Last Saturday we met with a mortgage banker to get pre-approval and get an idea of what we can afford. Then on Sunday we met a realtor at a house in Levittown to speak with him about what we are looking for. Sunday was a big eye-opener for me as I was doing some research. Not wanting to wait until the realtor called us back - whenever that would be, I decided to take it upon myself to set up an appointment to look at a house. While filling out the form on-line, it asked if we have a buyer's agent. What the heck is a buyer's agent? I had no clue, so I looked that up. It turns out that an Exclusive Buyer's Agent is someone who works exclusively for whoever is buying a home. They do not sell any homes and because of that they work super hard to get the buyer exactly what they are looking for. A regular realtor on the other hand, may only show you listings that he is dealing with because he doesn't want to share his commission with anyone else. Another difference is an Exclusive Buyer's Agent can and will show you properties in any neighborhood you wish. If you go with a regular realtor they can only show you listings in their territory - which may only be one town. At that point, you may be dealing with 2 or more realtors depending on where you want to look.
So, Dan and I met with an Exclusive Buyer's Agent (the owner of Best Buyer's Broker Realty Inc) Tuesday night and we were impressed. We really liked the way this guy handled himself and explained everything in detail. We got the impression that he would not hold anything back - after all, we would be hiring him to find us a home, not sell us one. That makes a huge difference. We signed up with him that evening.
He gets paid the same way as a regular realtor - through the sale of the house. The only difference is we need to give him a $300 retainer. If we don't like what he does for us after the second home we see, he will give that money back to us. I don't see that happening though. He already did a home search for us and gave us a bunch of listings. I emailed him last night to show us three homes we're interested in. Just waiting now to find out what day we're gonna go - probably Sunday if all works out.
If you are looking for a home, Dan and I would highly recommend an Exclusive Buyer's Agent. They will fight to get you the home you want close to or at the price you want. There's no hidden agenda like there may be with a regular realtor who would be first and foremost loyal to the seller not the buyer.
Now, here is the interesting part of our whole house search. I grew up in Levittown. I now want to move back there. Having a family really gives a home buyer a lot to think about when searching for a town to live in.
- Safe neighborhood. Will I feel comfortable taking a walk with Lily and baby #2 in a stroller?
- Good school district. How are the test results and how are the schools rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best)?
- Neighbors. Who are the people you will call your neighbors? Do they take care of their home? Their yard? Are they families with children or older people?
I guess coming from a town like Levittown spoiled me. I base all other towns by it. L-town is fantastic for families. It has a lot of parks and pools. It has really nice homes that can be left as is or built up and/or out. Nice size yards that aren't too close to your neighbors. People tend to take care of their homes and yards. I feel really safe walking the neighborhood. L-town has some of the best schools on Long Island. Both Levittown and Island Trees School Districts are rated 8 out of 10 for the best test scores according to Great Schools.
Don't get me wrong - there are other towns around that are comparable to Levittown, but I guess I'm partial to L-town having grown up there and knowing the neighborhood really well. If you would have asked me 20 years ago if I would ever want to live in Levittown for the rest of my life, I probably would have said no. Kids can be cruel and I didn't have such a great time in middle school and high school. My best high school experiences happened at BOCES, not my regular high school with the kids I grew up with. So why would I have said yes to live there when I grew up and had a family? But now that I am older, I realize it really doesn't matter where you go to school - unfortunately some kids are cruel no matter what town you live in. I just hope that wherever Dan and I buy a home, Lily and Baby #2 don't get bullied like I did.
Anyway. Enough about that.
Wow, I just looked and I have no pictures of Lily for this week. Sorry. I can honestly say though that she looks the same as in last weeks pictures. So there you go.
Some videos from the beginning of the month:
No comments:
Post a Comment