It starts with an idea – to buy a new house, sell your current house, or both. Just a simple idea – nothing really, but eventually, you start getting a little excited and begin checking out prices, neighborhoods and mortgage interest rates. Some people make a career scouring the interest for houses, but only the lucky few get to live their dreams.
How do you start? Well, you’ve got a good start already – as visualizing the dream, making the decision – is of utmost importance. However, once that initial hurdle has been cleared, it’s time for some serious business – curating your team, THE team that will either help you sell or buy a home. Start early, ask a lot of questions, get comfortable with the people that you’ll essentially marry between now and the day you do you closing. Divorces can be messy – and usually involve a property split, splitting you from you money. Consider for a moment, you are hiring agents – employees, to help you conduct probably the most complicated transaction in your life. If you were getting minor surgery done, you would want the best doctor, the best surgeon? Your Internist/Family Practitioner has a specific place in the medical field – a gate-keeper, if you will. More complicated matters get referred out to those that know better how to deal with them. Just as with the medical profession, so too is how the law has evolved. Yes, there are many, many, general practice law firms that provide a great service for many people. Indeed, many Internists might take a stab at lancing an abscess. However, there is a sophistication and compartmentalization that has prevailed in the real estate industry that makes it difficult for a generalist – realtors, loan officers, attorneys all included in this statement, to function well, and represent their clients well, without meeting minimum thresholds of experience and competence.
Most professionals have their little niche that they practice in. A realtor may just farm a certain community and even then, within a certain price range – he just ‘gets it’ when it comes to houses and individuals that fit well within his parameters. Some loan officers are expert in high income clients with large mortgages – as others are expert with minimum down FHA purchasers of modest homes. Both of these loan officers have their own challenges. Both, also, will likely realize that they are not suited to venture into the foreign territory of the other guy. It’s the professionals that don’t understand those limits that create chaos when doing a real estate closing.
Find professionals early, that are experienced and competent in the market segment that you are interested in. He or she must be able to communicate with you, and even at times stand up and be the adult in the room. Team members must be able to communicate with each other. Just as a skilled surgeon has his scrub nurse, many team relationships have gone on for several decades, and more. There is a real good reason for that, and it should not be discounted when curating your team!
But please – do it early enough in the transaction in order to avoid future problems.