Aligning Yourself with Professionals
By Jay
May 6th, 2008 ·
As a consumer about to enter the home-buying arena or selling and “buying up”, you surely will have a lot of questions. Where do I start? How much home can I afford? Is my credit good enough? Should I wait until after I buy a home to buy a new car? Which area has the best potential for equity appreciation long-term? Questions like these are very common, and can be answered by real estate and mortgage professionals. The most solid foundation you can construct in your quest for purchasing a new home is one that’s composed of the relationships you forge with qualified and seasoned professionals. Finding and enlisting the services of a great real estate broker and a great mortgage broker is key here.
Buying a home is a very personal business, just like buying any long-term investment where your relationship with the person recommending them to you will be a long-term one. As such, you will want to align yourself with someone you will work together well with. Is this person responsive to my calls and emails? Does he spend the time necessary to thoroughly explain concepts to me that are confusing? Does he communicate ideas and concepts clearly and articulate himself well? Does he make product recommendations based on what’s in my best interest or in his? And most importantly, DO I LIKE THIS PERSON?
INTERVIEW 2-3 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND 2-3 MORTGAGE BROKERS TO DETERMINE WHO YOU BELIEVE IS THE BEST FIT WITH YOUR STYLE AND FINANCIAL GOALS. Following is a list of Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Broker Interview Questions that may help you in this process:
1. 1. How long have you been in the business, and what has your track record been within the industry? Tell me about your background.
2. What are the names and phone numbers of 2 or 3 prior clients who would recommend you?
3. What do you consider to be your #1 prerogative when working with your clients?
4. Give me your best ideas for how you would structure my offer (replace “offer“ with the word “financing” for the mortgage broker) based on my circumstances so I can maximize my negotiating position.
5. Here are what my expectations of you are…how do you see yourself performing to each of these expectations?
Add any other questions you would like to based on style, ethics, market, product, program or offer-structuring, or anything else for that matter. In today’s market, you are in the driver’s seat and you CAN be very selective about whom you will work with.
Tags: First Time Home Buyers · Mortgage & Finance
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