Buyer Representation

Buyer Strategies - How to Help Your Clients Succeed!

Property Inspections: Helping buyers understand inspections and helping them learn what to expect is a critical part of buyer representation. This process helps you help your buyers.
Appraisal Waiver Addendum: If your client wants to offer a partial or full appraisal waiver, you will use this addendum. This addendum is somewhat confusing, so it's important to understand how each paragraph functions.
Hydrostatic Tests & Castiron Sewer Lines: Any property built <1970 is highly likely to have cast iron sewer lines, which are very expensive to replace (and can almost never be repaired.)

Client Facing Assets

These are published on the buyer section of our website and are great to read and to send to your clients.

What is an Escalation Clause?
Read about escalation clauses and why we almost always recommend against using them.
Contract Considerations When in Multiple Offers:
When your clients are in a multiple offer situation, these are the terms that they should consider, and the impact to them of each term.
Common Repairs Found During the Inspection (by Age):
These are the significant repairs that you will find in inspection reports by the age of the home being inspected.
Determining an Offer Price in a Boom Market:
The Austin market is booming! How do we determine the price and terms we'll offer when it seems like we have to guess?
Why is the Austin Market Booming?
Are we in a bubble? We don't think so. Read about the cause of Austin's boom.
Is Austin Real Estate Overpriced?
Austin's home prices are rising dramatically. However, we're still priced very reasonable when compared to other similar markets.
What Happens to Austin Real Estate in a Downturn?
2008-2012 was a deep and long recession caused by bad real estate lending. Looking back on the effects of that downturn helps us put this market into perspective.
The Seasonality of the Austin Market:
Austin's market is consistently very seasonal. Here are charts that show when more properties hit the market and when prices generally increase.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Common questions and answers for your buyer clients.
The Mortgage Process:
Explain to your clients how the mortgage process works.
Contract to Close:
This explains to your clients what happens from the time you go under contract until you close.
The Buying Process:
What happens from the time a buyer decides to purchase until after they close?
Austin Real Estate & Recessions: How did Austin fare in past recessions? These numbers will surprise you (in a good way.)

What if my buyer doesn’t want to use a local lender?
Most buyers will follow your lender recommendation. However, there will always be buyers who want to find their own lender. It’s a reasonable decision when you don’t understand the true landscape of mortgage lending. Buyers who want to find and use their own lender generally have one or more of the following misconceptions: They think […]
What if the listing agent doesn’t include any documents in the MLS?
Most listing agents will upload all pertinent documents to the MLS when they list the property. (We always do this for very good reasons.) However, not all listing agents do this. When your client is ready to make an offer and you’re in this situation, then do the following: 1) Let your client know that you’ll want […]
Why should I use the listing agent’s title company?
We always look to “What’s in my client’s best interest?” when making decisions and recommendations. When you’re representing a buyer, there is very little upside to writing in your preferred title company over the listing agent’s. Right or wrong, it’s very standard in our market for the seller to choose the title company (which means […]
Hydrostatic Tests & Castiron Plumbing
Hydrostatic tests are a pretty sticky subject in general. If a property was built <1970 and hasn’t had a complete plumbing replacement (not just the sewer line to the yard) then there’s a 90% chance that it will fail. If built <1970, always ask if the pipes are cast iron or PVC. If castiron, there’s […]
Showing & Selling FSBOs
When working with buyers, it’s inevitable that you’ll run into a FSBO that they’re interested in. It’s super important to maintain your position of “unlimited inventory”, meaning you can show them anything in the Austin metro area. We don’t sell houses, we represent buyers and help them pick the best house for them. For Sale By Owner […]