EP 02 — The Role of the Buyer's Agent (ft. Cherie Benoit)

[00:00:00] 
Welcome to Real Estate. It's not that complicated. Broker Ryan Cook and Curious co-host Kent Thaler guide you through buying and selling minus the jargon. Here's today's episode. Take it away guys.
Ryan Cook: Hey, I'm Ryan 
Kent Thaler: and I'm Kent. And together we're the Real Estate Navigation Team. Our goal is to demystify the real estate process and let you know that it's just not that complicated. 
Ryan Cook: Well, today we're actually going to have a guest on, and we're going to talk about. Whether or not you actually need a buyer's agent and what kind of value a buyer's agent brings to the process.
Kent Thaler: Speaking of buying Ryan, how's the real estate market going today? 
Ryan Cook: It is the start of the spring market. It's been super busy and it has been a lot of sleep. 
Kent Thaler: I mean, sleep's overrated to begin with. Is it busy because it's spring? Is it busy because interest rates have come down even though everybody's [00:01:00] panicked about the tariffs and all that stuff?
Or is it busy just because people are tired of living in the same house? 
Ryan Cook: I think there are a number of reasons for it. The interest rates went up and we still have seen a lot of activity. Prices are still going up. We're still seeing a lot of activity. There's still a lot of buyers out there over the last number of years have been trying to buy, haven't been successful and are still going for it.
And we've actually seen more inventory coming to market, even in our area here in the greater Boston area. Inventory levels have been lower than other parts of the country, but we've seen inventory continue to rise, and that's giving buyers hope that maybe it's gonna start to break the market a little bit and that they'll be able to actually buy something.
Kent Thaler: Do you think that, some of that's, due to people feeling a little more comfortable with the, financial outlook going forward, or do you think it's just a part of the cycle? 
Ryan Cook: I don't think that the folks, if you look at the consumer sentiment, consumer sentiment has been going down, even though the current president's approval rating [00:02:00] surprisingly, continue to rise.
Last it was yesterday I was reading a report that it was at 54% approval, which is pretty amazing considering how everyone seems to be complaining about tariffs. The fact of the matter is it was around here, long cold winter. It was colder than it had been in quite a few years. The winter lasted a lot longer than it has.
Folks are ready to get out there. There was very little inventory through December, January, February. We're starting to see that change. We've seen a pretty rapid rise in inventory, certainly in Plymouth County, south of Boston, Norfolk County, south and west of Boston. Bristol County has still been pretty flat.
The inventory hasn't picked up in Bristol County in my area, but we've seen in general, inventory start to rise at a pretty rapid pace. And I think part of that is, that sellers are starting to get a little more comfortable that they see, hey, the interest rates really haven't changed all that much in a year.
We're probably gonna have interest rates stay somewhere between six and 7%. We may, have a peekaboo once in a while in the [00:03:00] high fives. But I think they feel pretty comfortable that our rates are where they are. We've been waiting, hoping they were gonna come down back in the twos and threes, which I'm not sure we're gonna see that again in, at least in my lifetime.
And they're deciding that, you know, I'm not gonna keep my life on hold any longer. Let's go ahead and do what we're gonna do. We're either gonna move up to that larger house, we're gonna downsize, or we're getting out of the area, and we're going to Florida, we're going someplace south where it's warmer and we don't have to deal with the winters.
So people are starting to finally get a sense of, all right, this is the market we're dealing with, and, we need to get on with our lives. 
Kent Thaler: Well, as a person who's not involved in your business, I think that's great news. I mean, I think that the real estate market and buying and selling kind of drives a large part of the economy.
If you take a look at the numbers you're talking about trillions of dollars worth of transactions a year, and, that doesn't include the ancillary, purchases that go with that. Whether I'm renovating a kitchen or a bathroom or just buying paint, or [00:04:00] even just buying a new planter, because I bought a new house.
I mean, and all of that happens, when a house turns over. So I think that's great. I think it perfect timing and a perfect segue for our first guest ever here on the "Real Estate: It's Not That Complicated" podcast. 
Ryan Cook: Yeah. I mean, today what I did is invited my friend Cherie Benoit. I like to joke, that's Ben WAAHH.
She actually goes by Benoit. So my friend Cherie Benoit, she's with Keller Williams, based out of Framingham, Massachusetts. I've known Cherie for a number of years. She's an excellent agent. And I, you know, maybe people will get tired of hearing my voice and my opinion on things. And listen, I don't know everything.
I am an avid learner and I can learn from a brand new agent just as I can learn something new from another skilled agent. And, Cherie's gonna help bring that, to the table for us. 
Kent Thaler: I mean, I'm really looking forward to our conversation with Cherie because she's going to outline and explain [00:05:00] why you want a buyer's agent.
It seems to me that the purpose of the buyer's agent is to look out for the buyer's, both financial and
esoteric needs. When they're buying a house. And, a lot of people, think that they can do it on their own and they're wrong. Well, wrong is kind of a strong term. 
Ryan Cook: Sure. Is it gonna be beneficial? 
Kent Thaler: There's a lot of what we, what I think that Cherie is going to point out is that there's an awful lot of value in a buyer's agent because they make the process a lot less complicated.
Ryan Cook: Well, and that, that's their job is to make it a whole lot less complicated. 
Welcome to Real Estate. It's not that complicated. Broker Ryan Cook and Curious co-host Kent Thaler guide you through buying and selling minus the jargon. Here's [00:06:00] today's episode. Take it away guys.
Ryan Cook: Today, we are actually gonna talk a little bit about what is the value of a buyer's agent. Because especially after the NAR settlement last year, people are questioning it. Agents need to get contracts signed, and they're just a lot of questions out there . 
Kent Thaler: starting with what is the NAR, 
Ryan Cook: the National Association of Realtors®.
See, that's why you're here, Kent, because I asked 
Kent Thaler: the probing questions. 
Ryan Cook: Yes. Well, it's such as the probing questions, but we get so used to our lingo that we forget that other folks don't know what it means . Today I brought on my friend Cherie Benoit, , Cherie actually works for Keller Williams in Massachusetts.
Which specific office? Cherie? 
I am with Keller Williams, Boston Metro West, and is based in Framingham. 
Ryan Cook: Framingham. Fantastic. So Cherie has been an agent for quite a while, about 12 years, if I'm not mistaken. Licensed broker in Mass and Rhode Island. Also a certified residential [00:07:00] specialist.
And Kent, I didn't say CRS. I specifically said certified residential specialist. So you wouldn't ask me the question. Which is the highest designation a realtor can achieve, within our field? So she certainly knows she's talking about, she's also has her accredited buyer representative. She's a graduate with the Realtor Institute seller, representative Specialist.
