Dear Mr. and Ms. Buyer,
You contacted me through Trulia yesterday because you had a question about my wonderful new listing with a great master bedroom suite with a cathedral ceiling, sitting room and spa bath. We talked about a time for me to show you the house, and the time you selected was a time I could not make – but no problem, I said my buyer agent would be glad to meet you.
Falling in love with a house and then finding out that you can’t afford it is a huge disappointment that I never want anyone to experience, so I asked if you had picked a lender yet or did you need a referral to a lender. You replied that you had a lender through your realtor, so that was taken care of.
That prompted me to suggest, politely, that it would be better for your realtor to show you the house so that your realtor was involved in the process from start to finish.
Your response really surprised me. You explained that you did not want to involve your realtor at this stage because you would feel pressured to make a decision. You don’t want to be pushed to buy. In addition, you mentioned that your realtor has not been available for the last few weeks. REALLY?
As a first time home buyer, you need lots of support and education from your Realtor. You should never be pushed to make a decision. I think that your Realtor should be patient because this is a very important decision and not one to be taken lightly. Only with lots of education and space to make a decision can you feel comfortable with committing to one particular property. You should not just be a commission and dollar signs to your Realtor. This is going to be your home and your Realtor should be thinking of your interests, not pushing you to make a decision. Sometimes a Realtor has to help a buyer feel the permission to buy- to step through the barriers to making a decision – but that is hugely different than being pushed to make a decision.
Your Realtor should be available for you to see homes. You seem like dream clients as far as seeing properties is involved – flexible in your timing and able to see homes during the week. I wonder if your Realtor has essentially fired you if he hasn’t been available for the last two weeks.
You certainly don’t have to pick me as your new Realtor, but I hope you look around for a new buyer agent, because you should be running from the Realtor you have! Good luck with your home search.