ok to bring others with me during the home search- Judi Barrett

Is it OK to Bring Other People With Me When I Look at Homes For Sale, With My Agent?

Well, let's start by approaching this from the

other side.

You're the buyer looking for a

home to purchase but let's pretend for the sake of consideration that you are a seller with your home on the market for sale.

Would you want a group larger than 3 or 4 (agent, a couple of buyers, and maybe one more person) looking at your home all at the same time?

How would you want it to be handled? Wouldn't you expect them to all stay together under the supervision of the agent. You know that's next to impossible.

Everyone seems to scatter like a "Covey of Quail" when you have a group looking at a home,

AND the agent can't be with all of them at the same time, so you have people wandering around inside seller's home by themselves....

Let's consider some other things from your side:

• You probably really do want to find a home that YOU LIKE.
• You probably really do want to find home that you feel confident meets YOUR NEEDS.
• You probably really do want to find a home that is structually sound.
• You probably really do want to find a home that satisfies all of YOUR concerns.
• You probably want to be thinking while looking at homes, asking questions of your agent, if there's another adult that is going to be living in the home with you then

• 
  you probably want to talking to that person about the home, how it would feel to live in the home, thoughts ... how does the home feel... that process going on inside your head needs calm...you will want to be making notes... .

Are the people that want to come with you, usually in the role of Devil's Advocate when you're trying to make a decision? Do you really want to deal with that when trying to find a home that YOU want to live in?

Most of us buy a home that we feel a connection to when we look at it.. with someone else there trying to answer questions that you've asked the agent, not asked of others,

or just trying to make sure that you don't miss the fact that the bedroom is painted blue, are you really going to slow down and experience the home? Probably not.

Let me make a suggestion.

• The adults that are going to be paying for the home and living in the home need to be the ones that initially view homes and make the decision as to which one they want to purchase. Maybe there is a BEST FRIEND that is not going to be living in the home or paying for it, but they are your best friend and you want them to help you make the decisions. Then that best friend should come with you on the initial lookings.
• If you want to bring the children on another occasion, preparation needs to be made by you, for those children to be well supervised and under control while they are in th
  e sellers' home and in the middle of sellers' belongings.
• Next get your inspections done during the inspection period, the licensed home inspector, licensed wood destroying insect inspector, septic tank inspector, etc.. so that you have those reports in front of you on the condition of the home and
• Either move forward toward closing, get repairs done, or cancel the contract.. after getting to that point, you'll be able to better answer questions about the home to your family members.
• If you feel that you need help from a group of people BEFORE making your decision, then wait until you've narrowed it down to your final choices...

1. You've made your decision,

2. You've done your inspections,

3. You have a good grasp on what you like about the home, what you want to change, the condition of it etc..

4. The attorney has looked at the abstract to make sure that you're getting a good title..

5. Then make an appointment and show your new soon-to-be home to your family members with confidence that you've made the right decision.

These are basic grounding suggestions,

BUT the best thing to do is to call your agent, explain to them how many people want to come with you while you look, and ask them to honestly tell you whether that's a good idea or not

Do NOT surprise them... they expect 2 people and 6 show up.. After all, they are your agent and they can best perform and give services needed when they are allowed to be prepared for the situation.

Buying a home IS a big deal for most people, and even the looking process best accomplishes its mission if thought about and planned in a way that allows you to make the best decision for YOU.