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Real Talk with Sterling Real Estate Group is your go-to resource for all things real estate. In our episodes, we break down the latest market trends, share insider tips, and provide expert insights to empower your property journey. Whether you're buying, selling, building, or investing, we're here to help you navigate the dynamic world of real estate in New York's Capital Region and beyond. If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover in a future episode, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at info@sterling518.com.
Lisa (00:37)
Hi, welcome to Real Talk at Sterling Real Estate Group. Today I'm very excited to have Nicole Pellegrini here, another Sterling Real Estate Group agent. Hi, Nicole. Hi, Lisa. Welcome. Thanks for having me. Thank you so much. So it's a pleasure having you here because usually I have you behind the scenes doing the podcast, but also out in the field working as an agent. Yeah, yeah, I've been.
Jill of all trades. You are busy. You are. Yeah. So it is a little interesting being in front of the camera instead of the one recording behind the camera. You like it? Yes. You like being behind the camera or in front? ⁓ either. So far so good. I mean, I don't know. This is more like I'm more nervous being in front of the camera ⁓ than I am behind the camera, obviously. But I think I like it. I want to get more used to it. I want to do it more.
All right. Well, good. I'll make a note. So we'll determine what we're going to talk about on the next episode. So today we're talking about, you know, buyers. Yes. Tell me, what is the very first thing that a buyer needs to do if they're even thinking about or getting ready to buy a house? So if you are thinking of purchasing a house, whether it's this year or next year,
⁓ The first thing you want to do is meet with a lender and you want to get pre-approved. Now, if you're thinking of purchasing like way in the future, ⁓ you can start with a pre-qualification. um But the first thing you really want to do is get pre-approved because that's going to tell you how much house you can afford. So you're going to know exactly what
price point to be looking at. And it's also going to prepare you. This is a pretty fast moving market. And when you find the house that you want to put an offer in, you want to be as ready as possible. so having that pre-approval letter in hand is going to make you that much more prepared and make your offer that much stronger. Right. We see that a lot. It's almost a couple of the banks we work with, they say it's almost like cash because you've gone through underwriting.
The only thing that they need for pre-approval is clean title. Yep. Right. And the appraisal. Yep. Exactly. So I know a couple of banks we work with, if you are pre-approved, you can close within 30 days. Yeah. As long as the seller wants to close that early. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, there's steps throughout the process that may determine, that may lengthen the transaction. But yeah, you could potentially be ready.
within 30 days. It's good to have. I know when we're working with sellers and we're looking at offers and you know that that's important. Are you looking to pre-qualification or pre-approval? So prequal, if you think you want to buy a house in the next coming years, it's also good because sometimes there's things that I think sneak up on a credit report that you didn't know about. Exactly. And you get rid, take care of can take care of it. Yeah. And then when you're really ready to start your home buying search, you go back and you get your pre-approval.
Yeah, you know, I think people feel like it's a little scary or it's such a, it's not necessary to even get a pre-qualification letter. I think if you're even thinking about buying a house, the benefit to that is like Lisa said, if you have something on your credit report that needs to get cleaned up or if you want to start the conversation of, you know, maybe there are things that you can do.
to strengthen your credit or strengthen your financial standing so that you can get pre-approved more easily or for more money. Because sometimes the amount of money you have isn't the issue, it's your credit score. Could be credit. It could be credit. Yeah. Or vice versa. And the banks are really good on working with you to get you to that point.
So yeah, so it's never too early to get to get the pre-qual. Yeah, yeah. So that's a lot of people don't know that. No. You don't want to go out house hunting. No. Well, first you shouldn't be out. shouldn't. An agent shouldn't be out house hunting with a client if they're not pre-qualified or pre-approved. Right. But I mean, I guess if you're like thinking of going to open houses or something, ⁓ you you don't necessarily need an agent to do that. But if you think you're going to want to put an offer in on that house, when you do go see that open house,
you're gonna wanna have an agent, you're gonna wanna have that pre-approval letter. Submitted with your Submitted with your offer. Prequal letter, you can start with that, but it's not nearly as strong. No, no, not at all. So. Yeah, well, while someone else is putting in an offer, you're working with the bank, getting your prequal pre-approval, and chances are it may be late. Even though some of our lenders do work on the weekends, not all of them do. So now you're waiting till Monday and your two days.
