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- "For Sale" listings on the internet
- Foreclosures lists
- Calling newspaper ads and home builder ads
- Driving by and calling the Realtor® off "For Sale" signs in yards
- FSBOs--For Sale By Owner home ads
- Personalized home searches emailed to you by your own Buyer Agent
There are many ways to find a home. Here are several and some pros and cons.
"For Sale" listings on the internet
The advantage of these consumer internet home listings is you can see many homes quickly. This is fine for people who are just casually looking and who don't want to buy right now.
The disadvantages primarily affect buyers who are serious and want to buy a home fairly soon.
The disadvantages are the risk these listings may be grossly inaccurate, have incomplete information, or be biased. Sometimes, these home listings are not even through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which is used by licensed real estate agents.
The homes may actually have already been sold months ago! "Fake listings" are used to create sales calls but waste a serious buyer's time.
And certain online consumer real estate listing services primarily feature home listings the sponsoring real estate office earns more commission from you on.
Unless you are being shown all eligible homes equally without bias, buyer beware!
Foreclosure lists
Foreclosures can sometimes be a great buying opportunity. Other times, it can be hard to negotiate with the lender who is selling the home. Sometimes the lender is unrealistic about price and a foreclosure can actually be MORE expensive. Each situation is different.
The buyers who seem to do best when buying foreclosures always take the advice of a Buyer Agent who is experienced in foreclosures.
First, eligible foreclosures have to be located. Then price and repairs have to be negotiated. Often these homes need repairs.
The offer process is often more complicated than buying a home from a private seller. This can be very frustrating for buyers, unless they have the expert advice of a Buyer Agent who is experienced with foreclosure purchases.
SmartHomeBuyersDFW.Com has licensed Buyer Agent Realtor® affiliates who are experienced in helping buyers purchase foreclosures at a fair price and successfully negotiate repairs.
They can advise you whether you are a good candidate to consider buying a foreclosure. Not every buyer should buy a foreclosure!
Calling the Realtor® off newspaper ads
Calling off new home builder ads or just going to the builder sales office by yourself
Driving by and calling the Realtor® off "For Sale" signs in yards
The problem with using these techniques to find and buy your home is you are talking to the person who represents the SELLER. Their job is to get the seller as much for the home as they can!!
Buyers typically get better advice and pay less when they have their own Buyer Agent Realtor®.
All real estate commissions are paid by the sellers (including new homes). It typically costs the buyer nothing to have the services of a qualified Buyer Agent to find their home and negotiate the best price possible!
It just makes good sense to have YOUR OWN licensed, trained professional helping you with the largest and most important purchase most of us ever make!
FSBOs (For Sale By Owner Homes)
Sometimes these homes can be great buys like foreclosures, but many times the sellers are unrealistic about the sales price their home can bring. Even though the sellers are trying to save the real estate commissions, FSBOs can actually be priced ;higher than comparable homes where real estate professionals are involved.
FSBO sellers may pay a Buyer Agent commission, but other times they won't. If they want to sell their home, they will probably need to pay a Buyer Agent.
Remember, these sellers have chosen not to seek the advice of a professional, and have no one counseling them about a realistic sales price or about all the steps required of the real estate sales process. This can cause a stressful process for a buyer not working with a qualified Buyer Agent.
Many times, homes that are initially FSBO have to be listed by a Realtor® for the home to actually sell.
Personalized home searches emailed to you by your own Buyer Agent
This is probably the easiest and best way for someone who is serious about buying a home to begin.
By phone or email, you tell your Buyer Agent all the particulars about the type of home, townhome, or condo that you are looking for. Then your Buyer Agent begins a detailed search in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is used by licensed real estate agents.
Your Buyer Agent will search by the area(s) of town you want to live, for homes with the exact features and in the price range you are looking for!!
You are then emailed your EXACT search results, so you can start viewing homes on your computer!
These are homes that really are still for sale, in much more accurate detail than online consumer services, with more for you to see and learn about each home!
And when you are ready to look at homes, you have YOUR OWN licensed Buyer Agent who will point out both the positive AND negative points of each house, in an unbiased way. Not all real estate agents do this.
When you are ready to make an offer, you will have an experienced professional guiding you thorough the process, protecting your interests at all times, helping you negotiate a fair price, and negotiate all repairs.
FREE to our members--The licensed Buyer Agent Realtors® affiliated with SmartHomeBuyersDFW.Com offer our members FREE personalized home searches. Members will experience friendly, low-key, professional service and can start shopping for a home from their computer.
And ALL the homes our members see are homes they would want to buy, saving our members time and frustration!
You are under NO obligation and there is NO cost until you decide to make an offer on a home.
DISCLAIMER: No information on this website is intended as real estate advice. For property specific or general real estate questions, you should consult with a Texas Real Estate Commissioned (TREC) licensed real estate agent who is a member in good standing with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
Nothing on this website is an offer to sell nor an offer to enter into a buyer representation agreement.
Many consumer experts recommend buyers choose an agent who has specialized buyer representation training and who agrees to show buyers ALL eligible homes equally, without bias because of real estate commissions or bonuses.
Some terms used to describe these special consumer-friendly Realtors® are: "Buyer Agent", "Exclusive Buyer Agent", "Buyer Broker", or "Exclusive Buyer Broker".
 REALTOR® -- A Registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. Inquiries regarding the Code of Ethics should be directed to the board in which a REALTOR® holds membership.
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