3 Ways a Residential Real Estate Agent can Help First-Time Home Buyers

The home buying process can be long, complicated, and tedious. There are certain requirements and tasks that homebuyers must accomplish before they can finally get the keys to their dream home. They need to be educated about a lot of things regarding residential real estate to make the right decisions from start to finish.

To help first-time homebuyers, real estate agents can guide them through the things that need to be done, including the following:

Reviewing the homebuyer’s financial status

Real estate agents can enlighten homebuyers about the importance of being in good financial standing while shopping for their dream homes. They can give advice on what will work best with a client’s financial situation. They can use their knowledge of real estate listing lead generation and direct attention to a property in their real estate leads list that is within a client’s budget. They can advise on the importance of reviewing their savings accounts, considering their debts, and factoring in their monthly expenses. They can also provide detailed explanations of common real estate elements, such as the down payment, mortgage, maintenance and upkeep costs, and other unexpected costs, to guide a buyer to the home that is right for them.

Identifying the homebuyer’s needs

Real estate agents know the importance of listening to a homebuyer’s needs. They need to know their client’s vision of how their house should look, such as the preference on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the size and layout of the living room, dining room, and kitchen, the availability of a basement, attic, or garage, and so on. After gathering these pieces of information and using their real estate listing lead generation skills, they can offer options from their real estate leads list that are suitable to a client’s needs, whether it is a condo, single-family home, townhouse, duplex, or other residential property.

Educating the homebuyer about their loan options

Real estate agents can present different loan and mortgage options available for residential property buyers to their clients. They can discuss which of the different types of loans is most suitable for their client’s specific situation and which is most likely to result in an approved application. They should have no problem answering their client’s real estate questions about the best loan options for them as a first-time homebuyer. Below are examples of common loan and mortgage options that you should discuss with a first-time buyer:

Conventional mortgage – This type of mortgage is offered by banks and mortgage entities. In general, it has lower borrowing costs and higher interest rates than other mortgage types.

Residential hard money loan – This is offered by an individual or private lender and not a bank. Also sometimes called short-term hard money loan, it usually only lasts 1 to 3 years. Fixed-rate mortgage – This is a type of residential loan that has a fixed rate for the whole loan term, whether 10, 15, 20, or 30 years.