Tips for Buyers

1. Get pre-approved for a mortgage.

Agents don't spend much time with buyers who haven't demonstrated their financial ability to purchase a home. But that doesn't mean you must bare your financial soul to your agent.

Get a mortgage professional to bridge the gap by preparing a simple loan pre-approval letter, which tells your agent (and the sellers) that you are a ready and able buyer.

"As a rule, the buyer does not feel comfortable sharing personal information," Alley said, "and the Realtor really hasn't earned the right to ask those questions."

"I always recommend at the beginning of the process that the buyer be pre-qualified by a lender. I tell buyers to tell the lender anything they tell God because the lender's job is to get them a loan and not have any surprises."

"I don't put anyone in my car until they have talked to a lender."

2. Be loyal.

Agents work harder for loyal buyers. If you stop by an open house, sign in and disclose your agent's name and phone number.

If you see a new For Sale sign or a new advertisement in the newspaper, ask your agent to find out about it. If you call yourself, mention your agent's name. Don't work with multiple agents in one area at the same time. If you decide to switch agents, be upfront with both agents about your decision. And if you're house-hunting with two agents in two distinct areas, tell both of them.

3. Know your own priorities.

There is a saying among agents -"Buyers are liars" - that isn't meant literally but which expresses agents' frustration with buyers who can't give straight answers about what they really want in a home because they don't know themselves.

Before you start looking at homes, make a list of your priorities and discuss it with your agent.

"One section of your list is what you absolutely must have that's not negotiable," Alley said. "The other section is amenities you would like to have but could forgo."

4. Keep an open mind.

Agents work harder for buyers who see beyond dead landscaping and hideous wallpaper.

"We're a tract area, so we have houses that look alike. Sometimes, I take buyers into one house and they love it. I take them to the house next door and if it needs new wallpaper, they say, 'I don't like this one,' even though it's the same house," said Terry Moerler, a broker with Re/Max Professional Realtors in Thousand Oaks.

Use your imagination. Ask your agent what it would take to make an unappealing house meet your standards. The perfect home for you could be hiding behind a decor you can't stand, and your agent may know it.

5. Communicate what you like and dislike.

"Buyers are very clear about what they don't like [in homes they've toured], but they're not so clear about what they do like," Scott said.

" [If I were a buyer and I wanted to motivate my agent], I would be as specific with my feedback about showings as I possibly could be. [Agents] only learn [what the buyer wants] by having the buyer talk. We don't learn anything when we're talking."

The more you can pinpoint what you need and what, the more motivated your agent will be to find the right home for you.

6. Be ready to act fast.

"Some buyers want to move in by Christmas. Some are starting two years ahead of time," Scott said. "The people starting two years ahead aren't going to get much of my attention to begin with. They're going to be sent to open houses and asked for feedback."

"The buyer who wants to move in before he leaves town next week will be attached to my hip."

Buyers who aren't encumbered with a home they need to sell also get more attention from agents.

"If the buyers have to find [the home they want to purchase] before they put their existing home on the market, and they can't buy without selling that house, that's a dilemma for the agent," Alley said.

"Buyers who are ready to perform when you find the right property go to the top of the list."

Marcie Geffner is a Los Angeles freelance writer.

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