And I can go on and on I thought in having this question, so people aren't always hearing things from me. And I like to learn from other brokers as well. That it would be great to bring on someone else to help facilitate the conversation, and give a different perspective than just mine.
Kent Thaler: Well, Cherie. Welcome. Oh, what I was going to say is not only are you a valued guest, I would like to thank you for being our first guest. 
Cherie Benoit: Thank you. Thanks for asking me to be here today. It's a privilege to be your first guest and I hope that I can share some valuable insight with you.
Okay. Well then we might as well just get into it and get started. The first question that I have is simply [00:08:00] what is a buyer's agent and why should somebody want one as opposed to just going to the listing agent?
So I think it's a pretty straightforward answer. A buyer's agent represents a specific buyer client in a transaction when they're looking to purchase a home, and the buyer's agent is going to represent the buyer's needs and wants in the transaction and help them through the entire process.
Whereas if that buyer just reached out to a listing agent, that listing agent represents the seller in a transaction and they cannot really assist the buyer at all other than give them very straightforward information. They can't advise them, they can't guide them, they can't help them negotiate.
Whereas a buyer's agent can do all of that for their client and they're doing it specifically for them and looking out for their best interests throughout the entire process. 
Kent Thaler: So that begs a larger question. It seems to me that a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that the listing agent is on both people's side, [00:09:00] both parties' side.
And it, it seems to me that that's the single biggest mistake that people make when they're entering real estate transactions or at least starting the real estate process the first time because they don't know any better. Some people do make that mistake. Fortunately there are a lot of people out there who've either been through the process before or they have family or friends who've been through it recently who can help, to guide them and recommend a great buyer's agent.
But I think there are a lot of people still out there who are just. Suddenly one day decide they wanna look for a house. If you were looking for a car, oh, I'm just gonna go online and see what I see out there and reach out to, every car dealership out there and get a quote.
That's not how it works with buying a house. There's so much that goes into it. It's not just straightforward. There are a lot of nuances that you really need professional guidance to get you through and to help make sure that your interests are being watched out for.
Ryan Cook: And besides even that, the dollar value's involved too. It's one thing if you make a mistake buying a car, right? It's another thing, And cars are expensive. Now you're gonna spend 30, 40, [00:10:00] 50, $60,000 in a car. But average prices in my area, over $700,000 is totally different ballgame. , I want to mention one thing that's really interesting is that there was a period where nobody represented the buyer.
Every single agent worked for the seller. There was a seller's agent and then there were subagents. And what subagents were is they would go to show a house to a buyer, but they actually represented the seller. So there was a point where there was nobody on the buyer's side at all. And I do always, enjoy it when, a buyer will come in and, and they'll try and negotiate , a deal to try and negotiate money off, whether it be, the agent's commission or off the sale price in order to save themselves money.
And it just means they don't understand how the realty process really works. They don't understand the contracts , that the listing agent has [00:11:00] with the seller. And they don't understand that agent there is representing the seller's best interest. So like Cherie was saying, you walk in , and you have nobody representing your interest when you're going by yourself. There are still things that need to happen that like, when you don't know, you don't know. And , that's what a good buyer's agent is supposed to help you with.
Kent Thaler: So, I mean, one common misconception I would think is that people think, well, if I go to the listing agent, I can make a deal and I can say, Hey, if you take a few points less, you can have both of us as your client. And in reality, it seems to me, based on what you're both saying, is that that's selling themselves short because their interests are no longer gonna be looked at.
Do I have that right? 
Ryan Cook: Go ahead, Cherie. 
You're saying the buyer is asking the listing agent to be paid less? 
Kent Thaler: So if a buyer goes in, in the old days, 'cause I'm wicked old. In the old days when you went to a, a showing or a [00:12:00] property, if you didn't bring your own real estate agent, you knew that there was X amount of dollars.
Usually it used to be 6% that they would be splitting three for the buyer's agent. Three. For the seller's agent. 
Ryan Cook: We're not allowed to talk about compensation. Compensation. You're not, it's always negotiable.
Kent Thaler: In the old days 
Ryan Cook: my face were like, 
Kent Thaler: In the old days, that's how it used to be. And it used to be fairly formal formula. And people would go into, they would see a house and they would go to an open house or call an a a brokerage and who had the house listed and they would say, Hey, if I come through you guys and I don't bring my own agent, can I get a little off of the commission?
And we can reduce the price that way. It seems to me that that's the single or a great mistake that people think that they can do because now all of a sudden their interests aren't being looked at. And the whole designation and the whole reason behind the buyer's agent is so that your interests as the buyer [00:13:00] are being protected.
So that leads to the bigger question of what possible interests are there that are unique to the buyer and not necessarily to the seller that a buyer needs to be made aware of. ,
Quite a few. The obvious one is home inspection. Being aware of the condition of the property, making sure that it is going to work. The seller is obligated to disclose any material defects that they are aware of to the buyer. That's all that they're obligated to do.
A buyer's agent, a good buyer's agent, should be pushing their client to get a home inspection. For example, a listing agent, if they're just representing the seller, they're not gonna be necessarily encouraging a buyer to do that if they're not representing that buyer. A buyer's agent will recommend a home inspection as they're looking at a home with a buyer.
I'm sure Ryan, the same for you when you're walking through a house. Now, we always give the disclaimer, I am not a home inspector. I [00:14:00] am not a licensed contractor. However, through my 12 ish years of experience as a realtor, I notice things when I walk through a house. As I'm touring through, I will point out if the seals on the windows are shot, if the roof looks very old and there are things growing in the gutters, if the chimney looks like it's falling apart and it needs to be capped, if the furnace looks like it's beyond its useful age.
You are looking out for your client when you're in that house and you're touring it with them and you're showing them some of these items, pointing them out and saying, these are things to consider because they will be investments that you have to make in this house in the future, and how soon are you going to be financially ready to make those investments?
That's a huge thing in my opinion, that a, a buyer's agent will be doing with their client and also pushing for an actual home inspection and having an inspector come through a house and look at it and give them a true professional's experienced opinion and saying, here are all the things that you need to check into and make sure that this [00:15:00] house is viable and works for you and your particular situation.
So I would say that's one of the biggest ones. The seller's agent is not obligated to nitpick through the house and say, well, I kind of see this, and I kind of see that because they're advocating for the seller and they're disclosing what they know of, specifically that the seller is aware of.
They're not looking out for the buyer. They're looking out for the seller. 
Ryan Cook: There's a couple things I actually want to add on that, that Cherie made a fantastic point, which I think a lot of people are going to miss, is the fact that she says, well, when you walk through a house, because we've seen so many houses, we notice things about a house.
