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Personal Referrals: The Lifeblood of My Real Estate Business

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Personal Referrals are the lifeblood of my real estate business Travis Hightower Realtor Colorado

Over the last couple of months, we’ve talked about the whole home buying process. From finding the perfect home before ever stepping outside to look for it, up to the ways you can move in fastwith the least amount of stress. And now that we’re done, I want to share with you the lifeblood of my business – personal referrals.

It’s so significant that over the past 2 years, I’ve only worked with one client that wasn’t a referral. I’ll also share what these relationships mean to me and what you can expect if you give me a referral.

The Triangle of Trust

It starts with what I call the Triangle of Trust. And what that means is if I have a relationship with you, you’re going to refer me someone in your life that you trust and know, just like you know and trust me.

The Triangle of Trust in Real Estate through Referrals to the Agent Travis Hightower Colorado Realtor

The referral meets me and then naturally, there’s a level of trust that’s created. This happens because you’ve passed along their information which enables me to reach out to them to create a relationship. And so that’s the first part of the equation here.

What Happens When You Give Me a Referral?

When I take on clients, I take it to heart. I really enjoy taking on their biggest challenge and that’s finding their perfect home.

People Influence People. A trusted Referral influencer p

I like to follow the perfect home process and discover what it is that they truly want and why. And then we go out into the market and find that.

And that’s why when I get a referral, I want to be able to step up and perform at the highest level.

Who Can You Refer to Me?

If you have someone in mind and you refer them to me, it could be for any real estate advice. I work with home buyers and sellers.

And for renters, though I don’t help in finding rental properties, I do like to chat with them because in most cases, they ultimately become a buyer. So, it’s a relationship that I want to create and foster.

And it can be anyone that needs advice related to real estate. Some questions might be on a home’s value or the homebuying process next year when their lease is up.

Refer me! I will go above and beyond, guaranteed! Travis Hightower Colorado Realtor

So I want to invite you to just think about anyone in your life that might need real estate advice. When that question comes up feel free to connect me. I’d be more than happy to help them.

Best Way to Refer Me

Since we’re creating a triangle of trust, I’d like for you to get permission from this person before I contact them. I don’t want to call them out of the blue and catch them off guard.

It’s awesome when you take the time to set it up in a way where you’re introducing me. Then I’m getting contact information and I’ll reach out to them about the specific questions they have.

And the most important part is that you expect an update from me. Because if I’m goin to maintain that level of trust, it goes both ways, right?

If you give me a referral, I don’t want you to wonder if I ever called them because you’re doing me a favor by connecting me with a potential client.

I’m going to update you with where I’m at, how the conversation went and the timeline that we’re working within.

The Power of Personal Referrals in Real Estate Infographic by Travis Hightower

Next Week…

I’m going to talk deeper about what the process when I get a referral. I’m going to share an actual experience with the client that was referred to me. As well as the outcome of that experience which is really, really awesome.

I’ll share from A to Z of what that looks like so you can know what to expect anytime you consider referring me someone important in your life.

Top 3 Contingencies for Buyers Under Contract

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I want to first take a moment to acknowledge the work you have put into discovering what the perfect home looks like for you and committing to this process. Discovering what moves you when it comes to real estate is exciting but not always easy!

Your reward is being able to walk into the perfect home for you, knowing it’s the one, and going for it with 100% clarity.

Now that you’ve won the deal and are under contract, what’s next?

Buyer Contingencies

Not to bore you too much, I’ll quickly explain the contract to buy and sell real estate. It’s essentially the legal instrument used to buy and sell real estate and outlines the duties of both parties within the agreement.

This agreement has milestones that must be met leading up to closing, which are dictated by dates and deadlines that must be met or it becomes null and void.

These dates and deadlines generally will provide you a way out of the contract. Meaning you, as the buyer, is able cancel the contract for a specific reason and get a full earnest money refund.

A Realtor is not a salesperson they'e a matchmaker and wedding planner real estate agent quote travis hightower colorado

In this week’s blog post, I will cover the Top 3 Buyer Contingencies when purchasing a home with a mortgage. Here they are in the order they occur:

#1 Inspection Contingency

The 1st major milestone is the home inspection. During this part of the process, we’re checking on the condition of the house. We’re making sure it’s going to be what you expect it to be. That you’re not going to be walking into a bunch of repairs and expenses that you didn’t anticipate.

