Ep006: First Time Home Buyer? This is for You!

In this episode of The All-Things Real Estate Podcast, Chris McAllister and Priscilla McNamee break down the entire process for first-time homebuyers, focusing on ROOST Real Estate Co.'s My First ROOST™ program.

Designed to guide first-time buyers through each step with clarity and confidence, this episode covers everything from getting pre-approved for a mortgage to navigating inspections and closing on your first home.

Chris and Priscilla also acknowledge the protective family members or friends who may be involved in the decision-making process, emphasizing that ROOST embraces their input while ensuring that buyers make the final call.

Additionally, if you’re stuck in a rental lease, Chris discusses strategies for negotiating an early release, so you can take advantage of great home-buying opportunities without waiting.

If you’re ready to take the leap into homeownership with a team that’s passionate about your success, this episode is a must-listen!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• First-time buyers aren’t alone—the process can (and should) be clear and guided.
• Listening and building trust are essential.
• Financing help, down payment assistance, and special loans may be available.
• Good agents help navigate the process, from negotiations to inspections.
• Relationships matter more than transactions—ROOST’s goal is to be your lifelong real estate partner.

RESOURCES

• Ready to buy with confidence? Check out BuyWithROOST.com
• Download the Buy with ROOST Brochure
• Call Priscilla and Start Packing – Work with top listing agent Priscilla McNamee. Get in Touch

P.S. Want more practical tips for buying and selling real estate? Our ever-growing library of books, blog posts, podcast episodes, masterclasses, documents, and other tools is at your fingertips.

Learn More >>> The All Things Real Estate Resource Hub

Transcript

Chris McAllister: Welcome back to the All Things Real Estate Podcast. I'm Chris McAllister, and I'm here as always today with Priscilla Ectomy and Lacey LeBlanc. Today's episode is dedicated to first time home buyers, so if you're ready to take this exciting leap into home ownership, but feel a little bit overwhelmed, this episode is for you.

We're gonna talk about. My first roost, and it's our specialized program that's designed to guide first time buyers like you through every step of the process. And we're not just here for you, although you're the person that's actually gonna be buying the house. We also recognize that many first time buyers sometimes have some very protective family members or friends who are closely involved in the decision making process.

So this episode is for them as well. So, good morning ladies. 

Laci LeBlanc: Good morning. Good morning. Uh, we were joking just a second ago about how I really don't have a lot of authority here, but this actually might be the one topic that I have, um, a lot of experience with, and a, and a say in as a very anxious first time home buyer several years ago with a Nana who is a real estate agent and a dad who previously built houses in another life.

So I was wrong. I just wanna say that from the start and I look forward to, to being helpful here. 

Chris McAllister: Fantastic. Okay, well, before we get started, I wanna personally congratulate, uh, Priscilla, who is, uh, our new director of sales for Roost Real Estate company. And this is a big deal because Priscilla personifies what my vision for roost is and what a roost agent is.

You know, smart, passionate, supportive, approachable, but more than anything else, professional. And I want all of our buyers and sellers, anybody who works with our company, regardless of who they work with, to be able to count on a predictable experience. And Priscilla does that and more for her clients, and she's gonna help us do that for all of our buyers and sellers that, uh, choose to work with roost in the future.

So, Priscilla, once again, congratulations and thank you. 

Priscilla McNamee: Oh, thank you so much. 

Chris McAllister: So let's get started. So the, you know, the, I think the goal of every first time home buyer at the, is really to, you know, own your own home and feel great about the decision, right? And, uh, you know, I know Priscilla and I share this, you know, we love working with first time home buyers and we do know that you often come with family or friends who care deeply about your wellbeing and they don't wanna see you make a mistake or get taken advantage of.

And, uh, you know, I can assure you. You know, we don't either. So the first message I just wanna make clear today is, is that we fully embrace working with anybody you want to involve in the process. After all, we're all on the same team and we're all, uh, looking out for your best interests. And, you know, that being said, I, I will say, you know, it's important to remember that at the end of the day.

This is your decision as as the actual buyer. You're the person that's actually gonna write your name on that mortgage and commit to paying back that loan. So it's your money, it's your future, and, and our role is to ensure that you have all the facts, that you feel confident about your decisions, and you have a clear path forward.

And our goal with my first roost is that you get the expert guidance and support you need to feel great about owning your first home. So. Anything, any words of wisdom for first time buyers as we get started? Priscilla, 

Priscilla McNamee: one piece of information that I wanted to make sure that I put forth, uh, before we started the whole podcast was that I think people also need to make sure that they keep in mind that when we refer to first time home buyers, your lenders, um, they, they refer to first time home buyers as anybody who has not owned a home in the last three years.

Chris McAllister: Oh, that's interesting. 

Priscilla McNamee: Yes. So they need to make sure that they, so it's not necessarily somebody who has never owned a home before. It can be somebody who has not owned a home in the last three years. 

Chris McAllister: That's pretty cool. 

Priscilla McNamee: Yeah. There's a lot of programs available to people. Uh, grant money down, payment assistance to, to people who are first time home buyers, but also to people who have not owned a home, um, recently.

Laci LeBlanc: Yeah, that was gonna be my question is if you're, if, does that mean that you are eligible for the first time home buyers? You, you see all the, like SHA loans and all of the like promotions and the down payment assistance and, and all of that? 

Priscilla McNamee: Absolutely. So it's really wonderful because they do, uh, make that, uh, people who are, like I said, people who are eligible are people who have not owned a home in the last three years.

