A successful real estate buying strategy is simple when pared down to its core components. It hinges on picking the right team, understand-ing your non-negotiables in a property, making a smart offer, high level negotiation skills and successfully navigating escrow.
Let’s take a look at each core component.
1. Picking The Right Team
Picking Your Agent
All agents are not created equal! In fact, the barrier to entry in CA is surprisingly low.
At #teamedge, we are lifelong learners who constantly hone our skills and knowledge to make us better agentsr our clients.
This matters in the fast moving world of real estate.
Some buyers think they’ll get the property only if they let the listing agent write their offer.
But think about this. The seller wants a higher price and you want a lower price. The seller wants to sell as is. You want a credit for the old roof.
What could possibly go wrong?
Plenty.
You need a person at the negotiating table focused on making the deal work for you.
Get yourself independent representation. You deserve it.
Picking Your Lender
If you are using a mortgage to buy your property, your mortgage lender will be an important part of your team.
Sellers in the beach cities like short escrows. You’ll need a lender who can proactively get things done for you.
We have several great lenders on speed dial. Ask us for names.
2. Understanding Your Real Deal Breakers
Real estate moves fast. Most buyers tend to find the same properties appealing. You have to be ready to move fast when you find “the one” because others will like the same “one.”
Sometimes, for any number of reasons, you may have to compromise on the property you go after.
Either way, you need to prepared to make quick decisions. Do your homework before you start looking at properties and make a list of your must haves to refer to when emotions start running hot.
3. Making A Successful Offer
We feel strongly that successful offers are comprised of 3 components:
truly understanding what the seller wants (hint: it’s not always the highest price)
understanding market conditions
writing clean offers that scream “this buyer and agent are easy to work with”
What will move the needle for the seller?
Something is motivating the seller to sell and it’s not always about money.
We work hard to uncover that information on our buyers’ behalf to craft an offer with the highest appeal of the bunch.
You’d be surprised how many buyer agents assume they know what the seller wants. We ask.
Market conditions matter
In a buyers’ market, buyers have an edge in negotiations over sellers. Here’s hoping….
In a sellers’ market, sellers have the edge.
As your buyer’s representative, we can help you achieve success in either scenario.
The key is understanding the context/trendline and focusing on the components you can leverage under the circumstances.
Recently, it’s been very trendy for agents to make videos talking about market conditions. We recognized early on (as in eight years ago) how important the trendline is. Good to see everybody else catching up.
In fact, you’ll see us share a lot of trendline information. We’re more than a little obsessed.
You’ll appreciate that about us before we’re done.
Check out our blog Get The Trendline.
Clean offers matter, too
At the end of the day, the seller wants escrow to close, period.
A clean offer with all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed tells the seller and seller’s agent that we’re organized and likely to get the deal done.
4. Ninja Level Negotiation Skills
At this point in the process, you’ve made the offer, but there is still so much negotiating to do!
There will likely be counter offers and there will likely be repairs to negotiate in escrow.
You’ll want a strong negotiator in your corner.
Tracy was a high stakes litigator in her first career. She learned a few things about negotiations. She makes this skill a priority for the whole team.
We’re tough when needed. We’re not bullies, but we are definitely always scouting advantages for our clients.
5. Successfully Navigating Escrow
Escrow is not for the faint of heart!
There are important inspections to schedule on tight timeframes, reports have to be evaluated and repair requests need to be considered and negotiated.
All of this can be tricky.
And the disclosures! Yikes. This is California, baby. Eeverybody is covering their tushies to make sure they don’t have to see you later in court.
Having an agent who first understands the disclosures, and then can explain them will be very helpful.
Did we mention Tracy, our team leader, was an attorney in her first career?
She understands the disclosures. And she’s pretty good at explaining them, too.
Making sure you understand them is a priority for us.
5 steps! Easy peasy
We hope you found this 10,000 foot level buying guide to be helpful.
For more information on the home buying process in the beach cities, don’t miss Tracy’s 40-minute master class video. Find it at realestatebuyermasterclass.com.
In conclusion….
There are no guarantees we can get you a certain property at a certain price or on certain terms, but knowing the in’s and out’s of the process and where you can exert the most influence will certainly help.
www.realestatebuyermasterclass.com
About #teamedge
#teamedge, led by Tracy Thrower Conyers, is a team of geo-focused real estate experts and go getters fixated on successful outcomes for our clients via superior market knowledge combined with technology. Looking for an unfair edge in real estate. Let’s go!
Kind words from our buyers
Tracy really listened to what we told her we needed in a home. She found us the perfect home in a great school district and negotiated a deal that worked for us. I’m a lawyer and was very comfortable with how Tracy negotiated on our behalf. We’re very happy with the outcome and our two boys can’t wait to sleep in their new bedrooms.
– Jonathan K.
I was a single woman who wanted to buy my first home. I didn’t know where to start. Tracy worked with me to find an adorable little house that fit my budget and fit my long list of wants and needs. I highly recommend Tracy for anybody who wants an agent who listens and does what she says she’ll do.
– Ellen Q.
My wife and I were losing our long term rental and knew it was time to move our family to our own home. Tracy really listened to what we need and what we thought we wanted. We couldn’t afford the exact neighborhood we wanted, but Tracy introduced us to nearby neighbor-hoods that fit our budget and we found the perfect home for our family.
– John L.
My wife’s grandfather was going to help us buy our first home and he found Tracy through a referral. I was super impressed with how well she worked with all the generations involved in our purchase. She didn’t hesitate when I asked if my real estate agent mother from another state could be involved.
– Steven M.
I was introduced to Tracy by a passing acquaintance who knew I wanted to buy rental properties for my kids. I explained my objectives and Tracy found me properties that were perfect as rentals that will always be in high demand. She also helped put tenants in both properties. Her keen eye for business and local market knowledge was a huge advantage in the process.
– Ron P.
Tracy sold my home in Santa Monica when I retired and she helped me find an agent in my next community. As life goes, I wanted to buy a small condo in LA as a second home a couple years later and I called Tracy to help. I had an idea I wanted to be near lightrail and Tracy introduced me to some really interesting ideas, including a couple of historic buildings in DTLA. At every step, she told me the advantages and disadvantages and I’m very happy with the unit I ended up purchasing.
– Helene R.
We met Tracy when we were long distance shopping for a second home in Venice. We had very specific ideas about what we wanted and Tracy worked tirelessly with us over a long period of time while we searched for “the one.” My wife and I have very different style preferences. We ended up closing on a beautiful home that was the perfect compromise between our styles. Tracy helped us understand every step in escrow and we felt very comfortable with the process, even though we were almost 3000 miles away. After closing, she met us late at night with the keys and we were ecstatic. Her local market knowledge and practical advice were invaluable to us.
– Joseph J.
Ready to get started?
This post is from our “Buyer Edge” series, content designed to give real estate buyers in Silicon Beach an edge in a competitive residential real estate market. Read more about our full Buyer Edge program on our website. Want help buying real estate in Silicon Beach? Contact us, grab time on our calendar or read more Buyer Edge articles. Need help beyond Silicon Beach? Reach out and let us help you find a high-caliber agent with hyperlocal expertise in that area.