Two days late. Yeah, yep. This is a 24-7 business. It is. I mean, as much as I don't... Welcome to real estate. Yeah, yeah. But if you're at work and you can't get to your email, if it's the weekend and the lender is busy, there's just so many things that could happen.
in such a short period of time. And a good buyer's agent is going to tell a buyer all of these important things. working with a buyer's agent, you have really less to think about and less to worry about because especially a good buyer's agent is going to be helping you and holding your hand along the way and making sure that these are things that you know.
Right. Especially first time homebuyers. Especially first time homebuyers. very scary It can be. It can be. First time homebuyers, I am working with some right now. it's definitely very different than working with someone who's buying their second or third home because they don't know. They don't know what to expect. They don't know what to expect. as much as you try to prepare. Yes, absolutely. There's always something that pops up. Absolutely. And even sometimes, too, working with a second time buyer, maybe they're moving here from out of state.
rules can vary from state to state. all the time. Processes vary, not even from state to state, but within the state. Well, look at us here, down to Columbia County. Completely different. Completely different process. yeah, it's really helpful to have a local buyer's agent on your side. And I know we'll touch on that a little bit later. Yeah, absolutely. So talking about working with buyers, so last summer, we know a lot of things changed in the real estate.
And really not horrible. That's how I came up through the ranks was having the ⁓ buyer agreement. So let's talk about that. Why is it, well, we have to have it. So I'll let you talk about the two different types that you can have and why is it important not only to the buyer, but also to the agent. Yeah, so what we're talking about is the buyer agency agreement. Correct. Now, some places...
some brokerages, some states, they did this before last summer, but it is relatively new, I think, just in general for most people. um The buyer agency agreement, simply put, is a contract between a buyer and their agent outlining what my legal and fiduciary duties are to you as my client. ⁓
your responsibilities as a buyer and then the compensation that I will be getting paid as your agent when you purchase a home. Right, when you find one. You don't get paid until you... Well, I don't... Some agents do professional fees.
I think that there are some hesitations ⁓ around the buyer agency agreement. have heard it firsthand from leads that have come in who don't realize that they need a buyer agency agreement with an agent to go see a house. So you cannot, as a buyer, go see a house without an agent present.
Unless you're at an open house. Unless you're at an open house, which then technically an agent is present. Right, representing the seller. Yes, but right, they're representing the seller. They're not representing you as the buyer. So their interests are in that of the seller. ⁓ If you wanted to go see a house, ⁓ do like a private tour, that is when you need an agent to go with you. and
before you can step into that house with that agent, you need the buyer agency agreement in place. Now there is an exclusive and a non-exclusive agreement, which I think helps ease the worries or the fears of some... of a buyer who's not sure. I think it's important to like the person that you're working with. I think it's important to have a good...
Rapport. personalities match. Your personalities match. That is important. So if you meet an agent and you're not sure if you're going to like working with them, the non-exclusive agreement is helpful because then you can say, okay, I'll pay this agent for this particular house. It ties you to specific properties.
it doesn't tie you to your entire home search journey. The exclusive agreement, ⁓ the exclusive buyer agency agreement, that is you committing to working with this agent for one agent for a set period of time. So, you know, I have had some clients too, where some leads that have come in where they've wanted to sign an exclusive because they, you know, want to feel like they're being protected.
but maybe they only want to do it for a month and kind of see how things go from there. And then we can always revisit and sign another one or for a longer period of time. How long is your home search journey? Are you just getting started? Are you looking to move ASAP? Are you looking to move three to six months from now? In today's market, it could take you six months to find a house with multiple offers and lack of inventory. And so a lot of times, I feel like the...
The standard contract time that I have personally seen as a buyer's agent is usually that six month period. Just knowing how long it could take to find a house and knowing that I will be there with you every step of the way, representing you, acting in your best interest, helping you as much as possible through the end of the purchase process.
And beyond. and beyond. Yeah, we always want to service our clients and beyond. Absolutely. I will be with you every step of the way from contract signing all the way until you tell me to leave you alone. Stop calling us. No. Yeah, we like to say we are not transactional brokers. We are relation building agents. And that's important. When you're working with buyers, get into their new house, they're like, Nicole.
I need some trees taken down. Who should I call? So we have our preferred vendor lists and we always give those to our clients. And we like to show up. I know when I was actively in the field, I would tell the buyers, here's a couple of people, let me know when you have it scheduled. I want to pop out there. And they're like, well, why? And I'm like, well, I'm referring them. I want to make sure they're, I'm referring somebody good. I want to make sure they're giving you the service that I give you that I expect. And I'll tell you what.
