Looking for a new home in the Columbia, SC area can be a stressful experience, especially for those who are building a new home. Hiring a home buyer’s agent that specializes in the purchase of new construction homes can ease much of that stress and can even save you money.
Here are the top 10 reasons you should consider hiring a home buyer’s agent:
As stated before, using an agent saves you time—a lot of time. Going through the process alone means that you can only look for and set up a home purchase in your free time. If you work full-time and have a home life, that means you only have a handful of hours throughout the week to dedicate to searching for a new house online, visiting model homes, keeping track of paperwork, etc. An agent works while you work, so they can save you headaches and shave time off the process.
That’s right, you get a full-time agent representing your interests and sharing their knowledge, all at ZERO COST to you. They generally get paid on commission so they won’t see any of your money until you actually purchase a home. This means that you don’t have to worry about being rushed to find your perfect home and it keeps the agent honest about wanting to help you. In the case of new homes, the builder pays your agent. It doesn’t change their loyalty, it is more of a “thank you” from the builder for bringing the buyer.
You can save a lot of money by sending an agent that has personal relationships with the local home builders to go to bat for you during price negotiations. If you’re not familiar with the market or the process, you could sell yourself short or shoot too low, which can blunt your edge in the negotiations. The vast majority of transactions for home builders include a buyer’s agent. Never say never, but builders in the Columbia area often state they don’t change the price of a home because there’s a buyer agent involved. They don’t want to under-cut buyer agents to keep them coming back with buyers.
There is a lot that goes into buying a house as far as paperwork goes. Your agent can be a life-saver when it comes to making sure you’ve filled out all the appropriate forms correctly and turn them in before their deadlines. Taking this on yourself means you run the risk of letting one of these forms fall through the cracks unnoticed, which can cause problems later or sooner than you think.
An agent that specializes in representing buyers in the purchase of new construction homes has cultivated relationships with local home builders, site agents, building superintendents, preferred loan officers and closing attorneys. These relationships can go a long way in creating a smooth transaction and quite possibly a better deal.
Sometimes our expectations don’t fit reality. We all want the perfect home, but we don’t all have the money to get exactly what we want. For instance, if you want your next home to be a mansion, but you have a starter home budget, it’s just not going to happen. That’s why talking to an agent about what we’re looking for can be helpful. They can break the news to you before you waste valuable time and especially money pursuing a home you simply can’t afford. Tell them what you want in a home and tell them your budget so they can let you know if it’s possible. They’ll work with you to get you the most for the best deal under your budget, so keep an open mind and listen to their advice.
A buyer’s agent works with and thinks about properties all day. You have your own job and your own life, leaving little time to hunt for your perfect house, hoping you’ll find it on websites, on the streets, or in the papers. Tell your agent what you’re looking for in a house, and they will likely have many properties that will fit the description. Let them do the legwork for you and filter out the houses that won’t work for you. If you have kids, this one is important so you are not lugging around the kids all day going from model home to model home. An agent knows what the neighborhoods of the houses you’re looking at are like. If you’re trying to get a house closer to work, closer to the city center, or one that’s in a safer area, an agent can refine their search to find you houses that meet the bill. An agent knows that location is key and they will get you to the area you want to live in.
Local homebuilders, depending on market conditions, may be offering buyer incentives but they often do an infective job in getting the word out about. Also, they are sometimes deals to be made from “insider” information that builders only share with buyer agents that do significant business with them. An agent may also know about recent negotiations have been going with builders, giving their buyer a leg up.
Some people are nervous to team up with a home buyer’s agent. Often, this is because they’re worried the agent will try to get the most money out of them or keep them in the dark about things they need to know about a possible house. This simply isn’t the case. Agents are on your side and want YOU to get the best deal possible. It’s in both your and their interests that you get the best home for you. Having an agent help you with your house-hunting means that you have a valuable resource and team member helping you and your family find the home that’s the best fit for you. Site agents for home builders are often well-meaning but at the end of the day, they represent the builder, not you.
If the price of the home isn’t going to change, there’s no cost to you and you get an agent on your side, hiring a home buyer’s agent is a NO BRAINER. Your Next Step Research your home buyer’s agent before hiring them to make sure they’re the best fit for you. In this digital age, it’s easy to find reviews from other people who have worked with the agent. Find someone who genuinely wants to help you find and buy the home you’re meant to live in. You’ll find that the house hunting is that much less stressful than it would have been if you went through it alone.
The Columbia New Home Buyer Team was created in 2003 by Realtor Adrian La Fosse of the JPAR Magnolia Group to provide much-needed representation for buyers of new homes in Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, Blythewood, Chapin and Lake Murray, SC. We can assist you with any local builder including Stanley Martin Homes, Mungo Homes, Great Southern Homes, DR Horton, Hurricane Builders and Eastwood Homes. Our team does not represent the builders. This ensures buyers get the best deal and service. Our team’s service does not increase the price of the buyer’s new home. In fact, our goal is to save home buyers headaches as well as potentially thousands of dollars. All this at ZERO COST to the home buyer. It doesn’t matter where you are in the process, we can help. Give us a call at (803) 250-6750 or fill out the form at the bottom of the page for a free consultation.