Get Ready for Your Interview

It's Friday again, and while most of us are thinking about Cowboys and Indians, you should also start preparing for your interviews on Sunday. Stop scratching your head and think about your normal Open House behavior. There are three reasons why most people attend an Open House.

1) You're not working with an agent and you are "just starting" your search.

2) You're working with an agent and they haven't found and property to show you privately.

3) You're bored and want to walk around and see what's out there

For the first reason, this open house visit is critical. All of the people who will be involved in the decision making process should be out there looking at the same things together. You should use your time to identify key elements of each home that you like or would like to avoid (write them down!!). You should also, most importantly, start interviewing agents through their performance at Open Houses. A good agent will not be all over you. They should let you take in the atmosphere and style of the home, stand back and let you identify which questions need to be answered, and then be armed with the information you need to compare and contrast the things you're looking at with what you cannot see. Buyers so often think that they'll just walk aimlessly from listing to listing without a game plan or process for narrowing down their search. There is no more colossal waste of time in my mind. Every time you walk in the door you are interviewing either the agent or the property, and on a good match, maybe even both.

The second reason for viewing an Open House (working with an agent but they're not privately showing you property) is a symptom of the first. How did you select your agent, and once selected, did you give them a realistic list of property priorities? Did they have a buyer questionnaire for you to fill out which identifies your reasons for moving and your housing priorities? Have you seen a lot of property with them and not found a match yet? In a lot of cases, a well paired buyer and agent team should be able to look at fewer than 10 properties before finding a match.

The final reason, boredom and curiosity is actually great. It's a wonderful way to understand what is going on in the market around you, therefore making you more informed if and when you or a friend of yours decides to enter the market. Remember, it's never a bad time to start interviewing agents. You know who your physician is, your mechanic, your barber/stylist, etc... why not identify your Realtor before you need them too?

Enjoy the weekend, good luck in your interviews, and I hope you find a match!