Chris McAllister: That's really neat. 'cause there's o money still out there in Ohio. The, the grant money for, uh, down payment assistance. There's, there are a lot of loan products that, that will help those folks. That's fantastic. Thank you. That's the kind of, uh, that's the kind of, uh, information you can expect when you work with roost.

So it's perfect as we get started here. So anyway, we wanna make sure that you have, um, a stress-free experience, right? So, you know, we wanna make sure that we offer information that gives you clear expectations, right? So, you know, as we get started, we want to talk to you about what matters to you most.

You know, we wanna understand budget, location, lifestyle. You know, explain the process, you know, include your family and so forth. I mean, Priscilla, when you, when you get together with a buyer for the first time, I mean, what are some of the common things that, that you guys discuss at that first meeting?

What, what, what comes up again and again that, uh, um, comes to mind? 

Priscilla McNamee: I think most importantly I've learned through the years is to listen to them of what's most important to them on the whole process. Um, I feel like as salespeople we tend to talk too much instead of listening to what's most important to them and their needs.

Um, and you'll find that, um. If you just listen to, um, you know what the buyer is really, you know, searching for, um, you'd be really surprised. You know, what you can learn. Um, most people are super anxious of the whole process. 

Chris McAllister: When you say that people are nervous about the process or that there's anxiety, when you talk to a first time buyer, what do you, what do you feel that they're anxious about? What, what's the, what's the thing that scares them the most? 

Priscilla McNamee: I mean, it's the, just, I think the whole process and the unknown. 

Laci LeBlanc: Uh, this is my area of expertise. I don't think I've ever had a stress-free experience in my entire life, not that I can remember. And home buying was absolutely by far the most stressful. Um, and everything that you've said so far, I.

Um, from, you know, finding the right home and signing my name to a mortgage for 30 years and then being responsible for the upkeep and the maintenance of that home, um, to working without, I've said it before on the podcast, on the other podcasts that we do together. The lender process was just really daunting for me.

It had nothing to worry about but handing over all of my financial information and I was waiting for the say them to say, no, you're not qualified. And it didn't matter that logically I had nothing to be worried about, but my lender walked me through just like my agent who happens to be Nana did. Um, so I think you're right, Priscilla.

I think it is just the overwhelming. Size and scope of the, the whole process. Yeah, so breaking it down into parts was step one for me. And then having people, which I know you guys partner with lenders who are just as helpful and, and. Good listeners and, and all the things as you are. Um, it was the big start is breaking it down into these individual kind of portions of the, of the process.

Once you find it, then we're gonna do this. And making sure, you know, in marketing we have a, a saying that says, tell them what to expect, right? That's step one is tell them what you're gonna tell them. Um, and I think that having an agent, um, and a lender and everybody in the process who will tell you what what's gonna happen step by step is, is huge.

Priscilla McNamee: I agree, and I have found that even with that excellent communication, they are still a nervous wreck. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah, and I mean, I, I, from my experience, and again, you're much deeper into this these days than, than I am, but I know for me, and I think for most of the people I've worked with, the concern is, is tends to center around the mortgage.

It's, will I qualify? Can I afford it? What's the first step to, to getting a qualified or approved for a loan? So I think that is huge. And one of the things that we might wanna do is, is maybe schedule a pod coming up Priscilla with one of your favorite lenders and invite them on the pod and kind of talk through the whole thing too, with first time buyers and, and, uh, repeat buyers as well.

But the. We all have as real estate professionals, we have partnerships, you know, people that we collaborate with, people we work well together in the lending field, and we can always give any buyer a referral of somebody that we think would be a good fit for them. I. So that's, that's the first thing. The second thing is, you know, if you've already gone out and you've established a lending relationship or you've made some inquiries, that's fantastic too.

But I can also tell you that, you know, from experience, you know, we're, we're probably gonna have some, uh, I don't wanna say we might have some opinions, but we may have some information about the, the type of loan or the lenders that you're speaking to. So a great, uh, real estate professional is gonna know the people who.

Uh, and the lending community who actually get, get deals to the closing table that actually write approval letters that mean something at the end of the day. So if, if it turns out that you've, you know, spoken to a bank that, um, we haven't had history with, you know, we're gonna explain that to you. It doesn't mean it's a bad fit, but we're always gonna give you some other options to talk to so that you can get the, the, the loan that is absolutely best for your situation.

Priscilla these days, how often are we seeing buyers with loans that are falling out? 

Priscilla McNamee: Um, truthfully, not very often. 

Chris McAllister: So it's working out pretty well? 

Priscilla McNamee: Yeah, it's not very often that that happens. Usually if a deal falls apart, it's typically over, um, inspections, 

Chris McAllister: which is the other piece of anxiety that somebody's gonna buy a lemon or they're gonna overpay or they're not gonna be able to get the mortgage that they need.

Yeah. So. All right. Well, as we kind of keep going through this, um, one of the things I wanted to make, we make sure we touch base on is how. There's a lot that we've talked about the prior, uh, podcasts about how the changes in, uh, how commissions are paid to buyer agents in particular changed last year with the NAR lawsuit settlement.

So a big concern for many first time buyers is the cost, especially the cost of hiring a buyer's agent. So, you know, here's the good news. We're gonna make sure you can afford it, and most of the time, uh, we're able to negotiate on your behalf to ensure that whatever services. That we provide to you that are your responsibility as the buyer to pay.

