Q can’t attempt to make an interested Buyer their client as well. However, if you contact Agent Q for a Buyer’s Meeting they will become loyal to you. If it turns out you fall in love with a listing where Q represents the Seller there will be a protocol on how to handle that, but that’s rare. When and how the relationship starts changes the response you will get. You might encounter Q for the first time at an open house. The tow of you hit it off but it turns out you didn’t really like the property…There’s no conflict of interest so you and Q can pursue a working relationship as Buyer and Buyer’s agent. You might have a “Buyer’s Meeting”.
What happens at a Buyer’s Meeting?
The objective is to start building knowledge and trust. The agent wants to learn about you and you want to get to know them. The agent will ask about your goals (type of housing, timeline, budget) and start guiding you on a path to success. In doing so, they are hoping to start gaining trust. The agent also hopes to learn that your goals are realistic and that they can trust you to make a reasonable attempt to follow through. Sometimes the pursuit of a purchase doesn’t work out. That’s okay, but the agent won’t earn any revenue if that happens. Agents are on the lookout for Buyers with realistic goals. My objective during a Buyer’s Meeting is to set realistic goals (put our attention in the right places). That sets up both I and the Buyer to have a more positive and productive experience. Some goals are more attainable than others and I like to lay that out so Buyers know if they should expect quick results or if their pursuit could take many months (or years) to find the right match.
Other agents could have a different approach, but overall, you’re trying to get on the same page.
This is when the ‘searching’ actually starts. You and the agent will agree on search parameters, how to stay on alert for new listings and how you will go about taking a closer look at them. Bring a list of your recent favourites (probably one that you’re hoping to see). That’s a great starting point. It shows samples of what you like, and something to get you out see in real life.
You’ll talk about budget and mortgage pre-approval. It’s okay if you haven’t done a pre-approval, but it will be a task to get started soon to ensure your ongoing focus is in the right price-band.
The agent might start to educate you on market trends and how to find success. Ultra-competitive markets will require some education on the urgency of the process. Slower markets might mean that the agent is going to tell you which categories of homes are the better buys.
I like to talk about total cost of ownership. Long-term financial planning for home ownership helps make the buying process easier to navigate and reduces surprises. Older homes (houses or condos) will come with a need to have cash-on-hand for major repairs. Discussing those early on will help us avoid heartbreak if we find an older home and subsequently find a laundry list of necessary repairs that won’t fit your budget. Everyone’s budget/capacity for major repairs is different, so it’s an important conversation early on.
Lasty, there will be some discussions about strategy. That includes an introduction to the offer process and interactions at showings. Showings? It’s helpful for you to understand who you might see at showings, what questions or commentary might come up and how to answer in a way that enhances your position without comprising any leverage you may have (or be exposed to) in a negotiation. It’s a lot to take in for the first meeting, but it’s helpful to start to understand the process.
Start your real estate search with a mortgage pre-approval?
This is a good place to start, It doesn’t have to be your very first step (though it can be). One thing I can find frustrating with mortgage professionals is that (and this only comes up very rarely) they really want to enhance the relationships they have with real estate agents. Sometimes (but not always) these individuals very aggressively push their favourite agents. I often come to learn that the agents they are pushing are knowledgeable, experienced, but not experienced with the product or region that the buyer wants to focus on. It’s like pushing your favourite tax lawyer onto your friend who is getting a divorce.
Granted, it’s a rare occurrence. Overall, I truly appreciate the mortgage professionals I interact with. They have their specialization, I have mine, and we work together to make it a smooth process. Mortgage Brokers work with a variety of lenders. They can explain the difference between mortgage options (and it’s more than just interest rate). Mortgage Specialists are a representative for one lender (your bank), so the options they can provide are limited. You have control over who you choose to work with. It’s just important that you know the differences between a Broker and bank employee and your decision is based on who will do a good job for you.
Early on, your real estate agent is going to ask you to get a pre-approval. The pre-approval is critical to keeping your focus on the right opportunities. More important is that it ensures mortgage approval timelines don’t negatively impact deadlines you could encounter when you find the home you love. It’s best to get the paperwork out of the way before you find a home that captures (and requires) all of your attention.
What are the traps and tricks to consider when you get serious about a real estate search?
Open houses can attract an offer (which benefits the Seller) but that’s not the only reason the agent is there. Agents hosting open houses have half an eye on meeting a new buyer along with hopes of selling the home. Why? Many open house attendees are dipping their toes in the market and might be in need of an agent. That’s okay. You might like the agent you meet. You can cultivate that, just be careful not to hire them because it’s the first agent you saw. What if they aren’t experienced or their area of focus doesn’t match your goals? Be open-minded, but consider your options.
The majority of online resources, links, etc. targeted to people searching real estate are created for the purposes of lead generation. They’re trying to make first-contact comfortable, welcoming, ‘soft’, supportive, maybe impersonal and non-committal. Some entities exist purely to measure your genuine interest, capture your contact information and sell it (in a variety of manners) to a real estate agent. The most prominent occurrence of this is Zillow in the US. I don’t follow their business practice closely but it built its prominence by providing a powerful search tool, capturing leads and selling them to agents for a percentage of their commission. This practice exists in many forms when you’re browsing real estate listings or resources.
As an aside, the regulations that I work under (Canadian and Provincial) require that an entity pursuing real estate leads for the purpose of profit must operate with a real estate license and is therefore subject to all real estate regulations. However, some companies try to avoid this, which leads to questioning their business ethics and reliability.
Full disclosure: Yes – I chose to compile my thoughts and write this article for personal gain. I’m looking for opportunities to be that first point of contact. A small percentage of readers will feel that we could be a good fit and feel comfortable reaching out, and I look forward to those interactions.
Search far, wide and diversely. Learn what you can. Just know that agents are looking for new clients and they’re hoping to make contact with you. My advice is to get out of that loop sooner than later. Take the initiative and make friends with an agent.
Matt’s not the right agent for you? How to choose an agent:
This can obviously get detailed and pretty subjective. The details will have to become a separate article. The most simple way I can state it is that you’re looking for an agent who is competent and knows the area you want to focus on. Some Buyers I work with have a very wide geographic area in mind. No agent can be an expert in all sub-regions. In that case you at least want an agent who understands the type of home you’re looking at, and has a personality you think can match your expectations and communication style.
Agents who are too busy to join you for most showings aren’t going to be able to build your knowledge base. Every showing I go to I try to bring information of value. There is always something that comes up, either about the physical characteristics or some quirks about how the market conditions are interacting with that property. Every opportunity to learn makes you more informed, which will make you more confident and effective when you find the home you know is right for you.
Try to find an agent with experience and competency, along with time for you and they should know how to work with you to set achievable goals. We live for the end goal. It’s extremely satisfying to see buyers make it to the finish-line and complete the difficult task of finding and buying a home.
I hope you find an agent who makes you feel heard and informed. Good luck with your search!
Sincerely,
Matt