Now me, I am a licensed contractor, so I have licensed to say a few more things. However, where Cherie says, it looks like some of the seals and the windows are blown, looks at the chimney, has some issues. Look, and some of them may go, well, those are no big deal. Not it's a really big deal because, and Cherie will back me up on this, I'm sure, is that when a buyer starts getting all the buying signs and they start getting hot to trot for that house, they start to not [00:16:00] look at things.
And our job is to make sure that they are looking at that stuff, that they're keeping that stuff in mind because as she said, it's gonna be an investment. At some point down the road, you're either gonna invest, in. Negotiating time upfront to maybe get some sort of concession, whether it be a closing cost credit, a reduction in price, combination of the two , could be any number of things.
Or you're gonna be paying for it yourself out of pocket, down the line. And when we have a more balanced market, a lot more of that negotiation happens. Right now, we're still in a fairly unbalanced market where sellers are really still controlling the market, at least in our area.
The other thing I want to bring up is that understanding that. Here in Massachusetts where both Cherie and I do most of our work is that it is a buyer beware state. So sellers do not have to provide a seller's disclosure statement. But not every state is like that. Some states do require the sellers to provide a seller's disclosure statement. You wanna make sure your [00:17:00] realtor, that you've hired is going through that to help you with that as well.
So , there's a lot to it , and our job is just understanding that buyers will start to overlook things when you know it has the right curb appeal or it has the right feel, or it brings up a memory. Our job is to make sure to pull it back and go, Hey, come on back here. Let's keep a wide picture on this whole thing and make sure that we're providing that guidance to keep them, come on back over here to reality with the rest of us.
We want to make sure we're getting a truthful look at this. And it's not to tell you to buy something or not buy it, that's not our job. But our job is to make sure that you're still considering everything about the property so that you can start to decide if you're gonna move forward or how you wanna structure an offer that makes sense for you.
Kent Thaler: It seems to me that, both of you are concentrating on a lot of the physical characteristics of the property when you're discussing what it is, that the buyer's agent does.
If I'm gonna put a bid on the house and I say I'm willing to, I'm bidding 300, but I'm willing to [00:18:00] bid up, go up to three 50, a buyer's agent will go in and say, 300, knowing that they've got three 50 in the pocket. If I go to this listing agent and I say that they're gonna say to the, to the seller, well, he bid 300, but he is willing to go to 350.
And that confidence, or, or that trust is to me one of the primary differences between the buyer's agent and the seller's agent. From a practical experience, the things that you guys are listing are what make a good buyer's agent, but I, I, do I have it correct in. You know what, in, in the financial interest of what the, agent is looking out for when dealing with either the buyer or the seller.
So yes, whoever is representing a buyer, any agent or realtor, depending on if they are a realtor or not, our job is to represent the needs of that buyer in whatever way [00:19:00] that is. Now, if I have a buyer client who's interested in a home, they see 123 Main Street and they say, oh, this is great. We go see it, they take a look at it, we make sure that it works with their type of financing.
Sometimes, there might be conditions that would preclude a home from qualifying for FHA financing or VA financing because it doesn't, you know, has peeling paint or missing a handrail or something. So we have to look at the whole situation. When a client goes to make an offer, we have an understanding as their buyer agent of what they are qualified for and what makes sense for them financially, and we also kind of take a look at it and say what makes sense with this market?
If you're in, Cranston for example, and 10 homes, just like 123 Main Street just sold, and you can compare and contrast the conditions, you can also look at those comps and say, this is what they sold for. Here's a reasonable price point that we, you know, you might wanna consider this range when you're making your offer.
We can never say, oh, you have to offer X. That's certainly not our job to do that, but it is our job to provide data and guidance to our [00:20:00] clients, which a listing agent is not going to provide to a buyer. Correct. So, as a buyer's agent, we're going in and saying, here's what we know about the market. Here's what we know about this property.
Here are the other things you should look into. You should check into the neighborhood, make sure you're happy with it. Check into whatever things matter to you. We don't guide clients, we cannot steer clients as far as neighborhoods or crime rates or anything like that.
If they're interested in that, or even school districts, we can give them the tools to. Do their research and make sure that they're happy with the area and the neighborhood and the school district and whatever other things matter to them. So that's kind of where we're coming from as buyer agents. And I know I just threw a lot at you, but those are all important things.
Ryan Cook: And that's you, you made my day because you noticed Kent and I smiling because he and I had this exact same conversation last week. I was like, he wanted to ask
I didn't wanna ask
type of neighborhood.
I knew better.
And, and I said, that's great, Kent. I can't do that. I am actually federally [00:21:00] prohibited this a fair housing violation.
And then you had just said almost word for word the conversation I had with him last week. So that, that's why I started smiling. I know. That's why he was smiling on that. So I just, I wanna clarify a few things because re put a lot out there. I wasn't taking notes, taking mental notes because there, there was a lot.
But the, there were a couple points there is that. Not only can, the seller not provide that information, that Cherie pointed out that a good buyer's agent first, she brought up a couple points of what the buyer's agent and I would clarify and say that's what a good buyer's agent will do.
There are plenty that aren't skilled enough. They haven't been taught that yet. But a seller is actually pro listing agent is prohibited from doing that stuff because they represent the best interest of the seller. And the other thing is, when you get up there and you, you know, a buyer walks in, they're dealing directly with a listing agent and they start divulging information about financials.
They think they're [00:22:00] having a confidential conversation with that agent and they're not, because the list agent represents the seller. And now not only do they represent the seller, and you've shared that information, that listing agent actually obligated to now share that information with their client.
They have to, they've learned information about the buyer that can affect the negotiations, and they are required to share that information. So it's there, there's nuance to a lot of this, and this, again, we're trying to keep things really simple, but buyers, when they walk in the dealing with a listing agent, they don't understand the rules that that listing agent has to be operating under and the position they could be putting themselves in financially as a result.
Kent Thaler: If I hear you correctly, what you're saying is, a buyer's agent is important to a buyer because the buyer has to have somebody who's an expert in the field of real estate [00:23:00] on their side. And what they have to understand is the seller's agent is never going to be on their side.
It's no more complicated than that. Yet for years, people didn't understand that. They thought, oh, I can work with that agent because it saves me money in the long run. When in reality it was costing them money because they had nobody looking out for their interests. 
I Think the one thing I would say is the seller's agent does have the obligation to deal with all parties, honestly and fairly.
Of course. But they are not representing the interests of the buyer. They're representing the interests of the seller. And every buyer should have someone who is representing their interests and helping them be educated and informed and helping them through the process. It we're a guide as much as anything else.