We're gonna do everything that we possibly can to make sure that the seller pays those on your behalf, and we're gonna write that into the contract and make it part of the deal. So please bear in mind when, when you are asked, whether it's with one of us or, or another, uh, agent at another company. You know when, when you are asked to sign a buyer agency agreement, there's going to be an amount of money on there that you're gonna commit to paying that, that buyer agent for their services and that brokerage for their services.

But please understand that we as buyer agents or or anybody else, only get paid when the transaction gets to the closing table. So you have zero out of pocket at the start, and you're only obligating yourself to make sure that payment is made. At the closing table, and again, we're gonna do everything we possibly can to make sure that you don't have to come out with any additional out of pocket to, to have a buyer agency working on your behalf.

We're gonna make sure that all the benefits of expert representation go to you without the burden of any extra costs. And I think Priscilla, at this point, ever since the change, I mean, we're coming up a year in August. I mean, practically we haven't seen any, any changes, correct. 

Priscilla McNamee: Uh, not really at all. I mean, I think, I think it's been actually very healthy for the industry.

Um, I can appreciate where it's gone and I, I said that truthfully, some of it needed to change and it did need, um, to be negotiated. Some of the commissions did need to be negotiated. So it's been, I think it's been really healthy for the industry, 

Chris McAllister: but I don't think we've had a single instance that I've heard of yet where the seller wasn't, wasn't, uh.

Um, wouldn't agree to paying those buyer agency fees on the buyer's behalf. 

Priscilla McNamee: Exactly. Something's always been negotiated, 

Chris McAllister: so don't let that, don't let that be a detriment or don't let that deter you from reaching out to a real estate professional to help you, especially if you're a first time buyer because so far there haven't been any instances that we're aware of with our company where a buyer has had to come out of pocket to help pay for their.

For their buyer agents. So I think I, I think we're as professionals more worried about that than the buyers are. But the fact is, it's, it's essentially business as usual. 

Priscilla McNamee: Absolutely. So, 

Chris McAllister: so why don't you, if you don't mind, Priscilla, sort of walk us through how you take somebody through that first time buyer meeting when you actually get face-to-face with somebody.

Actually, let's back up a little bit. Do you mind walking through how it's working out? When you first meet a buyer and show 'em a house for the first time, maybe take us through. The, the agency and the, and the, um, getting that, uh, brokerage agreement signed and, and leading up to actually getting face-to-face one-on-one with a buyer.

Priscilla McNamee: I didn't know you were gonna put me on the spot like that. 

Chris McAllister: Well, the law says that we have to, not only will we meet a buyer for the first time, right, even with, even if we've never spoken before and we have an appointment, we're gonna go look at a house. So. It can be, you know, a house that we have listed, or it could be a house that another company has listed.

So in Ohio, um, it's always been the law that we have to explain to a, a, a buyer that we represent the seller. And, um, we, we, that as a company that we, you know, we, we do seller agency, we do buyer agency. And in our company we practice disclosed dual agency. So there's always been a, um. An obligation that we have that conversation, even to the point where we're supposed to hand you a hard copy, a paper copy of our agency policy, and so that you have that.

And the procedure has always been that, you know, we say, do you mind just signing the back of this as a receipt? Um, and we're gonna tear that off and we're gonna stick that receipt in your file so that if we're ever audited by the state, we can show that. Yes. When we do meet a buyer for the first time that we're, we're handing over that agency brochure and having a discussion and, you know, that's gone on for years and, you know, it's never really been an issue, but with the NAR settlement, you know, in Ohio and I think, uh, Florida as well.

The conversation now has to be before you walk somebody across the threshold to show them a house that you actually have to present them with a buyer agency agreement and get that signature signed. 

Priscilla McNamee: Exactly. So what I do, I've only had it happen one time so far in the last year where I met with somebody cold where we did not meet prior to, um, going to a property.

Um, so far all of my appointments I've met with buyers face to face at the office or like at a coffee shop where we've done an actual buyer meeting. We go through the expectations of, um, what they expect from me and basically what I expect from them, more or less. And then we go through, um, how they prefer to be communicated with.

Um, we set up their searches for, you know, looking for houses. Um, just I show them, I, I walk them through the whole process basically. And then I show them the properties that are on the market of what they're looking for. We look at and we go over a buyer broker agreement at that time. I'm telling my secrets right now because if it's a buyer that I just met for the first time, and if it's somebody who I do not know and we just established this relationship, I do not make them buy the buyer broker agreement at that first meeting.

Because I want them to get to know me before we sign that buyer broker agreement. Now, I do make them, of course, sign it before we ever look at a house of, of course I follow the law. But what we do is we, you know, continue to, um, set up, you know, we we're looking at the internet, we're setting, you know, I've got their searches set up, they're browsing the internet, they're looking at houses.

And then when we do find a house that they're gonna take a look at. I do go ahead and have them sign that buyer, our broker, um, agreement electronically prior to looking at the house. Yeah. Um, it's one of those things that I just feel like if it's somebody that. I don't have an established relationship with, I want to gain that trust before I just off the cuff, make them sign that contract.

Um, and so far it's worked out really well for me. Um, people appreciate it, um, especially once they read that contract. Um, 'cause it's pretty scary when you read one of those contracts. You've never read one before, it can be pretty daunting for a buyer. So that's how I handle that personally. 