This occurs within the first 7-10 days from contract. If we have had a great tempo and cadence with them in putting the deal together, I might shoot this to a 3-5 day timeline to get the inspections done. And then we start negotiating the items that come up that we want to resolve.

It’s a fast deadline so all parties can go their separate ways if the home has major defects that cannot be resolved.

The Common Inspections You Will Perform as the Buyer:

  • Limited visual general home inspection.
  • Sewer line inspection with video camera.
  • Radon test in the basement or crawl space.

When inspection items come up, you have several options to resolve them. All within prescribed dates and deadlines outlined within the contract.

Travis Hightower 100% Committed to the Process Real Estate Agent

The 2 Outcomes You May Seek After Inspection:

  • Inspection Objection – a written description of any unsatisfactory condition that Buyer requires Seller to correct. This could range from cleaning and servicing the furnace to replacing the sewer line.
  • Termination – meaning the Buyer wishes to terminate the contract due to any unsatisfactory condition. This typically occurs if a major defect exists like foundation issues.

If an Inspection Objection has been delivered to the Seller, you and all parties will negotiate to resolve those items keeping the contract in place. If a resolution is not complete within the deadline, the contract will be terminated. This deadline is known as Inspection Resolution.

The outcomes you must get into agreement with other parties in an Inspection Resolution:

  • Seller agrees to correct all or some inspection items before closing.
  • Buyer to withdraw the Inspection Objection, buying the home as-is.
  • Buyer to terminate if Seller’s Inspection Resolution is unacceptable.

These are the nuts and bolts of the inspection contingency. Negotiating these deadlines can be straightforward on homes with few items but very complex on homes that have laundry list of repairs.

#2 Appraisal Contingency

The 2nd major milestone is the appraisal. This one has fewer moving parts compared to inspection. It occurs within 14-28 days from contract. On a standard 30 day close, the appraisal deadlines occur around day 21. Most lenders will order the appraisal on your behalf after the inspection contingency has passed.

The 3 Main Appraisal Deadlines You Must Meet:

  • Appraisal Deadline – the date the appraisal must be 100% complete and delivered to the lender and buyer for review.
  • Objection Deadline– the date you would object to the appraised value of the home if below the purchase price.
  • Resolution Deadline – the date both you and Seller must agree to complete the sale at the lower price (appraised value) or terminate.

These deadlines are fairly cut and dry. If the appraised value is less than the purchase price, we’re going to have to deal with that via an objection. The seller is going to have to work with us on reducing the price to appraised value or the contract will terminate.

Funny Real Estate Meme Drake Travis Hightower

In some cases, a seller will order another appraisal to challenge the lower value if all parties agree to do so.

If an appraisal comes in higher than the purchase price this does not change the purchase contract. The agreed-upon price will not increase.

#3 Loan Termination

The 3rd major milestone is the loan review. This deadline is designed to protect you against predatory lending. Meaning you may cancel for any reason as it relates to the loan.

From Section 5.2 of the Purchase Agreement:

“this contract is conditional upon Buyer determining, in Buyer’s sole subjective discretion, whether the New Loan is satisfactory to Buyer, including its availability, payments, interest rate, terms, conditions and cost.”

Once the final loan review is complete it’s smooth sailing until closing! That’s the final deadline all parties must actually meet, sign the closing documents with a notary, and transfer ownership of the home.

Dates Change

As I write this blog post, I want you to know that things change. If dates and deadlines need to be extended it’s OK! All parties can amend the dates and deadlines of the purchase contract at any time.

For example, imagine an inspection uncovering items that require a contractor to bid the repairs. If the bids take longer than the Inspection Resolution deadline, all parties can agree to extend and allow the bids to come in.

What are the usual buyer contingencies in a contract to sell or buy real estate Infographic

Next Week…

Closings are generally full of smiles, hugs, and gifts. If you haven’t experienced one try it sometime! 🎉🤗 Let’s wrap up this month and talk about Owning Your Perfect Home. I’ll be covering my top time savers and home ownership hacks to get you moved in quickly with less stress. See you then!