Finding your ideal vacation home can happen significantly faster when you make the best use of a professional agent working with you. Learning effective ways to work with your agent insures that everyone benefits from the relationship.
Reviewing the basic principles of your relationship with your agent is the starting point. When buying real estate, you have several choices about how to work with the agent. You may want them to represent only you (as a buyer's agent). If you have a “buyer’s agent” agreement, the agent cannot share personal information without your permission. Sometimes a buyer’s agent is compensated by the buyer, sometimes by both the buyer and seller. A second choice is for an agent to represent both you and the seller at the same time (as a dual agent). Be sure you are clear about the relationship. The dual agent must be fair to both parties and treat the buyer and seller equally. It is also possible for the agency to be dual, and designate a different agent for the buyer and the seller, to help create more distance and confidentiality. Finally, agents may be the seller’s agent. In this case they must tell you (in some states, in writing) if they are sellers' agents before you say anything that can help the seller. Until you are sure that an agent is not a seller's agent, you should avoid saying anything you do not want a seller to know.
In any case you may or may not have a written contract when you begin working with the agent. However at the time you are ready to close on a property, a written contract for them will most certainly be drawn up. Be sure to read any agreement that you sign, so that you understand all the compensation and disclosure issues.
Once you are clear about the working relationship, the next step is to provide the agent with as much information about your situation as possible. This includes defining the “must-haves” for your property, as well as “nice-to-haves.” This allows the agent to be more focused when contacting you about prospective properties. Do your homework in advance. For example, if an ocean view is a must-have, but walking to the beach is nice-to-have, you need to explain that. It makes the difference between finding properties high up on cliffs versus places located right at shore-level.
Another piece of information helpful to the agent is what fix-up work you are willing to do. You might create a scale from none to light to heavy, and also define what each term means. In that way the real estate agent can pre-screen properties which entail more work than you are willing to invest.
The best way to work with your agent is to constantly give feedback when viewing a property that doesn’t match your needs. If you can accurately name the drawbacks of a particularly property, you assist the agent in fine tuning the search process, saving both of you needless wasted time. Conversely, when you find a property that comes very close to your needs, it is important to take the time to talk to the agent honestly. Use the relationship to explore whether some of your perceived needs might be more honestly moved to the nice-to-have list. Having an outside person to discuss the property with can help you minimize an endless search for the needle-in-the-haystack, that one property which is 110% what you wanted, rather than the property that you can afford and will love just as well.
As you search for vacation property, your agent is also the best resource for year-round information about the locations. If you vacation at a place only certain times of the year, the agent can inform you about the off-season climate, activities, population changes, etc. How does the place change when the tourists leave town? What services are no longer accessible? Your agent can really help create a clear picture of your future second living situation.
As you get closer to selecting the property you want, use the real estate professional to get some important answers. If you are considering renting it out part time, get comparable rents for the area. If you have specific contract and financing needs, invite the professional to make their recommendations. This is the time to seriously talk finances as well. What are the hidden costs you have forgotten to include—community fees, recreation fees, maintenance, or insurance? Create an accurate budget so that as you negotiate on the price, you know what you can and can’t afford for this particular property. Remember all properties have different incidental costs, so using the bottom line price on the property is not a sufficient criteria. One property may cost more than another, yet it may reduce incidentals significantly.
As you close on the property you select, you can have the comfort of knowing that it is possible for everyone to come out feeling satisfied: the seller, the agent, and you, the new owner of your dream vacation property.