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Here are some questions and answers that help explain how I assist clients who are moving to the Dallas Fort Worth area ...
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| Can you get me a really great deal on a home? |
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The residential real estate market in this area actually is quite transparent. Generally speaking, every homebuyer, and seller, for that matter, has the opportunity to know the prices for which most homes are sold. Such market transparency makes it possible for me to produce a comparative market analysis (CMA) for each property on which my clients decide to make an offer. I also am able to determine the supply of homes (months of inventory) available for sale, the average discount from list price for which homes are selling in price range and towns where my clients are looking, the rates at which homes have appreciated during the past several years, and other similar information.
Because I usually am better informed about current market trends and conditions than the homeowners and real estate agents with whom my homebuyer clients and I negotiate, we are well-positioned to negotiate favorable terms. In some cases, my clients and I were able to negotiate better deals than they expected, or even hoped for. Nevertheless, as much as I would like to be able to say that I can get you a really great deal on the purchase of your home, the truth is it is unlikely either I or any other buyers' agent will be able to do that.
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| What geographical area do you specialize in and how do you stay current on the real estate market conditions there? |
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The northwest Dallas suburbs, specifically Southlake, Colleyville, Flower Mound, west Plano, southwest Frisco, Coppell, Keller, Highland Village, Grapevine, Argyle, Westlake and Trophy Club, is one of the two market segments in which I specialize. I first meet many of my clients when they are beginning their search for a luxury or executive home in this area.
To stay current on market conditions, I spend a great deal of time looking at executive and luxury homes that are for sale in the northwest Dallas suburbs. I also routinely spend considerable time compiling and analyzing market information that helps my clients find and buy the best home for them.
Luxury homes across the entire metroplex is the other market segment in which I specialize (click on this DFW Luxury Homes link for additional information). This is a natural extension of my emphasis on the northwest Dallas suburbs, since many of the metroplex's luxury homes are located within this area.
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| Why should I pick you to be my real estate agent? |
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Providing superior client service is something I strive for every day. Before I became a real estate agent, I spent more than 20 years as a CPA providing financial and operations improvement consulting services to large multi-national and middle market domestic companies. When it comes to expectations about service quality, the executives who were my clients, and with whom I worked on a daily basis, set the bar pretty high. The level of service I provided to my corporate clients is what I now provide my real estate clients.
Based on what clients say about working with me, my service approach seems to be well received. I truly believe it, more than anything else, has made it possible for me to be named to the RE/MAX® Hall of Fame and recognized by D Magazine as one of The Best Real Estate Agents in Dallas.
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| Do you handle both sides of transactions or work exclusively for the homebuyer? |
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Texas law allows licensed real estate agents to assist both the buyer and seller of a property, but it requires the agent assume an intermediary role in the transaction.
When acting in this intermediary role, a real estate agent cannot provide the advice and counsel that I believe my clients are due. Agent intermediaries also place themselves in a position where the question of whether they are putting their own interests ahead of those of their clients can easily arise.
Since I do not want there ever to be any question about on whose behalf I am working, I work only as a buyers' agent and do not accept any listings.
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| In which neighborhoods will I most likely find the home that best meets my requirements? |
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Identifying the right neighborhoods is not a particularly difficult task, provided one has the appropriate market knowledge and approaches it logically. The first thing I do with my clients is ensure we have identified, fairly precisely, what they are looking for in their new home. We also discuss things like acceptable commute distances and times, school requirements, and desired neighborhood amenities.
Using this information, I search my proprietary northwest Dallas suburban neighborhoods database to identify which, and to what extent, various neighborhoods match my clients' requirements. The neighborhoods that best match their requirements are where we look first.
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| What information will you provide me about the homes we look at and the neighborhoods in which they are located? |
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When I take my clients on a home tour, they are, of course, provided with MLS listing sheets that disclose specific information about the homes they visit. In most cases I am able to identify the builders of the homes we tour and we discuss what I know about these builders.
I additionally provide my clients extensive information about each of the neighborhoods within my market area where homes we visit are located. This information includes TAKS scores and accountability ratings of the local schools; list prices and summary descriptions of homes available for sale; and sale prices, costs per square foot, and other similar information about MLS-listed homes sold during the previous year.
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| If I am not pleased with the services you provide, what is required to terminate our Buyer Representation Agreement? |
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Just let me know that you not longer want me to represent you as your buyers' agent.
The purpose of a Buyer Representation Agreement, in my opinion, is to ensure my clients and I are on the same page about how we work together. It definitely is not to hinder them from switching to another agent.
I want my clients to continue working with me solely because they feel I am doing a superior job for them. This is why I include the following language in the Buyer Representation Agreement that my clients sign: "Client or Broker may terminate this Agreement, without cause and at any time, by providing written notice to other Party."
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| Will I be charged any commission or fees for your services? |
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No. The commissions I receive are paid by the listing agent when the home being purchased has been listed on the MLS, by the home owner in for sale by owner (FSBO) situation, or by the builder when a home is built to order. This is the only way I am compensated for the services I provide my clients.
That being said, if recent stories circulating in the local real estate community are to be believed, this is a question you may be especially well-served to ask.
Some agents working in the area reportedly are substituting their own "special" form for the Residential Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement that has been developed by the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR) and is used by most buyers' agents. These "special" forms contain terms, which are quite easy to overlook unless you are specifically looking for them, that obligate homebuyers to pay commissions and/or fees not typically charged by other agents.
When agents present their own form for you to sign, you probably first will want to ask why they are not using the TAR promulgated form. Regardless of the form used, but especially when it is not a standard TAR form, it also is important to read the entire agreement carefully. Finally, you will want to be sure that the terms of agreement entered onto the form by the agent are both complete and consistent with your understanding of your agreement.
By the way, it is fairly easy to identify the TAR promulgated form. It has a copyright notice just under its title and an identification number of the bottom left of each page, currently (TAR-1501) 7-7-04. |
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