Eagerness, excitement, and energy are all flowing through your body as you prepare to buy a home. Whether it’s your first time or you’ve done this a few times, buying a new house comes with great anticipation as you look to upgrade your surroundings and satisfy your long-term goals. But, while the emotion is entirely understandable, the last thing you can afford is for that emotion to spill over into the decision-making process.
While you’re home shopping, there are a few unwritten rules that you may not have been aware of that you follow during the process. Breaking these rules can put a potential deal for a new Alpharetta home on ice and leave you in limbo.
Sign a Buyer-Broker Agreement Before Asking Your Agent to Show You Homes
The fact is that if you have issues with committing to a real estate agent, then you’re not yet serious about buying a home. To validate your intent and for the sake of customer protection, it’s wise that you sign a buyer-broker agreement before surveying the Alpharetta home market.
A buyer-broker agreement is a documented agreement between yourself and your real estate agent that gives an agent the authority to find listings for you to look at. The key element of such an agreement is that you cannot go around your agent to work with someone else for as long as the agreement is valid. You have to end the agreement first if you suspect it’s not working out before moving on to another agent. However, the split has to be mutual and, if the broker doesn’t want to break the agreement, then the terms of your contract will determine the next steps.
The agreement includes compensation terms and a description of the property type that’s being acquired, plus its price range.
Get Mortgage Pre-Approval Before Making an Offer for An Alpharetta Home
Mortgage pre-approval states that a trusted lender will provide you with the required financing to purchase a new property up to a capped amount. This is big because you want to be able to show how well you can finance your prospective new home before you make the purchase. Buyers and agents will have a clear idea of your affordability, with the pre-approval as your legal evidence.
Without mortgage pre-approval, you’re making promises to your agent and to the seller that you know you can’t keep. Sellers won’t take you seriously if you can’t back up your financial boasts with the right proof.
Never, Ever Be Late to a Home Showing
Treat every home showing that you’re book for as the biggest priority in your life. If you know you will be late, make sure you give your real estate agent a heads up. If not, you risk ruining the dynamics of your buyer-agent relationship, making your agent and the seller lose trust in you.
The more you show that you respect their time and appreciate your agent’s effort to land you a showing of a home you’re interested in purchasing, the more motivated an agent will be to finding the best solutions for you. Make punctuality one of your strong suits.
We’re sure that you will follow all these rules as you get closer to you acquiring your dream home. Contact our wonderful team of agents today to help you get going for all your Alpharetta home buying needs!