They really appreciate that. They really do. Yeah, and it's great. And it's nice and it's comforting, I think, to have someone who you know is actually looking out for you. And buying a home is such a big thing emotionally, financially. You want to make sure that you're working with someone who's actually going to be there for you. Take you through. And take you through. And guide you, provide advice, help you negotiate.
help you find whatever it is that you need related to the home. Real estate is more than just buying and selling homes. It's everything to do with the home owning process too. And you know, how many, well, I think you were here, how many months did we take preparing our buyer consultation booklet? I mean, it is...
in depth. It's 40 something pages. Now you don't have to touch it every point, but if a first time home buyer comes in, it's not like here, sign the non-exclusive or the exclusive. We're doing the buyer consultation. And I mean, walk us through, like, I don't expect you to through 40 pages. Let me pull it up. No. I, well, so it is. It's, you know, I do make sure that my buyers have the ⁓ presentation.
so that they can refer back to it. And then they can also go more in depth in some items that maybe I didn't touch base on because as you can imagine, a 40, 50 page document. Well, what is a hundred things right off the rip of what? And a lot of buyers like, I didn't know you do all that. Right, yeah. They're shocked. They are. So typically, if I'm working with a buyer, let's say ⁓ we're just, you were,
Maybe you were a referral, maybe we're just meeting for the first time, maybe you're a lead who came in through the office and it was my lucky day. Right. So first things first is I'm going to set up a consultation meeting with you because I want to meet you in person. I want to make sure that I can...
help you understand anything in the moment if you have any questions as we're walking through things. So in the buyer presentation that we have, it talks about what are my legal and fiduciary responsibilities to you. That includes loyalty,
that includes negotiating on your behalf throughout the transaction, whether that's ⁓ negotiating a purchase price or inspection concessions, things of that nature. It's just really keeping you in my best interest, making sure that I am working for you and doing the things that are going to get you.
into that home. ⁓ So we go over all of that, all those responsibilities. I like to go over the compensation piece. So what happened last summer with the new rules and why the buyer agency agreement is in place is because the way agents get paid has changed. Now, if you boil it down, it's still kind of the same.
in a way, but it's just setting those expectations. It's more clear. It's more clear. It's extremely clear who's getting paid what and how much and by who. Exactly. So it outlines, for instance, if you're a buyer and let's just throw a number out there, I'm asking for... No numbers. Oh, okay. No numbers. Just kidding. Just kidding. All right. If you're a buyer, I'm going to say, you know, so-and-so buyers.
This is the compensation. ⁓ Now that compensation can either be covered entirely by the seller, it could be covered in part by the seller, and then the rest of the amount would fall to you, my buyer, or they might not be offering any compensation at all, at which point the compensation would fall entirely onto you.
And the reason for doing that is to kind of set the clarity, set the expectation, and make sure that you are okay with these numbers and make sure that this is going to be a comfortable transaction for you. Now, we do our best to... That's part of the negotiation piece, right? If you don't have to pay extra money because you're already spending all this money to buy a house,
I'm going to try and negotiate that compensation from the seller side so that you don't have to worry about it. hopefully I can say this, but most of the time, and I'm sure that there's actually a statistic out there that says how many transactions... We're almost a year into it, I'm sure now. We're almost a year into it. there's, I would say a majority of sellers are still willing to offer some compensation. type of compensation. it's usually a non-issue.
I want to make sure that the buyers are aware and prepared and just know what to expect. In every point of the process, there's always going to be a variety of scenarios that can happen. So knowing what those scenarios are is just going to help you feel more comfortable throughout. Yeah, educating them upfront versus, by the way. we do talk to our buyers. I know some agents have come in.
And some buyers like, don't show me property where they're not offering anything to you because they cannot afford to pay. that's OK. And that's OK. Or you take it into consideration of the overall end price. let's say if your price point is X amount and someone's not offering compensation, then how much
house can you afford and pay compensation. Just in case that comes up. I want to make sure that you're able to also see any house that you might be interested in. Because even if they're not offering, doesn't mean you can't. Doesn't mean you can't. I have had some agents just say, write it in the contract. we'll go from there. So you never know.
But yeah, so then throughout the consultation, you the next piece is finding out from you, like, what do you want? What do you need? And those are definitely two different questions. Like, what a buyer wants in a house and what a buyer needs in a house. You know, have you started to think about that? Are there things that you absolutely cannot live without? Are there things that you would be okay with, you know, maybe not having? think there's like a 80-10-10 rule. right.
