Buying a house in today’s real estate market can be overwhelming. How do you find that house you are looking for? How do you know you are properly positioned for the best deal? I recommend you work with a realtor, but please make sure you do it right.

Understanding your relationship with your realtor:

• Call and talk to realtors. Find one you can communicate with. Do they know the area? Live in the area? Worked the area for a while?
• Ask them to explain the difference between becoming their client and establishing Agency with them. They will want to explain.
• REMEMBER, If they don’t represent You, they represent the Seller.
• Establish an agency relationship. Let the realtor know you want them to be your Agent. As your agent, they hold your interests above their own. Generally, they will be paid through the seller, but ask. Most realtors know how to structure the sales contract to include their fees.
• An agency relationship means the realtor will give you advice. They can tell you what homes in the area have sold for, they can give you a starting point for negotiations. They can tell you if the seller is asking too much.
• A realtor is well equipped to negotiate on your behalf. If you are not in agency with them, their hands are a bit tied because they are representing the seller and are forced to represent the seller’s best interests. The laws are written as such and realtors live in the vice grip of agency relationships.

What you need to decide:

• Define what you NEED vs WANT in a home.
• Define your budget keeping in mind you want to be happy and still have money for shopping and babies and gifts and appliances.
• Always have an inspection done.

Melissa has sold New homes, Old home, Custom homes and now works exclusively helping Investors purchase Under Valued Properties. A SAHM to 3 Lazy Cats, she spends her spare time writing her blog TheCottageRose.blogspot.com, gardening, and putting the finishing details on her first Frugal E-Book due out in November.