We really are, you know, we're like a. Sometimes we're, you know, like a counselor, you know, you understand someone's [00:24:00] situation and you start saying, why are you still looking for houses that don't have X, Y, and Z? When you really want X, Y, and Z, you know, let's get you the right thing. Let's get you the thing that makes sense for you long term.
Kent Thaler: When you first meet a buyer, what are the questions that you generally like to ask them so that you can understand what their needs are?
So I guess you can think of it in a very basic way. You know, it's the who, what, when, where. How and why, you know, who are you, who's involved in this process? Is it, one person more than one person? Is there additional funding coming from somewhere else? Sometimes there are multiple people involved in the party, for the purchase.
Understanding what they want, you know, what are their needs? Are they looking for a first home? Are they looking for a condo? They're trying to downsize. Do they have to have a yard for their dog? Do they need a single level situation? What are they looking for?
What's most important? And where obviously where is important, they need to have an [00:25:00] idea of, you know, what neighborhoods or what towns or, you know, anything specific. Like it's gotta be a certain commuting distance to Boston or Providence or Cranston or wherever their job is. So where is a very important thing, geography matters. And they, it really is helpful if they have some idea of what that is. , When, you know, are they, do they have to purchase tomorrow? Are they under a crunch because they have to move for a job? You know, are they having another baby? And they, they've gotta get someone into a house and get out of their studio apartment, because they need to make their lives easier.
So you have to understand, what they're after, what matters to them what's their timing, how soon do they wanna make this happen? And some of that too is guiding them a little bit as to the market and what might be realistic and how they can plan, around that.
Kent Thaler: Do you have a set questionnaire that you ask or is it all just more of a feeling out process?
It's kind of a feeling out process with people. Some people come to you with having already given you some of the answers, depending on how they came to you, whether they might have been a referral or a friend of a friend or a past client. So [00:26:00] you may already have some of these questions answered. I would say the why.
The why is part of that whole process, you know, why do you wanna move and. How important is it to you? And then the, how, you know, how are you paying for it? Do you have financing? Do you have cash? Are you selling another house that you need the proceeds from to purchase this one? So there's a lot, there's a lot involved, you know, just kind of getting to know where they're coming from and trying to understand their personality and needs and how they like to be communicated with and just trying to get where they're coming from.
Ryan Cook: So, and I thought that was a lot of, that was real, real good. There was one question, Kent, that you asked that, I think is a hard question to answer and you asked is a more of a feeling thing or do you have a form and you can tell Cherie is like a natural communicator where I'm not. So I have a form , so that I don't forget to ask stuff.
I wanna understand the technical stuff and I do want to understand the feeling side of stuff as well. [00:27:00] But I gotta get, at least for me, the way I operate is I gotta get the technical stuff down first. Okay? What are we looking for? Where are we looking? What are the things that are super important?
Do you have a timeframe, you know, a timeframe? They said baby coming, you know, that matters. Or their lease is coming due and they have to be out by a certain time. And you start backing up from there and you're like, okay, you need to be out, you know, by July 1st. You gotta give 60 days notice. You gotta ask like, do, is notice required?
So if they gotta have 60 days notice, now I gotta back up that 60 days. Then you start backing up the process and you may look at it and you go, crap, we gotta get something under a contract in the next two to three weeks. And now that may, may add a different sense of urgency when they're putting an offer together.
How we're structuring the offer. 'cause that they have lots of time. I have clients right now who, they're renting. But they're renting from a friend so they have as much time as they need. So how we go about structuring offers is very different [00:28:00] than if I have a client that if we don't have something on the contract, I have to re-up my lease and they won't do anything less than a 12 month lease.
So that, really helps us. And that's something that a list state is never gonna ask 'cause their job is to sell the property that you're visiting or the property you're calling on, or the property you're going to the open house for.
That is their one focus. They're not looking at all those other terms. 
Kent Thaler: So that kind of leads into my next question, when it comes to making an actual bid on a house, how do you stay competitive in this market, especially if you don't have the largest budget?
First off, you should have a buyer'ss agent. Totally agree. Your buyer's agent any good buyer's agent is obviously advocating for you. They are going to pick up the phone and call the listing agent and say, what does the seller want? Sometimes the seller just wants the best terms and the best price, and that's all they care about.
Some [00:29:00] sellers might wanna be able to rent back for a month. They might want a long closing time. They might want 60, 90 days, because they're, you know, something going on in their life or they just need more time to pack up. But they wanna have this, security of knowing that there's an accepted offer.
So I would say that's a big part of it. Trying to understand what does a seller want and how can we try to make our offer position to give them something that they want, that will help make our offer look better to them than the other 2 or 5 or 13 or 50 offers they're getting on this property.
How do we stand out? And, you know, there's. There are limitations to that, obviously, you know, you guide them on price and deposits and other terms, obviously home inspection is something that any good agent will never, ever recommend that their client waive. However, it is a tool people are using in this market and some buyers are waiving it if they do.
And at least in my world, I require that my clients sign a waiver saying my agent has recommended that I have a home inspection. However, I have decided to [00:30:00] go against agent advice, just like against doctor's advice, I guess, you know, checking outta the hospital when you shouldn't. It is something people are doing in this market.
Unfortunately. I think everyone should have a home inspection. But it is, it is so competitive that that is still happening. But people can also, they can also ask for an inspection, but say, well. I want a home inspection, but I am not going to come back at the seller and say, I need you to fix anything that's gonna cost less than $5,000 or $10,000.
They can put an amount on that to make it a little more palatable for the seller. So they know, okay, well they're not gonna come in here and nitpick because one outlet needs to be upgraded to GFCI. It helps kind of simplify the process for people and make it a little more palatable.
And the same can be said for appraisal. So one of the things that's happening in this market and has been for a while, is prices are getting bid up on houses. So your $300,000 house might end up selling for three 50, but if it's financed, it might not appraise at three 50 because all of the comps in the areas show it as [00:31:00] a $310,000 house.
So people are also considering appraisal gaps. Covering an appraisal gap and saying, okay, well I really hope that it appraises at the 350 price or whatever price you're making the offer for, but if it doesn't, I'm willing to pay a little bit more to cover that gap and, you know, might be $5,000 or $10,000 depending on what the price point is and what the buyer's ability is to have financing available and to have actual funds available to cover that gap.
It sounds to me that you need to have a discussion with your client, very early on about the difference between need and want. Yes, absolutely. I don't think a lot of people understand that when it comes to real estate, I need this. Do you really? I want this. Right.
And I think that's an important part of the process because, I need a pool really. Do you need a house that's got a yard big enough for you to put a pool in? Or do you need to make [00:32:00] sure there isn't a septic system in the backyard in case you wanna put a pool in?