You have to love 80%, 10 % of it you can fix, and the other 10 % you have to live with it or live without it. Right, yeah. And that helps really broaden your search because when you get too specific, it narrows the pool and in such a competitive market where inventory is still low, it makes it very challenging. So if you can figure out the things that you absolutely...
need to have in a house and the things that you can live without or maybe implement down the road that is going to help a lot. Definitely. It's funny, you know, I have sent so many listings to buyers that I know they would tell me they're not interested in. And I would say, I know this is what you're looking for, but just take a look at it. I've sold more houses doing that because they get
Now I don't want to say fixated, but they have in their mind exactly what they want, but we're looking at things objectively. This could work. They could take this and turn it into X. I even showed a multi-family that turned into a single-family home that ended up being in the Saratoga Showcase of homes. So let's go right to that whole extreme. And that's part of what a buyer's agent does. They're looking beyond, especially if you go out with them one or two times.
You start to. really know what they want. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, the more time that we spend together, the more I begin to understand what it is that you want. I am able to pick up on the things that you say or even just your general reactions to things. And I can then apply that to to the market and what's coming up. And I had the same thing. I think there's.
We do get so set on the things that we feel like we absolutely have to have in a house that you don't want to be too close-minded because I think it's more about the feeling than the thing. So I had a buyer, I sent her a house, we were looking at houses for weeks and she said she didn't want a house that was like too cabiny or too woodsy.
on a whim, I sent her a house that was kind of cabiny, but it checked every single one of her boxes. when we, she was like, okay, let's go look at it. She fell in love with the house. That's the house she put the offer in. Her offer got accepted and that's the house she's living in. And she's doing a beautiful job. She's updating, she's adding her personal touches and updating it. But if I had just listened to her words and not her emotions and
thoughts and reality, then maybe she'd be living somewhere else. Maybe we would have never found her house. Right, you could still be looking. We could still be looking all this time later, we don't know. Yeah, it's being objective. It's when you're out with buyers and you walk in, you can almost see their reaction right away when they get through that front door. I swear, within 10 seconds, especially a female walking through that front door within 10 seconds, they either like it or they don't. first impressions are a big deal. Yeah, even the front of the house.
before you even walk in the door. You get a feel for just the exterior in general, your surroundings. so this episode is for buyers, but sellers' first impressions really matter. Curb appeal. We like curb appeal. So let's talk about, so we touched base a little bit, the market.
It's tough right? It was at... Interesting. What was the word yesterday at our team meeting? It's fruity. Fruity. It was fruity. That was great. That was great. like, never heard that. Never heard of that before. Yeah. But it's interesting.
I feel like some days it feels like a seller's market, some days it feels like a buyer's market, some neighborhoods feel like a seller's market, some neighborhoods feel like, it's really, it's very interesting right now. I think it's balancing out and we're just trying to figure out the flow. Yeah, yeah. So what is your advice ⁓ to buyers that feel home ownership is out of their reach right now because of lack of inventory, interest rates.
What do you say? We get that question all the time, but we still have people out looking for homes. Yeah, absolutely. So I feel like the longer I'm in real estate and the more I get to know the capital region market, because it is local. I mean, it's local down to the town and the city, but I grew up in the capital region. you know.
I'm all over the capital region all the time. Yes, you are. Yeah, I'm driving an hour here, an hour there. But it's fun. I don't mind it. But you start to see that homeownership is still attainable for a lot of people. And if that's something that you really want and that is a dream for you, then talk to an agent and, again, talk to a lender. Right.
An agent is going to be able to help you find the areas that you can afford, the houses that you can afford, and a lender is going to be able to tell you how much, what that price point is. And there are plenty of options out there. There's different loan options. You can, you know, buy down interest rate. There's a lot of options. There's a I think that's what it is, is it's not black and white. It's not...
you know, everyone gets the same exact loan and buys a house the same exact way. There's so many different options and opportunities out there. And that's why I think talking to a real estate professional is important because it just opens up a world of possibilities. Yeah. You know, and they think, I mean, yes, they think interest rates are high. Right. I've been doing this for so long. It's not high. No. But compared to what we were. Right.
