What is a Buyer’s Agent? In every real estate transaction, you have two sides: seller and buyer. The Listing Agent (as found on the sign in the yard) represents the Seller. They DO NOT represent the Buyer. A Buyer’s Agent represents the Buyer exclusively!
There is no additional cost to you for using a buyer’s agent. The buyer’s agent splits the real estate commission with the listing agent. When a listing agent represents both sides of a transaction there is a real conflict of interest. Do you really think an agent representing both sides is going to negotiate hard on your behalf? The seller was their client first so do not expect the listing agent to be loyal to you exclusively.
We, as the buyer’s agent, are not worried about offending the seller or the listing agent. We work to get you the best deal possible. We ensure you get access to all properties for sale on the lake, not just the ones listed with the listing agency. In addition, Smith Lake is served by at least 4 MLS systems. Walker County (which is what we use) has 80% or so of the houses on the lake. Unfortunately, all of the MLS’ have to be searched to completely cover the lake.
Put us to work today!
How to search for properties on this website
There are a number of options to find a property to purchase.
- Click the “Search Properties” tab from the top menu. This will show all Houses for sale on the lake. Again, you can click the “Edit Search” button at the top of the page and change the search criteria.
- If looking for a lake lot, choose the “Lake Lots” under “Search Properties”. If you would like to narrow the search, click the “Edit Search” button at the top of the page and change the search criteria.
Our Process
The goal with this site is to help you find the perfect lake house for your personal use or as a vacation rental to generate income. The primary focus is to help you find a property which meets your unique needs AND is a great investment. We also specialize in finding properties that make great vacation rental properties allowing clients to make money off their investments.
Finding the right property on Smith Lake has challenges different from finding a house in your area. The challenges include:
- client needs and desires are sometimes different for a lake home vs your personal home (e.g. sunset views)
- large number of lake factors (location on the lake, view, docks, steps to water, water levels, cove or big water, etc)
- amount of time it takes to get around the lake (e.g.. it can take over an hour to get from one side to the other by car)
- limited amount of time to see the houses
As a result, we have arrived at a process which saves you time and helps us determine what you like and do not like. Below are the steps in the process:
Define Target Property
- conversation to discuss the lake, what you initially want/do not want and establish the Target Property criteria
- find a few properties that meet your criteria or show you options if you have not settled on your criteria
- preview and discuss the above properties via the computer before traveling to the lake
- narrow the list of properties above to a few that meet the majority of the target criteria
Start Property Search and continue refining of the Target Property criteria
- the first trip to view properties is typically an educational trip to determing likes and dislikes where we will refine the Target Property criteria. We will see 5-10 properties on this trip, depending on the amount of time for the visit and locations of the properties.
- I will then send a list of properties that meet the refined Target Property criteria allowing you to choose a list of properties to view on the next trip
- we will then schedule a date to go see the properties
- if none of the properties are of interest, we will discuss changes to the Target Property criteria and go back to step 2 in this section. At this point we may need to compromise on the target criteria.
Offer, Due Diligence and Closing (this is where you will be glad you have a Buyer’s Agent)
- once we find the house, we will construct an offer and negotiate until accepted or rejected .
- if considering the vacation rental market, I will do an assessment of what is needed and what revenues you can expect
- if accepted, we will do the due diligence (e.g., inspections, surveys, etc.) to remove all contingencies
- you will work with your financial institution to complete the loan process
- we will select a closing company and schedule closing
Thank you for visiting the site. Review the properties and contact me so we can get started.