Farmington Hills

Buyers need protection just as sellers do. A good real estate agent has access to the most current and accurate properties on the market. They also can offer a buyer comparable sold properties, so the buyer can see for themselves what a good purchase price would be for any property. A good real estate agent is also a good negotiator and can get his/her client the best price and terms for their chosen property.

It is also good to be able to trust one person who you know will be honest and work in your best interest.

There are also a myriad of forms that the agent can help a buyer wade through and even understand.

A wonderful bond can take place between the buyer and their agent, creating a level of trust that is necessary to bring the offer through to a successful closing!

That absolutely depends on how the property is priced in the first place. A thorough agent will show his buyer comparable sales for the current market so the buyer will have a very good idea of what similar houses have sold for in the recent past. A good price for the home can then be established based on that information and the current listing price, along with many other variables (who owns the home, what is currently owed, how low they can sell for, etc.) If a property is priced below current comparable sales, the buyer might want to offer asking price or perhaps a bit more, especially if there are multiple offers on the same property. If the property is very well priced, you might also do the same or try to get the price down a bit. Most properties that are overpriced today do not even get shown, let alone get any offers. Coming in way under asking price usually does not result in a successful acceptance of the buyer’s offer. A good agent will help advise you with proper pricing strategy in order to be most successful in purchasing the property for the best price.

If this is a cash transaction, the buyer will need the purchase price, tax pro-rations and a few other minor miscellaneous fees. If this is a mortgage transaction, the mortgage company that you are dealing with should be giving the buyer a “Good Faith Estimate” which will be very close to the dollar amount needed for the transaction. There are a few items that will always be pro rated and those amounts will not be determined exactly until a specific closing date is set.

The answer to this question depends a lot on how quickly you find the home that you want to purchase. We can look as often as you are able to go out and view properties. A buyer will need to budget his/her time to view the properties. Some of the leg work can now be done on the internet as many properties do have several pictures/virtual tours attached to their listings. Then we have the negotiation process which can take a couple of hours to a couple of months depending on whether the property is a foreclosure, short sale or privately owned. Once the negotiation process is completed and we have come to a meeting of the minds over terms, the mortgage approval process is started along with closing process. If it is a cash transaction, this could cut 2-3 weeks off of the timing involved. After mortgage approval, we go to close. Lots of paperwork is signed, money is exchanged for keys and the new owners can start their move.