It is. It is a little shocking. Well, you were in a meeting the other day with us and we were talking about new construction, right? The home prices and we were just laughing like, how much was that? What? I know. You know, that's a product, you know, of the market. But you're right, there are options. You can do it. You know, we have, you know, new construction. we have modular. We have the...
affordable portion of the modular, which ⁓ we don't want to say too much now, but you will be releasing a community of your own that is very affordable. Very affordable. And I just love that. I know. I know. Well, the modular thing, it really is if you want new construction, like if that's what your heart is set on, but it feels unaffordable, you know, with it.
you know, with tariffs, with the housing market, prices have gone up. It's new construction is depending on the builder and the house, the size, you know, it can add up pretty quickly. The modular, especially the efficient modular homes, they are so affordable. You're competing with resale value. It's shocking. it's funny, you know, and I don't want to go
down the modular rope. But people think modulars are trailers or manufacturers. They're not. I had a client meeting in here a couple months ago. ⁓ it was a harder price point for new construction. So I mentioned modular. And in his mind, he believed the modular was a trailer or manufactured. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I tried explaining it to him. he's, nope, I could not tell him. Otherwise.
we had a modular that we sold right down the road. And I took him through and I didn't tell him what he was in. I said, is this something you like, the layout, do you like the quality, the whole bit? He said, absolutely. I waited till we were outside and we went in the basement and he was looking up and I was like, okay, he's gonna be able to tell now for that marriage wall. He didn't. Because if you don't know what to look for, we get outside and I said, he told me he liked it, I said.
you know we just walked out of a modular home. His jaw dropped and he said, I'm sold. Yeah, it's amazing. The quality is incredible. No clue. Yeah. And then he reverted back to the basement. he goes, that basement was nine feet. Yeah. He's like, I could finish the basement. it is attainable. Home ownership and new construction is attainable. So let's end with what piece of advice
⁓ Do you want to give to every buyer no matter the situation? What do you think? I think for any buyer, it's just being flexible, I guess is the word I want to use. Be flexible in your home search ⁓ because at the end of the day, it's not just about
buying a house, ⁓ it's about finding the right home for you. Right. It's not about buying a house, it's buying your home. And so I think just keeping an open mind, ⁓ being flexible, and not even necessarily flexible in just the house that you're looking for, but throughout the entire process, things are going to come up. Transactions do not always go smoothly from
You put in an offer, your offer gets accepted, now you're buying a house. Right, you're closing in 45 to 60 days. There's a lot more that goes into it. So also, choosing an agent that you trust to go through that process with you, they'll be able to help you find the home maybe that you didn't think you wanted, but that you fall in love with. They'll be able to help you when it comes to inspections, know what to look for.
how to deliver that inspection report that may show up. I know you had that situation. And it's just how you deliver it to, without scaring your buyer. Yes, don't get scared. I just told my buyers this, and maybe I'll start saying this to every buyer, no matter. Just don't get too scared off by the information that comes up throughout the process. Again, it's that staying flexible piece.
Obviously, I want you to be realistic. I want you to be, you know, I want you to love the home that you're going to move into. I don't want to just shove you into any home just because you're... Yeah, know. That there's options out there to correct any issues that may come up. And if there is no option, then obviously, you you walk away from... Yeah, your option is you can move on. Yeah. You have that option or you can stay in it.
Exactly. So I think just working with someone who can help you understand what your options are every step of the way, again, is important. Getting a pre-approval, that is important. And yeah, just keeping an open mind, being flexible, and staying optimistic. Just because this market is a little more expensive and a little crazier doesn't mean homeownership is impossible. Exactly. something you really want.
So I know we have probably run out of time. what did I say when we sat down? Nicole and I could talk probably for hours. Yes, we could. We're going to have to come back to part two of representing buyers. Yes. Yeah. So thank you. Thank you. So much for coming. So how'd you do? Were you nervous? I was a Sitting in front of the camera? I was a little nervous. She did great. I have some notes.
just to make sure I didn't completely lose my head. It's okay. I have my questions and it's okay. then, yeah, once you start talking about it, you're like, oh yeah, I could literally talk about this all day. I know. I know. That's great. All right. Well, Nicole, thank you again. Of course. We're going to come back to part two. Yep. Thank you for listening to Real Talk at Sterling Real Estate Group. And we will make sure that we have Nicole Pellegrini's information embedded into the comments.
And again, to our viewership, if anybody wants to hear any certain topic, please reach out, let us know. We have a ton of people lined up, but we wanna do this for you to help educate you in your home buying journey. Yep, thank you. Thank you.