So I was at this open house today. I was holding a listing open for a fellow Zephyr agent.
While I was at the open house, I found myself talking to a gentlemen there that looked remarkably familiar. I came to find out that I had actually gone to camp with him at the YMCA here in the City. I guess when you’ve grown up in the City, you’re bound to run into people you’ve met while growing up.
Anyhow – I am digressing from the point of my story – back to the point. This guy from camp (who is now grown and ready to buy some SF real estate) has been poking around at open houses for almost a year now looking to buy a place. The thing is, he’s out there on his own trying to navigate the San Francisco real estate jungle all alone. He has no one to guide him, no one to negotiate for him, no one to fight for him, no one to give him a heads up on a pocket listing that’s only available to other agents, no one to analyze his needs and help him to find the right place that he can call “home.”
So, I did what any good agent would do – I spent 20 minutes trying to convince him to get out there and get himself an agent.
I mean, he seemed like a nice enough person – I’d love to work with him – but not every agent is for every person, so my goal wasn’t to have him work with ME, my goal was to convince him to find SOMEONE that would help him.
He even mentioned a really nice agent from Cashin that he had met the week prior – but hadn’t thought to give him a call. If you’re reading this (and you know who you are) – call the Cashin guy! Call me! Call anyone! But don’t go at it on your own!!!
And I wasn’t planning on turning my little chance encounter with someone I remember as a kid I went to camp with into a blog post, but when I got home, I ran across this article in today’s Chronicle – Looking for a House? Find a Buyer’s Agent First. It reiterated every single point that I harped on for the 20 minute conversation with him – and then some.
Buying a home is a daunting task, and if you don’t have the advantage of working with a buyer’s agent, it’s like floating in the ocean without a life raft. Sure – you might be able to swim, but for how long before you just get swallowed up by the waves!
If you’re reading this now and you or someone you know is thinking about buying a place without an agent- STOP!
Get your own damn agent! He or she will help you to nagivate the ins and outs of the San Francisco real estate market, and get get you into the best home you at the best price for you.
And if you need help finding an agent, check out this blog post I did a while ago on How to Choose a Buyer’s Agent.
Of course, you can always call me, and if we all feel that we’ll work well together, then I’ll be happy to help you find a place in the City to call “home”. You know where to find me. 
Well the fact he has been at it for a year speaks volumns. He might well be out there another year unless he finds an agent to guide and help him thru the process.
A lot of people really think that they can buy a house on their own – and it’s not that they’re not capable, it’s that they don’t have the knowledge it takes to not make any mistakes along the way.
I recently remodeled a house, and since it’s something I had never done before, I can’t tell you how many mistakes I made along the way – from picking the wrong architect, to picking TWO wrong designers, to forgetting about certain items such as certain light switches that we then had to figure out a way to add later, at extra cost.
That’s why you hire professionals to do what professionals are supposed to do.