Right? Those are three different questions, and yet it all seems like it's part of the same thing and it, it, so it's, it's need versus want. And the same thing when it comes to financing, right? I really want this house. I get that. But do you need this house? Can you afford this house? Does it make sense for you to have this house?
Does it make sense for you to have this house today versus 30 years from now? And I'd love to say I had answers to any of those questions. I never do. Well, 
Ryan Cook: I will tell you that the need thing is actually on my sheet, so I never forget. It is really important and generally gets overlooked, especially where folks will hop online to try and find an agent, uh, which isn't necessarily finding an agent, it's just finding somebody to get them in the door.
Is that a good agent? Who knows the area, knows the other realtors in the area and the other, real estate agents who are non-res. And you make a [00:33:00] call and I'm sure it's happened to Cherie, it's happened with me. The other agents in the area actually go to bat for you to help, make your offer stand out because if you've been a good agent and you've performed and you've helped clients, you made things easy.
You know, they'll go to bat for you and say, you know, I've worked with Cherie before. She does a fantastic job. I've had multiple, sales with her and they've just flown through without a problem. And I'm sure that's exactly what's gonna happen here. So having those relationship, really super important point Cherie brought up about.
Calling, picking up the phone and not just sending an email or a text message and making voice to voice contact. Super important when you're trying to get, to help elevate your client's offer to the top of a giant pile. So those relationships matter in a good agent who's been involved in the community for a while, has those, relationships as opposed to, you know, somebody who may be, just calling someone online, um, you're not really sure which community they're from.
And doesn't mean they don't do a [00:34:00] good job, but they may not have the relationships in that community that can help elevate their offer in a multiple situations so that it stands out. 
Kent Thaler: That leads me to asking, a pretty basic question. Walk me through the whole process of how you would make an offer, like assuming that I'm a five-year-old and don't really understand how this all works.
How does making an offer work versus just going and seeing a piece of real estate and what should the buyer necessarily be looking for and to understand, to be able to push the process forward? 
So if I were walking someone through the process and showing them how to write their first offer, I would've already had a nice consult with them.
Kind of explain the process, but here's the sort of nutshell version of it. We see a property you like, you decide you wanna make an offer. You let me know what your thoughts are. I will get as much information on the property and anything recently [00:35:00] sold in a similar price point in the general area, comparable sales for you.
So that you are educated, you have as much information as possible. We'll ask any questions you have about that property to the listing agent if they're not already covered by disclosures and such that have been shared on that property. Once you have all the information that you are hoping to have, then we will talk about what makes sense to make for an offer.
Whatever the listing agent has given me as feedback as far as terms or timing or whatever might make sense for the seller. We'll think about that and consider all of that with our offer. And then we will write up our offer in advance of that process. Obviously, we'll already have a prequalification from a lender if they're financing, or we'll have, proof of funds for whatever funds they have.
Whether it's a large deposit that they need to show proof of funds of four or for the entire transaction amount, we'll have that ready and have all of the disclosures from the seller ready that they have reviewed and signed off on, the buyer signs off on them. All of that gets submitted with the offer.
All of the proof of [00:36:00] funds, all of the disclosures, the entire offer packet, which includes all of the terms that you need to think about. When can we close, when can you have an inspection? What's a reasonable timeframe for that? If you do want an inspection, which hopefully everyone does, and what's the timeframe that works for the lender, if there's a lender involved, obviously checking in with that lender and saying, how quickly can you close?
You know, this seller really wants to close in three weeks. How quickly can you do it? Some lenders I'm hearing are closing in 10 days, honestly, right now. I have one that, you know, the lender said 21, fine. Great. You know that if that's gonna work for the seller, let's get it as quickly as we can move things along, as long as it works with the buyer's schedule.
So we're looking at all those pieces, putting together whatever we can to be the strongest possible offer. And then I always submit it with a cover letter that I write. We do not allow our buyers to write personal letters. Sellers will not, or sellers agents will not allow their sellers to look at them, if they're guiding them correctly.
No one should be seeing any personal information about the buyer other than their financial qualifications. [00:37:00] So we put together all that info. I always write a nice cover letter just saying, you know, here's our offer. I hope this works. There's some flexibility on timing, , whatever works better for the seller case by case basis.
And then getting that reviewed by the buyer, submitting it and following us with a phone call and a text message and an email to the agent saying, please confirm you received this. Yes, especially when there's a deadline situation involved. 
Kent Thaler: So the sappy letter explaining that I have two kids and three cats is no longer acceptable reason to, except my offer instead of the one that's $50,000 more.
Let me tell you why. Those letters open everybody up to potential fair housing violation. If a seller, for some reason selected to choose one offer over another based on some criteria that allowed another potential buyer to feel that they were discriminated against, would be good, no good for anyone.
So we have been, the industry has really leaned away from that. There are some states that don't allow buyer letters at all. Massachusetts is not a state. I mean, people could do that if a seller [00:38:00] would allow it and a buyer's agent would allow it. It is just not the way that we do business.
We wanna keep everything as fair and reasonable as we can and make sure that everyone has a fair opportunity to purchase a home. 
Kent Thaler: So it's basically just. Dollars and terms. And frankly, there's no emotional heartstrings involved anymore. 
There. There shouldn't be. I know sometimes especially estates, if it's a home that, you know, someone passed away and the surviving spouse is now selling a home and it's emotional to sell that home and, you know, you do kind of wish that you, maybe you knew the people, but you can write a nice little letter to that buyer of the home and leave it on the counter and tell them all about your memories in that home.
And, you know, when it closes, feel free, but you shouldn't really be establishing a personal relationship between the buyer and the seller in any way prior to the closing. 
Kent Thaler: Interesting you say that. When, my wife and I bought the house that I'm sitting in right now, 25 years ago, when we moved in the house was completely empty, but in the fridge.
Was a bottle of champagne with a note wishing us the best of [00:39:00] luck. I have always thanked Mike and Leanne for that. It was a very kind gesture, no idea what their last names are. We'll never forget their first names. 
Right. Which is very sweet. And it, you know, the seller can reveal whatever personal information they want about themselves, but they should not have any knowledge of the buyer other than their qualification to purchase.
That's it. That's all that matters that should matter to them is their financial ability to purchase the home. 
Ryan Cook: Yeah. I mean, I go so far as when we're in a multiple off situation and I am the listing agent, I summarize it all in the spreadsheet. There are no names on there. It's just offer one, offer two, offer three.
Et cetera. Because we don't even want, the air of impropriety anywhere around it. But you know what, what's interesting, a lot of the conversation today has been geared around. The market that we're dealing with now where there isn't necessarily enough inventory where it's been a strong seller's market for an extended period of time.
