Home Buyer Tips

Home Buyer Tips (in order)

1.     Avoid recommendations from Realtors when selecting other professionals. Anyone who receives a referral from a Realtor will be less likely to call attention to bad conduct and their loyalties will likely be to the Realtor and not you.

2.     Hire a real estate attorney first. Quiz them on their conflicts. If they routinely get referrals from Realtors, represent Realtors, or sell title insurance find another one. A good real estate attorney can help you negotiate with your Realtor on fees and terms and be instrumental in protecting you throughout the process. Some state bar associations have a specialist certification for real estate attorneys.

3.     Shop and compare loan officers and narrow the selection down to three. The most important time to compare rates is when you lock in your rate.

4.     Hire a buyer agent. Avoid large firms or firms that specialize in listing homes. The representation you receive from those firms will be inferior because they are constantly running into conflicts of interests so severe that it will be illegal for them to assist you in key parts of the transaction. Try to find an Exclusive Buyer Agent (EBA). And don’t forget to negotiate the compensation and terms of your representation. Never agree to dual agency and never allow your agent to collect incentives from the seller or other brokers or to pay referral fees to other brokers.

5.     Hire an independent title company or attorney to close your transaction.

In states where attorneys are required to close transactions, make sure that your closing attorney is not the same one who has been helping you through the negotiation process. Use that negotiating attorney to help you negotiate the terms of the title insurance coverage that you receive from the closing attorney.

In states where title companies perform the closing, make sure that you are using an independent title company that is not affiliated with any of the other professionals’ firms. Most of the other professionals have large commissions or fees that are contingent upon the transaction closing. If a large title defect is detected, it is imperative that your title company is free of biases in resolving that defect. Make sure that the title company has attorneys on staff who supervise the title examination process.