Laci LeBlanc: I'm not, what's scary about it, Priscilla, for, from a buyer's perspective, what do you, what do you consider scary?

Priscilla McNamee: Um, from the people that I've spoken to, I think it's because they feel like they're locked in for like a certain period of time. It says that they're responsible for paying that agent, you know, a quote. Uh, X amount of commission, whatever that may be. Um, and I think it's a matter of, like, honestly, at that first meeting, they really don't know me.

You know, they, they really don't know. So, so they don't know, is she gonna do this job for me? Is she not gonna do this job for me? And then they're again, like signing that contract. Um, am I gonna be stuck with somebody who's not gonna actually be looking out for my best interest? Yeah. Now that could be me reading, like, trying to be a mind reader, but I'm trying to be sensitive to a person who, like I said, um.

I've not met before, so I, like I said, I try to give them the opportunity to get to know me, give them a little bit of time, and then we eventually will get that sign before we look at houses. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. I, I think practically too, you know, if you've got a house listed and somebody wants to come see it, you know, in an open house situation, especially, nobody's gonna ask you to sign anything as a buyer.

If you, if you, if, if we have a house listed and, and you call the agent, say, I'd like to see that house, they're gonna ask you, are you currently working with a realtor? And so forth. If you're, if. If you're say, yes, I, I am working with the realtor. Have you signed a buyer agency agreement? Yes. That's fantastic.

Then what we need you to do is please go ahead and have your agent schedule an appointment to go look at that house. Now, if somebody calls up and says, I wanna look at that house, and, and they don't have an agent, then obviously we have an obligation to the seller to, to walk them through that house. I do feel, and, uh, if anybody from the state is listening, that in that situation, we need to make it clear that we don't represent them.

We only represent the seller at this point, and we would love to walk you through the house. 

Priscilla McNamee: And I did have that happen to me. I had that happen to me one time. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. 

Priscilla McNamee: And that is actually, I called you on that one, remember? 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. Because 

Priscilla McNamee: that was the one that, it felt so awkward. Yeah. But that is exactly how I handled it.

Chris McAllister: Yeah. And we, and that is how it works. You're more than welcome to represent yourself. You, you know, and if you wanna walk through that house, we just have to make it clear that our interest is with the seller. But we, we can walk you through there and, um, I, I mean, you could argue that technically to the letter of the law that we should, you know, at least hand you a copy of the buyer agency agreement.

I see. I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go out on a limb. We're gonna, we're just all over the place on this, aren't we? But if you're calling up a listing agent and you're not represented or under a buyer a contract with a buyer agency agreement, then we are gonna show you the house. We have that obligation to the seller.

And that's fantastic. Great. Now, let's say that you, um. You walk, you walk through that house, you're really not interested at the house, but you, you really did, uh, enjoy talking to Priscilla. You're right. You're glad that she showed you the house. Then generally the next step is what, what, what you just alluded to is, well, that's great, you know, you seem like really nice people.

How about if we set up a meeting and, you know, we'll just sit down and kind of go through, you know, how I work with buyers like you and, and let's talk it through. Now, at that's the stage where, you know, we do a, a buyer meeting, whether a first time buyer or, you know, move up buyer, whatever. In my mind, the goal of that meeting is to, is to establish the kind of rapport that's gonna make somebody comfortable signing a buyer, signing a buyer agency agreement and saying, yes, I commit to making sure that, uh, you know, you're gonna get paid your buyer agent commission, and I'm gonna work exclusively with you for, you know, X number of months.

But walking through a house the first time, especially if you're walking it through on your own and it's our listing, you should be able to do that freely without feeling. Accosted. The other thing is that, you know, I think Priscilla, in your case, and most great agents, so many of your buyers come to you via referral.

So you correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you end up meeting buyers long before they're, they're walking through houses, which is why you get the opportunity to sit down with them and have a buyer meeting and set the stage for how you're gonna work together early on before you're ever crossed the threshold.

Priscilla McNamee: Yeah, I'm very blessed with that, thank God. But I mean, and I do think that it's important to sit down with buyers and have that buyer consultation. Um, anytime I skip that step, I feel like I always pay for it later. Yeah. 

Chris McAllister: That was I, I learned that the hard way, but it was probably two or three years in when I, you know, after I got my license, I just finally, after being burned so many times, I just made a rule that yes, if somebody called me to see a house and it was my listing, I would make an appointment.

I would drop everything. I would show 'em that house because I had that obligation to the seller. But if somebody called me up that, whether I knew them or didn't know them. And they wanted to go look at a house and we hadn't had a sit down for a buyer meeting yet, I would say, I would love to show you that house, but we need to sit down and talk this through first.

And I had a personal rule that said I would not show a house to somebody outside of something I had listed if they weren't willing to commit to 45 minutes to sit down with me and, and, and get to know each other because there's a good chance they're not gonna wanna work with me based on how I work.

And there's always the chance that I'm not gonna wanna work with them based on, you know, what their needs and goals are. 

Laci LeBlanc: My whole comment on that was just the way that you described it, Priscilla, about how it normally works, feels so much more authentic. Um, and I think explaining that, you know, working by referral facilitates that, that makes a lot of sense, right?

Like, wouldn't everybody rather, like how many people. Would prefer to find somebody on the internet, right? And call them up and say, Hey, will you be my real estate agent? Uh, versus having somebody they at least know through somebody else, um, and have had a good experience with be that person. So that's, I think why it sounded more authentic is because the way that you work and the way that we all would prefer this process to go, um, is really much more conducive to that working by referral.