When I started, I've been doing it a little bit longer [00:40:00] than Cherie. I got in during the financial meltdown, which was just a fantastic idea to leave a great paying engineering job and go into real estate because I was gonna make a difference. You had some, municipalities where you had 36 or 60 months of inventory and it was totally different where the buyers had all the power.
So markets change and how we negotiate and how you look at a property, like, it's very hard right now when you gotta look at a property and your only option is to see it at an open house versus having the time to come in and your client actually spend time in the house. It's also really hard when. You go to see it at the open house and they tell you, you know, all offers are due by 5:00 PM Sunday evening, or 7:00 PM Sunday or noon on Monday.
It's hard to not just put all the, to say the research together. We can put that together, but in the end, you start to look at and say, how much does it matter? I may ask a client, you know, [00:41:00] we're looking at a property, for example, and we may say the valid range is somewhere between 775 and 800,000.
And you got a client who's like, well boy, you know, can, you know, we gotta go to 800,000 to get it. And I'm a little nervous. And it sort of sit there and say, well, how long do you think you're gonna be in the house for? Like, is this you think you're gonna be moving outta here in a couple of years?
Or you think like, alright, we already have the family. This is where we're gonna be for a while. And when they say, um, they're gonna move on quick. I may say, well, it may not be a great idea, you know, it may be too much because by the time you go to sell, like, yeah, the last couple years we've seen property values.
Even last year in 2024, property values was still up nearly 7% across all of Massachusetts, for example. Historically it has been the last number of years, but if I have a client saying, well, we're gonna be here for a long time, then I'm like, don't worry about it if the payments are affordable.
Make sense with your family plan. Don't necessarily worry about what the value is now. And it sounds like bad [00:42:00] advice, but it's like if you're planning on being there for a long time, the value of that home is still gonna continue to go up. You know, the market isn't gonna crash to the point where you're gonna be underwater.
And if, if it does say like 2007, you know, that timeframe the market crashed and people were underwater. But those folks who, who stayed in those houses, I mean, they're up over a hundred percent since then, over time, just you gotta think of what your timeline is on the other end as well. And if it makes sense, for you to, to be bidding up, values of homes and you have time to recover. 
Kent Thaler: Seems to me that the bidding process and the offer process, is something that the buyer needs to realize isn't that complicated? If they're listening to their buyer's agent and they're bringing in the right amount of information, it becomes complicated when they say, I don't know how much to make my bid for because I don't want it to be too low where it gets rejected and I don't want it to be too high and leave money on the table.
And it seems to me that that kind of [00:43:00] is the respon, it, I don't wanna put it fully responsibility on the buyer's agent, but that's really where a lot of your. Direction needs to be in helping the buyer find the right property or the right price at the right property. And it goes into the whole concept of value.
I'd like to talk a little about value and how, what buyers necessarily worry about that isn't important versus what they should be worrying about. That is important, if that makes sense. When you're determining value, oftentimes somebody will sit there and they'll be worried about the wrong things.
They'll be looking for the wrong things when they're buying the property. They may be completely focused on whether or not there's, city sewers versus private sewers. I live in a neighborhood with private sewers, right? When in reality I should have been worried about, the, stream that's behind my house and whether or not it's gonna flood.
Some of my neighbors, it's a totally different. But that's the bigger question that I have. What's something that [00:44:00] buyers, worry about that they shouldn't? And what's something that they don't worry about that they probably should?
Or is that too open-ended a question. 
It's a little open-ended, but I guess what I would say is you buyers need to keep in mind that there are things about a property you can change. And there are things that you cannot, you cannot change the land, you cannot change the location. If it's a half acre lot, it's a half acre lot.
Unless there's some ability to buy the neighbor's property, it's not gonna get bigger. So if you want a one acre lot, don't buy a half acre lot. Take a look at the house, you know, you can change paint easily. You can take down wallpaper easily, but you can't take down a load bearing wall. It's hard to move a chimney in the middle of the house.
Think about the things that are really critical to you in the house or on the property and focus on those things rather than, just cosmetics. Cosmetics are an easy fix, in my opinion, if you have the budget or the wherewithal and the manpower to do it yourself. So that is what I would say, focus on what you can and can't change about the property and what [00:45:00] you can and can't live with about the property.
Did I answer your question 
Ryan Cook: I'll tell you, she brought a point, well, it's a load-bearing wall. You can't move a load bearing wall. And I will tell you, you sure as hell can move a load-bearing wall. It's just gonna be expensive.
You know, there's an engineering solution for it and you have determine whether you have the financial wherewithal to do that. If you're looking to really move load bearing walls, you get asked, it is even the right property. With respect to your specific question, what are questions that buyers focus on that really don't matter when they start mentioning like, oh, they bought this, they only bought this house three years ago, and they're asking for a hundred thousand dollars more than what they bought it for.
Completely irrelevant. Because if the price that it's listed for is what the values are going for, now. What they paid for it way back when, even if it was recently oh, this is a flip. They only bought it for 450,000. It looks like they just, you know, threw up some paint and [00:46:00] they're selling it for 650,000.
Does the house have value? Is it appropriately valued? So having, an agent look at that to understand what appropriate value is, because there are plenty of homes out there that are not valued properly. I wanna clarify something I said earlier where, doing the research, it's not, the research isn't important because, what we're gonna try and do is, especially in a multiple off situation where they're not giving you a lot of time, I have a checklist for things I look for on a property.
And my clients at this point, like, Hey, we're interested in the property. Can you do your checklist? I mean, they literally text me that. So, you know, looking for easements, looking for wetlands, looking for conservation lands, understanding all that stuff so that they get a full understanding of their property.
'cause if they had plans of putting a pool in the backyard and the septics in the front, and they could do it, but, oh, there's conservation easement, that prevents you, that's, you know, within. A hundred feet, so you'd need special approval or there's just a utility easement and you can't do anything in this area of land.
So that's still [00:47:00] important to do even in a multiple situation. We don't have a lot of time. There's still research that a good buyer's agent can help you understand at least a better understanding of the property to know if there are limitations, and then you as a buyer can then say, all right, am I okay with those limitations or do they prevent me from other goals that I want to have in my property longer term?
Kent Thaler: It seems to me again the industry wants it to be more complicated, right? They want you to feel that you are overwhelmed by the process, while it's going on and. In doing so, they justify their value as the representative. And so my question as we're scoping out what a buyer's agent is and whether or not you need one or not.
And I'm firmly on the side that you need one. I don't want you to think, I don't believe that. But my, I asked that question about, what do you look for versus, what's important? What's [00:48:00] not? And that kind of leaves into the question of if you're a first time home buyer, what's the most important thing that you should be looking for?
