August 1, 2009: The buyer's agent is the unsung hero of the home-buying process
When we list a home for sale, two-thirds of everything we will do for the seller will have been done before we hit the MLS.
There is a similar disparity of effort on the buying side: Of all the work your buyer's agent undertakes in your behalf, two-thirds of it will happen after you have put a home under contract.
That seems counter-intuitive. After all, you depend on your buyer's agent to shop listings for you, and then to take you around to see them. When the showing is done, the work is done, too, isn't it?
Far from it. You've found the home of your dreams and it's all you can think about. But your buyer's agent is busy figuring out how to write exactly the right offer, to make sure you get that home. And once you're under contract, your agent will start to chip away at a long checklist of tasks that need to be taken care of to successfully close escrow.
There are so many things that can go wrong in the purchase of a home, it's a wonder anyone ever gets to move. But, more than anyone else in the process, it's the buyer's agent who keeps things moving, who organizes all paperwork and gets it where it needs to go, who coordinates the inspectors, who keeps everyone informed and keeps the documents flowing.
And it's the buyer's agent who tends to keep the escrow process civil -- and civilized. The seller may not want to do repairs or to bring the price down to reflect a low appraisal or to move out in time to permit a thorough final walk-through. It's the buyer's agent's job to smile and sweet-talk the seller and the listing agent, to keep the transaction in motion when it seems always to want to grind to a halt.
You found a home you love, and that's great. But if you make it all the way to close of escrow, it's because your buyer's agent was plugging away behind the scenes, day after day, to make it happen.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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