In response to a recent Agent News article, a buyer named Alan wrote the editor to explain why he feels he has to use multiple agents. He scores some valid points, but there could be other reasons why he hasn't found the home of his dreams.

Bristling at a point in the story in which the following questions were posed: "Do you have a buyer who won't commit to you because she distrusts the real estate industry? Who shops for homes on her own and with other agents as if you're hiding listings from her? Who doesn't know what she really wants? Who balks when you show her exactly what she said she wanted?," Alan wrote these comments:

This is a good article. Unfortunately in a heavy sellers market, many first time buyers are very disillusioned.

You write "Who shops for homes on her own and with other agents as if you're hiding listings from her?"

Speaking for myself and other buyers in my area, I can say that we DO NOT use other agents because we feel our primary agent is hiding listings. We use other agents simultaneously because of the competitiveness in the market. This housing market is so hot where I am, that a buyer is FORCED to use more than one agent in order to increase his/her odds of getting a nice house. That is the bottom line.

I currently am using four agents! As buyers, how can we help not to operate this way when we see so many homes sell that we would have liked to buy. I just lost a house last month that I found on my own even without an agent. I hurried to get in an offer, but the agent had already presented an offer (successful offer). Also, it doesn't help to jump from primary to primary agent either, that does nothing to increase our odds.

Can you sense Alan's frustration?

This buyer believes he is trying to do everything he can to find a home. With such sound reasoning, how is it that he is unable to accomplish his goal?

To find out the reason(s), let's start with some key phrases:

• first time buyer
• frustration
• primary agent
• competitiveness of the market
• use an agent
• nice house
• lost a house
• on my own
• successful offer
• odds

Without having met Alan, it's obvious that he's a take-charge kind of guy. Charging into the new territory of homeownership as a first-time buyer is frustrating for him because he doesn't know what will give him a true advantage - or increase his "odds." He believes that the competitiveness of the market means he has to take extraordinary action to get results, like using multiple agents looking for him on his behalf, and looking for homes on his own.

He doesn't like not being in control.

He's astute enough to know that having an agent is an advantage, as he was beaten by an agent with a successful offer on a house he wanted, yet he doesn't really trust any agent, including what he enigmatically calls his "primary" agent enough to turn the task over to him or her. In fact, Alan feels the end justifies the means, that his purchasing goal justifies using agents who will never be paid for helping him.

While he has several agents helping him, it's clear that they aren't any more committed to him than he is to them, which could be one reason for his failure to find a home.

Yet, this is a guy who wants to buy a home, and he's reached out to ask for help from agents, as well as a real estate editor.

So, here's some straight-from-the-heart advice for Alan, and any other buyers in his predicament:

Change approaches

Alan says he wants a nice house. He doesn't say he wants a nice home. It might help if he thought through what he wants to accomplish with a home purchase. Is it an investment, or a place to live? If it is a place to live, then Alan should think about how he wants to live, what his needs are, and what daily life would be like in a house. Does he want a new or existing home or a townhome or condo? How much maintenance and yardwork is involved? How many square feet? How many bedrooms and baths? How much storage? Will the garage fit an SUV? Can he tolerate a home that has to be improved? If so, how much improvement? Does he need to be near family, friends, worship, work, the airport? How long a commute is tolerable? What price range? These are among dozens of questions that need to be answered before a search for a home begins.

Narrowing the field to homes that are ideal to him makes it easier for him to tell an agent what he wants and for the agent to find it.

Lose the investor mentality

If Alan is an investor, he should be working with an agent who is an investment specialist, not someone who sells homes, because there is a vast difference in experience and motivation.

If he is a homebuyer, then he has to recognize that in a seller's market, bargains are few and far between. Good buys, however, should be abundant. If prices seem high, look for homes that are updated, move-in ready, and well-maintained to justify the expense.

Houses as investment substitutes for the typical homeowner are a relatively new phenomenon. While some people can make a killing from selling a homestead, iced with lots of tax-free capital gains, others don't fare as well. Housing gains historically have only just beaten inflation rates, so expecting a home to deliver a windfall is expecting a lot.

An investor mentality could turn agents off. While an agent won't refuse to help a homebuyer who behaves like an investor, the agent is going to respond passive aggressively. She or he will spend the most time and effort on people and deals with the most likelihood of closing, and an unrealistic expectation of gain lowers that possibility in any buyer.

Agents are notoriously shy of investors because they are looking for bargains while buyers are looking for homes. So if Alan wants an agent or agents to help him find a home, he needs to develop his homebuyer persona.

Understand the market

Buyers are just like sellers. They want to save money. They want a good deal. But buying a home isn't about winning, it's about getting what you want. At some point, with the right home, Alan has to ask himself which is more important, getting the home, or beating the seller and agents at some competitive game?

In a seller's market, it appears that the sellers hold all the cards because their inventory is in demand. This can stimulate competitiveness in anyone. No one likes to overpay, but consider why the market is hot. Are jobs on the rise? Is this a neighborhood that has historically been in demand? Is this house the right one? These are all good reasons to jump in.

Most everyone wants to live in a finer home, but first-time buyers often have limitations. They visualize the home they deserve, rather than the one they can afford. They dream of the glittering new homes they see in magazines, but homes that cost the same near their downtown jobs are 50 years older, half the size, and need work.

All buyers have to make a decision to buy and that means choosing between ideals.

Learn about neighborhoods until the right one stands out. Then the housing inventory will stand out, too.

Learn what makes an offer successful

In a hot seller's market, offers are accepted that are the most attractive. Attractive offers come from buyers who are ready to buy and who have been prequalified by a lender who has looked at the buyer's financials and rendered a loan decision.

Offers that are hurdle-free are the most attractive. A seller doesn't want to wait while the buyer sells a home, so if the buyer has a home to sell, the buyer needs to be prequalified for a bridge loan.

However, it is a huge mistake for the buyer to forego tools such as home inspections and environmental testing in order to please a seller. It's still buyer beware.

Pick the right agent

First-time buyers are at a disadvantage with some agents because their inexperience, lower housing budget, and fledgling credit makes them higher closing risks. Unlike sellers, buyers are also free agents, which means they are harder to get a commitment from. Agents don't like to waste their time and see the sale go to someone else, so if a buyer doesn't meet their qualifiers, they will be polite, but they'll only work for the buyer when they literally have nothing better to do.

While it may seem prestigious to get the biggest name in real estate, the reality is that agents who sell in higher price ranges, or out of the neighborhood where the first-time buyer wants to buy is going to be harder pressed to do as good a job for the buyer as the plodding, local neighborhood specialist.

Agents come in all shapes and sizes, so choose an agent who specializes in helping first-time buyers and who is a specialist in the neighborhood (used to selling homes in that price range) where the buyer wants to buy. While agents are licensed by the state and can help buyers all over the state, the reality is that the ones who live and work in the neighborhood (local wells of information) are a buyer's best bet.

Commiting to the right agent has its rewards. If an agent knows a house is coming on the market that isn't yet in the MLS, whom will she tell about it? The buyer who works with her, or the buyer who works with her competitors? Sometimes finding the right house means getting there first.

Following these suggestions will help any homebuyer find a home.

Alan, whoever you are, consider this column my housewarming gift to you.

Published: April 18, 2003

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

Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.