So, you have hired a Realtor, found THE house and your offer has been accepted.  That is fantastic!  BUT…now the real work begins.

You have a lot of choices to make: who to use for your mortgage, home owners insurance, home inspector, pest inspector, attorney, and the list goes on and on.  How in the world do you find all of those people?

I know what you are saying, “I can just have my Realtor tell me who to use.  She’ll know anyway, and I trust her.”  Well, it’s great that you trust your Realtor that much, and you should have that kind of a relationship at this point in the process, but she CANNOT make those decisions for you.

Why not?  What is she getting paid for then?

Well, your Realtor is getting paid to do a lot of things, but to make decisions for you is not one of them.  You still have to do that yourself.  Your Realtor can’t tell you if you should or should not get a radon inspection, because only you know if that is important to you or not.  Your Realtor is there to provide you with information to help you make more informed decisions.

“I still don’t understand why you can’t pick a termite guy out for me.  You know what they charge, and what they are like.  You are telling me I have to waste my time calling three companies and finding out how much they charge and if  I want to work with them or not?”

There is some truth to that.  I know what Billy Bob’s Termite Co charged last time, but who is to say that hasn’t changed since the last time I worked with them?  Also, what if Billy Bob this time overlooks the fact there there are termites in the crawl space and you end up having serious structural problems a year down the road.  You are then going to be mad at Billy Bob and the Realtor who recommend him to you.

Typically I will give my clients a few different choices so that will have a starting point.  I recommend people that I have worked with before or who have been recommended to me by someone I trust.  If you already know a great home inspector, by all means use him!

As Realtors we never want to make it appear that we have a special relationship with any one vendor.  It is important for clients to know they are free to work with whomever they are comfortable.  So when a Realtor tells you that you have to do a little leg work, just know they are doing their job,  and not trying to make more work for you.