Um. The way, that's just the way that it normally plays out, I 

Priscilla McNamee: feel like, which is ironic you said that because our peak experience, our last Baffini conference was all based on authenticity. And I mean, truthfully, that's, I mean that's, that's what we all stand for. We want to be authentic and true to ourselves and our clients.

See that. Our clients definitely see that. I have had many situations where I have spoken to buyers on the streets where agents have tricked them into signing a buyer broker contract electronically, and they've never met the agent. They literally meant them on Facebook. 

Laci LeBlanc: Yeah, I mean, I don't have any, it's interesting because you mentioned like, you know, buyer, seller and the dual kind of relationship and, and we do have some blog posts, Chris, on the website about, you know, dual agency and, and why you should be, you know, cognizant of, you know, the, the pros and cons of that from a, the, the perspective of a buyer or a seller.

Um, but that gives me no pause. Um. I feel like if you are gonna represent me and the sellers that like you, actually you're a matchmaker, right? Like you can match me up to the right thing. And, and I really do think if you're, if you've taken us both on as clients, then you do have both of our interests at heart, and you're not gonna pit us against each other.

Like, that's just not where my brain goes. I'm, I guess maybe I'm a trusting person, but I do. Find it a little icky. When you described what you thought was scary about that agreement, I do find that as a little icky. So I have no qualms about dual agency. Right. I'm not worried about that at all. But the agency, the buyer agency agreement does feel a little icky to me.

When you, when you explain what people might, um. Have challenges with regarding it. And so that makes sense to me that that would be where, like, that I would as a buyer, that I would be fearful. Not that, oh gosh, she's gonna represent sellers and buyers. That means nothing to me. That does not, my, my fight or flight does not trigger, which for me is, you know, unusual.

Uh, but so I can see exactly what you mean by that. 

Chris McAllister: Well, I think people who sort of use the, uh, the buyer agency agreement or listing agreement for that matter as a coercive tool. You know, I, I, I think that that also highlights the difference between, you know, an agent or a company that is relationship focused and a, and a company that is transaction focused.

If you're transaction focused, you want to get as many buyer agency agreements signed as you possibly can, as fast as you can, and hopefully something sticks when you're working from a relationship standpoint, there is nothing on that buyer agency agreement that, that somebody like Priscilla. Hasn't been discussing one-on-one for years in that, in that first buyer meeting, all that the buyer agency agreement does is codify how we've been doing business for the longest time and, um, and, and, and get your, and get your signature on it.

The other thing that's a little scary right now, you said that sometimes you're talking to agents who have popped up on Facebook. I think the other big thing is sometimes you're dealing with agents as a buyer, agents as a listing agent. Who are representing buyers that they have never met, that came through as a Zillow lead.

You know, so you've got situations where somebody. Um, inquires about a listing on the internet and because they've inquired and you've got, uh, buyer agents out there who pay Zillow to get leads, then you know that, that that buyer who's just raised their hand ends up as a lead going out to multiple.

Agents and those agents are all determined to, to get them nailed down on a buyer agency agreement right away and get them through a house. And I think that's where it feels coercive and they feel tricked and they end up meeting somebody for the first time at a walkthrough and it, I guess that's where it just feels icky.

Priscilla McNamee: Yeah, I agree. 

Chris McAllister: So. Well, let's kind of run through some of the things to expect when you sit down for that first time buyer meeting. And you know, some of the questions are, you know, what's the most important thing to you in a new home? What are your concerns? What's your budget? You know, a lot of times people have friends and family, or maybe they were a buyer in the past timeframe, you know, more than three years ago.

And you know, we wanna find out what was your experience like, what went well, what went badly? What did you like? What scared you? Get that on the table ahead of time. And then, like Priscilla said, how did finding, helping you find your perfect home, you know, we can show you, sell you any home listed, you know, anywhere in the state of Ohio, um, and we can help you with for sale by owners as well.

There's nothing that, that we can't do. But again, it's wonderful that we have all these internet tools out there, whether it's Zillow, realtor.com, et cetera, but having your agent actually set up a search in the MLS. With exactly the criteria that you're looking for and, and save that, show you what the results are at that first meeting and fix it so that every time something gets listed, gets listed, that matches your criteria, that you get an email immediately.

There's still great power in that. We've talked a little bit about getting pre-approved for, for a mortgage, and we talk about that at the first meeting. And we talk about, you know, making an offer. And I think this is someplace where a lot of first time buyers are scared they're gonna get ripped off. And sometimes this is where the relationship to the family relationships and friend relationships, you know, tend to come into play.

There are some buyers out there in the world that, that feel that if they don't make a low ball offer, or significantly less than the asking price that they're somehow doing. Uh, you know, it's a disservice to themselves and the fact is, a great agent is going to be able to tell you, let me show you how they price this house and what other houses in the neighborhood have sold for, and they're gonna help you make an offer that is more likely to be accepted.

I mean, the fact of the matter is. At the end of the day, a deal has to be good for the buyer and good for the seller. You know, it's, it's it, you know, yes, we represent the buyer in the situation, but it's never a win-lose situation. You've got to figure out what does the seller need to, to get this done, and how does that line up with what you need to get this done?

And that's what you pay an agent really at the end of the day to get, get to for you. That's really what the negotiation is all about. So I think we would both, uh, caution people that, you know, don't just make a knee jerk reaction less than the asking price, because you're probably gonna lose that house.

