Seeing all the new residential construction developments happening in our area? Some seem to be up going up overnight and some going at a snail’s pace or even fully stalled. To get a foothold in our high demand area, this is a popular option (and risk) for new buyers. Is it necessary to have your own buyer’s agent when buying new construction? The answer is a resounding yes! The plain truth is you need a buyer’s agent to look out for your interests. With any home purchase there are many potential pitfalls, hidden risks, and complications involved in the process. To guarantee a good result you need locally experienced help.
1. Your buyer’s agent can help ensure you hire the right builder and area. We are up to date with the truth of the local fluid current conditions. Working with a good Realtor is that you benefit from our network of agents, vendors, lenders, and other industry professionals. It is our job to know what is locally happening that will affect that neighborhood, plus what happened in the past. Word gets around when businesses or service providers don’t take care of their customers. With new construction just about anything can go wrong. Some builders have an exceptional reputation for delivering homes on time. An experienced local agent knows the difference and where to guide you, unbiasedly.
2. A buyer’s agent can guide you on resales. A joy about new construction is you can often customize the home to your exact needs and wants. Some of those amenities are going to be more important than others. Our goal is to always keep resale in mind. It may be your ‘forever’ home but eventually there will be future sale on your large investment. One could easily spend a lot of money on things that don’t matter in our local market. An experienced buyer’s agent can guide you on the best upgrades with proven highest return on investment. Some improvements really make a difference, while others can be throwing money away. We can help you select best upgrades, when to do them, who to do them with, and explain the pros and cons of each. Another important factor is getting an independent Home Inspector on the finished product. The builder offers their walk thru but that may not catching any ‘hidden’ issues. After the builder’s warranty period is over those are your responsibility to fix. Eventually, they will get caught at the future buyer’s home inspection.
3. Your agent will negotiate on your behalf. A strong negotiator understands the true value of all aspects of the deal. Your buyer’s agent understands what you want and need. We understand what the builder values most, they are not just motivated by making as much money as possible from the sale but also wants to keep the price high because it helps sell the next home for a similar price. However, that is where negotiations are so important as it means that the builder might be willing to give you other concessions – such as offering upgrades. Don’t expect a builder to discount when they don’t need to, we understand and negotiate when the conditions are favorable.
4. The agent at the builder’s site represents the builder, not you. Keep in mind that the real estate agent working for the builder is focused on the best interests of his client – the company selling the homes, but they also can serve as your buyer’s agent. You deserve to have your own agent, someone who will be looking out for just you. The site agent will still be happy to work us, after all they want to sell the property. Do know that you are already paying for the buyer’s agent service? The builder has already budgeted into the sales price the cost of paying a buyer’s agent. Why wouldn’t you want to hire a local real estate agent to represent you? In a real estate transaction, the seller pays the commission, in new construction the builder pays for the buyer’s agent’s commission.
5. Communication …is the biggest complaint that buyers have with new construction. Buyers have an understanding based on what the sales representative says and then the buyers move on to deal with the project manager who builds the house. Sometimes the builder will tell the buyer something different and if there is nothing in writing to prove it was included in the contract, it is difficult to enforce. Real estate buyer’s agent serves as your diligence, we execute additional contract addendums to cover when necessary. When there is any issue, we are there to intercede on your behalf. We carry our agency name with us, guaranteeing that builders local future sales and reputation back to our office, you are never alone in the new build struggles when you have your own agent.
Mary's Gone Coastal 