For most prospective buyers, finding a real estate agent is a major step in the home-buying process. While it is possible to complete the process without a real estate agent, they can provide future homeowners with expert knowledge of the local real estate market, established connections to attorneys, loan officers and inspectors, and a wider variety of listings than you might find on Zillow.
Austin Weekly News spoke with three Chicago-based real estate agents about what buyers should look for in an agent and what to expect from the process.
Lorena Ramirez-Carrillo is a designated managing real estate broker and owner of YUB Realty. She has worked with attorneys in the real estate field, has worked as an underwriter and has run a title company. She works with first-time home buyers, people without a valid social security number and veterans, among others.
Eve Benton is a designated managing broker for EXIT Strategy Realty and an instructor with the Chicago Association of Realtors. Her specializations include first-time homebuyers, veterans, multi-unit sales and purchase/rehab.
Mario Greco is a real estate agent at Berkshire Hathaway’s HomeServices Chicago, where he founded the MG Group. He has been in the real estate business for over 20 years, serving the city and surrounding suburbs. Most recently, he has worked in West Town, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, West Loop, Roscoe Village, North Center and Uptown.
Do I need a real estate agent?
Ramirez-Carrillo: You don’t need a real estate agent to buy a house, but it is always recommended if you want to make sure that there’s not going to be any room for mistakes, if you want to make sure that your purchase is going to go smoothly and that you’re going to be guided the right way. You also may not have access to all the resources that we have, and even to all the listings. If you don’t have a real estate agent, you might be limited to whatever you find on public sites.
Greco: If you wanted to go look for houses, you could find whatever you wanted to find online, you could call the listing agent and have an appointment and show the place and then if you want to buy it, you can have an attorney write up the contract. You really don’t need an agent for the looking process — although I think you do — but now I think that is less important. What I think you need an agent for more now is: One, their knowledge of existing buildings, as well as the reputation of a builder or developer for new buildings. Two, you want the agent’s contact list for trusted attorneys, trusted contractors, trusted inspectors, even. And in a very competitive market, you also want an agent because listing agents like to work with buyer’s agents because they actually have counsel and guidance and the transactions tend to close much more often and in a much smoother way. And then finally, in this market where there are multiple offers galore, the buyer’s agent is going to advise the client in such a way that the potential for disappointment or anger is lessened. But all of that aside, a buyer’s agent is most important not to find the property, but to close the transaction. In other words, once you’ve found it, after you’ve negotiated — which an agent is very important for — keeping the deal together is just as hard if not harder than finding the property itself and a buyer’s agent is uniquely qualified to know of all the hurdles and bumps and potholes along the way.
How do I choose an agent?
Greco: The prospective buyer should interview at least three agents. They should always look at their website presence to see what it is they’re putting out to the public and they should also then go to any of the review sites like Zillow, Yelp, Google and see what’s out there. Obviously, most Realtors® only post their good reviews but Yelp doesn’t allow you to take down your bad reviews. Zillow does, but Google and Yelp do not.
Benton: I’m going to start by saying, don’t believe what you see on HGTV and those TV shows where they make it look easy. Even if they don’t have the experience, even if it’s a new agent, you want to look for someone who has a desire to advocate for you. It’s incredibly important for you to feel comfortable with the person, with their knowledge base, or even their desire to garner the knowledge. So that’s why if it’s somebody who is new, that’s not a problem. In my opinion, it’s important to them to have a desire to learn and have other seasoned resources to go to. I want to add flexibility too, because there are a lot of agents who are doing an awesome job and they are dual career agents. But I think it’s tough if they don’t have flexibility in their jobs, because if they’re working while you’re working, they’re limited to three to four hours in the evening to address issues and get you up to speed. You also want somebody that’s tech savvy.
Ramirez-Carrillo: Whoever you choose as your real estate agent should be able to tell you right there at the first consultation whether or not you meet the basic requirements to buy a house. Make sure that that real estate agent is knowledgeable in the area [you’re looking to buy in]. Years of holding a license does not automatically mean that that agent has experience, experience is based on the number of transactions that you have closed because the more transactions that you are involved in, the more of a chance that you have gone through different situations and that you’re able to help your clients.
What should my relationship with my real estate agent look like?
Ramirez-Carrillo: For me, it’s one of trust, and making my clients understand that for me, the most important part is that they ask questions, that they understand the process, that they feel comfortable with making a decision. Since the very first conversation with my clients, I make it clear that I want them to ask me questions — don’t ask the neighbor, don’t ask any relatives because they’re all going to have their own ideas based on their own experience. With me, it’s never about, “Oh, I’m the professional and you should respect me.” It’s more, you are my client and I want to make sure that you feel comfortable with whatever decision you’re making. If it takes us months to get you the house that you want, or if it takes us going to see 50 houses, that’s what it’s going to take and that’s what we’ll do. But I always make sure that they are comfortable with making decisions and understanding the whole process.