You know, it's still a seller's market in most areas that we work in these days. Maybe houses are showing up on the market a little bit longer and staying on the market a little bit longer than they did this time last year. But at the end of the day, we've still got more buyers than sellers, and if you go ahead and make a low ball offer.

Um, chances are somebody else interested in that house is gonna make an offer that's far more appropriate and appealing to the seller. So just please, please be careful about that. 

Priscilla McNamee: Yeah, because that's definitely not across the board. Um, there's a house in your neighborhood that is Absolutely. I mean, it is stunning.

It's probably one of the nicest Ridgewood homes that have come on the market, and we wrote a very aggressive offer on it because I knew that we were gonna be in multiple offers and. Thank God we did end up getting it. Um, and thank God my buyers did trust me on it. Um, but it was, it, it was one of those properties that I knew it was not going to stay on the market like the average days on market because it is truly in such, I mean, perfect condition.

So I think like the days on market is a little misleading because. It, it doesn't take into the days on market, does not take into consideration like pricing condition. Um, I, I wish there was a way, I wish there was a way to, to convey that to people. You know what I mean? Like the days on market, it, that's a, that's what is frustrating because like a lot of the houses that are staying on the market for a longer period of time, they, they don't compare to like a property like that.

Chris McAllister: Yeah. When you say you made an aggressive offer, you made an aggressive offer that was above the, the, the asking price. 

Priscilla McNamee: Yeah. So we ended up going in, um, over asking, and then we escalated. We escalated 33 thou. 31,000 over asking, 

Chris McAllister: yeah. Yep. But the only reason your buyer was counseled to do that, and the, and the only reason they did it at all was because one, they were working with you and two, they trusted you.

Yep. You know, if you would've gone in at asking price or below asking price or what have, and it's not that we aren't obligated to do what our client asked us. To do, but, but the fact is that it, it's always, you know, if you're working with a real professional who has experience in the market, knows what's happening day to day in the market, they're gonna guide you on the type of offer and take you through a negotiation process that's far more likely to end up in you getting to the closing table.

And they, 

Laci LeBlanc: did you talk about that in advance, Priscilla, with them? When you guys had initial meetings or before they made an offer on a house, did you say, for the type of home you're interested in, that's move-in ready, that doesn't require any work that's in this, you know, this. Area of, uh, this neighborhood, then we could be looking at.

Offering over asking situations. Is that part of that initial conversation? 

Priscilla McNamee: Yep. And then that particular, and that particular home also, that agent, um, I had a conversation with him where he actually had even told me he was going to list it, um, a little bit higher, but he purposely, he intentionally listed it lower for that reason to try to, um, induce multiple offers like that.

So, um. As a, as a 

Laci LeBlanc: buyer, if I were prepared for that. Like if, if I had never thought about it right. That I might be offering over asking. 'cause that changes which homes you're looking at, right? Like it really changes kind of, if my budget is X to Y, it does, then I need to be, I need to be, and I, I might be offering, you know, over asking, then I need to be looking from X to X 0.8, not X to Y, right?

I can't, can't be at the very top. So I think that it's really cool that you had that conversation. Prior so that when that happened, when that opportunity came up, there wasn't, the buyer didn't have to come to terms with, they were gonna have to now offer over asking and then come to terms with how much they just, they had the expectation that might happen.

So they were ready to have that conversation with you. And as a buyer, I. That really helps kind of move the process along. Um, and maybe I see it kind of being kind of the difference between getting it or not. Because if you needed an extra day or two to come to terms with offering over asking in the first place and then how much then, you know, in that timeframe, that could have been the difference between getting the house and not.

So I think it's really telling that that. You know, knowing the market like you do, you were able to say, based on what you're looking at this, we might be in this type of situation and prepare them. Um, and that really speaks to me as somebody who would be on the buyer side of that like that and, and who has high anxiety about it.

Um, that would really mean a lot to me as a buyer, that you prepared me for that in advance. 

Priscilla McNamee: Thank you and Absolutely. And we did look at a property at the exact same price that we landed this property that needed so much work. So, I mean, they just feel like it was such a blessing. I mean, that this, that it all came, you know, to fruition for them.

Chris McAllister: So. Perfect. What, how are you seeing the market overall right now? I mean, I know you work primarily in Springfield, a little bit in Dayton, some Columbus. How, how are you seeing things right now, Priscilla? 

Priscilla McNamee: Um, it's still a pretty strong sellers market for sure. Um, I'm noticing though, like any homes, like anything that needs like.

A little bit of work or anything that isn't just like perfectly updated, they are definitely sitting on the market a little bit longer. Okay, that 

Chris McAllister: makes sense. 

Priscilla McNamee: If, if you don't have them priced very aggressively, meaning lower to compensate for that. 

Chris McAllister: Right. What's happening with inspections these days are, are people pretty understanding of how inspections are coming back, or, um, I feel 

Priscilla McNamee: like buyers are really hammering the inspection process.

I mean, my inspection processes have been brutal. Absolutely brutal. 

Chris McAllister: You know, my message for first time buyers is, you know, there's always, we're always gonna make sure that there's a contingency in your purchase contract that says you have the, the, the right and the opportunity to have inspections done by a licensed, uh, home inspector so that, you know, you can hopefully determine whether or not there's something about that house that is, you know, unsafe or, you know, unsound or something that could potentially cost you a lot more money than, uh, than maybe you're prepared for, you know, in, in the next.

