Are there exclusive buyer's agents in Ypsilanti?

It seems like I hear this question a couple times a year, usually after someone has read an article of book on home buying and heard about naeba.org.

Here is the deal: There are no Exclusive Buyer's Agents (EBAs) in the Ypsilanti, Belleville, or Canton areas. However, our office, based in Ann Arbor Michigan, serves those areas along with Washtenaw County, Western Wayne County, Western Oakland County, Livingston County, the far East side of Jackson County, NorthEast Lenawee County, and the Northwest end of Monroe County.

If you are not from the area and you don’t recognize the county names, I’ll list most of the cities and towns: Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Dexter, Saline, Whitmore Lake, Milan, Clinton, Tecumseh, Hamburg, Pinkney, Howell, Brighton, South Lyon, Canton, Novi, Northville, Plymouth, Bellville, and Willow Run.

If you want us to connect you with an EBA in one of the other areas you can call our office at 734-662-6240.

Another new construction story

I was talking last week to a home owner who had his home built to him.

He mentioned that when it was being built he walked by and saw the siding being nailed on.

Unfortunately he also saw that there was no Tyvec wrap under the siding. He walked up to the guy putting up the siding and asked about the Tyvec, only to hear the siding installer say "Sometimes the builders put the Tyvec on the inside."

Well, that is a complete lie.

Fortunately the home buyer was suspicious and called the builder, who admitted the Tyvec should be over the sheething and under the siding. The builder called the siding guy and told him to take off the siding he had already put on.

From that point forward both the siding guy and the builder were very cold to the home buyer. Just because the buyer wanted the job done right!

The lesson here is that it is good to have other people on your team when you are buying from a builder.

In our office we can play the "bad guy" who points out to the builder that they've made a mistake. The builder can't get mad at you then, and they can't get too mad at us because they want to have future business.

Important things to consider when buying your first home

I was recently visiting a past client who purchased a home on Valley Drive in Ypsilanti. This couple had purchased their home through us about 9 years ago before they had children and the wife still remembered some of the advice I gave them when they were looking at homes.

No home is going to be perfect, but she remembered me telling her how convenient it is to have a kitchen window that looks into the back yard when you have children. (Remember at the time they didn't have any kids.)

Well she took my advice to heart, and now 9 years later she has 4 children and she commented on how much she appreciated having that window to look out the back.

That is a great example of the benefit of having a professional buyer's agent, pointing out the good and the bad, giving you insights that you may not have on your own.

I've linked a video we have on our main office website that helps explain what we do and how we can make home buying easier and how we can help you make more confident decisions.

Local brokers confused about working for buyers

I guess it is the buyer's market now.

We are seeing a lot more real estate agents and companies talking about working for the buyer. (What we actually do.)

I've spoken to the brokers from 3 major companies recently and all three were confused by the concept of buyer agency and how it is different from designated buyer agency. They are very different. What I needed to do was direct these people to the actual law and actual articles on things like imputed knowledge and fiduciary duty.

Interestingly, one of these guys described to me how his office routinely acts as an undisclosed dual agent. (Read license law violation)

If you are buying a home, find an expert to work with.