The saddest part of my job is watching some homebuyers make the same mistakes over and over. Because we do so many open houses I see some of the same people visiting for years. Many of these buyers are so focused on trying to negotiate a rebate from their Realtor they aren’t concentrating on the 2 things they should care about. Many buyers get so caught up in trying to save $2,000 it has cost them $20,000 due to market appreciation and higher interest rates.

The first thing homebuyers should care about is not missing out on a great home. You want to be the first person to know when a home is coming on the market and be the first to see it in person. An increasing number of home sellers are choosing to either sell their home before it becomes active in MLS or they will accept an offer before the home has been marketed correctly to get the highest sales price.

In my opinion this is a mistake for the home seller. Market research has shown us that the first offer is often not the highest offer so sellers who accept an offer too early may be leaving money on the table.

If you are trying to buy a home what that means is some of the best homes will be under contract to another family before you ever know the home is for sale.

Last month Joyce represented a family who bought a home in Austin. Because she specializes in helping buyers in our area she was able to show the home to her clients and get it under contract before anyone else saw the home. It’s a great home and if another buyer had seen it first there would have been multiple offers for the home causing Joyce’s client to either lose out on the home or pay a higher price.

The second thing homebuyers should care about is not paying too much for a home. I see this again with buyers who are so concerned with the rebate they are getting from their Realtor they don’t realize how much more they are paying for a house.

Rather than choosing to work with a Realtor who is experienced in the area and someone who can give them professional advice we see many homebuyers working with agents who are little more than order takers. Because those agents have not see the other similar homes that have sold they are not able to provide great advice about home prices. Because these agents have little motivation to provide professional service to the buyer and because they work on volume they are less likely to recommend the buyer make a lower offer.

To demonstrate what can happen we sold a home in January that had 6 offers. 5 of the offers were at or below list price. One buyer who was getting a rebate from his agent paid $15,000 more than any of the other buyers. I’m sure that buyer thinks he got a good deal with the rebate but the truth is it cost his family a ton of money.

Joyce Peterson specializes in helping people buy homes in our area. Whenever you are ready to buy a home and want help with the 2 things you should care about contact Joyce directly at 512-657-9402.

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