“My wife and I are looking for a North Park home. Her brother is a contractor and also has a real estate license. He told us to do all the legwork and have agents show us homes, then he’d write the offer for us. So we’ve been calling agents to see homes, but we just haven’t found the right one. Any suggestions?”
Answer:
Yes. Give me your brother-in-law’s phone number so I can have him start a remodel on my house.
Then I’ll pay another contractor all the money to finish the job and pay your brother-in-law nothing.
Oh, I’m sorry, you mean he doesn’t want to work for free?
I’ll give you (but not him) the benefit of the doubt for not understanding how real estate works:
Agents get don’t get paid a dime for showing homes—only for selling them. So your brother-in-law asked you to get a bunch of people to work for free, then reap the benefits for himself.
That’s not nice.
Now, to answer your question:
First, dump your brother-in-law since he’s unethical and doesn’t practice real estate full-time.
Next, find a good, honest agent. Sit down with him or her and describe what you’re looking for. The agent should ask you questions to uncover what’s really important to you. And advise you on the market to be sure you have realistic expectations.
Then, if you have a good feeling about the agent, commit to them and work closely with him/her looking at homes. After seeing a few homes, the agent should be able to zero in on the right home for you.
Good luck!
