How many times have you heard Real Estate agents telling people that this is the best time to buy? Isn’t that the response that you would expect to hear from your local Realtor? After all, the job of the Realtor is to sell property. In his eyes, why wouldn’t it be a good time to buy?
I was speaking to a colleague of mine at Coldwell Banker’s The Tim Wood Group in Big Bear just recently about this very topic. The reason we were discussing this was because I had just taken a call from someone who bought their Big Bear cabin at the very peak of the market and now he desperately needs to sell. Not only did he buy at the peak of the housing boom, he bought probably the most expensive homes in the neighborhood. Needless to say, this guy was devastated when he learned that values of homes in Big Bear have fallen to 2003 levels. The Realtor who sold him the cabin told him how good an investment it would be and how there was never a better time to buy than right now! He had been told that he could keep the cabin for a year and easily sell it with a great profit. In other words this guy was lied too every step of the way.
The Tim Wood Group at Coldwell Banker has always been known for our brutal honesty. We don’t sugar coat things and we tell clients the truth. If this guy who called in had been my client, I would have asked a lot of questions before selling the most expensive home in the neighborhood. Some of the questions that I ask my clients are. Why are you buying in Big Bear? Are you buying a cabin for a vacation home? Is it going to be used for a vacation rental? Are you buying the cabin with the intent of flipping it in a year or two? Knowing the answers to these simple questions helps me pick the best area to look for a cabin for my client. Had I been his Realtor and he told me that he wanted to buy the cabin, hold it for a year and then sell it for a profit; I would have told him not to buy. Yes, you read that right. I would have told him not to buy. If he went forward with the purchase, I would make sure that he was fully aware of the risks associated with a purchase of this type. But again, my advice would have been not to buy.
I believe that this guy is going to remember me for my honesty. It is my hope that when the time is better for him to make this type of purchase; he’ll come back and see me. I know that he is going to think better of me than they guy who sold him the cabin, telling him that it was a great time to buy.
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