Think Twice About Walking in This Door!
Some people like to home or condo-shop for fun on a Saturday. Stop by the sales office. Tour the models. Maybe act a little interested to get the salesperson talking. Real estate agents that work in a sales office know that a certain percentage of their walk-in traffic are weekend-lookers. However, if you’re doing more than just window shopping for condos, there is a good reason not to follow your impulses and walk into a sales office with those weekend-lookers.
That nice sales agent that works at a new development represents the builder, not the home buyer. Once you enter a sales office without a real estate agent by your side, the sales office will not compensate a real estate agent to represent your best interests if you pursue a purchase at the development.
Is such a fine point worth re-arranging your schedule to include a real estate agent in your first visit to a sales office? Consider the difference between a car salesman and a lawyer. You are a customer of the car salesman and a client of the lawyer. The lawyer is supposed to look out for your best interest and to advise you in many legal matters. The car salesman is supposed to make sure you don’t walk out of the lot without one of their cars. In a new home transaction, you are a customer of the builder’s agent, and a client of your buyer’s agent. Without a buyer’s agent, there is no one looking out for your best interests.
Though there are very few negotiation points in a new condominium purchase, there are several “decision points.” Should you put in Travertine or keep the standard carpet? Should you take a 3 year fixed rate interest only loan? Should you use the builder’s loan representative at all? Should you take the condo with the lousy view that has a decent price? Should you even buy this condo at this price? Should you wait to buy a resale in this development when it is completed?
And then there are the “What Happens If..” questions that buyers may not know to ask. Like, “what happens if I change my mind about buying the condo before it is completed in a year?” Or “what happens if I don’t qualify for a loan next year when the unit is completed? There are several more of those questions that beg to be asked but might not be unless you have an experienced agent assisting you.
Think about a buyer’s agent as an extra piece of insurance against making a bad decision. Not only is this insurance a good bet, but it doesn’t cost you anything to have it.
- Liz Suto: Scottsdale Condos, Lofts and Townhomes
- http://www.ScottsdaleCondoMania.com
- email: Liz@ScottsdaleCondoMania.com
- cell: (480) 353-8428