Is that all that is available? Do they look at more and just show us the 3? What was wrong with the other ones if that was the case?

TV Show may end up giving a distorted view to home buyers.

I have watched with interest the rise in popularity of shows like House Hunters, where a host highlights the process of a buyer or a family buying a condo who are shown around to 3 homes by a real estate agent. After seeing the 3 homes and a strategically placed commercial break the buyer comes to the real estate agent office to fill out a one page contract form. After another strategically placed ad for The Home Depot, viola, the buyer has the home and we get the opportunity to drop in on them 1-2 months after they have moved into the property they selected. (Somehow, they always get the one that they selected, but I am getting ahead of myself.) All of this half hour, made for TV house hunting got me to thinking, How does House Hunters compare to the real home search and buying process?

Over the course of the next few days I will be reviewing the House Hunter process with the Actual home buying process while showing some of the glaring and subtle differences along with providing some food for thought for potential home buyers.

Part Two of a Nine Part Series

The premise of the show is truly quite simple. A home buyer is shown a grand total of 3 homes by a real estate agent and they end up selecting one of the 3 homes. The amount shown is always 3. For over the past 12 months in the Northern Virginia Real Estate Marketplace alone there has been over 12,000 active available properties listed for sale. In many cases this does not include the homes being offered by new homes builders or any of the small number of homes that are being advertised as for sale by owner. Now, let me ask you, with over 12,000 choices, how do you narrow it down to just 3? There are condominiums that at any one period of time have more than 3 properties that match a particular criteria available at any one time. Take Evans Farm in Mclean VA where there are over 10 of the same model available at any one given moment in time. Now, as a responsible agent, it would be in my best interest and in the best interest of the client to show them all of the available condos.

If coordinated between the agent and the buyers, the entire search process time of actually looking at properties can be accomplished in 1 or 2 days. An experience agent will help the home buyer to evaluate multiple properties, narrowing down the list of possibilities so that the possible end selection ends up being between 2-3 properties, but the initial search and screening would constitute a number of properties and communities. I also stress the part that this can be done all in one day because, unlike the TV show that is looking to present a variety and contrast between the homes, we do not need to do a wardrobe change between each house showing. The show always has the showing spaced out over 3 different days so you end up seeing the buyers and the agent in multiple different outfits. While this is good for TV, it is just not all that practical in todays world.

How it really works: Most good agents will work with the buyer to establish what it is that the buyer is looking for in a home. Based upon this criteria the agent will compile a list of properties that meet the parameters set forth by the buyer. This list may result in multiple properties that are located in several similar communities. The Agent and Buyer will coordinate and block off a time to perform the actual house search. This scheduling is necessary because the agent needs to notify the owners of the property that they are coming by so that the seller will not be present during the showing, thus allowing the buyers to feel right at home. If a community contains multiple properties that meet the criteria then the agent will make all of the properties available to the buyer. The agent will also assist the buyer in narrowing the list of possibilities down to a manageable 1, 2 or 3 properties. These properties may require a second look, but this can be handled in one appointment so that the decision making process is aided by all of the houses being fresh in mind.