Or what is it that you wish that the first time home buyer knew before they started the process? Is it that, making sure that they have their mortgage ducks in a row? Is it understanding that nothing is perfect and no matter what they buy, they're gonna find things and that they're gonna have to.
Fix or change or, nothing's like, move inable day one. Perfect. Or is it that, they probably are not gonna know certain questions to ask. And as much as you try and guide them towards those questions, they might not be listening because they've got it in their head that they want this type of house and this type of neighborhood, and there's nothing you're gonna do to be able to explain to them that they can't afford that, or that they can afford much more than that.
How does it really, what do you wish that first time home buyers came to you with so that they can understand the process a little more [00:49:00] or that, you would feel more comfortable with them as being an educated consumer? 
I think a couple things. One, there are no dumb questions. There are no dumb questions.
If you don't know something, ask the question. Reach out to your agent and say, oh, what's a purchase and sale agreement? Tell me what that means. Why did I get a request for an EMD? What's an EMD? It's a earnest money deposit. It's one of your deposits, usually your first deposit or your, purchase and sale deposit.
There are no dumb questions. Reach out and ask the question. Always ask the question. If I don't know the answer, I'll find you a source where you can get the answer. I'll ask the listing agent. I'll find out as much information as I can for you. So I would say trust your agent. Ask all the questions and be patient with the process, because especially in this market, it is not instant gratification.
It may take some time to find the right thing, it may take some time to get an offer accepted. Even if you do find the right thing six times over, you know, it, it could take a while to get an offer accepted. So, [00:50:00] trust, patience, and, I guess humility. Don't be afraid to ask questions 'cause no question is dumb.
Kent Thaler: So I'm gonna ask a dumb question, because that's what I do. Both you and Ryan have both mentioned that this is a difficult and trying market. Can you elaborate a little more on that? Is it from the supply side? Is it from the, tightness of credit? Is it from something else that makes this particular market more trying than say the one that was available 25 years ago when I bought this house?
I would say the biggest factor is inventory. At least in this area, we have very limited inventory. Massachusetts in general, limited inventory, which is driven prices up. So there's a lot more competition for the lower prices, especially for your, for your, new home buyers, you know, first time home buyers, and people looking to downsize, looking for a small property, much harder to come by.
So that's, that's where it's really challenging. Any competitive price point in any area is extremely challenging 'cause there's not enough to choose from, frankly. So you [00:51:00] have a whole bunch of people making offers on the same house. 
Ryan Cook: It's really both. It's, the lack of inventory.
100%. You know, as a broker for my office, I see all the deals come in and you see the closing statements and you see what the monthly payments are and they make me sick. I mean, you got folks buying a house half the size of mine with monthly payments, more than double my monthly payment on my house.
It's affordability. And the affordability is being driven primarily by lack of inventory. Obviously supply and demand, right? There's still enough buyers out there that wish to purchase, and there just is not enough inventory. There's a combination of there's not enough building going on. There are enough people selling, plenty of people still have mortgages that are under 4%, and like mine is at 2.24.
It's a 2.24% VA loan. . And why would I want to move to a 6.9% mortgage elsewhere? It doesn't, I, I [00:52:00] would not be able to get the same amount of house or quality of house. So, I mean, all those are playing into it for sure. You know, the credit rates were kept down artificially, by the government for a long time, post the 2007 recession, qualitative easing and things like that, kept cheap money flowing to try and get the economy going again.
And then everyone got used to cheap credit. And when money was cheap, it made the prices go up because the money was cheap, right? I mean, you could get a $500,000 mortgage and only have a thousand dollars a month, principal and interest payment, or, a little over a thousand dollars a month.
So it made it so that people could afford more house, but it also drove the prices up really fast. And then when, inflation happened and they had to start raising the race to ease inflation, now the prices were already up there and the rates had to keep going up to get the inflation under control.
And now we're at this really, for lack of a better word, crappy confluence of. Prices that were driven up [00:53:00] from cheap credit for a long time, and then inflation made to the point where it's just really unaffordable, but the demand is still there. It's just a matter of affordability. And folks even trying to find an entry level home, now they're competing with investors looking for opportunities to fix and flip properties because the values have gone up so much.
So it, it's really made it challenging for buyers in this market. It's been very imbalanced. And in order to get a property, they're having to give up all sorts of rights. I mean, to be considered, Cherie mentioned earlier, fantastic practice when someone they got, I'm gonna waive my home inspection.
Great. We got a form saying, I've told you to have an inspection. You're choosing of your own free will and accord to not do it. Great. This absolves me of responsibility. I told you to have one. Now you're choosing not to. Great practice. They're waiving home inspections.
They're waiving appraisal contingencies, which is basically giving a seller a blank check that if the house doesn't appraise, we're [00:54:00] just gonna write you out a check for the difference. It's very challenging for buyers. On the flip side of that, though, the rents are still really high.
And the folks saying, well, I'm gonna wait for the market to crash. I'm gonna wait for rates to come down. I'm gonna wait for prices to drop. Well, it hasn't happened yet. My sister, one of my sisters told me that in 2017, on the advice of her boyfriend, instead of her brother who does this for a living, she didn't buy, and that house that was gonna be 350,000 is now over $700,000, and she didn't end up buying.
So, it's been a very challenging market just based on lack of inventory and affordability. 
Kent Thaler: Okay. So, what's the most creative thing either of you or both of you have ever done to get an offer? Accepted, I mean, look, sometimes buyers need creativity, to get their offer accepted.
We've all heard stories of, an agent doing X to convince the listing agent to go with their [00:55:00] offer. Have you ever guys ever done anything creative? 
I have heard stories, but I haven't had any crazy ones that I've experienced personally. Maybe Ryan has, 
Ryan Cook: I mean, nothing that I would want to, talk about.
But no, I mean, we try and do our best without getting crazy. I mean, I have seen ones where, stories. Where, a buyer, they'll provide, free pizza for life. I've seen stuff where they offer a car. I've seen stuff where they offer in all expenses, paid vacation.
And that, that's just throwing money out there. Are there creative things you can do? I mean, and trying to structure the offer, put things together. Sure. But beyond that, I mean, I don't have anything super specific that's like super creative that was out of the box that made something stand out.
Kent Thaler: So let's turn that on its head a little bit. 
Ryan Cook: Yeah. 
Kent Thaler: In reality, you shouldn't be doing a gimmick. In reality, it should be straightforward. And if an agent is [00:56:00] bragging about the fact that they did this gimmick once to get a house for somebody, it may be a buyer beware. Situation because they're not necessarily living up to their fiduciary responsibility and their ethical responsibility within the code of conduct for a real estate agent to get that sale done in the correct and proper way.
