Home Buyer Representation - It Ain't Over Till it's Over

All home Buyers benefit when they enlist a Buyer’s Broker to represent them in their real estate purchase transaction. Home selection and negotiation is key, but there’s not a happy ending to the story if the transaction fails in one of the final steps.

My colleagues and I recorded a 3rd part to our video titled “Use Protection – Use a Buyer’s Broker.” In this video, Rich Cederberg, Jeff Dowler, Bryan Robertson and I continue our discussion about Buyer representation, how it works and its advantages to home Buyers. Today, we specifically discuss the appraisal process, title review and preparing for closing.

The Appraisal Process

Included in the final steps is the appraisal. Your Buyer Broker should know if there’s going to be any question of the property appraising for the sales price. All parties (both home Seller and Buyer) should determine the course of action to be taken while negotiating the contract while negotiating all terms of the contract. Your Buyer representative should be familiar with the appraiser’s constraints. For example in Tulsa Oklahoma, the general rules of thumb for allowable comparables is that they be within a one-mile radius of the subject property, must be within 15% plus or minus square footage and sold within the past six months.

Title Review

Buyer’s representatives also keep a close eye on title work and look out for liens or other issues that prevent the Seller from conveying a clear title and may delay closing. Do we think there may be tax liens or problems due to probate? Your Buyer’s Broker should review the title history to make sure it’s clean and clear, and know what can be done to cure problems that may arise.

Preparing for Closing

We also examine the settlement statement to make sure all invoices and charges are recorded correctly. A Buyer’s representative also educates Buyers about the closing process and when possession takes place. It’s important to review the HUD-1 and be the watchdog on the Buyer’s behalf to make sure everything is in order.