By: Danielle Varno
“…And Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think?”… or whatever our girl Alanis had us singing back in the late 90s! Of course, that (specific) irony consisted of raining on wedding days, free rides, and traffic jams, but what it also should have included was the irony that could be found in not using the preferred (and local) partners your Real Estate Agent suggests to you. You see, your Real Estate Agent wants you, the buyer or seller, to successfully close on the purchase or sale of your house. But more than that, they want you to have as smooth and seamless an experience as possible, so they provide you with a list of vendors they know will provide you with such an experience! They suggest you use the closing attorney they have vetted over and over, the one they have a close working relationship with and can make sure your closing stays on track, even if that means drafting an addendum to your contract on the weekend, to make sure you get to the closing table on time. Or, perhaps they suggest using a local mortgage company or mortgage broker they know will be responsive, proactive, and REACHABLE when your transaction ends up being a little more complicated than originally anticipated – one the agent can call up personally on a Saturday afternoon when you have a question about what the heck an “aggregate adjustment” is. You’re going to need a home inspection, right? How about hiring the inspector that has conducted hundreds of inspections and turned over hundreds of honest and trustworthy inspection reports to your Real Estate Agent – one that will walk the Property with you pointing out the issues they have found if you may need a little more detail than just the paper report itself. Need a Home Warranty? Wait, you’re not sure what that is? Thank goodness for your Real Estate Agent! But also, why not order your home warranty with a company your Real Estate agent has seen work firsthand to ensure that your HVAC system that starts acting up two months after closing gets the attention and repair it deserves!
I could go on and on about the absolute GOLD that is your Real Estate Agent’s preferred vendors list, but I imagine, by now, you get the point! I should add that your Real Estate Agent does not stand to gain financially by way of any sort of “kickback” from these preferred vendors, at least not the ones that wish to keep their real estate license, anyway. A real estate purchase can be overwhelming with all of the information finding its way to you, but the preferred vendors list provided to you should be a no-brainer. So, while I reach out to Alanis about possibly adding the following lines to her 90s hit:
“It’s like choosing to go with cheaper and than closing late,
It’s a bumpy road (to closing) when the suggested lane is paved,
It’s an attorney friend that doesn’t draft any deeds, you still didn’t listen, it figures.”
Trust me, treat that agent provided preferred vendors list as the GOLD it is and you will be able to Rest Easy knowing your transaction will be as smooth as 90s alternative rock and your agent will not have to explain to you like Alanis did to us, “It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take And who would’ve thought? It figures”. See you at the closing table, my friends!