Benton: A lot of times, people will meet their Realtor® the first time at a property. That is not the most ideal way to do it. Ideally, we should be having a consultation with the buyer prior to even showing properties. It gives me an opportunity to go over the forms, explain the process, set up a search. Set expectations. You should be checking in with them weekly. Time is of the essence once you’re under contract and at the end of the day the buyer is going to be at work doing something else. So between your agent and the attorney, they’re gonna help you manage those deadlines. What I also explain to my clients is: I consider myself a professional but you are the boss. You’ve hired me to do something for you, so I’m not going to make the decision I make recommendations.
I don’t have a Social Security number. What’s your advice?
Ramirez-Carrillo: There are lenders out there that do the type of loan for people that don’t have a social security number but they actually meet the [homebuyer] guidelines. A lot of companies or agents don’t service Individual Taxpayer Identification Number clients and I’m very proud to say that I do help a lot of them and that’s when it becomes really rewarding, when somebody who has had so much trouble getting the help actually gets to buy their own house.
Definitely reach out and inquire about different lenders. I’m not the only one who services them, but it’s just not one lender that does loans with ITIN. Be careful to not ever give money upfront because there have been a lot of scams. You should never pay a real estate agent upfront, especially thousands and thousands of dollars. Always research the real estate agent before you decide to do anything with that agent, make sure that that agent is knowledgeable, that has really helped other people, that they don’t have any claims or any complaints against their license.
What’s your advice for prospective home buyers?
Benton: Think of Pareto rule, the 80/20 rule. If it has 80% of the things you want, it might be worth considering. No home is perfect. Something is wrong with every house — that comes with home ownership. But the benefits outweigh the challenges. If it has 80% of the items on your wishlist, you’re winning.
Don’t become a professional looker, because the more you see the more you want. You start out thinking well, I just want three bedrooms, one and a half bath. And then you start looking at houses and you’re like wait a minute, I really would like a fireplace. I really would like a side drive. And then suddenly, what you thought you needed becomes clouded.
Greco: One thing they shouldn’t be hung up on is square footage. They should be looking for layout and not number of square feet. Two: along with their agent, they should be looking for obvious signs of neglect or disrepair. The other thing buyers need to do is look at, whether or not they like natural light, they need to walk into a place and if all the lights are on, they need to turn the lights off, and see what it feels like. If it’s a super bright day, this is the best it’s ever gonna get. Finally — and this is critical — a buyer should come to the property, not necessarily having to go inside, to the neighborhood at different times and on different days. You might have seen that at two o’clock on a Saturday and there’s no one around, it feels really peaceful. Well, come there Friday at seven o’clock or come there in the morning on a Tuesday and see what’s going on.
Ramirez-Carrillo: If you’re paying rent somewhere else, you’re already spending your money on housing, why not apply it to your own house? Why not apply to something that is gonna generate you equity and wealth in the future as opposed to just paying for basically staying in somebody else’s house for that month?
What I tell anybody who’s interested in buying is, just do it. Don’t try to time the market because the longer you wait, the more money that you’re never gonna see back. Just go and start with something small, even a condo, something that is going to be yours and is going to generate equity and you can sell later and apply it to your new house.
What should people look for in a home?
Benton: I wouldn’t worry about the cosmetic issues. If you want 42-inch cabinets, you can get that later. Quartz counters, you can get that later. [Look at the things] you can’t change very readily: the floor plan and your neighbors. While the floor plan can be changed, it’s usually not practical or affordable. Think about your lifestyle also, some people don’t mind living on major thoroughfares and some people don’t want to. Where are you in terms of your family setup? Kids or no kids? Are you moving to an area because of the school district? How does that impact your taxes?
Ramirez-Carrillo: We all have priorities and we all have wants when it comes to a property. So what is a priority? You want to be close to your job, you want to be in a good school district, you want to have at least three bedrooms because you have four kids. Things that are very, very important. I want them to tell me at the very first consultation; I want to make sure that at least we focus on all the priorities, whatever it is, and if we can throw in some of their wants, that is wonderful. If I can find them a house that meets all their priorities and still has some of their wants, that would be excellent. But what I tell them is do not try to find everything in a house because it’s rare that you’re going to find everything in a house. You’re going to have to compromise on some things.