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by DANIELLE
GALLOP |
WINNING
AT THE REAL ESTATE GAME
 I
was talking to a recent home buyer in the area, Don Jenkins
of Amityville, NY. Being a recent home buyer myself I knew we'd
have a lot in common. And I was right! Both of us felt as if
the largest decision in our lives had just been made. |
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He
had some advice I thought was worthwhile. He highly recommended
a workshop called HOME BUYERS HELPLINE for first time home buyers
and he recommended using a buyer's broker!
He said
the workshop taught him so much about buying a home, things
he'd never have thought about. “And, the buyer's broker understood
how I worked and worked around me,” he said.
I consider
myself an educated individual and owe a lot of my education
to being nosey, so I had to ask... "What did you learn?" He
said he learned so many things and that so much of the information
was helpful. I asked him to point out one or two things he felt
made him a more savvy house hunter.
When pressed,
Don told me that he had originally been looking for a two bedroom
house with a realtor in Queens. "The HOME BUYERS HELPLINE Workshop
teaches you a lot about the resale value of a house and that
a two bedroom (home) is just not a hot commodity.”
But more
importantly, Don felt it was necessary to clearly understand
the relationship between a buyer, a seller, and the realtor.
Don believed, as most people I encounter, that the more information
a realtor knows about you the better. "I mean,” said Don, “they
are supposed to be helping you buy a house.”
After
the class he realized that you should never reveal all your
cards to anyone. Realtors cannot get you a loan, so they don't
need much financial information. In reality, all they need is
to feel that you can afford a home in the range you are looking.
If you give up too much financial information, it can be used
against you.
Don had
put offers on two homes prior to closing on his home now. The
first house fell through before he took the class. Looking back,
He feels pretty good about that. "Knowing what I know now...
I am glad I didn't settle for the first thing I saw.”
The second
house fell through more recently, and he was unhappy when he
thought he was going to lose that one. Fortunately, the house
he found afterward is perfect. "I couldn't ask for more," he
said. He has 3 bedrooms, a garage, a big kitchen, big basement
and a fabulous yard. It was, in his opinion, the best house
he'd looked at.
The house
he bought was only on the market one day before he saw it and
made an offer. Don believes he has his house because of his
realtor, a buyer's broker. His agent knew his schedule was tight
and worked around him.
“He (the
realtor) used to fax me a listing as soon as he got it. I'd
usually drive by that day or the next. After looking at the
outside, I could usually tell what the inside was going to look
like. If a person manages the outside meticulously, the inside
has got to be in great shape."
After
a drive by, Don would call his broker and tell him he wanted
to see it or that they were still looking. If Don wanted to
look at a particular home, his realtor was able to arrange it,
sometimes that very day. “That's how I got the house I bought,
the system just works."
One thing
Don said that I truly believe... "It takes a lot longer than
you think to find the right home. Happy Hunting!
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