HEY ANN- We would love to find a second home in Columbia County but cannot seem to find one that fits.  Can you make any suggestions that will make our dream come true?

First, I am going to make an educated guess about your house hunting approach.  With the ability to research real estate on Zillow and Trulia and dozens of other real estate sites, you have probably decided that you will contact the listing agent for each of the properties that sound interesting.  Your analysis is that the agent knows the house well and can be more informative.  Of course, this leads to you making a number of appointments on your house hunting day with a number of different agents.  When you speak to the listing agent, you make them aware that you are looking at a number of other properties so you want to firm up your schedule.  You have now lost the best opportunity you might ever have of finding the right home. Seriously!!

A real estate agent is a resource that is not always appreciated.  A good agent, when first meeting or emailing a buyer, will try to find out what the buyer is looking for-location, size of home, amenities, price range, cultural and recreational interests, condition of home, financial prequalifications.  And then the agent will, with his or her knowledge of the market, send listings to the buyer that seem to match what they have provided.  And these listings are from a variety of real estate offices, not just the listing agent’s office.  Once they start the search, the agent will get a deeper understanding of the buyer and may decide that the selected listings don’t match and a new set of parameters will be in place.

My favorite line is “I love rejection” because as houses are rejected, we can get closer to the house that will fit.  I have stopped in the middle of a day with buyers when, after the first few houses, I realize what they said did not match what their reactions were to those homes.  I have cancelled the balance of the day and told them next time we will find your home.  And it usually works that way.

What you are missing in your approach is having a resource that gets to know you, and knows you are loyal to that person in that their work on your behalf is appreciated.  Real estate agents spend a lot of time with clients, researching, emailing, showing properties, covering inspections and pay day is not until the actual closing.  Once you understand that the relationship will get you to your goal, it is time to get going with your real estate “advisor.”  Let me know when you find that dream house.

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