Whether this is your first home, your retirement home or somewhere in between; whether you are staying in the same area as where you live now or are new to the area, you should call a realtor. WHY? Why can’t you do this yourself? The reason is because the realtor KNOWS the marketplace.
The realtor’s mission is to help YOU find a place suitable for YOU. If you try to do it yourself, you are dealing with one Seller at a time and each is going to pressure you to choose her/his home. You may not get to see other possibilities.
How would you know how to choose a realtor? You may have a friend who had a good experience with a realtor. You might ask people in your new workplace. You might also go on the local multiple listing system (slcmls.com which stands for St. Lawrence County Multiple Listing System) and get a sense of what type listings a realtor has. That might help.
Once you have connected with a realtor who is based in the area (within reason) of where you think you want to live, you might choose some listings from the multiple listing system and she/he may choose some additional ones. You should stay with the one realtor (unless you get a sense that person is not doing a good job for you) so that she/he can really get to know what might suit you.
Another valuable thing you might do is get pre-qualified by an area bank. Is it required? Most of the time it is not, but it helps on two levels: (1) YOU really know what you can afford, and (2) The Seller has a feeling of confidence when she/he knows you are truly qualified to buy her/his home.
A good realtor will make sure you are seeing everything that might suit you whether listed by her/his company or not. If you get a sense this is not happening, change realtors.
Your realtor will walk you through the buying process from showing all suitable properties, to writing the offer with you, through inspection and right through to what to expect after all this is done and it’s time for closing. You WANT to have knowledgeable guidance throughout this exciting, worthwhile process.
DO WE WANT TO BE YOUR AGENT? ABSOLUTELY! We will pledge to make your real estate experience both successful and pleasant. We want YOU to be happy in your new home. We are not going to choose your home for you, but we ARE going to make sure you see ALL the possibilities so you can make an intelligent decision. Call us at 315 386 4521. We’re ready to help you now!
