Why Buying A Home Requires A Local Expert

When buying a home you have a lot on you mind. Financing, closing costs, contingencies and even crazy sellers at times. Having confidence in your real estate agent shouldn’t be something left to chance.

Buying a home is nothing like selling a home. I can confidently say I can list any property from San Diego to Sacramento and have no doubt in my mind I will be providing the very best service to my clients no matter where the property is located. Why? Because I have a specific system to sell homes regardless of location, the process is the same and is executed in the same manner.

I cannot say the same about buying a home in… Let’s say Fresno. Why? Because I know nothing about Fresno. The pros and cons of neighborhoods, what the lifestyle is there, schools, parks, etc… Oh, another important factor is access. Different Counties may be using different technology for lock boxes (What holds the keys to the property to give agents access). In San Diego County we use Sentrilock for our lock boxes, Riverside County on the other hand uses a system by Supra making them inaccessible to us.

Knowledge of the area is a crucial component to a successful sale and a happy home buyer. We all know where our neighborhood ends and where another begins which allows us to determine accurate comparables and suggest a fair offer price. Without being familiar of the area, you’ll likely have comparables that have no business being there such as properties in a gated community when the home you are considering is not.

Local customs are another important factor since some cities may have additional transfer fees or other restrictions. The city of San Diego requires a Water Conservation Certificate be filed with the sale of every property for all toilets and faucets to be retrofitted to low-flow. Not knowing these may cost you much more than it would otherwise have been by requesting the seller pay for these.

The Bottom Line

Any real estate agent can help you buy anywhere in the state in which they are licensed but there is a distinction between can and should.
Do yourself a favor and work with a local professional when buying real estate. As a Realtor myself, I would personally hire a local agent if I ever relocated. The only exception would be with new construction.