Realty Times - REALTORS Can Become Advisor And Resource When Buying A Newly Constructed Home

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REALTORS Can Become Advisor And Resource When Buying A Newly Constructed Home

by Dena Kouremetis

If you are represented by a real estate agent who has just gone on autopilot because you happened to buy a brand new home that's in its embryo stage, you may want to wake him up. There is much he or she can be doing while your new home is being built.

Sure, finding just the right house for you and your family may have been time consuming if your REALTOR® did the homework to narrow down the search to only homes that fit your demanding criteria. And sitting with you through the purchase agreement explanations and signing, while keeping your kids from destroying the model home may have been a supportive thing to do. But what happens now that it's all signed and sealed? The house goes up, and you don't hear from your smilin' Realtor again until a few days before the walk-through, when they miraculously appear to get credit for finding you the home?

Perhaps it would be cruel to boil down the agent's 3% or so builder-paid commission to just how much they earned per hour while actually being involved in your purchase from beginning to end. Okay, so we won't go there. Let's just say that your agent could be handling some tasks during the home's construction that could make you feel better about their compensation plan. (This is, of course, feasible only if the client-buyer wants their agent to be involved in more than just the procurement of the property.) Here are some ways your real estate agent can help you through your new home purchase. He or she can:

Help set up your lender appointment and accompany you to that appointment, if you wish. Realtors know what paperwork is vital to getting a quick loan approval. They can arrange for the copying and hand carrying of documents required by the lender. They can even find alternate, or "back-up" lenders with which to run your loan application side by side in order for you to have a "fail-safe" approval for the mere cost of a preliminary credit report fee.

Be your Design Center advocate. Once your loan amount and down payment capability has been established, your agent can help you sift through the hundreds (sometimes thousands) of design center choices. She can help you to make prudent decisions on what upgrades and options are truly necessities, what would add significantly to the value of the home should you need to sell it someday, and guide you to stay within a budget you have pre-established.

Gather information on schools and services in the area. Your Realtor should be (or make it their business to quickly become) an expert in the area in which you have decided to purchase. He or she can visit the City Planner's office and check to see what development may be planned for your area, make sure there is room in the neighborhood schools for your kids, or be able to find alternatives to public schools should you opt for a different path. The location of daycare facilities may also be on their list of things to do for you.

Find domestic help. Will you need a gardener, housekeeper, or babysitters? Agents generally have networks of past clients they have assisted in finding these domestic helpers, and may be able to put you in touch before you move into your new home.

Meet you at the site for construction walks. Most builders have their buyers confirm locations of electrical or plumbing items before drywall goes up. Your agent can be there to help both you and the superintendent translate your original requests for these locations from the paperwork you have already approved, or suggest changes before it's too late. If you have enlisted a building inspector to take a look at the home's skeleton at this point, your agent may also coordinate that appointment and communicate the results to you.

Visit the site and report progress to you. You may want to have your agent check in with you every other week or so to let you know what has taken place at the construction site, especially if you are not living close by. He or she can take pictures of the progress (now this can even be done with a digital camera and sent to you through cyberspace!). If there is an issue that arises as to what is being installed, your agent can be the liaison for research.

Help arrange moving services. Realtors generally know good local movers; movers on a more national scale can be researched through the Internet to save time.

Accompany you to the new home Orientation/Walk-Through. Hand your agent the video camera and record all that builder advice as you get to know your new home for the first time! If the builder discourages anyone but the buyers themselves during this tour, have your agent meet you before or after the Orientation. Share with them what walk-through items still need to be fine-tuned so that they can help you within the first few weeks after the move should you need help in communicating with the builder's warranty department.

Use your agent as a resource once you're settled. Agents don't want to be forgotten. Many of them become lifelong friends, and in the process benefit from earned, built-in referral networks because of their attentiveness, caring, and professionalism. This is the best kind of business they could hope for. And because your agent knows your new home and everything you put into it so well, he would be a natural choice to handle the listing of your home someday when you may need to relocate, move-up, or move down in home size.

If you already have an agent who has thought of all of this, you have made a wise choice. If you are about to dive into the house-hunting fray and wish representation by a Realtor, you may want to go over what the agent would be willing to do for you should you enlist their professional services. There is much written and said about listing agents and what their perceived and required responsibilities may be in the sale of an existing home, but not much said about what an agent representing a buyer in a newly-constructed home purchase should offer.

You may surmise that since the builder is the entity paying the agent's commission on the purchase, it may not be as incumbent upon you as the buyer to require your agent to do more than find the house for you and congratulate you at closing. Most agents are eager to help with more, however, and wish to become a household word in your neighborhood. After all, their shiny metal "For Sale" signs may someday grace a few front lawns along your street should they make themselves a valued entity when the neighborhood is brand spanking new.

Published: April 5, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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