Well, I recently surpassed my 7 year anniversary of being a licensed real estate agent in New York! Exciting stuff! Fun fact, around 80% of licensed realtors end up quitting after their first 2 years of real estate, and of those around 87% quit before making it 5 years in real estate. Contrary to popular belief, it's not that easy of a business to make a life for yourself. While it is very simple to become licensed, succeeding is the opposite.
One thing that has helped me succeed is that I always look to be learning something new every day. Mistakes are inevitable in any field, but it's important that we learn from them. Over the past 7 years, I've learned quite a handful of things, and today I'm going over 7 things/tips that I've picked up that hopefully will help potential home buyers and sellers.
Buying/Selling is an emotional process, but sometimes we have to lead with our head and not our heart. You want your heart to love the home you are buying or selling, but you want to be strategic when submitting an offer or pricing your home. A good Realtor will be able to help you strategize these thing
Don't miss out on an opportunity because you just started your search/selling process and think there might be something better later on. I often times have buyers who find the perfect home on our first or second time out, but think it's too early in the search, and end up regretting it later. As a home seller, the best offers you receive are always the first few, don't risk losing the serious ones in hopes that you'll get something better later on.
Set goals and timelines for yourself and use your Realtor to stick to them. Having a goal and a set timeline for when you want to be in a new house or out of your current one is extremely important. "Casually browsing" for a house is usually just a waste of time for everyone involved and doesn't really help you as a buyer out. Figure out what you want, how much you want to spend, where you want to be and when you want to be in and have your Realtor help you stick to those guidelines.
Get familiar with the market you want to buy/sell in before diving in. Are you in a buyer's market? Seller's market? What percentage of the list price are homes typically selling for? What is available for you to buy in your price range? Do you like what's available to you? How far are you ok commuting if you need to travel for work? Talk about these questions and more with your Realtor
Get pre approved before starting the search to buy a house. This, honestly should just be #1 on the list if you're serious about finding a home. If you're going to be starting your home search, talk to a lender and see what you can be approved for and make sure your finances are in order. You should also make sure you've got enough saved up in the bank for down payment/closing costs as well.
Don't ever settle for a new home, which isn't the same as being able to put in work to make a home better. Buyer's remorse is a real thing, and thankfully, I don't think any of my clients have ever told me that they regret buying their home, even during the covid pandemic. That's because I level with them and talk to them about the dangers of "settling" for a house that they don't really like at all but feel that this is all that's left for them. It's not. There will always be new homes on the market. However, if you love the house but the kitchen and bathrooms need renovating, that's a fixable problem and worth pursuing
The right or wrong Realtor can save or cost you thousands of dollars. I know I'm biased, but this is so true. When negotiating an offer for a buyer or for a seller, the experience and skills we've gained can help you save money. Even recently, my buyers won a bidding war against 13 other offers and I was still able to get them a $2,500 credit at closing towards repairs, a $1,300 radon mitigation system installed, and the seller installed termite and pest traps around the entire outside of the house with a licensed company. A shy agent not willing to go to bat for their clients or an agent who thought "well there are 13 other offers we can't ask for anything" would have never asked for those items, but I was able to negotiate those for my buyer. There are tons of examples like that but this was the most recent, and that is why my buyers and sellers are satisfied with my work and refer me out to their friends and family members.
So, that's only a few of the many things I've learned and tips I've got for anyone considering to buy or sell a home in the Hudson Valley. There are loads more, so stay tuned for next year, I'll do 8 things then!!
Thanks for listening,
Anthony Ruperto
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
J Philip Real Estate, LLC.
914.494.0141
Anthony@JPhilip.net