The A-Team

The A-Team

As a realtor, I always tell my clients, “Your deal is only as good as the team you have working with you.” That is why it is extremely important to pick competent and efficient people to put on your A-Team. Who exactly should be on your team and what are things that will make them people you want to work with?

In a previous post, you might remember reading that the first step in the home buying process is getting pre-approved. So that leads us to the first person on the A-Team, your lender. Many people just assume that they should get a mortgage through the bank or credit union they bank with. That is not always necessarily the best option. Working with a mortgage broker might be the better route. Mortgage brokers have the ability to shop rates among several lenders and often times offer you a more personalized experience because they work with you the entire process. If you get a mortgage through a large company such as Quicken Loans, you will be passed along to multiple people throughout different stages of the process.

*Just remember, the financing is the most important part of your transaction. If your loan doesn’t go through, you won’t be buying that dream house you have your heart set on. So pick someone who is going to be honest and help you until the end.

If you haven’t already chosen your realtor, this is another very important member of your team. Your realtor is going to be the one showing you houses, negotiating on your behalf, and getting you to the closing table. Important things to consider when choosing your realtor are talking to family and friends to see if they’ve worked with someone in the past that they would recommend, making sure your realtor is a full time agent (part time agents often aren’t going to be able to give your all of their attention or available during business hours which is necessary when engaged in a transaction), and making sure your realtor is about making your transaction as personal and smooth as possible. You won’t want a realtor that only cares about making commission. You want to make sure your needs are being met and that you can contact them for advice even after the current deal you are doing.

The next important team member is your title company. Usually your realtor will have a title company they prefer to use (taking into account which ones will put in the effort to make closings happen as planned and which ones don’t really care to keep things moving along). The title company is the one who disperses the estimated closing cost statement and the final closing costs statements. These show sellers and buyers how much money they are going to expect to have to bring to closing. They also insure the title so that if anything comes up after closing (such as boundary disputes, encroachments, etc.) they will cover the cost to clear things up.

Photo credit:
https://www.firstoptiononline.com/3-things-minnesota-mortgage-lenders-look-for-in-a-buyer/

http://www.realtor.com/advice/7-step-guide-selling-house/

http://www.southeasttexascommercialrealestate.com/port-arthur-title-company-texas-regional-title-also-in-beaumont/