The health of any real estate market depends on the first-time buyer. In Santa Clarita particularly, the first-time buyer has driven real estate transactions that sometimes go five or six deep. For example, the first-time buyer buys the condo, they move up to buy a three bedroom, they move up to buy the four bedroom, they move up to the executive home, and sometimes that seller might even be ready to downsize. Five or six transactions – all driven by the first-time buyer.
With the Lending Guidelines changing so much we have to give extra care and service to the first-time buyer. Many first-time buyers are scared or intimidated by the home buying process. And of course they get advice from EVERYBODY.
There are two people critical to a happy, successful and hopefully profitable first home purchase. They are a professional real estate agent who is knowledgeable, listens well, and always puts their client’s needs before their own. Next, is a lender with the same skills and the additional standard of structuring the loan so that the buyer can afford it now and in the future. What many first-time buyers don’t know is that the service and advice of the agent and the lender are FREE.
We sometimes spend hours working with buyers to educate them and make them feel comfortable with the process and if they buy we are compensated by the seller (for the agent) or the originator of the loan (for the lender).
Many times we spend hours and hours without selling the first-time buyer anything. That is okay because that is our job. As agents we know that if we do a good job the first-time buyer will happily tell all their friends and family what a good experience they had so of course sales follow from good service.
As a first-time buyer there should be many questions to ask of a real estate agent you are considering working with. Your comfort zone, or “gut feeling” when the agent answers those questions will tell you whether you want to actually look at property with them. In short, you should interview an agent to buy a home the way that most sellers interview an agent to sell a home.