A couple of years, so you know. What you're really looking for is problems with the house that adversely affect habitability. That was, that was the term that we learned in real estate school was you're looking for items that adversely affect habitability. So you're looking for bad roofs, you're looking for unsafe electrical, you know, some structural deficiencies, things like that that could hurt you.

Or, or cost you money down the road that you're not prepared for. So the whole idea is that you identify those things. Now, in many instances, you know the price you're paying for that home. Um, it may be that it's still a fantastic deal, even if you know that you're gonna have to put a roof on that home in the next five years.

You know, it may be, um, we know that that house is gonna increase in value, that you're getting a great deal. That, that the price you're paying takes the condition into account. And it's, and it's a good decision for you to move forward, even though you know that you're gonna have to set some money aside.

Ahead of time. And then sometimes we run into situations where, um, you know, there's some legitimate things that, you know, you, you'd like to have the seller fixed and the, and the seller just says, flat out, take it or leave it. Well, you know, as a buyer you have every right to leave it. But, you know, on the other side of that coin, the buyer agent, the, the, not the buyer agency agreement, I'm sorry, but the, um, opportunity to have inspections done, that inspection addendum where.

It's, it's not a get outta jail free card, right? It, it, it's very, very frustrating for, for, for salaries. It's very plus frustrating for agents and your lender if you're using that inspection as a, as a means just to get out of a contract because you've decided for whatever reason, that's not the house for you.

So, you know, again, you want to go in with the attitude that this is the house that I wanna buy, and you need to know going in that there's probably gonna be a 2, 3, 4 week process where you're gonna have some ups and downs finding out, you know, how the inspection comes out, and figuring out what you're willing to accept and what the seller's willing to help you out with.

Priscilla McNamee: Yeah. I think what's most frustrating being a listing agent, having multiple offers. We go with a aggressive offer. Let's say it's over asking price. They do inspections and then they end up using the inspection process to beat the seller down to to renegotiate 

Chris McAllister: the deal. Renegotiate the 

Priscilla McNamee: like. That is what's so frustrating as a listing agent.

Chris McAllister: Yeah. Well, I think it's frustrated. We're all concerned that that's not what they, that's not what it's for. Exactly. It's there to protect you. It's there to get you out of a bad situation. Um, but it's, it's not a get outta jail free card, and it's not an opportunity to renegotiate the purchase price. I do feel like it's, and this happens a lot more on the, uh, investment property side, that people will put a property under contract at any price just to get their foot in the door.

Then they'll have the inspections done, and then they'll go back and see if they can, you know, get the deal they want. And I can tell you most sellers we work with, they're just not gonna deal with it. They'll just let the, the contract fall out, they'll put it back on the market and they'll go sell it to somebody else.

Mm-hmm. One thing that I want to touch base on today, um, for first time buyers in particular is we do, and I'm sure Priscilla, you have to, but many times I've talked to first time buyers and just like when you have a move up buyer and it's our job to help you negotiate the sale and closing of your home that you currently live in, get that mortgage paid off.

Get the new mortgage to go buy the next home. It's a similar process when we're working with a, a, a first time buyer who happens to be renting. So whether they're in a lease, whether they're month to month and so forth, and there's, you need to have an agent who's sensitive to the, the timing of where you are, whether it's in a, whether you're in a lease, or whether you're month to month, and when you're going to be free to buy.

So. There's a couple things and, and you know, we do property management. We work with a lot of owners, a lot of landlords. You know, I'm a landlord myself, and I, I just want to put it out there that you don't want to just arbitrarily break a lease. You don't want to disappear because that's gonna show up on your credit report for a long time.

And it's, it, it's, it's wrong. You signed a contract, you don't walk away from a contract. And, uh. Uh, many times, uh, we landlords today have the ability to, um. Uh, I don't want to get deep into the mechanism of it, but there are times when if you break a lease and there's a judgment against you, that that's gonna show up when you go to close on a house, and that judgment is gonna have to be paid before a lender's gonna give you a loan.

So you never wanna break a lease. But what I would urge you to do. Is to at least ask your landlord or ask your property manager to ask the landlord to see if you can come to terms with how you're going to be able to get out of that lease. You know, I can tell you that if somebody comes to me and they've, you know, always paid their rent on time, good tenant, et cetera, and they say, look, we have an opportunity to buy a house.

You know, or, you know, maybe they get, they have to go buy a house. They're moving outta state and buying a house. Or I don't care if they're buying a house next door. You know, if you're, if you go to them and say, look, I understand that I am going to lose my deposit, I understand that, you know, you need some time to re-rent this house.

Uh. You know, how about if I agree to pay, uh, this is June. How about if I agree to pay July and August, but you accept my notice that I'll be out of the house or the apartment at the end of August and um, um, it'll be ready for you to rent on September 1st, and I understand I'm gonna give up my deposit.

You know, that's just an example of an offer that you can make. To a landlord. There's seldom, I've never really ever seen a landlord that says, no, I'm not gonna negotiate anything. You work the, the lease to the end and, and, uh, you know, I don't wanna talk anymore about it. I can tell you that that virtually never happens.

But you do run into trouble if, um, you know, you just try to walk away or you don't try to, uh, negotiate an early termination. Have you had any experience with that Priscilla? 

