As a real estate professional, you know that buying a house is a serious business for most people. In addition to making a significant financial investment, buyers often make an emotional investment when they find a home and begin new chapters in their lives. A home purchase also represents substantial investments in time, energy, and research, not to mention the relocation and moving process. What can you do to help your clients make this many-faceted investment?

Homebuyers and sellers in the digital age have tons of options and resources at their disposal when it comes to finding a home. Empowered by the internet, the proliferation of smartphones, and other mobile devices, consumers seeking to buy or sell a home can search listings, MLS data, mortgage rules, and real estate agents all with the press of an icon.

The opportunities for face-to-face encounters with your prospects have decreased for many reasons, one of them being that our lives have become increasingly more complex. People want and expect more from the devices they use, the services they receive, and their real estate agents.

Getting your prospective buyer’s attention in today’s market is only the first hurdle. Successfully leading your client through the stages of homeownership is the second critical challenge.

What do home buyers want?

Buying a home can be challenging for a first timer. After all, there are so many steps, tasks, and requirements, and you may be anxious about making an expensive mistake. But first-time homebuyers enjoy some special advantages created to encourage new entrants into the real estate market. Whether you are marketing your home to first-time home buyers, young families, or empty nesters, all of them are looking for some of the same characteristics in a home—along with a few special preferences that meet their specific needs.

Of course, home buyers are individuals, too, so the feature in your home that most appeals to one buyer—such as an extensive backyard with space for gardening—could have zero appeal for another buyer.

First-time home buyers face a lot of challenges. You may be tired of living with rent, or eager to move from your parents’ home but you shouldn’t let the excitement push you into taking rash decisions.

Buying a home is probably the biggest investment that most people ever make in their life. There are many aspects that you must take into consideration when choosing the house that you want to buy: price, location (the distance to your workplace, access to public transportation), and the age of the building.

Information 

While buyers can certainly search for properties online. They need other important information that you can best access and help analyze for them. Buyers may look to you for comparable home values, resale values, property tax information, sales history, utility rate projections, HOA dues, upkeep expenses, and other critical financial data. They may also ask questions about school districts, neighborhoods, and nearby amenities. Doing your homework for each property and being prepared to answer these questions will go a long way to building client confidence and helping them make informed decisions. 

Information is very important when it comes to home buying. It is important to have the right information to make informed decisions. Some of the things you need to consider before buying a home are:

• What type of home best suits your needs?

• What specific features will your ideal home have?

• How much can you afford?

• Are you going to take out a loan?

• How much do you have saved for a down payment?

• Can you afford your desired neighborhood?

• Are home values increasing or decreasing in the neighborhood?

• How long will your commute take?

• Is the school district a fit for your family?

Trying to be as thorough as possible throughout the real estate process is normal, and quite important. The better you are informed about the home you want to buy, and about real estate in general, the less daunting making a property purchase becomes.

Experience

Buyers want to leverage your expertise to help them make the right choices. They may want to know your analysis of the current real estate market and inventory. They may also have questions about how you’ve seen neighborhoods change and want your opinions on the best areas to live in. They also count on your experience to help them navigate the many steps of a deal from offer through closing, keeping them on schedule along the way. It's influenced by a wide variety of factors, including training, technology, supervisors, schedules, customer interactions, company policies, and more. The agent experience is important because it affects agent satisfaction, which in turn impacts the quality of service they provide to their future home buyers and sellers.

Respect

When buyers tell you things like their budget, how many bedrooms they need, what types of architectural styles they prefer, and whether they are willing to renovate, they want you to respect those parameters in their housing search. Even if you can’t find a home that meets all their requirements, your clients will want to know that you tried to honor their preferences. Make sure you have honest conversations with buyers so you can understand their priorities and they can understand what to realistically expect. 

Communication

Buyers need to hear from their agents consistently and often. They want you to respond to questions and concerns quickly and thoroughly. If you’re in a sellers’ market where deals move fast, responsive communication is even more important. If you’ve hit a lull in the home search with no new properties on the market, get in touch with them anyway just to let them know that their home search is still a top priority for you and that you’re keeping an eye out for their perfect home.

In home exchange just as in life in general, communication is an essential ingredient for the smooth running of events. Clearly expressing your needs and expectations, explaining how your house works, establishing a relationship of trust, and sharing good plans and advice are keys to a happy exchange!

Negotiation

When is the right time to negotiate when buying a house? While it's not always possible to negotiate a home's price, there are some situations where an agent can help. Learn when the best time is to negotiate on a house and how to negotiate like a pro to score the home of your dreams.

When it’s time to make an offer on a property, buyers want to know that you’ll represent them in the deal to the best of your ability, using your professional negotiation skills on their behalf. While you are there to advise and guide them, they also need to know that the final decisions are up to them, which you will honor and represent to the seller’s agent. Often the most stressful part of the home buying process, buyers may lean on you more than ever during this step and look to you for reassurance.

Relationship

When you’ve helped buyers through such important decisions as well as such a significant investment, you’ve laid the groundwork for a relationship with them going forward. One of the best ways to nurture that relationship is to show them that you care about them beyond the closing table. A renewable one-year contract, American Home Shield home warranties can be long-term reminders of the care and concern you showed buyers during the real estate transaction. With flexible plans and pricing, your buyers can choose the coverage they need.

6 Questions to Consider Before You Buy

How’s Your Financial Health?

Before clicking through pages of online listings or falling in love with your dream home, do a serious audit of your finances. You need to be prepared for both the purchase and the ongoing expenses of a home. The outcome of this audit will tell you whether you’re ready to take this big step, or if you need to do more to prepare. Follow these steps:

Look at your savings. Don’t even consider buying a home before you have an emergency savings account with three to six months of living expenses. When you buy a home, there will be considerable upfront costs, including the down payment and closing costs. You need money put away not only for those costs but also for your emergency fund. Lenders will require it.

Type of Home Will Best Suit Your Needs?

You have several options when purchasing a residential property: a traditional single-family home, a duplex, a townhouse, a condominium, a co-operative, or a multifamily building with two to four units. Each option has its pros and cons, depending on your homeownership goals, so you need to decide which type of property will help you reach those goals. You can save on the purchase price in any category by choosing a fixer-upper, but be forewarned: The amount of time, sweat equity, and money required to turn a fixer-upper into your dream home might be a lot more than you bargained for.

What are the Home Features that you want?

While it’s good to retain some flexibility in this list, you’re making perhaps the biggest purchase of your life, and you deserve to have that purchase fit both your needs and wants as closely as possible. Your list should include basic desires, like size and neighborhood, all the way down to smaller details like bathroom layout and a kitchen fitted with durable appliances. Scanning real estate websites can help you get a sense of the pricing and availability of properties offering the features that are most important to you.

How many mortgages Do You Qualify for?

Before you start shopping, it’s important to get an idea of how much a lender will give you to purchase your first home. You may think you can afford a $300,000 home, but lenders may think you’re only good for $200,000 based on factors like how much other debt you have, your monthly income, and how long you’ve been at your current job. In addition, many real estate agents will not spend time with clients who haven’t clarified how much they can afford to spend.

Consider getting pre-approved for a loan before placing an offer on a home. In many instances, sellers will not even entertain an offer that’s not accompanied by a mortgage pre-approval. You do this by applying for a mortgage and completing the necessary paperwork.