Is that what I'm hearing? 
I hear what you're saying. I guess what I would say is, especially with some of these creative approaches like Ryan was mentioning, neither of us really have experienced, but you have a financed sale. If your client is purchasing with financing, a bank doesn't wanna see, I gave free tacos for a year to the seller as part of this earnest money deposit.
You know, that's not acceptable to a lender. So those terms just legally don't work in those situations. I suppose if you were in a cash situation where the buyer had. Ridiculous amounts of cash that they're paying for a house and they just have to have that house, then I guess [00:57:00] there's an opportunity to be more creative.
But with financing, I just don't see it. You have to stay within the confines of what's allowed with financing. It is our duty to do what's best for our clients and what's best for our clients is too legally and, ethically and appropriately help them get the house that they want.
Ryan Cook: I do wanna add one in that I thought of. We ended up not doing it, and it was that the buyer wanted me to put this into an offer was they had a timeshare and they wanted to offer the timeshare that their week of their timeshare to the, to the seller of the house to entice them.
I actually checked with the lender. I'm like, how does this go? Because if it's gonna go on the offer, like I. The lenders, like, what would you do with that? And the lender was like, well, there's a value to that. But they it, we just ended up not doing it 'cause it just didn't, it didn't make sense.
And as Cherie said, they have guidelines with the fall into on the financing side and you get too crazy with stuff. The lenders start like, [00:58:00] alright, well I need to know what the value of that is because we, that's a personal and we need a statement. Now you gotta prove that you actually have access to the time.
Like it just opens up a giant can of worms. 
Kent Thaler: Gotcha. Well, so if somebody's on the fence, about buying right now, how do you help them decide that it's the right time to buy? Assuming that we've worked out the financing part of it, 
I think it goes into my original questions of, you know, what's your why?
Gotcha. Is it important to you? Is it critical to you? Are you planning to stay in the area for a while? You know, if this is just your two year plan, do you wanna buy right now? Do you wanna wait and buy somewhere else? I don't convince anyone to buy a house. I find out what they want and need, and then I help them achieve whatever their goal is.
Kent Thaler: That's probably why you're so successful. 
Ryan Cook: Yeah, that's a, it's a great point. I guess, you know, our job is not to be a, a salesperson, you know, our job is to be an advisor. I don't [00:59:00] sell anything to anybody, you know, I help them put the information together so that they, understand what it is they're doing.
They understand, what it's gonna cost. They understand the long-term aspects of their decision. 'cause it's not like it's just a couple of bucks. I don't attach myself to the outcome. Whether they get the house or not. And I'm not trying to convince them if something comes up, say we do an inspection and something comes up, I'm not trying to convince them that it makes sense for them to move forward, that they gotta be comfortable with it.
And if it makes them uncomfortable, walk away. There are other houses out there, we'll find you something else. 
Kent Thaler: Yep. Okay. The last question from me 'cause I really appreciate all the time that you've given us so far. What makes a great buyer, agent relationship. What do you wish buyers did or asked for more from you or to make the relationship better?
Open communication is so [01:00:00] important. Making sure that we're communicating in a way that is comfortable for them and works with their schedule as well as mine. Understanding that I'm a person with a life too, and respecting my boundaries. And I always tell my clients, Hey, you can text me anytime of the night.
My phone goes off at 8:00 PM unless we're negotiating something or it's gonna know something critical is happening. My phone will be off and I'll get your message in the morning, but I know you'll think of things in the middle of the night and you wanna get them out of your brain so that you can sleep.
Send me that text message or that email or whatever, and I'll get it in the morning and I'll respond as soon as I receive it. Open communication in whatever way that is. Asking the questions, trying to understand, the whole situation on a property. Really just being open and honest, I think is the best you can ask for from your agent and from your client and on both sides, and building that rapport, building that relationship and trust between the two.
Ryan Cook: Yeah, fantastic answer. The one within there that I wanna make sure that I bring out that Cherie brought up, and she didn't make it a point, but [01:01:00] I heard it was, your agent is a person too with a life and, that they may not be available 24 7 just as you are not available 24 7. So having some boundaries, and understanding that, and not getting mad because, your agent was at their kid's, piano recital and didn't answer your call.
You know that there's a life. And it doesn't mean the agent, that you're working with doesn't think your question was important. Just they weren't available at that moment in time where they were with another client. Right. And it's rude to, not give the client you're with, your full attention.
That's a really important point a lot of agents who say, I'm always available I think they shoot themselves in the foot because you're not always available. Letting them know when, there's a deadline and, it's important we're gonna make sure we take care of that.
Super important understanding that, everybody has boundaries. 
Kent Thaler: Well, I, as a consumer who would totally test an agent who said, I'm always available, I would think nothing of, you know, texting at three in the morning and expecting an answer. [01:02:00] No, I'm just kidding.
Ryan Cook: He's totally joking. 
Kent Thaler: Ryan and I have had 3:00 in the morning conversations, more times than we'd like to admit. Never about real estate, about other stupid topics, that's for sure. Because neither of us sleep very well. But, to sum up, a buyer's agent is really important to the process because, and this will be the final thing, it's really important to the process because the buyer needs to have their interests looked at.
And it's more and more important, today because the financial transaction between the buyer and the buyer's agent, which is something we didn't talk about, but at some point in time, Ryan and I are gonna do a podcast on this one topic alone, has been separated from this transaction from the seller, the seller's agent, and the closing.
And so. Finding the right buyer's agent, having a good relationship with that person and moving forward [01:03:00] with, the process as doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to be done in a way that's, trusting and, with open communications. At least that's what I heard from this hour. Is there something that I missed or that you want to add?
I think every buyer should have their own exclusive agent that they feel they can trust, they feel comfortable with, and that they feel is going to help guide them in the way that they are comfortable with and feel like works for them. Every buyer should have their own agent.
That's my opinion. They should have that representation and they should have someone looking out for their vets interests and giving them the guidance that they need. 
Kent Thaler: And by the way, if you're in Natick or Framingham or even Westborough, I'm telling you, you should go and find Cherie Cherie. 
Thank you, Ryan. 
Ryan Cook: I, I have nothing to add. It was a perfect response. 
Kent Thaler: Okay. [01:04:00] Thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it. Thank you for being our first guest. I hope that this was, as great for you as it was for us. We really appreciate it. Hopefully we can have you back again and talk a little more about other experiences or more in depth specific, issues related to certain buyers as market changes, going forward.
Thank you. It was my pleasure to be here today. 
Ryan Cook: Thank you. 
Ryan Cook: I get to see you two days in a row. How awesome was it?
Alright. Thank you.