Priscilla McNamee: I do the same thing, and I try to help them with that and walk them through it. And usually it works out fine. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. Yeah. So just reach out to the landlord, know that, uh, you have an obligation.

Know that they just want to get that house rented again for the same or similar rent. So oftentimes if you, you know, if you're a great tenant, the house is in fantastic condition and you're willing to let the landlord show it. You know, that's a plus two. Um, but, uh, the point is we can help you make an offer to your landlord that works for you.

If you're in a month to month lease, that's great, but I would still urge you to, at a minimum, involve your landlord. Let them know, Hey, this is my, uh, I'm, I'm giving you preferably a 60 day notice. You wanna give yourself enough room that if for some reason, you know, your closing gets delayed or something happens with the loan or so forth, that you end up having to move out of your house and being on the street.

And that's no different with how we, you know, have to work with, uh, move up buyers to make sure that they, uh, don't end up homeless between houses. So don't let a lease stop you from moving towards that first time home ownership dream. All right. I figure we've covered a lot in this, uh, somewhat random episode.

Is there anything else, ladies, that you think that we should, uh, touch on before we wrap this up? 

Laci LeBlanc: The random ones are my favorite. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. I feel like we just, so we 

Laci LeBlanc: touch on all the issues that nobody ever talks about, right? Like we can plan out the notes, but like when we start to get a little random, we really hit on the things that are kind of.

N not Googleable, if you will. Yeah. So I think it's, I think it's been great. It's, it's certainly given me some insight, like I'm, I'm looking at this through the lens, like of when I was buying my house for the first time and thinking to myself either, wow, that would've been nice, or, I did that. Right. I think I did that right.

Right. Or like, so, and there's always room to, to learn more and grow more, uh, you know, throughout the, the process. So I think it's, this will be helpful not just for first time buyers, um, but for sellers. I think there are a lot of tidbits in here that would really help sellers out if they're dealing with the first time buyer, um, and agents.

Priscilla McNamee: Yeah, and I think it's also important to remember for, for buyers, first time home buyers, anybody who has not owned a home in the last three years. If they don't have any money there, there are a lot of programs out there to help them. So there's grant money available and there's down payment assistance available.

So there are funds available for people and I think it's important for them to know that that is out there and if they have, um, any questions that they can reach out to us and we can tap into those resources. Um, there's also another program that a lot of people do not tap into. It's, um, USDA direct, which is where they, um, it, I don't know if you remember Chris, but a long time ago it used to be called Farmer's Home.

Chris McAllister: Yeah. 

Priscilla McNamee: So there's a lot of programs that people are not tapping into. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. Those are great loans. Those, those, um, those were fantastic. I mean, no out of pocket for down payment. It was, it was terrific. 

Laci LeBlanc: Yeah, we, I mean we got to take advantage of some down payment assistance and we had a down payment and we, so then we got, had to choose, right?

Do we just put more towards our down payment like that we were planning to and use the down payment assistance? Yeah. Or do we hold onto some of that and we chose out of anxiety to hold onto some of it and it actually ended up being. Hugely beneficial for us because we had some pretty big expenses that like the inspection wouldn't catch like a, you know, our HVAC went out within the first six months that we lived here and it's a gas pack, so it was very expensive to replace.

And so, you know, I just think that having somebody to guide you and say, well, these are your options, right? You can put more towards the down payment and, you know, owe less on your monthly. Mortgage or you can hold onto some of that and keep it for emergencies. And we, we were lucky we had somebody who gave us those options and we figured in our situation it was better to hold onto that.

So this guidance part of, of agency, it's not about sales, it's not about, you know, finding somebody you click with that you can feel like you can communicate with. You know, Priscilla, you talked about building that trust and earning that trust is just so huge for first time buyers I think to, to feel good about this.

I mean, 'cause this is the biggest financial decision I. Of your life up to this point, you know, almost 100% of the time. So I agree. It's, you can learn more 

Chris McAllister: about, yep. I'm sorry. 

Laci LeBlanc: No, 

Priscilla McNamee: I'm so sorry. 

Chris McAllister: And you can learn more about, you know, how we work for first time buyers, multiple, you know, buyers who have bought more than one house, et cetera, at.

Roost real estate co.com. But the thing, one of the things I wanna close with is, you know, we are in the relationship business. We believe by far that relationships with our clients are far more valuable to us than any series of transactions. And you know, in a perfect world, you would be a tenant with roost.

You would become a first time buyer with roost and we've done such a good job that when it's time to move on to your next home, you do that with roost. When it comes time to buy that, uh, second home on the beach, you do that with us. When it becomes time to, uh, downsize, 50 years from now that you do that with us, we can't afford to.

To, uh, have you make a mistake on your first house, right? We need you to be successful. We need you to be thrilled with the outcome. We need you to, you know, be happy with the experience because that's how, uh, Priscilla and the rest of the agents at roost to put food on the table, right? It's, it's great to close a house.

It's even better to form a relationship where you're so happy with the experience that you continue to refer buyers and sellers to Priscilla forever. And when the time comes for you to make another move, whether it's 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 20 years from now, that she's the first person you call. And that's, that's how we approach the business of real estate at our company.

All right, thank you ladies. Uh, so be sure to subscribe for more episodes, um, and, uh, where we talk about everything that has to do with buying and selling and living in real estate. So that's it for the All Things Real Estate podcast, and thank you for listening. 

Laci LeBlanc: See you next 

Priscilla McNamee: time. Bye.