One couple’s journey to their dream home

This story is brought to you by Century 21 High Desert, which has been in business since 1996 and has the guidance, professional execution and local knowledge to help you buy or sell a home in east Idaho.

Britany Trujillo and her husband dreamed of buying a home together for years.

And this year, the Blackfoot couple were finally ready to pursue the American Dream and become homeowners. Britany’s husband, Devin, had owned a house before, she said, but there’s something special about buying a house with the person you love.

“I was overwhelmed but excited,” Britany said.

The bank gave them its stamp of approval, but they still needed to find that ideal home, submit an offer, get an appraisal and home inspection and close with the title company.

The couple did a little research and found they had options. They could hire an individual agent or go with a real estate team. Both have their advantages, so the couple had to decide what was most important to them.

“I was getting really discouraged at the beginning,” Britany said. It was especially disheartening because they still had to sell Devin’s previous house before they could buy a home together.

Although working with a team can ensure someone is always available, the Trujillos decided it was more important to have an agent that could be with them from start to finish.

“(Our agent) sold our home in four months and made the transition easier for us. He was super motivated,” Britany said.

Luckily, agents work hard to make sure your search for a home goes off without a hitch, said Kerry Howell with Century 21 High Desert.

Working with an agent directly has its pros and cons. You only have to call one person and know that your questions and concerns won’t get lost going from person to another. The con is they may not be readily available at your call, but they will return it soon as they can.

This is in contrast to a team, which relies on a handful of people to get the job done.

Even though more people are working for you, they typically have more clients, and more bureaucratic layers, which means you may not necessarily be getting all the time and attention you may need. However, team members typically share an array of expertise that can help you in your hunt for the perfect home.

It was the one-on-one attention that Britany valued and the response time. The couple had trouble with the seller who had said the water softener in their home was working when it didn’t actually work.

“(Our agent) tried his hardest to get a resolution,” Britany said, adding that it was lucky they had a single agent because with multiple communication layers it would have taken longer.

There’s nothing wrong with hiring a real estate team or an individual agent – just make sure you know what you are getting into with each one. Let’s face it: No one wants to worry about the complicated details when they’re finally ready to buy that house they’ve been dreaming of.

“Our agent dealt with our good and bad sides as far as stress, and assured us the entire way through,” Britany said. “I am so glad he knocked on our door and offered us to be potential clients.”